Chophouse, Sydney CBD

You'd think a restaurant that is discretely tucked away under an office tower at the "big end of town" would be dead empty on a cold, wet and windy winters night -- but it seems like the perfect place for the CBD office workers to chow-down and wait out one of the worst storms of the year.

Of course I don't work in the CBD, so the journey to Chophouse to meet The BFF consisted of an 80 minute trip up George Street on a bus (yes, I could've walked faster than that but it was raining cats and dogs...and the wind was blowing a gale) plus a 10 minute walk up to the restaurant in the driving, sideways rain. When I finally arrived at the restaurant, nearly 40 minutes late (yes, I rang to say I was late late late) I immediately ordered a serve of Pork Scratchings with smoked slat, vinegar and chilli to help me recover from my epic 5km commute pilgrimage into town.

Chophouse, whilst being pretty well known for their steaks, has a damn fine chopped salad section too...and I don't just mean your "green salad" or "green salad" type of thing. When Chophouse does salad they really "do" salad.  The BFF and settled on the Crisp Pork Belly and Sea Scallop Salad ($22.00) because when crispy free-range Esk River, pork belly is on offer resistance is...well, futile. The salad is filled with token greens such as Chinese cabbage, coriander, pea shoots and is dressed with a soy vinaigrette.

We decided to share our mains...as we always do. The Corned-Beef ($26.00) was one of the specials for the night and it seemed perfectly matched to the dreary weather outside - a perfectly warming dish.  And it would be silly to come to a steakhouse and not order steak. The pasture fed Petit Fillet MB2+ ($34.90) seemed like the best option - being small enough to leave us with some stomach room for dessert later on.   The steak came served with chutney and jus, so if you need a bit something extra for your main just order a few sides.  I really do like how the menu at Chophouse lists the provenance of the meat...our steak hailed from Grasslands, NSW.

And dessert. I was pretty full, but The BFF can not be deterred when he has his eyes set on dessert...in particular the Chophouse Ice Cream Sandwich ($10.00).  We'd said hello to Chef Eric Tan on our way in (I met him at the cooking class I did at Chophouse a few weeks ago) and he very kindly sent out a complimentary dessert for us to try - the Malted Farro Cheesecake (normally $10.90) with white chocolate and cocoa crumbs. I was fit to burst - but the Cheesecake was spectacular, so creamy yet light.

Chophouse is at 25 Bligh Street, Sydney. Phone them on 13 0024 6748.