By Ms. Taste
When I was at the Merivale Winter Feasts launch party a few weeks ago, I was most impressed by Mad Cow’s GFC-friendly offering. But after a rather disappointing experience at Peter Doyle’s est., I became a little cynical about visiting the Ivy’s New York inspired steak house.
With a little hand-holding from my girlfriend, we made a booking for Friday night. That morning, the reservations department gave us a call and offered a complimentary chauffeur ride to the Ivy for dinner. Was this the proverbial olive branch to restore my faith in Merivale Winter Feasts?
Mad Cow
At 5:50pm that night, a gorgeous white Bentley pulled up to pick us up. It was definitely a sight for sore eyes after a long Friday at work.
A taste of the good life
While I tried my best to grill our driver, Glenn about the selection criteria for the chaffeur service – he remained tight lipped about the affair. “All by random,” he maintains. Random or not, I must congratulate Merivale for this fantastic extra – it is a point of difference that sets it apart from other top notch restaurants around the city.
Moooooo
But was the food good enough to bring me back?
Yes, yes, a thousand times, yes! I’m proud to stand up and say that I’m a Mad Cow convert.
Rangers valley wagyu flank steak w/ barbeque sauce
This was one of most succulent and tender steaks I’ve had in Sydney. With a marble factor of 7+, the meat melts in your mouth and has a rich, layered flavour that develops as you chew it (slowly I might add). Sure it’s an extra $5 supplement, but considering that 200g of the real deal wagyu steak costs $70, the small investment is well worth it!
Braised wagyu beef cheeks, mushroom, celeriac, broad beans
The wagyu beef cheeks are just as tender – cooked so well it almost falls apart when touched lightly. Stacked on top of a tower of mushroom and celeriac, the beef cheeks are juicy, moist and drenched with flavour.
Shoestring fries - $6
Cauliflower gratin - $9
Rosemary garlic fried potatoes - $6
Baby green beans, mint, lemon, feta - $8
We weren’t overly excited by the dessert selection on the Winter Feasts menu at Mad Cow. They were very ordinary, but still a nice way to end what was a fantastic meal.
Crisp meringue, raspberry sorbet, blueberry compote
Poached quince, cinnamon crème
Apologies for the appalling photos in this post – it will be the last time I leave my SLR at home!
Note – Merivale’s Winter Feasts promotion is available Mondays to Fridays from 12-2pm and 6-8pm.
Mad Cow
The Ivy
320 George Street
Sydney City
# 02 9240 3000
www.merivalewinterfeasts.com
How fortunate u got the bentley but you should had asked if you could have driven it hee hee 
