[btimbit]

Well, just got back from trying it and was pretty impressed.

The Striploin steak was great. To my surprise and delight, the cows were corn fed. Wasn't expecting that. Love it. Very well marbled too. My biggest pet peeve with 'Alberta aaa' steaks has always been how low their marbling standard is. Sometimes it's terrific then sometimes it's brutal. This steak I tried tonight was excellent in that regard. Now, I'll have to have it a few more times to see if that's consistent or just luck of the draw like it seemed to be before.

The burgers were also good. Better than the ones earls had before, but not nearly as good as the ones they had before that, circa 2013 (Before they started "hand smashing" or whatever they call it.)

Sadly, I wasn't able to find out the answer to my biggest question, which is what prompted this change. I really wanted to know if this was a decision made by theexecutive chefs, that then had the marketing spin put on afterwards, or if it was a marketing decision from the start. Realistically it's likely a bit of both, but as a chef it really bugs me that any supplier decision in a restaurant would be made by anything other than its deliciousness.

That overall corporatey, gimmick first attitude was what prompted me to leave earls. Was less than a decade ago that they were considered innovator in the industry, nowadays they seem to do what I call a 'social media first' approach, which is when you try to be cool, hip, trendy, and something you're not. This move kind of reeks of that. The meat did exceed my expectations, but they're paying 3x what they were before, not sure that's worth it.

Only real tell will be how their sales are effected after a few weeks. I asked about that tonight and there's been yearly high sales across the country, but that's normal for a product launch. We'll have to see if it's any higher than before after both the hype, and faux outrage dies down. My prediction is after the dust settles, there will be no difference.