This is just a quick and dirty review of Miss Lily’s jerk ramen. The verdict? Jerkworthy. Really fucking good. Take a look:
So what we have here is jerk chicken, pork belly, shoyu marinated ackee, egg and fermented scotch bonnet paste in a jerk broth. Jerk broth… Hehe…
Every element was fantastic. The chicken was flavorful and juicy. The pork was nice and fatty. The shoyu marinated ackee, which I had to google, is a fruit. However it was presented in such a way and with such interesting texture that I thought I was eating some kind of offal meat like kidney, fois gras or brains. It was freaking great! The egg was perfectly cooked. The scotch bonnet paste, I thought, could have used a bit more spice to it. I was expecting HOT. But if you need some spice, just add he “rass hot sauce” to your bowl and you’ll be good to go. The broth was really flavorful and hearty as is, but the sauce really punched it up.
We also had the coconut grilled jerk corn, which was really tasty – sweet and savory/spicy at the same time.
My wife is friends with Mark Hannon, who is the chef over at Ca Va. We came in initially to try out restaurant week, but Mark had something else in store for us. Something amazing.
Mark grew up with a chef for a dad, so it only seemed natural for him to follow in his footsteps. He spent some time running kitchens at some of Thailand’s nicest hotels, and he got close with Todd English over the course of about a decade of working for him. He married an Australian chef, and is now back here in NYC, where he was essentially given free reign over the contents of the Ca Va menu (aside from a few things that needed to stay on or be done a certain way). Since taking the helm at Ca Va in the last moth or so, reviews and diners’ reactions have changed in a significantly positive way. When you see what I have to say below you’ll understand why.
First we ordered a couple of cocktails that were really nicely prepared.
Then, before we knew it, this really cool stand of deviled eggs with caviar and winter truffle came out. It was delicious. Creamy, earthy – a perfect way to start the meal.
Next was escargot with fried sea beans, some interesting purees, stuffed snail shells and crisp ham. The crispy ham was a great way to add a little salt into the dish, and the snails were perfect – soft, tender, buttery.
Next was grilled octopus with cannelini beans, chorizo and dehydrated olive powder. We’ve been having a lot of grilled octopus lately, and this dish sits among the best of them. So tender and juicy. I cleaned this plate off so well it was shining like a mirror when I was done.
Next came kale salad with goat cheese mousse, fava beans, dehydrated prosciutto, radish and snow peas. The big star here was the potato chip-like dehydrated prosciutto. Instantly my mind was imagining bags upon bags of them being consumed while watching movies at home on the couch. Fucking delightful.
Then came a scallop dish. It was seared perfectly and garnished with a trail of mushroom dirt (mushroom, shallot, almond flour, dextrose, garlic) and truffles, topped with caviar, and sitting atop asparagus and braised pulled oxtail. Holy shit. This was insane! This represents the best scallop I’ve ever eaten. Mark blew it out of the water.
Next was, by far, the most interesting plate of food of the night and possibly of the year. Duck breast and seared fois gras with toasted marshmallows, chocolate sauce, peanuts, cinnamon, huckleberries and roasted kale sprouts. It was savory yet sweet, but not too sweet, which is what you might expect when you see the stuff listed above. Combining the elements with the duck really made for some taste bud-awakening flavors.
Oh yeah baby – here it comes. Aged New York strip with tangy mustard potato salad and bone marrow powder, drizzled with a bone marrow bordelaise. Let’s just say that the meat man went home a very happy dude. Perfectly cooked to medium rare, sliced and plated beautifully, TONS of flavor and juiciness.
The first dessert was a bread pudding. I have a pic of the ingredients here but I was embarrassed about whipping out the cell phone camera to shoot the plate because Mark was sitting and chatting with us as we ate this course. I would’ve felt like a d-bag sticking my camera in his food instead of just eating it. It was great. Lots of times the texture of bread pudding isn’t right. Either the soak doesn’t hit all the bread and you get some bricks in there, or you are really just eating it for the sauces and toppings. This bread pudding was different. I usually don’t like white chocolate but I loved every bite of it here. The bread pudding itself was very silky and smooth, with really nice texture.
Last came a little plate of cookies and chocolates. The cookies were great, made in-house. The chocolates were pretty good too, nice and rich, but not made in-house.
Jordan, our waiter, was really great. We made sure to give him a good tip seeing as though he had to deal with us for about three hours.
My wife has this really cool credit card from Chase called the Chase Preferred Sapphire Gold-Trimmed Special Sparkly Platinum Elite Card. Among other cool perks, it entitles her to get discounted, exclusive and advanced-entry/VIP-type tickets to things that regular people would not normally be able to get (for example, our tickets were cheaper and we were allowed in early at 7pm for this event).
One thing we’ve been privy to in the past was the Top Chef Masters Premiere Party. This season’s re-imagination of the Top Chef brand is called “Duels.” We had a lot of fun last time, and got to meet all the chefs, so grabbing hold of my wife’s perks this time too was a no-brainer. I love my wife’s perks.
Top Chef Duels is set up to be 10 one-on-one battles of the masters, where the chefs actually choose their own challenges for each other, and the dishes are then judged to see who is the winner. Cool concept. I like a good fight!
So they had the place set up with three major battle stations, featuring six of the chefs and the dishes they dueled with. The main station was Marcel Vigneron vs. Richard Blais.
The challenge: Lobster Roll.
The winner according to me: Marcel Vigneron’s “Open Face Knuckle Sandwich”
While I enjoyed Richard’s lobster roll, I felt like the filling itself was too watery, and yet the bread was dry. Go figure. I was really pulling for Richard too, because he was one of my favorite contestants to watch, and he’s a fellow Long Island native. It was still way better than any regular old lobster roll you may find in the northeast, but Marcel’s was just really nicely executed. I think the potato roll was a big plus, and the addition of pickled onion really made all the flavors pop.
Richard’s roll (Rick Roll?)
Marcel’s rolls
We wandered around a bit, taking in some free booze, when we stumbled upon the second battle station. The chefs featured here were Dale Talde, who I met at the Dynasty Project Casino Night event, and Tiffani Faison.
The challenge: Ribs
The winner according to me: Tiffani Faison’s “Spicy Sticky Thai Ribs”
Dale served up some Korean style short ribs, which I absolutely LOVE in general. However, he served them in lettuce cups as if they were de-boned and ready to pop in your mouth without any additional work. I took a bite and came right down on the bone. No worries though. Once I knew what was up, I put the lettuce cup down and used two hands to pull the meat off the bone.
If you have any familiarity with Korean style BBQ short ribs, you’ll know they are a very fatty (and sometimes gristled) cut of rib meat where the bones and meat are cut on the bias, so that you have cross-sections of bone connected to the surrounding meat. Often times you will get two or three circular rib bones per slice of meat. My first exposure to this was with my wife’s family. My wife isn’t Korean (she’s Vietnamese) but the style of BBQ and the actual cross-section cut of rib meat is popular in many Asian cuisines.
So anyway, Dale’s dish had just one bone circle with the surrounding meat attached, so I thought it was boneless when I picked up the lettuce cup, especially since the bone piece had toppings on it and was not readily visible in the dim lighting. In any case it was very tasty, but I think Tiffani nailed it with the layers of delicious sticky sauces she had going on her traditional style rib cuts. She even sprinkled some fried shallots on top to add some crunch and texture. All the familiar Southeast Asian flavors were there. This was a perfect rib in every way.
Dale’s ribs
Tiffani’s rib
Ribs cooking
The last station was Kevin Gillespie vs. Art Smith. I saved this for last because I think the winning dish here was probably the best of the night.
The challenge: Fried Chicken.
The winner according to me: Kevin Gillespie’s “Closed On Sunday” Chicken Sandwich.
One thing I appreciated about Art’s dish was that it was a nice, full piece of fried chicken on the bone, readily identifiable as such, like Tiffani’s rib (and unlike Dale’s). In typical southern style, Art’s dish contained a hint of maple syrup to throw your taste buds back into breakfast mode. It was good! But Kevin’s sangwitch was masterfully created. He was working like a powerhouse all night, didn’t mix and mingle too much. He just kept right on working his station. Amazing. And his passion for cooking shines through his food, because that chicken slider was one of the best poultry-based dishes I’ve ever eaten. People were going up for seconds and thirds. Even Top Chef alumnus CJ Jacobson asked me to run and grab him one while he was stuck in the cattle pen pretending to be interested in talking to, and taking pictures with, obsessed fans. I earned a solid fist bump from that human beanstalk for being his sandwich bitch.
Anyway back to this fucking juicy, delicious sandwich… I mean let’s be honest here: it doesn’t look like much. But the taste… Holy fuck. Look at the list of flavors you’re getting!
Art’s chicken
Kevin’s sandwiches
Okay so that’s it for the battle food. The passed hors were nice too, but I didn’t shoot pics of them and I don’t remember all the details about them. They weren’t prepared by the chefs (they were catered or made in house). One notable item was the mini-mac – a miniature McDonald’s-esque Big Mac in slider form, donning the special sauce, lettuce, cheese, pickle, and even stacked two-high on tiny sesame seed double buns. It was everything you love that’s delicious about the McDonald’s version, except for the ammonia bath and fake-ass, grade-F beef.
And last but not least, here are some other pics from the night, mostly me or my wife with other chefs, and various famous and quasi-famous people from the TV food world. Enjoy!
TiffaniArtRichard & Antonia LofasoThe Cake Dealer & Takashi YagahashiDavid Burke & AntoniaGail Simmons & Curtis Stone posing with fansMe, Curtis & The Cake DealerShirley Chung & The Cake DealerCJ Jacobson & The Cake DealerKevin hard at workArt & usRichard & The Cake DealerMaster Chef Season 2 Alumnus Derrick Prince & meMe & KevinMe eating Tiffani’s rib
Okay so listen up. I saw this awesome photo on Chef David Burke’s Instagram feed. I showed my wife and we immediately decided that we needed to go.
We made a reservation for an hour or two later, psyched as all hell to dig into that incredible looking hunk of beef.
When we sat, the waiter brought out a little shot of strained cold gazpacho; tomato with melon. Very refreshing.
I had the “rabbit hunter” cocktail: bourbon, lime, ginger beer and mint. It was good; like a bourbon mojito.
My wife had the “antica Manhattan,” which was made with buffalo trace bourbon, antica carpano, maple syrup, bitters and brandied cherry. It was excellent, except for the fact that later on during the meal we found a gnat floating belly up in it. Doh!
We started with a pair of apps. First was the “skin and bones,” which was essentially chicken liver pate sandwiched between two pieces of crispy chicken skin, and served with chicken dumplings drizzled with vindaloo sauce. The cool thing about these dumplings was that they were “bone-in.” The chicken bones were little handles to grab the dumplings. Observe:
Next was octopus tacos (can we call them tactos?) with guacamole, chipotle sauce and salsa. These were excellent. The octopus was nice and charred but tender inside, and the sauces were great. Maybe a few jalapeno slices or some lettuce would have made this dish perfect.
We ordered a side of chic pea fries to go with our steak too. These were interesting. Crispy on the outside and creamy on the inside. The dipping sauce was more of the chipotle cream from the tacos.
So now for the big fucker. The Bronx filet for two, with bone marrow. The presentation is gorgeous, isn’t it?
Even that first slice up front. Looks delectable, no? Hmm… Maybe just a little too much grey on the edges?
Oh FUCK. After that first, nice looking piece, it looks like whoever sliced this puppy was trying to hide the incredibly overcooked portions!
I kid about the hiding. But, yeah… It turns out that the rest of the steak was really well done. We ordered it medium rare. I guess with these big hunks, lots of chefs have trouble getting an even cook across the meat. The bone still had blood on it. It certainly was an awkward size and shape. What a shame. When it’s done properly it is probably an incredible meal.
When the waiter came around to ask how everything was, I mentioned that it tasted good but that it was severely overcooked. He grabbed a manager and she agreed, though she relayed what the chef said, which was that the edges are over but the middle is okay. Unfortunately that just wasn’t the case. There were about 3 or 4 bites of medium rare combined from all slices, and the rest was hockey puck. The manager generously offered to have the chef fire up another for us, which would be ready in 25 minutes, but we declined because we had to get back home to field some interview calls for a New York Times story that is being written up about the two of us. The steak normally takes 40 minutes to cook, and we were already pushing it on time. So we put on our big-boy pants and ate the dry, grey meat as best as we could. It was still yummy, but really dry and over done. I imagine it to be a great item when properly cooked. 5/10.
The manager was kind enough to send out some free desserts for us, and we were not charged for the overcooked steak. For dessert we had the “Burke-n-bag.” This one is great for photo ops. It is essentially a really amazing candy bar dolled up to look like a purse, and served with a little scoop of vanilla bean ice cream.
We also had the frozen yogurt banana split. This was pretty good. The fro-yo was actually delicious, and the pink stuff you see is the sauce that was poured over and then hardened into a shell. Magic Shell!?! Total blast from the past. The banana was just so-so; maybe a little under-ripe. The brownies weren’t really needed, I don’t think.
Last are the cheese cake pops with bubble gum whipped cream. I wasn’t a big fan of these, but I can see how someone could love them. When it comes to all-things cheesecake, nothing can compare to my sister’s cheesecake. MY sister’s cheesecake is so good that it’ll make you want to murder YOUR sister.
So anyway – moral of the story is this: beautiful pics of food can be deceiving. Also the table next door had a wrong item taken to them. Red snapper instead of tuna. So maybe this place was just having a bad night. Our steak was ruined, there was a gnat in my wife’s drink and the table next door had the wrong item delivered to them that apparently no one at any other table had ordered. Ehh, whatever. We all know David Burke is an amazing chef. It’s just too bad he wasn’t actually there cooking for us this evening.
FABRICK
Archer Hotel New York
47 W. 38th St.
New York, NY 10018
212 Steakhouse is relatively new on the steakhouse scene. It seems like they are offering some pretty amazing deals via Living Social to draw business and to introduce people to real-deal kobe beef, imported from Japan. This place is the only joint that’s actually certified by the Japanese Kobe Beef Marketing and Distribution Promotion Association on America’s east coast.
So the deal is for about $90 (my wife got it for about $70). You get one appetizer to share, up to $30 value. You get two glasses of wine (one each) and two 4oz pieces of steak, either strip loin or rib eye. It may seem like very little, size-wise, but there is no waste, and tremendous flavor. Right now 212 is offering 60-80% off the regular price for this steak. At a regular price of $45/oz, these pieces at $15/oz are a steal.
When I first walked in and sat at the bar, I was greeted warmly by the bartender, who mixed up a great martini for me. Soon afterward I noticed the chef was out on the floor, having his staff taste the souffle he just made in the back. Christos, the chef, is a really friendly and outgoing guy. His heritage is Greek, and he’s spent almost 20 years in the kitchens around New York, with even a little international experience in Brazil. He’s the kind of chef that always tries changing recipes to make a dish better, never serves something he thinks is bad, and is constantly looking to learn and improve his trade.
I’m going to do my best to fit the review of this place into my cookie-cutter review format, but in reality this place breaks the mold. The quality is so high off the charts here that it almost makes me want to reassess all my other 10-point scores for flavor and quality. Real kobe is just incredible. Okay so here we go…
Flavor: 10 (now an average of 8 after below update)
Easily some of the very best steak I’ve ever had and will ever have in my life. You can taste the flavor of the meat more in the strip loin, and you can taste the flavor of the fat more in the rib eye. I think both my wife and I preferred the strip. Typically I will pick the rib eye because I enjoy the fat flavor more, and there tends to be better marbling in the rib eye. But with meat like kobe, there is plenty of good, melty, intra-muscular fat and marbling in the strip cuts as well. Listen, assholes… The point is this: you can’t go wrong either way. Just look at this shit! Strip 10/10, rib eye 9/10.
rib eyestrip loin
More from another visit (strip, tenderloin [10/10] and rib eye).
Choice of Cuts & Quality Available: 10
You have a choice of Japanese kobe, US kobe, US wagyu or Japanese wagyu. The cuts are either rib eye, tenderloin, strip, or skirt. Most items are offered by the ounce, so, for the most part, you can tailor your steak to your appetite. While they don’t have the full gamut of cuts you find at traditional steakhouses, the quality here is so high that I would be remiss to give nothing less than full points here.
Portion Size & Plating: 9
Portions are pretty much DIY, so if you’re willing to spend to get more, then you’ll be a happy camper. The pre-set size cuts are 8oz, 10oz or 12oz, which is pretty standard for the high quality meat game, and they’re typically boneless as well. Otherwise you’re looking at a minimum of 4oz on the Japanese meats. And before you freak out about the bone being taken out, ask yourself if you’ve ever tried meat like this before. The bone is not needed when there is so much flavor in the beef and you can literally melt the marbling with the warmth in your finger! The plating for the beef is really nice, on slate plates. But don’t run your knife across the plate or you might get the chills. EEEEEEK!
Price: 10
I have to give a 10 here because we felt like we got such an amazing deal. If you’re going to blow your budget on a steak meal then this might be the right place to do it. It’s not a traditional steakhouse atmosphere, so know that going into the transaction. What you are coming here for is once-in-a-lifetime steak. And since they are still running mega-discounts on their menu right now, both as a walk in and via the Living Social deal, I suggest you high-tail your asses over there ASAP to take advantage of these prices. They have every justification to charge double. Believe me; it’s worth every bite. Not only that but they seemingly knocked some items off our bill as well, like the desserts. That said, the minimum 4oz order will run you $60, and that’s at the super-duper-blowout-sale price. The normal price is $45/oz, muthafucka! Let’s put it in yet another way: Had we paid full price for this meal, it would have cost us about $460. Even the discounted price, as you see below, was still over $200. We paid just about $150 I think, with tax and tip included.
Bar: 8
The bar is nice, so don’t get me wrong here with the lower score. They were out of Beefeater gin, which isn’t a big deal. My martini was $13, which is fair for NYC (yet also crazy when you think about what a bottle of gin costs). I just prefer a bar that sits close to the street, with an open feel and views. It’s nicely decorated, the bartender is excellent and friendly, and there’s lots of high quality booze and wine to match the high quality beef. It’s just not exactly a happening spot. The great thing is that they serve kalamata olives at the bar as a free snack. Awesome.
Specials and Other Meats: 7
What you see is what you get, as far as the menu goes. Christos told me that he likes to make a few special items from time to time, like scallops, but that the menu is pretty strictly adhered to by the big boss man. As far as other meats go, well, it’s either beef or seafood, my friends. Deal with it.
New to the menu is some lamb. 7/10.
Apps, Sides & Desserts: 9 (now 8 after below update)
We had baked parmesan polenta fries, which were light, crispy, and surprisingly flavorful.
The grilled octopus app was highly recommended by all the staff, including Christos. It was soft, tender and really flavorful with a classic Mediterranean profile. The liquid that it was served in (oil and lemon, with capers, peppers and herbs) took away some of that nice grilled char that I love so much, but the liquid was perfect for dipping bread in afterward.
For dessert we had espresso chocolate chip coffee ice cream and creme brulee. These were both really good, both texture-wise and flavor-wise. But we will definitely be coming back for the chocolate souffle, which is one of Christos’ specialty items.
Seafood Selection: 9
There’s lots to choose from here, including a highly diverse menu of whole cooked fish. We will definitely be back to try the mussels, which, along with the octopus, are seafood dishes of particular note and considered signature items by the staff. But the whole fish plates sound amazing, and so did the various raw items on the cold apps menu. Until then, I can only judge this category based on the octopus, which was just shy of absolutely amazing.
Service: 10
Our waiter, Glenn, was very attentive and kind. He recommended a great Italian wine to go with our meal, and we really enjoyed it (Tuscany Bolgheri Elisabeta-Aulo Rosso IGT 2009).
Christos is, simply put, a highly valuable asset. He’s as good in the front of the house as he is in the back. He kept coming to our table for each course to make sure we enjoyed everything, and he was a delight to talk to. We truly felt like honored guests. The staff even made some special bread slices to serve up just for us at the start of the meal, toasted with olive oil, oregano, smoked salt and lemon. Regular bread and plain butter is absolute shit after you’ve tasted something like this.
Ambiance: 8
They’ve done the absolute best they could with the space they have. The decor is very classy, dark woods, elegant fixtures. It’s done very well. It won’t compare to some of the mega-giganto steakhouses elsewhere in midtown, but you’re primarily here for the food. So stop looking around the room and focus on your amazing plate of the world’s best beef.
UPDATE 8/2/17
I went back with a Groupon (paid $18, got $60 to spend) and a friend to try out their Australian wagyu porterhouse. Well, I should say we started with 4oz of Kobe strip loin, which was just as excellent as I remembered from my last visit. 10/10. Natural buttery flavor, lean enough to still taste like beef, and every bit of fat completely edible.
The porterhouse was really nice, but something was lacking. The menu said it was dry aged, but we really only tasted it on a few bits that were on the edges and had a good char.
The cook temp was slightly more than medium rare (which is what we ordered) and more towards the medium side.
We enjoyed it, and ate every last bit of it.
However, I think the issue with this cut is the method of preparation. We both felt that the filet side had more flavor than the strip side, which is odd and backwards. Only a few bits of the strip side were better, along the outside edge. That ridge of fat was very tender and edible, which was a nice change. 8/10.
I also tried their dry aged Australian Wagyu rib eye for two (36oz) when I went for complimentary a press meal.
It lacked a little bit of aged flavor, and was slightly overcooked. Still really tasty though, so 7/10.
On another visit, I had the USDA strip steak. Also a 7/10.
We also tried the creamed spinach, which was a bit too soupy on the bottom as compared to the crisp on top. The cheese crisp on top basically slid off in one piece and underneath was like a spinach stew. It had nice flavor but I wasn’t happy with the consistency. Dessert was just okay. I had a mandarin soufflé but to me it was more like orange flavored ice cream. I’ve taken the apps, sides and desserts score down to an 8.
The seafood platter for two contains three items: warm octopus salad, a half lobster cocktail, and eight oysters. Not too bad for $55.
We also sampled their pasta, which was incredible. This is the strozzapreti with wagyu beef bolognese sauce. A must try.
