All posts by Johnny Prime

American, Brooklyn, Restaurant Reviews

Randazzo’s Clam Bar

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Randazzo’s is a spot I’ve always heard about but never got a chance to try, until now.

My wife and I were out at Coney Island, and we figured this would be a great spot for lunch after getting sand blasted on the windy beach that day.

 

We started with the combo platter of fried seafood with their famous spicy red sauce on top. It was awesome.

Really, the seafood is just fine or okay, but it’s the sauce that you really find yourself going back for over and over. So we took some home with us.

We also did their fried oyster and lobster roll sandwiches. Both were “meh” at best. The lobster was a cold lobster salad and not a warm lobster roll.

That said, they are expert with frying shit. The fries and zucchini were great, as was the batter on the oysters and calamari.

I would probably go back again, but I’d stick with the spicy calamari.

RANDAZZO’S CLAM BAR
2017 Emmons Avenue
Brooklyn, NY 11235

Brooklyn, Pizza

Roberta’s

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I finally got a chance to try Roberta’s, and I have to say it was good!

I tried the pepperoni slice, and the “fire and ice” slice. I think I preferred the “fire and ice,” which seemed to be fresh burrata and Calabrian chili “bomba” style sauce. Incredible! Great crust, no flop, quality toppings.

ROBERTA’S
261 Moore St.
Brooklyn, NY 11206

Midtown West, Rib Eye, Steakhouse Reviews

Bourbon Steak

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Bourbon Steak overall score: 91

Bourbon Steak is a brand new spot that just took over the restaurant and bar space at the luxurious Essex House/JW Marriott hotel on Central Park South. They opened two weeks ago. Check out the review below!

Flavor: 8

We had the 20oz bone in rib eye.

While it was a bit thin, it packed a punch for flavor. Good crust outside and lots of juiciness inside.

Not dry aged, but still a good one.

Choice of Cuts & Quality Available: 9

There’s a great selection of cuts here, but only one was dry aged (the 40oz porterhouse). I took a point for that. I was impressed to see domestic, Aussie and Japanese wagyu on the menu as well. Great stuff!

Portion Size & Plating: 8

The sizes are all pretty standard for NYC steakhouses, and the plating was a mix of simple/elegant, and modern.

Price: 8

Everything is so expensive now, so this category is going through a big renovation, but here is the bill:

Bar: 10

The bar here is big and gorgeous. They offer a lot of really unique signature cocktails as well as standards, and there’s a huge wine list.

Specials and Other Meats: 8

This place offers veal and duck as far as other meat items go. We tried the veal, which came out very late (we were already done with our steak). It was good/tasty, but a bit overcooked (we asked for medium rare, it was closer to well done).

Apps, Sides & Desserts: 10

We started with a custom seafood tower with items we selected from the seafood cart:

We went with clams, oysters, abalone, prawns and uni/sea urchin.

Everything was incredible! Our next app was the soft shell crab, which is stuffed with crab cake. Very unique and delicious! They said there were two here, but that was not the case… I don’t know where they learned to count…

For sides, we went with the very unique creamed spinach souffle, which ate similar to a popover.

We also did some mushrooms.

For dessert, another unique item, the banana tart with macadamia nut ice cream. Really nice!

Seafood Selection: 10

Based on the apps we had, I would definitely suspect the entree fish items are great as well. The tuna foie-poivre sounds insanely good.

Service: 10

Service was great despite the restaurant opening just two weeks ago. We had two staff members attending to us. One seemed seasoned, and the other seemed new (he was good – very attentive). The only hiccup we had was the veal coming out much later than we expected. We thought maybe they forgot it, so we told them to cancel it if they hadn’t fired it. But then brought it out anyway as we were finishing our steak, and they took it off the bill for us in the end. Totally unnecessary! We made sure to tip well for that.

Also worth noting here is that the table bread is scrapped in favor of a trio of French fries! Knowing this was the case, we skipped a potato side altogether. These were amazing.

They also give you some chocolate bars with your check. These toffee and caramel milk chocolate bars blow those Peter Luger chocolate coins out of the water.

The staff was also great at wishing me a happy birthday. They had a card for me, signed by the staff, and there was even a little miniature ice cream cone that came out with dessert (forgot to take a pic).

Ambiance: 10

This place is absolutely stunning inside. Really beautiful. I can’t wait to go back and try more stuff.

BOURBON STEAK
160 Central Park South
New York, NY 10019

Japanese, Lower East Side/Chinatown

Kin Gin

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First, check out my Ride & Review HERE:

This joint, while definitely not a traditional Izakaya in appearance, still serves up some outstanding food and cocktails. Their martini is pretty much absolute perfection.

Our favorite items were the crispy pigs ears and the clams.

But really everything was awesome. The egg trio was pricey at $185.

Very nice tartare made with bluefin tuna.

The miso butterscotch Brussels were extremely unique!

The pork jowl could have used a bit more texture on the outside, but otherwise super tender and very flavorful.

And more unique goodies for dessert: soy sauce tiramisu and basil shiso sorbet.

This place is definitely a keeper.

KIN GIN
107 Rivington St
New York, NY 10002

East Village, Japanese, Lower East Side/Chinatown, Restaurant Reviews

Yokox

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First, check out my Ride & Review video HERE:

This joint serves up a 15-course omakase for just $89! It’s really close by, so we had to give it a try.

My favorite items were the crab handroll, the stripekack, and the scallop with uni.

Great spot! No liquor license yet, and they don’t let you BYOB, but they said the license is in the works and they should have beer and wine soon.

I can’t wait to go back to try it again. The chef said the fish can change on a daily basis, and he likes to use a lot of unique and different fish than you normally see.

YOKOX
41 Avenue B
New York, NY

Other Cuts, Parms, Press Reviews, Steakhouse Reviews

Delbianco Prime

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Delbianco Prime overall score: UNRATED

This Italian steak joint just opened up in midtown on Madison Avenue, and the owners were kind enough to invite me in to take photos and promote on social media. Read on below, but first check out my Ride and Review video HERE!

Flavor:

We tried the t-bone, which was a beautiful 24oz hunk of beef. The filet side had a lot of aged flavor on it, and it was incredibly tender. The strip side had an awesome rosemary flavor to it, and was also very tender. I don’t know what they do to their steaks, but you can cut them with a spoon here! That’s how soft the meat is.

Choice of Cuts & Quality Available:

There’s a good selection of cuts here, and the menu notes that they are all USDA prime. You have all your standard steakhouse selections, plus some larger format items for sharing.

Portion Size & Plating:

Everything we had was a good portion size for the price point listed on the menu. The plating was nice also – no sizzling plate for the t-bone, of which I am not a fan, so that was good. I am not sure if they do that for the porterhouse.

Price:

Given the location and competition in the area, price is always a tough nut to crack, but this place offers great quality meat for a very fair price.

Bar:

The bar here is really beautiful. A thick marble slab with some princely stools. A beautifully appointed wall of booze, and a nicely mixed martini with Castelvetrano olives is all you need to tie it off.

Specials and Other Meats:

There is a great selection of other proteins here, including pork, veal, lamb and chicken. We went with the veal pizzaiola, which was as delicious as it was beautiful. What a beast!

You can also hit up some alternative meats in the pasta section of the menu. We had the opportunity to try this delicious bowl of cavatelli with an oxtail ragu that was incredible.

Apps, Sides & Desserts:

We didn’t get to try any sides, but the appetizers and desserts were excellent. Most notable were the baked clams and octopus carpaccio, which were both unique and delicious.

We also tried the Caesar salad, which was served on a nicely composed dish with some crispy croutons and three delicious, clean and flavorful anchovies.

This crab cake also really hit the spot, and it is one of their most popular items. I can taste why.

For dessert, we tried the apple strudel and the chocolate salami. We both preferred the chocolate salami, hands down! It was a unique cross between a cookie/cake type thing, and fudge.

Seafood Selection:

We didn’t try any seafood mains, but if the quality of the starters is any indication for those, then the seafood here will be tip-top. We really enjoyed what we tried!

Service:

Service was awesome here. The chef, Diego, even came out to the tables to say hello to all the folks in the dining room, asking if everything was okay. Also worth noting the nice selection of bread for the table here – good stuff!

Ambiance:

The decor here is gorgeous. They have a nice modern but elegant setup here, and the space doubles when you go upstairs. I really can’t wait to come back and try some more of their proteins, especially the lamb loin!

DELBIANCO PRIME
423 Madison Avenue
New York, NY 10017

Burgers, East Village, Lower East Side/Chinatown, Pub Food, Restaurant Reviews

The Commodore II

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First, check out my Ride & Review HERE:

A second location of the popular Williamsburg bar “The Commodore” just opened in the lower east side at Avenue C and Houston Street. My wife and I have been eagerly awaiting the open since we saw renovations going on there last year. The interior is really cool, almost like you’re aboard a yacht. They even have life fish in a tank along the right side wall, with circular portals for viewing.

We started with two frozen drinks and both were great. The winner between the Orange Julio and the frozen mojito was the mojito, however. They also serve $4 cans of Schaefer, which is a steal. During happy hour, you can get a beer and a shot for $7, which is a price that’s on par with the cheapest dives in town.

Speaking of happy hour, they offer their burger with fries for $14 (normally just the burger costs $14, but at happy hour the fries come with). The burger is a nice crumbly patty that’s well seasoned and dressed with all the fixings.

We also tried their fried chicken, which, despite saying three thighs on the menu, actually came with four. Also great biscuits, two hot sauces and a sweet honey butter. At $22 this is a great deal, especially considering how crispy outside and juicy inside the chicken was. Delicious.

We also tried their fried green tomato sandwich with slaw. I enjoyed this, and the baguette was a really nice surprice here on this sandwich. I expected it to be too hard and rough, but it was warm, soft and really nicely butter-toasted.

Definitely can’t wait to go back and try their fish items, grilled cheese and nachos.

THE COMMODORE II
14 Avenue C
New York, NY 10009

Flash Deals, Japanese, Nolita/Soho, Restaurant Reviews

Mishik

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First, check out my Ride & Review HERE:

This review is for the Mishik Pulsd deal and not the premium omakase offered on their regular menu. So make sure to read below, too.

This Pulsd deal was pretty good, and I would say that Mishik is especially good if you are going for their premium omakase sets with better pieces. We still enjoyed the Pulsd deal, don’t get me wrong, but my wife and I enjoyed a few other spots more in that price range.

Mishik flies their product in from Japan and dry ages all of the fish used in their omakase. The aging process takes anywhere from one to three weeks depending on the fat quality and flavor of the fish. The chefs inspect everything upon arrival to determine how long it will be aged.

Their Pulsd flash deal is curated for the price point, but they also offer two different omakase dinners: one for $120 and one for $165, consisting of an appetizer, roughly 12-16 pieces of premium nigiri, a handroll, soup and dessert.

While we enjoyed the Pulsd deal, we probably would have enjoyed one of the other omakase meals more here. Premium!

That said, my favorite items were the king salmon, the donburi bowl, the hand roll with fried shiso and eel, the torched golden eye snapper, and, of course, the uni. They were very generous with the uni!

Go give this place a shot! I think you will enjoy it too.

MISHIK
259A Hudson St.
New York, NY 10013

Burgers, Queens

Burger Queens

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First, check out THIS EPISODE of Around the Hood in 8 Minutes, featuring Burger Queens.

We stopped at this joint during a group ride, and it really hit the spot. The burger itself was a double smash patty, and I got the works on it in terms of toppings.

The shoestring fries were also perfectly crispy and delicious, well seasoned. I would definitely go here again to try the fried chicken thigh sandwich.

BURGER QUEENS
96-19 23rd Ave.
Queens, NY 11369

American, Burgers, East Village, Pub Food, Restaurant Reviews

The Lions

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First, check out my Ride & Review video HERE:

This place has been popping up all over Instagram, and once I saw the images of their burger and mortadella sandwich, I knew I had to get in ASAP to try.

We went right when they opened at 5pm on a Saturday, and the place was jammed by 5:30. Apparently everyone had the same idea!

We started with the fried mozzarella and Lions baked potato (with sour cream and an egg yolk).

The baked potato was a game changer. It was so freaking flavorful. We both loved it. As for the mozzarella…

Perfect temperature for stretching! And surprisingly light. Very flavorful.

The burger was 100% perfection. A nice thick aged patty, topped with two slices of American cheese, atop a slice of grilled onion, which helps to protect the beautiful sesame seed bottom bun. Four slices of pickle came on the plate as well. We obviously put them on top.

My pictures sucked, but the interior was a perfect medium rare / medium, which is ideal for this ind of “steakhouse” style burger. This was a killer. On par with Luger or Red Hook Tavern for just $18. For $4 you can get fries with it, and the fries were excellent. Nice and crispy, not too salty. The only down was that they charged us for the side order of fries ($8) rather than the “accompanying” fried ($4). I was wondering why this was such a huge order.

The mortadella sandwich was excellent too. While it ate a bit salty due to the Calabrian chili tapenade, the flavor was out of this world. The pistachio studded mortadella had a ton of porky character, and the blue cheese on this was more like a spread than a crumble or a saucy mess. It worked, though I questioned whether it would when I saw it on the menu.

As you can see, this came with chips. So we had three types of potato with this meal: chips, fries and a baked potato.

Side note: They also make a great martini.

This place is also going to be offering a steak night on Wednesdays for something like $35, and monthly “Beefsteak” meals which will be an all-inclusive price that covers drinks, starters, steak and dessert. I really can’t want to try those!

THE LIONS
132 1st Ave.
New York, NY 10009