All posts by Johnny Prime

Brooklyn, Other Cuts, Rib Eye, Steakhouse Reviews

Saint Anselm

June 13, 2015 Johnny Prime Leave a comment

Saint Anselm overall score: 77

This small Williamsburg joint has gotten wildly popular among meat aficionados on a budget, due to their highly affordable $17 hanger steak. See how it stacks up below.

Flavor: 8
This was a tough one. My wife and I came here with a friend of ours, so we ordered an “axe handle” rib eye and the well-known hanger steak, to give it all a try. As it turns out, the axe handle was about a six or seven in flavor, but the hanger steak was a nine. So I split the baby here with an eight. The hanger was simply prepared. Salt, pepper, butter and grilled like a mo-fo. It was perfectly medium rare, super juicy and tender.

The rib eye was a bit overcooked. We ordered medium rare, but it was more like medium to medium well. The flavor was good, nicely seasoned, and not much waste or fat at all. There wasn’t much in the way of fat cap, but the eye was tasty. The main loss of points here was due to improper cooking.

Choice of Cuts & Quality Available: 6
This place only offers strip, hanger and rib eye. Lack of a filet or porterhouse really cut into the point score here, but the hanger is an excellent and welcome addition to the repertoire.

Portion Size & Plating: 8
Portions here are pretty substantial. the hanger steak is definitely good enough to fill someone, with a side item or app. The rib eye is served in sizes of 39oz, 47oz, and upwards to giganto-portions. We went with 39oz.

Price: 9
The apps and the hanger are nicely priced, but the rib eye is a bit overpriced in comparison to the rest of the menu. At $2.70/oz, that comes out to midtown prices or higher. Anyway here’s the full bill. As you can see the other items all seemed pretty reasonable.

Bar: 7
This seems like a great place to hang out. However, I don’t think you’re allowed to sit at the bar unless you are getting food (see “service” comments below). I was a little bummed out by my experience on that angle.

Specials and Other Meats: 8
There were three specials and a substitution menu item (grilled clams were grilled mussels instead, which we actually ordered and enjoyed). They also serve multiple veal, pork, lamb and chicken dishes up in this bitch, so good on them for that!

Apps, Sides & Desserts: 8
I was saddened to see that the bacon item was no longer offered on the menu, but we still had some decent side items. We started with the grilled mussels ($7). These were fantastic. A simple lemon and butter sauce with some bread for dipping. The flavor was clean and crisp, really nice.

Next we had the sardines. I was glad to see that there were three in the serving, so we could each have our own. These were a little rough to navigate given the tiny bones, but the meat itself was really delicious.

Last, we tried the spinach gratin. The spinach was nice: not overly creamy. It was on the dry side, which I wasn’t sure that I liked at first, but it grew on me. The cheese on top was hard and didn’t really mix into the spinach too well. It was more of a crust on top.

Seafood Selection: 8
There’s just as many fish items as any other type of meat, whether it’s pork, beef, veal or lamb. We didn’t try any (aside from apps), but one of the specials was a salmon head that sounded great, as did the wine braised octopus. I’m not positive, but I think I also heard that this place serves dollar oysters as well. WIN!

Service: 7
When the place first unlocked its doors at 5pm, I walked in alone and said that I would be a group of three. They wouldn’t sit me until everyone arrived. I can somewhat understand that kind of policy, typically when a restaurant is very crowded or only has limited seating. But the place was literally empty. Okay. No big deal. I asked if I could sit at the bar. It was about 90 degrees outside and I was sweating. It was cool inside. I was told that the bar seating is reserved for dining customers. I looked around, shocked. I didn’t see any customers. She said she could check for me if it was okay. I said nah. Fuck it. I will wait outside. That shit just put a bad taste in my mouth. Fucking dead empty and I can’t sit at the bar to wait for my other two party members? I totally would have ordered a drink! Assholes. Anyway our waiter was awesome, and we had absolutely no complaints about the actual service during our dinner. By the way: the bar was still empty halfway through our meal. Toward the end, it was starting to fill up, but still plenty of space for one guy to sit and wait for the rest of his party to arrive.

Ambiance: 8
Despite the fact that this is a small, narrow bar type joint, they’ve really done a great job with what they’ve got. Brick walls, olde tyme sigils and banners all over the walls, etc. Very cool. It’s tough to compete with big budget steakhouses in the ambiance category when you’re a mom and pop type place, but this was one of the better mom and pop joints that I’ve been to.

ST. ANSELM
355 Metropolitan Ave.
Brooklyn, NY 11211

Jerky, Product Reviews

Vua Kho Bo Jerky

June 11, 2015 Johnny Prime Leave a comment

This stuff is nothing shy of amazing. So far this might be the best tasting jerky that I’ve ever had. The only down-side is that it is messy as fuck to eat. This isn’t ideal for laying on the couch and popping into your mouth while you watch a movie of flip through the TV channels. Who does that anymore, anyway? We fucking scroll through the on-screen guide looking for something better than whatever channel the TV happens to be on, or we comb our DVR’s for a show we can finally start to binge-watch, now that there are more than five of six of them recorded. Anyway… Back to business. You need a plate and several napkins when you eat this stuff. It’s fucking crazy messy. You’ll be shocked when you see how far some of the bits and pieces of tasty shit fly when you pull it apart for smaller, more manageable-sized pieces. Pictured below are the regular and spicy beef versions, but they have tons of variety to choose from. The spicy is VERY spicy. I love it.

You can score this shit in most Asian markets, or dry goods stores around Chinatown. The wording on the package is Vietnamese, and roughly translates to something like King Beef Jerky, according to my wife.

Here are some close-ups.

Spicy:

Regular:

Jerky, Product Reviews

Fusion Jerky

June 11, 2015 Johnny Prime Leave a comment

I’ve been chowing on jerky lately. I keep finding good new shit. My wife and I grabbed these on an impulse purchase at Bed Bath & Beyond, of all places. I suppose these are considered part of the “beyond” section. Anyway, bastards, these are really freaking delicious. Lemon pepper chicken and island teriyaki pork jerky by Fusion Jerky. Pick up a bag if you see them. There was a spicy chipotle beef flavor as well. Should have gotten all three.

The meat wasn’t too chewy, like some jerky can be. For the chicken, that might have been because it doesn’t have the same fibrous consistency as beef. But the pork was pretty easy to chew as well. The flavors were intense but not overpowering. I couldn’t stop shoveling this crap into my body.

Update: This flavor was great too.

Product Reviews

The Searzall

June 11, 2015 Johnny Prime Leave a comment

I was watching some Mind of a Chef recently (Season One), and I saw some dudes using this fucking crazy-ass device called a Searzall. After some further internet research, I found that the creators (Booker & Dax Labs) did a Kickstarter campaign to get the ball rolling on their product.

Chef David Chang took a big liking too it. He actually has his guys use it at Momofuku Ko to get the fish skin nice and crispy:

The Searzall itself is actually just an attachment. To put the whole device together you will need other shit. I nabbed a blow torch, a can of propane, and a Searzall, because I want to flame my steak shit sometimes instead of finishing in a pan. Below I’ve included a few pics of the shit I used to assemble the Searzall:

SEAR THE FUCK OUT OF SHIT. Get medieval with a blowtorch! I use a Searzall on my sous vide steaks, because I’m a fucking badass with a massive bag dangling in the area between my asshole and my dick shaft. Listen to that fucking sizzle just before I flip it over:

So you probably get the impression that I love this thing; I do. It’s like having a power tool for cooking. It’s manly. But I think it takes some practice to really become skilled with it, just like a table saw or any other power tool in the garage or at the construction site.

For example, if you take your cooked meat directly from the oven or the sous vide bag and started searing it with a Searzall, you’ll ruin the food. You need to wait until that shit cools down significantly, otherwise you’ll end up adding too much heat to an already hot item. You’ll overcook the center of the meat, not just add crisp to the outside. Also, this works nice for fish. The skin and flesh get really crispy. But you need to give the fish a light spread of butter or olive oil first, so you have flavor and brown-colored crisp instead of pure, black, burnt fish skin charcoal.

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

The Happiest Hour

June 10, 2015 Johnny Prime 2 Comments

This place has been getting some traction with the foodies, burger lovers and bar-goers of NYC lately. The joint is somewhat set up like a tiki bar or a surf bar, only rather than a wooden shack, it has fancy wallpaper and some skylights. In the back there is a dining area, but the bar is the more fun place to drop your ass for a drink or a quick burger.

First let me start with the bar and drinks. The cocktails are a mix of exotic fruit flavors and old-fashioned, stiff, speakeasy drinks. Some of them are even served in tiki mugs, like this frozen slushee of the day, which was called Bad Medicine or Painkiller or something of that sort.

I’m not sure if “The Happiest Hour” even has a happy hour special, but they certainly fucking should with a name like that.

My wife and a friend of ours met there at 7:30, which is usually at the back end of, or just after, the typical happy hour times of NYC, but I didn’t see any signage or menu items listed for specials. The cheapest item to drink that contains alcohol is this 12oz can of Narragansett for $4.

Draft beers are on the small and expensive side, at $8 for what looks like a 10oz glass, maybe 12oz if filled to the absolute top. Fuck that bullshit. I stuck with the cans of Narragansett, because I’m not a wasteful asshole, and I actually happen to enjoy piss beer from time to time.

In any event, if you’re here after dark and are looking for an even greater selection of interesting and expensive cocktails (averaging $16 per drink), then go down into the basement to S&S (Slowly Shirley), which is owned and operated by the same crew, serves up some of the same bar snacks (some of which are slightly more expensive down there, too), but sports a massive cocktail list of some of the most awesome concoctions you will ever come across.

This place is Mad Men/Magic City meets The Brady Bunch in Hawaii. The menu is similarly styled as upstairs, but there’s a lot more to choose from, and some really incredible mixes of things you’d never expect to play nice together, like mezcal and beets, or scotch and cucumber.

Okay so now that all of that bullshit is out of the way, let’s get down to the meat of this review: the food.

I ordered The Happiest Burger, which consisted of two 4oz patties, American cheese, tomato, lettuce, pickles, confit onions and special sauce, all between a nice potato bun.

I must say that the hype is well-placed. The burger is excellent, and easily slides into my top ten in the city. I didn’t quite taste the onion or special sauce, but that was only because they were generous with the cheese, which I like. The bun was fantastic – nice and simple, soft and strong. The lettuce gave it a good crunch, and the tomato supplied some juice, but without anything dripping all over the plate or my shirt. It was cooked a little bit too much, as you can see from the cut below, but not unacceptable:

The fries were equally awesome. These were shoestring style, very crisp and nicely seasoned.

That bowl size is the $6 side order, as opposed to the $4 smaller size that you can get with your burger. Since there were three of us, we shared the one bowl instead of each getting our own fries. That freed up our bellies to try a couple of other items.

We tried the buffalo cucumbers, with watermelon, poppy seeds and mint, as well as the smoked fish dip.

The first thing I will say about these items is that they are incredibly overpriced and tiny. These small cups of approximately 3oz of food are $6 and $10 each, respectively, for the cucumber and fish dip. That’s fucking dumb. The cucumber thing was good; spicy and refreshing, though very watery. But the fish dip was a fail. First, there wasn’t much fish in it, and what was there tasted a bit too canned, even with the addition of fresh fennel and celery. For $10 I’d rather just get one of their other burgers, or go buy a cheese grater and take it to my erect cock. Fucking rip off.

My wife got the Grilled Cheese Bikini, which contained both fontina and American cheeses, and came with a side of tomato “soup.” I say “soup” in quotes because it was more like shitty marinara tomato “sauce,” served in the same small cup as the apps/snacks. That was a big bummer, but at least the grilled cheese was tasty as fuck. It was buttery, crunchy and had lots of gooey cheese. Nice execution. One thing I noticed was the flake salt that they used to finish it once it came off the grill. That added an awesome flavor pop and crunch to the bread.

I think that about covers it. So we have an interesting review here: Some really great highs (burger, grilled cheese, cocktails), but some incredibly deep lows (pricing, tomato soup, sides). Oddly enough, the burger is fairly priced at $12, considering it is far and away the best menu item that I tried. I would like to try the fried chicken sandwich next time if I go back. Anyway, now you can go there armed with the knowledge necessary to ensure a pleasant and satisfying dining experience. You’re fucking welcome.

THE HAPPIEST HOUR
121 W. 10th St.
New York, NY 10011

American, Burgers, Flash Deals, Harlem, Other, Restaurant Reviews

Minton’s Jazz Club

June 8, 2015 Johnny Prime Leave a comment

The story behind Minton’s jazz club is pretty great. The way it worked, back in the day, was this: Musicians would be given a free meal of soul food if they played. They were allowed to solo, as long as they could keep up with the house band. At the time, that house band was run by the great Thelonious Monk. His style was tough to keep up with for most musicians, but guys like Dizzy Gillespie, Miles Davis and Charlie Parker were able to hang with him when they came in to play and eat.

The joint closed in 1974, reopened in 2006, then closed again in 2010, and reopened again in late 2013. The neighborhood has undergone some dramatic changes in real estate values, demographic, businesses that operate there, etc. If I had to guess, I’d say that tho splice is not going to close again anytime soon. The music and food are just too good.

First, let’s get your appetites brewing with a little bit of battle jazz:

Now, I’ll tell you about the delicious food we ate. My wife picked up a Living Social deal for the amazing price of about $90, which included two apps, two entrees, a shared dessert, two cocktails and a jazz album to take home, on top of the great music that you get to watch and listen to while you’re there.

The first thing to come out where a pair of balls: hush puppies for an amuse. These were tasty: crunchy on the outside, pillowy on the inside.

I started with the fried green tomatoes. Two thick, tangy slices of tomato were fried to a golden crisp and topped with hot smoked arctic char and dandelion greens, which were deftly dressed with a creole dressing. I’ve only had fried green tomatoes a few times in my life, but he addition of smoked fish on top was really incredible. It added substance, flash and style to an otherwise ordinary dish. I loved it.

My wife had the deviled crab cake, which tasted exactly how it sounds. It was meaty and spiced, and came with some black eyed peas and celery leaves for texture and herbiness. A really nice southern take on a northeast classic.

The music roared as we mowed through our apps…

We sipped on a pair of delicious cocktails while enjoying the band. I had something called a prima, which consisted of sage infused rye, sorrel syrup, lemon juice, aromatic butters and agave honey. My wife had the satchmo, which was made with smoky is lay scotch, bourbon, bale syrup and bitters.

…And soon enough the entrees were served.

I ordered the venison burger, which was topped with farm cheese, blackberry onion jam and country ham, with a side of yucca fries (I think that’s what they were).

The burger was smoky from the country ham, and the melty cheese was thick and sharp, Everything was cut nicely by the sweet blackberry onion jam, which I think they can bottle and sell as a gourmet BBQ sauce. Really tasty. The venison wasn’t gamey or funky: It was tender and packed with robust flavor, and it was cooked to a perfect medium rare:

Those fries though… WOW. Nice and crispy with a crunchier texture than potato. They had a good snap to them, and they were perfectly fried and seasoned.

My wife had the buttermilk fried guinea hen. This was served with a bourbon peach tea glaze, black eyed peas and pickled collared stems for a bit more crunch and punch. The meat itself was perfectly cooked. It was nice and juicy, with tons of flavor coming at you from every angle. There was even a hint of maple syrup for that chicken and waffles type of flavor.

For dessert we had the lemon tart with blueberry sorbet and shaved fruit leather. This was nice and tangy, and the shell around the lemon curd was super light and airy. A light and refreshing way to end a great meal:

MINTON’S JAZZ CLUB
206 W. 118th St.
New York, NY 10026

Korean, Midtown East, Press Reviews, Restaurant Reviews

Kang Hodong Baekjeong

June 7, 2015 Johnny Prime 1 Comment

The delicious world of KBBQ has exploded in New York. In the last few years new places have popped up all over, and not just within K-town in NYC. I’ve seen several joints pop up out on Long Island, deep into Suffolk County. Long Island still has no Vietnamese restaurants, and the discovery of pho and banh mi by ordinary white folks started years ago. But there’s something about KBBQ that took hold fast and quick. Perhaps it is the fact that a grill is involved. The invigorating smell and smoky visuals of raw meat hitting a red hot grill just resonate with Americans. Burgers, dogs, steaks… we understand.

So all that crap aside, this place is a welcome addition to the panoply of KBBQ joints. Really nice quality stuff, not overcooked, treated just right. Let me get down to what we tried:

On the beef angle, we had a large order, which comes with three items for $99 (a bit pricey, but I promise it is good). Sliced prime rib eye, boneless short rib, and brisket. Here they are, in that order.

Rib eye:

Short rib:

Kalbi marinated short rib:

Brisket:

On the pork angle, we also got a large (3 items for $99), which consisted of jowls, thick belly and thinly sliced belly (which came out separately, pre-cooked and dressed in sauce – not for the grill).

The sauced, pre-cooked item was a bit over-sauced and heavy to eat, but it was also last in the meal, so maybe that’s why it felt heavy. We were getting fucking full.

Aside from all the meat, we had the usual starter items that come in millions of little dishes. Kimchi, fish cakes, tofu, salad, pickled radish, etc.

The grill even had these neat little side-channels where egg and corn + cheese were cooking as side items:

We also ordered kimchi stew and seafood + brisket stew, both of which were a tomato base with really awesome flavor.

And a rice “lunchbox,” which is crispy rice with kimchi, seafood, egg and sauces/spices that they shake the fuck out of for you, table side, to mix it all together:

Lastly, I will share this pic of some of the booze we had with dinner. We must have had three bottles of the glass one (soju), and one bottle of the thing that looks like soda (bubbly, sweet rice wine). Both were awesome.

UPDATE 7/31/17

The only thing new and different that I tried on my second visit, which was an influencer event for Instagram, was this really tasty cold spicy noodle dish. Delicious!

KANG HODONG BAEKJEONG
1 E. 32nd St.
New York, NY 10016

American, Burgers, Midtown West, Restaurant Reviews

Heartland Brewery

June 7, 2015 Johnny Prime Leave a comment

I almost hate to say it, but hey – I’m not a fucking d-bag food snob. Heartland Brewery puts up a great classic cheeseburger! Excellent potato bun, good crunch from the lettuce, juiciness from the tomato, and good quality American cheese.

It was cooked just right at medium, too, with nice texture on the crisp of the patty. This burger hit the spot for me, despite already being kinda full from apps and a beer flight.

Fries were above average as well – good crunch and flavor, fried properly:

Oh and their chicken + bacon mac and cheese? Fuckin’ killer.

Lesson: Don’t knock a place just because it has the appearance of a Friday’s-esque chain restaurant and is located in the stank-ass armpit of Port Authority. If it tastes good, then that’s all that fucking matters.

HEARTLAND BREWERY
625 8th Ave.
New York, NY 10018

Burgers, Flash Deals, Midtown East, Rib Eye, Steakhouse Reviews

BV’s Grill

May 31, 2015 Johnny Prime 4 Comments

BV’s Grill overall score: 84

UPDATE: BV’S GRILL IS NOW CLOSED

I picked up a discounted Groupon for this place. I paid about $60 and got $100 off the bill. Check out the review:

Flavor: 8
The rib eye here was really nicely done. I was almost going to give it a nine here but I decided to go with eight because there was a bit too much scrap on the plate when I was finished. Nicely cooked, well rested, juicy, tender, flavorful and all that good shit. Check it out:

My wife ordered the BV Burger, so I had the rare opportunity to kill two birds with one stone here: burger and steak in the same review.

It was nicely cooked to medium, with a thick slice of lightly grilled white onion on top of the melty cheddar. The bun was soft yet strong, and the meat had a nice beefy flavor. It was definitely above average, and a very good deal for $17 with fries, in my opinion. Here’s the cut:

Choice of Cuts & Quality Available: 8
You’ve got a decent selection of all the main four cuts, plus some good quality beef going on here. There are some alternative cuts like flank or skirt as well.

Portion Size & Plating: 8
Portions are generous here. My steak was about 22oz, if I had to guess. Plating was pretty basic, not too fancy. The creamed spinach (pictured further below) was definitely enough for three.

Price: 9
My rib eye was still priced in the $40s, so I was happy about that, especially given the overall good quality of the meat. That, plus the Groupon deal, made this a great buy. Here’s our bill:

Bar: 9
This place has a really awesome, spacious bar, and an outdoor patio/dining space that is really nice in the warm weather. They also stock some good quality beer on tap, like Delerium, in the event that you’re not sipping on a martini.

Specials and Other Meats: 8
There were three specials being offered, but none of them were steak. First was a two-for-one shrimp cocktail app (eight pieces instead of four). Second was a fish item, I believe. And third was this incredibly refreshing chilled watermelon soup:

It had a hint of spice to it, along with another fruit flavor – maybe apricot? Delicious way to start the meal.

Apps, Sides & Desserts: 8
I started with this thick slice of bacon. It was nicely cooked – soft inside, crunchy edges, and lots of piggy-flavor, as it was also a smoked applewood variety.

The creamed spinach was the perfect texture. I thought it was the right balance of creamy/cheesy to leaf spinach. It might have needed just a touch more salt, though. Still great.

The french fries that came with my wife’s burger were good and crispy, but they were a bit dry. Nothing special about these babies. They’re just there to fill your gut:

We skipped dessert because we were stuffed, but there were some really enticing items, like chocolate pecan pie and soft serve ice cream (a personal favorite).

Seafood Selection: 9
There’s a ton of seafood on the menu. Lots in the apps/starters, and a fair amount of good quality cuts of fish in the entree section, as well as that special I mentioned up above. Solid showing.

Service: 9
Our waiter was great. He was attentive, fast, and really nice – same with the hosting staff. A great place to eat. The bread basket was pretty good too:

That butter in the middle is soft, whipped and light with great seasoning. I think it is likely made in-house. It’s the best butter I’ve had at a steak joint to date.

Ambiance: 8
I actually love the layout of the place, the decor, and the brightness from the massive windows and open-concept space. I think the only down-side is the location, midtown east. I bet it does really well during the workdays, but is dead on weekends. It’s a shame too because this would be a fantastic location to do some summertime day drinking.

Burgers, French, Midtown West, Restaurant Reviews

DB Bistro Moderne

May 30, 2015 Johnny Prime 2 Comments

To celebrate my birthday this year, my wife took me to DB to try their famed burger. Check out a video here, from the man himself, Daniel Boulud:

I know what you’re thinking… I know, I know… NO CHEESE! and SUPER THICK! As you guys have probably figured out from reading my other burger reviews, I am a simple man when it comes to burgers. Potato bun, a few basic crunch-element toppings, a not-so-thick patty, and good old fashioned American cheese. That being the case, you’d think I would absolutely despise this burger. I loved it, and I think the reason is because I think of it as something other than a burger. This is an entree, not a sandwich. It’s a huge meatball between two pieces of onion, parmesan and potato bread. I ate half with my hands, and the other half with a fork and knife. The side and shape are just unwieldy for a hand-held sandwich. And the lack of cheese was not really an issue, given how juicy, tender and full of flavor all the other elements were in this burger.

Anyway take a look at this fucker. It comes pre-sliced. Inside is foie gras and braised short rib.

If it weren’t so freaking tasty, I would be pissed at this burger, similar to the way I felt about the black label burger at Minetta Tavern that is typically served sans cheese.

The french fries were good. Not the best I’ve had. Could have been a bit m ore crisp, but they were seasoned correctly.

Let’s back up now. We started with some cocktails and table bread, which had an assortment of pretzel bread, olive bread and dinner rolls.

There was even an amuse, which was a parmesan crisp with goat cheese and chives.

The charcuterie plate was delicious. There were four different types of meats: head cheese, pate and two sausages, served with a trio of sherry mustard, dijon mustard, and whole grain. I think my favorite meat was the pate, and my favorite mustard was the sherry.

My wife had the duck confit. It was a nice portion size, and nicely cooked. I think the skin could have gone a bit more crispy, but overall the dish was excellent. It had a really deep spice that was reminiscent of five spice with an added zing of cumin.

For dessert we shared this lychee mousse with raspberries. It was really light and refreshing, and little bits of soft spongecake throughout. There was also some freeze-dried berries on top too that were really tart – they added a nice pop to this item.