Amigo is now Bad Hombre! Ruben transformed the space and made it absolutely gorgeous inside.
What an amazing bar, matched by amazing cocktails.
We basically tried the entire menu, except for a few items here and there. As is common with Ruben’s restaurants, everything was off the charts delicious. These were some of the best, most delicious oysters I’ve ever had.
This scallop crudo was a great balance of natural sweetness with some seasoned heat.
Shrimp and octopus aguachile? HELL YES! The octopus here was cooked perfectly.
This corn gratin dip was a nice combo of sweet and heat too. It may not look like much, but it packed a wallop of flavor.
We tried three different tortilla based items: shrimp tacos, a fish tostada, and a mushroom quesadilla. I am hard pressed to choose a favorite among these, but I think the mushroom was a real standout to me. Much like the mushroom carpaccio at Nai and Emelia. A true winner.
The grilled octopus here was absolutely gorgeous, and the black bean puree sauce hits you with some Indian and middle eastern spices that will blow you away.
I could not resist the chimichurri skirt steak. Delicious!
These St. Louis ribs fell apart when I picked them up. So friggin’ tender! They were cooked confit style and glazed with soy and sesame.
But honestly, I was caught off guard by how insanely tasty these crispy habanero aioli Brussels sprouts were. I could eat them every day for the rest of my life and never get tired of them.
Dessert was also a home run. The chocolate mousse with sea salt flakes was rich without being heavy. It was fluffy and extremely well balanced – not too sweet.
This semi-frozen panna cotta with pineapple granita was so creamy and delicious too. What an understated and gentle but powerful flavor bomb!
I can not wait to go back here for more meals. Everything Ruben touches is incredible.
My photos of this meal aren’t that great, because I forgot my light. My video is fine, however, because the built in video light for the phone is nice. Flash photos, not so much.
This place has a retro vibe, with a Polynesian, pu-pu platter and tiki drinks old school feel to it. The cocktails were great.
We started with crispy fried mushrooms, pork ribs and shrimp toast. All of these were good. I think the mushrooms were my favorite of the entire meal, actually.
Next up, short rib beef chow fun, dry fried string beans, and crispy Szechuan calamari. Of these, the string beans were best, with the calamari close behind. They just needed to be a bit more crispy.
There’s a lot that looked nice enough to try here, so we will most likely be back.
KINGS CO. IMPERIAL
168 1/2 Delancey St.
New York, NY 10002
20 Grams Cafe is a little burger joint that operates above the Jubilee grocery store over on West Street in Greenpoint. It became popular because they sell burgers for just $2. Specifically, Hamburgers for $2.15 and cheeseburgers for $2.55. How do they do it? It’s basically a 2 or 3 ounce patty with sliced onions, similar to the Motz smash burger at Hamburger America, only smaller and cheaper, with less of a toasty bun.
I liked it so much I went back the next day and ate two more. The tots are also really good, and you get a bunch for just $3.
Ye’s Apothecary is a cool downstairs spot in the Lower East Side that serves great cocktails and some tasty Szechuan food. The Szechuan old fashioned was a great way to start the meal. It IS spicy, so beware.
Our favorite dish was “husband and wife,” which was a chilled appetizer of beef tripe and tendon in a spicy chili oil.
The egg noodles with char siu pork was also a nice dish, but I wouldn’t get it on a second trip.
The crispy squid was excellent. Slightly salty, but I didn’t mind.
With everything being so spicy, the chairman’s pork belly was a great way to sneak in a bite of sweet every so often. Only downside here was the thick rubbery external skin that sometimes still seemed to have the texture of stubble/hair on it. Otherwise really tasty and tender.
The mushroom salad was a bit misleading, as it was a hot dish. Tasty though.
YE’S APOTHECARY
119 Orchard St.
New York, NY 10002
First, watch this episode of Around the Hood HERE:
I finally got over to Hamburger America to try out George Motz’s take on the historic Oklahoma style onion smash burger.
He keeps it really simple: A meatball goes onto the flat top, it gets seasoned, and then it gets smushed into a flat burger patty with thin sliced onions. The two become one, and they’re topped with a slice of yellow American cheese – one per patty. A swirl of mustard and a few slices of pickle is all that garnishes this bite of American nostalgia – which gets sandwiched inside a soft, pillowy, butter-toasted potato bun.
There’s less crispy texture here than with other smash burgers, due to the steaming onion aspect, but the simple, unconfused flavors make me want to keep coming back for more. It’s a great burger! Simple and delicious.
And the shoestring fries are perfectly crisped and seasoned as well.
Make sure you try a slice of pie and an egg cream, too. There’s nothing better while sitting at a diner counter.
HAMBURGER AMERICA
51 MacDougal St.
New York, NY 10012
After learning about L’Industrie’s opening in the west village, I thought it was a good opportunity to finally try this place, as the typically long lines in Brooklyn would be bifurcated now that there is a second location for Manhattanites. We still waited about 15 minutes, which isn’t that bad to be honest.
Coming in at around $25 for four slices is absolutely absurd, but the slices were indeed excellent. This is a top three pizza spot for me now, for sure.
We tried a pepperoni, sausage and burrata slice; a fig jam, balsamic, arugula and burrata slice (named the “L’Industrie” slice); a regular pepperoni slice; and a white slice.
All were excellent, but I think one of the two pepperoni-involved slices was probably the best.
Next time I just want to try a plain slice and a burrata slice. No fuss. And I’ve still got to hit Mama’s Too (now open around the corner from this joint), L&B, and Lucali.
L’INDUSTRIE PIZZA
104 Christopher St.
New York, NY 10014
I had heard good things about this place from a few different people recently, so I had to go give it a shot. I was pleasantly surprised! First, watch my Ride & Review on YouTube below. Then read on!
Flavor: 8
We had the bone-in dry-aged rib eye, and the dry-aged t-bone. Both had a really nice char on the outside from the broiler, and both were just slightly over medium-rare. They were both really juicy, though, so that made up for any slight overcooking. Both were on the mild side for dry-aged flavor, but they both packed a punch for beefy, satiating flavor in general. I give the rib eye a 9/10, and the t-bone a 7/10, bringing the overall score to an 8/10.
Choice of Cuts & Quality Available: 9
Everything here is Certified Angus Beef brand (typically prime) and dry-aged. They cover all of the major cuts in various sizes, with shared steaks coming to the table in “sizzling plate” format.
Portion Size & Plating: 10
The portions are great here. Our sides were quite large, and the appetizers were big too. The plating is standard clean white elegance, cast iron skillets, etc.
Price: 8
Some stuff here is really well priced, like the cocktails, whiskey pours, apps, sides, desserts… especially when figuring in the price. But the steaks themselves are at midtown prices despite the “mom and pop” nature of the place and the neighborhood.
Bar: 5
Sadly, I had to dock some points here because there is actually no place to sit at the bar. It is a service-only bar with no stools. Our table was beside it, though, so we got a good look at their bottle selections. They have a really awesome spirits list, and they made some great cocktails, so don’t let the score here deceive you.
Specials and Other Meats: 9
There were no real specials read to us, but they offer lamb, chicken, duck and numerous other interesting proteins that I’d like to come back and try. Next visit, we are definitely getting the bacon (had to be 1.5″ thick for $18 – like a steak in itself), the roasted duck legs (plural, for $39), and the lamb chops (looked like four per plate).
Apps, Sides & Desserts: 9
We started with the escargots, which were served in a really nice creamy mushroom broth/gravy, and had to have at least a dozen snails in the order. A great deal.
The steak tartare was a little bit too finely minced or ground, but the flavor was great, as was the portion size.
The roasted potatoes with peppers and onions were also a massive portion size, but the only negative here was that the dill was a little bit overpowering. It did smell nice though.
The sautéed spinach and mushrooms side was soupier than I expected, but really nicely flavored. This was just the right side for the steaks in my opinion.
For dessert, we had a scoop of espresso ice cream (very nice and creamy), the chocolate mousse cake (perfect thickness, richness and you could tell it was homemade instead of pre-purchase from a box like many midtown steak joints give), a glass of Hakushu 12yr ($30) and a double espresso. The double espresso was the only bad item of the entire meal. it tasted like burnt bean water.
Seafood Selection: 7
This was a rare occasion in which we tried absolutely no seafood. I saw the shellfish coming out though, and it all looked nice. Next time we will definitely delve into their raw bar selections and broader seafood entree menu.
Service: 10
Service was excellent. Our waiter was very knowledgeable and super helpful/attentive without being pushy, annoying or intrusive.
Their table bread is similar to Luger’s style – a stuffed onion roll.
Ambiance: 8
For a small neighborhood mom and pop joint, they really did a great job with making the place feel like an old-timey, age-old steakhouse that’s been there forever. It’s been there since 2010, and in that time it has established itself as a staple for the neighborhood drawing in weekly regulars as well as exploratory outsiders like us.
I will definitely be back for more!
AMBER STEAKHOUSE
119 Nassau Ave.
Brooklyn, NY 11222
This joint has a really nice 15-piece omakase for just $85. You get a lot of what would normally be “upgrade” toppings on the pieces, too. Things like uni, foie, etc. Here are some pics of everything we had (minus the hand roll).
My favorite was the wagyu beef with uni on top (obvious?). It was A5 rib eye!
I would definitely go back here again, and the joint is BYOB so that’s perfect! They also offer a super-upgraded 18-piece omakase for $140. But honestly, the 15-course is such a great value that I don’t think I’d get the 18-course.
I’ve been meaning to get over to this joint ever since I learned that my guys over at Golden Packing supply the burgers and some other meat proteins here. So I rode up on the Zooz and met with Tyson and Lupe, both Golden gang members, to chow down.
The savage wings are smoked and then fried, so they pack a ton of flavor. The burnt ends bologna was masterful. I’ve always wanted to try smoked BBQ style bologna, and this place definitely has me wanting more. The skillet mac and cheese was really nice. Also smoky and flavorful. The standard “Judith” 6oz burger was perfect. Great crisp on the patty, some caramelized onions, lettuce, tomato, pickles… really nice. I probably could have crushed two of these!
