All posts by Johnny Prime

American, Burgers, Restaurant Reviews, West Village

Cecchi’s

July 11, 2023 Johnny Prime Leave a comment

First, check out my kickass Ride & Review video HERE:

We started with some cocktails. My wife got the walnut whiskey sour, and I got a classic martini. Both were excellent.

Next we shared some apps. The fried shrimp were head-on, which was nice, but they needed a little salt.

The burger was delicious. Aside from the lack of adequate cheese melt, I really enjoyed. The pickled green tomato is a great way to introduce both pickle and tomato into the burger’s flavor profile without using ketchup (garbage, but it is nostalgic).

It was cooked to a nice medium rare. Right on the money. One other negative here was that the fries were a little too salty. I didn’t mind much, since that sort of balanced with the shrimp.

For our mains we had the Iberico pork “Secreto,” which is a shoulder cut if I’m not mistaken, as well as the lamb rack. We both liked the lamb better.

The pork was still good, I think it just needed a chimi sauce or something. Also maybe another minute on the grill. I like this pork medium rare, but this was straight rare so it ended up being a little chewy at times unless you cut it up small. Broccolini was charred with lemon, just how we like it.

The strawberry shortcake dessert was fantastic. I highly recommend it.

One other negative to note here: there was some sort of eyelash or eyebrow hair in my wife’s amaro. We didn’t say anything, but the level of service here was incredible so I’m sure they would have gotten us a new pour if we asked. It was late, and we were tired, full and otherwise very happy. The staff definitely pays attention to the notes you put on your reservation. A few different people made conversation with us a few times about it being our anniversary. Great staff! I will be back for the steak options.

CECCHI’S
105 W 13th St
New York, NY 10011

Italian, Parms, Restaurant Reviews, West Village

Dante

July 4, 2023 Johnny Prime Leave a comment

First, check out my badass Ride & Review video HERE:

We started with the mortadella, stracciatella and pistachio flatbread. This was incredible!

Next up was chicken parm. They use a huge amount of extra funky cheese on this. BOLD!

Their Frutti di Mare pasta was perfect. Shrimp, mussels, clams and calamari, all cooked just right in a beautiful sauce.

The panna cotta was just right! Very nice texture.

We will definitely be back to try more, especially from the massively extensive cocktail menu!

DANTE
79-81 MacDougal St
New York, NY 10012

American, French, Fusion, Italian, Korean, Press Reviews, Restaurant Reviews, Union Square/Flatiron

Sagaponack

July 3, 2023 Johnny Prime Leave a comment

First, check out my Ride & Review video HERE:

My buddy Herb (@thesocialpause) invited me and The Cake Dealer here to help promote and take pictures of the new Sagaponack menu item for the 4th of July holiday weekend: A massive Korean inspired seafood boil, chock full of shrimp, mussels, lobster, manila clams, andouille sausage, corn and potatoes. It was a monster of a dish.

We made a huge dent in this, especially with the help of our other friends Jae (owner and chef at Nowon) and his wife Rebecca (an Instagram food buddy of ours from WAY back). We probably could have finished if we didn’t eat so much other stuff before it came out. At $35/pp this seafood boil is a steal, though. Look at this mountain:

Here’s what we had BEFORE the boil came out:

Two raw starters (fluka tartare and salmon crudo):

Some fried goodness (chicken, calamari, artichokes):

Tons of seafood (Spanish style shrimp, escargot style oysters, manila clams, and broiled oysters):

For dessert we had creme brulee topped with strawberries and a Thai tea milk cake (the cake was INCREDIBLE!).

I can’t wait to go back and try more. They have ‘nduja mussels as well as a hanger steak frites that I’d like to try in particular.

SAGAPONACK
4 W 22nd St
New York, NY 10010

American, Burgers, Midtown East, Non-Steakhouse Steaks, NY Strip, Restaurant Reviews

Centurion

July 2, 2023 Johnny Prime Leave a comment

First, check out my kickass Ride & Review video HERE:

If you haven’t heard about this place, it’s a very exclusive Amex Black card-holders joint. You CAN get access to it you have an Amex Platinum card, which my wife has. We were able to snag a reservation for 6:30PM on a Friday, and the experience was incredible. Seriously – watch the video above for the full effect.

We started with some cocktails that we really enjoyed. The stand out for me was the incredibly beautiful and delicious Carbon Martini, made with squid ink!

Our apps were a pair of tartare dishes. Table side wagyu beef tartare, and tuna tartare. Both incredible!

Next, we shared a wagyu burger. This was perfect. Thin slices of tomato, onion, pickles and just a single leaf of Bibb lettuce. Crispy bacon. Melty cheese and a special sauce. Perfect cook temp.

For entrees, we had lamb loin and aged strip steak (Snake River Farms). Both beautifully plated. The strip was 45-days aged, and 10oz.

I think we both liked the lamb slightly better. It came with a killer lamb sausage meatball wrapped in spinach (watch the video). Steak 9/10. Lamb 10/10.

For dessert we had a Lebanese pistachio milk flan called mouhalabieh, and a vanilla eclair. Both great.

Excellent table bread and butter here.

Some of the incredible views:

If you ever have the opportunity to dine or have drinks here, I highly recommend it. It’s definitely worth throwing on your bucket list.

CENTURION LOUNGE
1 Vanderbilt Ave
55th Floor
New York, NY 10017

Chinese, East Village, Restaurant Reviews

The Dolar Shop

June 20, 2023 Johnny Prime Leave a comment

First, check out my Ride & Review video HERE:

This is easily one of the better hot pot joints I’ve tried so far. I would definitely go back!

THE DOLAR SHOP
55 3rd Ave
New York, NY 10003

Latin/Mexican & Caribbean, Midtown West, Parms, Press Reviews, Restaurant Reviews

Palermo Bistro

June 9, 2023 Johnny Prime Leave a comment

First, check out my Ride 7 Review video HERE:

The PR folks who are helping manage the newly opened Palermo Bistro (right on restaurant row) invited me in for a dinner to feature their Parrillada mixed Argentinian grill platter. Here’s what my wife and I had:

First, the Vitel Tone, which is similar to vitello tonnato – the Tuscan dish often made with veal (as the name suggests), or even wild boar, that tastes like tuna. This was great here, made with veal eye round and anchovy.

Next was the octopus, which was very tender inside and crisp outside.

I paid a little extra for this NY strip milanese (along with a drink), because I had to try it out. It was excellent!

That was really all I wanted when I saw the menu online, but the parrillada was better than I expected. Generally, these things let me down, but here, we loved the blood sausage and the hanger steak the most.

On the side, we had mashed potatoes, broccolini and humita, which was similar to a cheese and polenta dish.

For dessert, we had the banana bread pudding with vanilla ice cream. I liked this because it wasn’t too sweet, as many bread puddings can be.

Cocktails and bread service was nice.

I also liked the wall decor.

Give this place a shot – especially for the veal app and the milanese!

PALERMO BISTRO
373 W 46th St
New York, NY 10036

Italian, Non-Steakhouse Steaks, Parms, Porterhouse, Restaurant Reviews, West Village

Da Toscano

June 5, 2023 Johnny Prime Leave a comment

First, check out my kickass Ride & Review video HERE:

My wife and I finally made it over to Da Toscano with my buddy and his girlfriend, who are huge fans of the place. We went big, so I’ll get right down to business.

For starters, we had the broiled oysters, which were bathed in crab fat butter. Absolutely delicious.

Then we ate five pasta dishes. Yes, five. My favorites were the lamb neck agnolotti and the orecchiette with sausage and broccoli rabe sauce.

Insane. So much flavor coming through in that orecchiette from the pickled cherry peppers. And the agnolotti were like little buttery packages of meaty deliciousness.

The squid ink spaghetti with crab and Calabrian chili was delicious as well. Perfectly executed.

The Scialatielli with sour beer and clams was incredibly unique and delicious. We really enjoyed this.

The gnocchi was our least favorite.

For our main courses we went with the veal strip parm and the Bistecca Fiorentina style porterhouse.

The parm was perfectly crisp and delicious.

The steak had a slight age on it from Allen Brothers, and it was rubbed with a porcini mushroom spice. 9/10!

For dessert we had the bomboloni with foie gras, peanut butter and jelly. It was pretty good, but we ended up liking the olive oil cake better.

I highly recommend this place, and I can’t wait to go back to try more stuff.

DA TOSCANO
24 Minetta Ln
New York, NY 10012

Burgers, Diner, East Village

Paul’s Da Burger Joint

May 29, 2023 Johnny Prime Leave a comment

This St. Marks staple serves up a thick-ass burger for under $10.

Although both a bit under-seasoned, the burger and fries combo for under $14 is a steal, especially if you go on your birthday like I did, and save an extra $5.

PAUL’S DA BURGER JOINT
131 2nd Ave
New York, NY 10003

Carcass Club/Beast Feast, Italian, Nolita/Soho, Restaurant Reviews

Peasant

May 28, 2023 Johnny Prime Leave a comment

First, check out my Ride & Review video HERE:

This was an epic beast feast for the ages! $125 per person, not including wine/drinks, was a steal for all of this food we got:

Everything was fantastic, especially the head cheese, liver mousse, and pig!

The amount of potatoes we were given was pretty wild.

I highly recommend this meal for large groups. It was awesome! I can’t wait to go back and try more items from the regular menu, like the pasta and veal porterhouse.

PEASANT
194 Elizabeth St
New York, NY 10012