All posts by Johnny Prime

American, Burgers, Non-Steakhouse Steaks, Other Cuts, Parms, Press Reviews, Restaurant Reviews, Rib Eye, West Village

Hancock Street

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Watch the RIDE & REVIEW!

Last night I checked out the new joint from Mercer Street Hospitality Group (Lure Fishbar, Bowery Meat Company, etc.), Hancock Street. Everything was awesome, so let me get right into it.

APPS:

The sea urchin on crispy potato was a great bite to start the meal.

Uni has been replaced with tuna on a different potato.

We followed this with an absolutely delicious steak tartare.

Loved the pigs in a blanket with everything spice. Great dijon mustard and cherry BBQ sauce dips.

PASTA:

Adult kids pasta/mac & cheese is really fun.

The squid ink linguine with calamari, crispy garlic, and sea beans was really unique and beautiful.

New version is better:

But the duck bolognese mafaldine was the better of the two.

The radiatore were the best though.

SIDES:

Excellent fries!

I was even impressed with the veggies. Both the cauliflower and the carrots are worth your time. If I had to choose just one, I’d go with the cauliflower.

MAINS:

Great burger.

The short rib felt more like a grill or broil, or a very fast braise. I expected a more tender, pull-apart preparation. It was still tasty as hell though. 7/10.

The veal schnitzel was the best dish of the night. Amazing flavor profile with the capers and onions underneath, and a beautiful light and airy crisp on the breading. 10/10.

They overcooked the first steak that came out, but they made it right with a second one. It was really delicious, well seasoned, and came as a composed dish with a side of mushrooms. 8/10.

Second visit was better.

ENHANCE!

Chicken was nice too.

DESSERT:

The rhubarb crumble was a great finish to this great meal!

Mini yuzu jelly donuts! Get them. I didn’t take a photo, but here is a nice martini.

 

I would definitely go here again, and I recommend you go as well!

HANCOCK STREET
257 6th Avenue
New York, NY 10014

Long Island, Pub Food, Restaurant Reviews

Oakdale Brew House

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This joint has undergone some make-overs through the years, but the newest iteration, Oakdale Brew House, is definitely the best so far. They have a lot of great local beers on tap, and a nice selection of bar food, even live music.

Definitely worth parking your ass here instead of a place like Applebee’s or Friday’s if you’re out this way in the ‘burbs.

OAKDALE BREW HOUSE
927a Montauk Hwy
Oakdale, NY 11769

American, Lower East Side/Chinatown, Restaurant Reviews

Bar Belly

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Bar Belly has a pretty great happy hour that features dollar oysters, among other deals. We went with two dozen of these delicious, crisp, clean oysters, some fries for $6, and, of course, drinks. I highly recommend this oyster happy hour. It goes until 7pm every night.

BAR BELLY
14 Orchard St
New York, NY 10002

Chinese, East Village, Restaurant Reviews

Dim Sum Palace

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This is really just a photo dump of the dim sum I tried here at Dim Sum Palace. Over all this is pretty good quality stuff, and I’d definitely come back again. Only down side is that they were slammed, so service was a little bit spotty. I recommend going at an off hour (for example, not at noon on Saturday).

DIM SUM PALACE
59 2nd Ave
New York, NY 10003

Midtown West, NY Strip, Press Reviews, Rib Eye, Steakhouse Reviews

Primal Cut Grille

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The menu here at Primal Cut Grille (Inside the Sapphire 39th Street strip club) is largely the same as the menu at Primal Cut (inside the Sapphire 60th Street strip club). This review is just a photo dump of the items we had there, with reference back to the original review of the 60th Street location (which is now undergoing renovations). Also check out this cool video of their baller’s steak, the Golden Tomahawk:

American, Burgers, Lower East Side/Chinatown, Restaurant Reviews

Mila’s Fish & Hook

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My wife and I popped in here for a quick lunch and to take advantage of the all day dollar oyster special.

The oysters were great. Mild, creamy, fresh and crisp. I only wish they also served them with horseradish and a cocktail sauce. The grilled calamari appetizer was great, served atop a salad of arugula with balsamic and orange supremes.

My wife had fish tacos, which were very nice (no pics), and I had the burger. This was great, though I wish I had gone with cheddar instead of Swiss (they were out of American). That little thing on top, under the pickles, is crispy cheese! That was a nice bonus.

We will definitely be going back here.

MILA’S FISH & HOOK
81 Ludlow St
New York, NY 10002

Chinese, Lower East Side/Chinatown, Restaurant Reviews

Wo Hop

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How have I never reviewed this place in all my years living here, and all my times eating here – especially from way back when I went to Law School and lived/worked nearby for years after?

Wo Hop is a NYC institution. They’ve been serving up excellent and affordable Chinese food in their iconic downstairs location since 1938! I have to say, the fried wontons are some of the best I’ve ever had.

On this visit, my wife and I had the sliced chicken with baby corn. I was expecting this to be much spicier, being printed in RED on the menu and under the spicy Szechaun section, but it was still delicious.

We also had the 4D chow fun, which has 4 different proteins (shrimp, beef, chicken and roast pork). This was the better dish.

They’re still keeping prices very low here, which is great. Even the t-shirt prices haven’t changed since I purchased one back in 2000 – $10!

If you’ve never been, you definitely should go at least once, even if it’s just to say that you’ve been there.

WO HOP
17 Mott St
New York, NY 10013

Latin/Mexican & Caribbean, Lower East Side/Chinatown, Restaurant Reviews

Casa Mezcal

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Casa Mezcal is a fun Mexican bar/restaurant on Orchard Street that serves up some great food and drinks.

My wife and I stopped in here on a whim because a place nearby where we wanted to eat was closed for renovations. It turned out to be a nice unforeseen change of plans.

We noticed that they give free shots of mezcal if you post and tag them on Instagram, so that was a no brainer for me.

Those mezcal shots were deliciously hibiscus flavored and spice-rimmed. I tried one of their sipping mezcal too and really liked it (Del Maguey Wild Jabali).

They also had awesome cocktails on the menu. We tried a couple and loved both.

Speaking of drinks, this place has an awesome bar set up. There is even seating there now, COVID be damned!

We started with the carb meat tostada, which was our favorite item of the meal.

They accidentally brought out an order of chicken quesadillas instead of my burrito. I let them know and they took it off the bill. However, rather than let it go to waste, they told us to keep it anyway. So I gave the value of the item extra in tip at the end to make up for it. That was a really nice move on their part so I wanted to make them whole.

Both were excellent, but the burrito was probably one of the best I’ve had lately. My wife got fish tacos, which I didn’t shoot, but they were the best entree.

Over all this was a really great meal with really great drinks. We will definitely be back here.

CASA MEZCAL
86 Orchard St
New York, NY 10002

Burgers, Fusion, Midtown West, Non-Steakhouse Steaks, Other Cuts, Press Reviews, Restaurant Reviews

Dolly Varden

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Dolly Varden is a new cocktail bar and restaurant in the theater district that takes its name from an old trolley car that used to run throughout Manhattan and terminate in the area. Their outdoor seating even takes the form of the old railcar, which is pretty cool.

The indoor space is gorgeous. This place used to be one of the House of Brews locations (same ownership here; the other House of Brews is still open). They really did a great job on the remodel.

This joint was initially intended to be a cocktail bar, which is why you see such amazing drinks on the menu, like this Wooden Nickel, a mixologized version of an Old Fashioned, garnished with an ice rose.

I tried four cocktails and they were all dangerously delicious and slammable.

But once the pandemic hit and threw their bar plans into the wind, they pivoted, bringing on Chef Sean to cultivate a cheffed up bar menu that will keep people coming back for more.

We tried four of the apps on the menu:

Saigon Wings

Fish sauce brined, lightly breaded and perfectly crisped wings topped with pickled chilis and micro cilantro. Delicious.

Cornmeal Crusted Calamari

Lime sriracha aioli, mango salsa and queso fresco adorn these crispy delights. Similar toppings as the wings.

Back Ribs

Killer! Black bean sauce and sambal give this an Asian kick, and the crushed peanuts on top really bring it all together for a dynamic flavor profile.

Mussels

This was just a sample size portion that Sean wanted us to try, so expect more when you order. There’s bacon, kimchi and gochujang in the broth. These were really great! I wish we had thought to order the full size.

Next up was the burger.

The DV Railcar Burger is topped with tomato confit, melted white cheddar and marrow glazed onions. While that might sound like a heavy burger, it actually ate very light! Absolutely delicious.

Our other main was the Trees Major steak, which is my favorite cut of beef. It has all the flavor of chuck but with all the tenderness of filet mignon.

It’s very rare to see this cut featured on menus, but I think it makes for the perfect bistro steak, as it’s affordable, tender and delicious. Great for a steak frites dish. Here, it was topped with chimichurri and served with some lightly dressed greens. An easy 9/10.

On the side, we also had this fried maitake mushroom. This thing was awesome, especially when swiped with some of that saffron aioli.

I will definitely be back here to try more of Chef Sean’s delicious creations. I hope you can make it over there too, and help bring the theater district back from the brink of extinction!

DOLLY VARDEN
302 W 51st St
New York, NY 10019

American, Burgers, Filet Mignon, Non-Steakhouse Steaks, Restaurant Reviews

Beetlehouse

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A friend of mine’s cousin is the chef here at Beetlehouse, a Tim Burton themed bar/restaurant in the East Village, that delivers quality in both the food/drink and atmosphere/decor departments.

You’ll feel like you stepped onto a movie set when you walk in.

The bar is incredible. I really hope NYC starts allowing people to actually sit at them again soon.

They mix up some really nice cocktails, many of which come to the table bubbling and smoking like magic potions!

This place is definitely for the Burton fans. They even have hired actors walking around the dining room and performing, giving you a show along with your meal.

They currently have a $50 price fix menu, where you get an app, an entree and dessert. We started with the pork belly and the Fanta sesame wings. Wild flavor! They even have root beer and Pop Rocks flavored wings.

Between those two, we preferred the pork belly. It was just so tender and flavorful. It even comes plated up on a bed of tasty grits, like a composed entree!

For entrees, we had the filet mignon and the burger.

Both were cooked perfectly, as you can see below:

Between these two, we preferred the burger. I generally don’t love egg on a burger, but I went with the way it was presented on the menu and it really worked! Delicious. The fries were perfect by the way. Highly recommended.

Dessert was the same for both of us – a pudding of sorts, with crumbled chocolate cake, whipped cream, and Nerds candy. I fucking loved it, and ate both mine and my wife’s.

This place is a blast. The menu is basically bar food that has a fun twist, so don’t expect something like Per Se. We felt that both the wings and the filet could have benefitted from a hit of salt, but otherwise all good. I’d definitely go back for the pork belly and the burger. They also have some topped french fry appetizer items that I want to try, now that I know the fries are absolutely perfect.

BEETLEHOUSE
308 E 6th St
New York, NY 10003