All posts by Johnny Prime

Lower East Side/Chinatown, Non-Steakhouse Steaks, Other, Restaurant Reviews, Rib Eye

Balvanera

September 14, 2025 Johnny Prime Leave a comment

Balvanera is an Argentine wine bar and steak-focused restaurant. We went with another couple, so we were able to try a bunch of stuff.

We started with four small plates:

Octopus

Roasted Beets

Blood Sausage

Burrata & Squash

All of these were really great, but I think we all sort of agreed that the octopus was the best, with the blood sausage either close behind or tied. Really great flavors on this stuff. The blood sausage had none of that grainy, irony, gamey flavor that you sometimes get with low quality or overcooked blood sausage. It had a sticky sweetness to it that was hard to describe. The octopus was so incredibly tender, and the Romesco sauce was killer.

We went with the 25oz, 28-day, dry-aged rib eye for our main course ($120).

This was cooked to a perfect medium rare, but it lacked a little bit of that dry-aged flavor. It was present mostly around the edges and along the bone. But that didn’t matter, because the flavor was so great. This is a solid 8/10 steak, potentially bordering on 9/10 if the aged flavor bumps up on future visits (definitely going back).

For dessert, we did a chocolate tart and flan. Both of these were pretty nice, but I think next time I will focus more on the small plates in the savory department instead of the sweet stuff.

BALVANERA
152 Stanton St
New York, NY 10002

American, Burgers, East Village

Virginia’s

September 14, 2025 Johnny Prime Leave a comment

My wife and I stopped into Virginia’s during their weekend happy hour to try the famous burger.

I have to say, it was pretty good. They cooked it to a nice medium / medium rare.

For $30 it came with fries and a glass or wine or beer.

The fries were super crispy and well seasoned.

The shrimp cocktail was juicy and flavorful.

And the drinks were pretty good prices as well. $10 wine, $5 pickle back, $4 high life.

I would definitely go back to try more.

VIRGINIA’S
200 E 3rd St.
New York, NY 10009

Eastern European, Lower East Side/Chinatown, Restaurant Reviews

Oti

September 12, 2025 Johnny Prime Leave a comment

First, check out my Ride & Review video HERE:

Oti is a small Romanian restaurant with a great outdoor space on Clinton Street in the lower east side. My wife and I popped in here for a quick meal. The menu consists of mainly small plates and wine. Here’s what we had:

Farmers Board

This is a nice charcuterie style board with meats, cheeses and dips. At $25 this wasn’t too bad. Great bread too.

Broken Burrata

Pretty self explanatory. This was really delicious.

Bone Marrow Toast

I didn’t get much bone marrow flavor on this, but there was something pickled and sweet on top that threw my taste buds for a loop. This was tasty and had melted cheese on it. It was good despite not following through on the marrow aspect.

Stuffed Pepper

This was probably the best (and biggest) dish we tried. Inside was a nice mixture of spiced meats, rice and cheese. I would definitely get this again. Save some bread to drag through that delicious sauce too.

Meesh

These meatball / kebab style thingies were really nice. That sauce on top was a mustard of sorts. I would definitely get this one again too.

Pickled Grapes

Our waitress suggested these over the pickled Jimmy Nardello peppers to cut the fat and compliment the Meesh. They were SUPER sour. Eating them together with the Meesh was the best way to have them. In hindsight, I wish we had gone with the peppers instead.

OTI
40 Clinton St.
New York, NY 10002

Non-Steakhouse Steaks, Restaurant Reviews, Rib Eye, Thai, Tribeca

Teakwood Thai Chophouse

September 4, 2025 Johnny Prime Leave a comment

First, check out my Ride & Review video HERE:

My buddy told me about this place, and it looked so good that I needed to try it ASAP. We started with some nice cocktails and moved onto a trio of starters:

Stir Fried Manila Clams

Crispy Pork Jowl

Petite Filet Steak Tartare

These were all fantastic and unique. I think the tartare might have been my favorite, or perhaps dragging the pork jowl through the sauce that came with the clams. So delicious.

For entrees, we tried another trio:

Pad Kua Taley

Pan Roasted Pork Chop

Dry-Aged Rib Eye

These were great too, but a few slight criticisms: First, the noodles were excellent but the squid was a little bit overcooked. This was a delicious dish featuring wide/flat noodles and shrimp, squid, crabmeat, Asian celery, scallion, and sesame oil in a roasted chili sauce. Second, the pork chop was a little bit dry due to being overcooked. Thankfully, the salted chili lime sauce that it came with added that moisture and flavor back into it beautifully.

The steak is a great deal at $68 for 24oz of dry-aged beef on the bone. If I had to guess, this was choice grade. The roasted garlic with tomato, tamarind and dill flavors really help bring out its dry-aged characteristics. Bravo. 9/10.

For dessert, we had some more cocktails and a unique sweet and sticky rice dish that was topped with pumpkin custard.

I was reluctant to put this restaurant into my standard steakhouse review format with 100 points spread across ten categories. I think it would have made for an abnormally low score due to the structure of the review. But this place hits top marks for their bar and decor, with an inviting, bright, wide open and airy space. The flavors are so unique and new for the application into a chop house. The staff are all super friendly, helpful, knowledgeable and attentive. I really enjoyed this meal, and I can’t wait to go back to try the two other cuts of steak on the menu (strip and skirt), and perhaps some of the large format fish dishes as well.

TEAKWOOD THAI CHOPHOUSE
345 Greenwich, St.
New York, NY 10013

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

G’s Cheesesteaks

August 27, 2025 Johnny Prime Leave a comment

I didn’t take any photos of this place, but you can watch my Ride & Review HERE:

This is by far my favorite cheesesteak: The Long Hot. It has steak, crumbled sausage, long hot peppers, cooper sharp, and fried red onions. Perfect. And all on a fresh made sesame seed bun.

You can’t beat it. I’m so happy this place is in my neighborhood. They have great deals on Uber Eats, and awesome happy hour specials.

G’s CHEESESTEAKS
6 Avenue B
New York, NY 10009

Burgers, Queens

Rippers

August 26, 2025 Johnny Prime Leave a comment

Rippers is a famous beachside burger shop in Rockaway. This joint serves up big, juicy, perfectly cooked burgers for the hungry masses at the beach.

I have to say this was one of the best burgers I’ve had since I went to Lions Bar.

The griddle cook offered the burger a nice textural crunch, and the inside was cooked to a perfect juicy medium. Good cheese coverage, and not too many toppings or sauces.

The fries were also really crispy and nice too, with some seafood/Old Bay type seasoning on them.

RIPPERS
86-01 Shore Front Pkwy
Rockaway Beach, NY 11693

Latin/Mexican & Caribbean, Restaurant Reviews, West Village

Tacos 1986

August 23, 2025 Johnny Prime Leave a comment

Tacos 1986 just opened up in the west village near the corner of West 4th Street and 6th Avenue.

The tacos are $5 each, but I should have gotten the open-face quesadillas for just $0.75 more each.

I did three al pastor tacos, and they were delicious. They had lots of really tasty shaved pork on them, with a nice dollop of guacamole on top.

Great tortillas too. I can’t wait to go back for more.

TACOS 1986
1 Cornelia Street
New York, NY 10014

Pho, Queens, Restaurant Reviews, Vietnamese

Cyclo

August 23, 2025 Johnny Prime Leave a comment

If you’re in LIC and looking for Vietnamese food, one option you have is Cyclo.

I stopped in here with a few of my ebike friends for a bowl of pho and some other snacks.

The quail egg fried wontons were unique. I would skip on the sweet chili sauce.

The beef skewers were a bit better, in my oopinion.

The clay pot beef stew wasn’t hot enough to crisp up the rice on the bottom of the serving vessel (which wasn’t really hot), but it was tasty and came with a side of veg.

The pho was pretty good. This is on par with some of the basic Chinatown spots near me. This runs you $18, and it came with sliced eye round and brisket.

CYCLO
5-51 47th Ave #573
Long Island City, NY 11101

Japanese, Midtown East

Sushi Hayashi

August 23, 2025 Johnny Prime Leave a comment

Sushi Hayashi is one of the “all you can eat” sushi/omakase spots that are trending now in the city. This spot is a pretty good deal. The pieces are all decent, and you get a solid amount of sushi for $98 in the omakase (14 courses). The salmon, shima aji and shrimp were our favorite pieces from the omakase. The wagyu fell short, and there was no uni, but over all this was a worth-while omakase.

Once you’re finished with the 14-course omakase, you get two rounds of “all you can eat” sushi ordering, which is limited to a selection of eel, scallop, lean tuna or fatty tuna. The toppings and garnishes are done away with during this time (just a brush of sauce, and some torching for the fatty tuna), and you’ll be charged $6 per piece for any nigiri that you order but don’t finish. The record is 72 pieces eaten. Insane.

I went with nine extra pieces total during this “all you can eat” portion of the meal; three each of the lean tuna, fatty tuna and scallop.

They really have the system down pat, and they operate like a well-oiled machine.

They’ve created the first fast food style omakase! Highly American! What follows below is a photo dump of all the courses.

Two appetizers:

Ten nigiri pieces:

The roll portion of the omakase:

Round 1 AYCE:

Round 2 AYCE:

Dessert: matcha ice cream.

SUSHI HAYASHI
355 E 50th Street
New York, NY 10022

East Village, Latin/Mexican & Caribbean, Restaurant Reviews

Rosie’s

August 23, 2025 Johnny Prime Leave a comment

First, check out my Ride & Review video HERE:

Rosie’s is a big, fun Mexican spot on the corner of 2nd Street and 2nd Avenue. The Cake Dealer and I tried a few items at the bar. They make some nice margaritas here, so definitely start with one of those. If you want a nice bar snack, get the chicharrones. They’re huge and delicious.

One of my favorite items was the squash blossom quesadilla. Everything about this was just perfect. I wish I had ordered three of them.

The tacos here are pretty good, as are the tortillas, which are made right in the middle of the restaurant. You can watch them being made at a bar, like you’re at a sushi counter.