I’m a big fan of this biltong! Ayoba-yo packs a wallop of flavor, and I really liked the beef sticks as well as the thin sliced whole muscle. I will definitely be getting more of this stuff. I saw them at a trade show and snatched up a few samples:
Definitely worth your time!
Okay here’s how to make this delicious beauty:
Do you need words too? Jeez.
Pound a small filet mignon flat. Coat with a little bit of flour, then dredge in a beaten egg and coat with breadcrumbs. I added cornmeal and grated cheese into the breadcrumbs too, for crisp and flavor. Then fry it. After that, let it rest while you bring some sauce up to a simmer. Then cover one side of the fried cutlet with your sauce, some mozzarella cheese, and pepperoni or salami if you have any. Bake until the cheese bubbles and the pepperoni starts to get crisp. Top with some fancy oil, honey, and fresh basil. Then EAT THE FUCKIN’ THING!
This new spot is coming onto the bar food game pretty strong with a great selection of bites.
Here’s what I tried:
First, a nitro espresso martini. First time I ever saw something utilizing nitro coffee in a booze drink. This tasted like a mudslide, only not frozen.
The burger had great flavor. Nice and simple, right to the point. And the fries that came with it were awesome. Very addicting. Check out that CHIZZ drip (cheese jizz).
The fried chicken was really nice and crisp, not overly sauced up. They were well-seasoned too.
I loved the fish tacos. These were perfectly crisp, light and airy. I could put away a dozen.
This fried chicken thigh was really nice too. Juicy as hell.
It went nicely with this mac and cheese skillet.
I’ll definitely be drinking and eating here more often. The place has a great corner location with great wide open windows. You feel like you’re hanging out right in the street.
82 Stanton
82 Stanton St
New York, NY 10002
I’ve been eating Chef Cho’s Kimchi Smoke BBQ for several years at the NYCWFF and various other food events around the city, but I finally made it out to his brick and mortar location in Westwood, New Jersey.
Here’s what I had:
Korean Corn Dog: This was tasty. Cheese interspersed with hot dog, deep fried on a stick and served with a remoulade and a gochujang style ketchup.
The Legendary Chonut: The newest iteration of his famous BBQ sandwich on a donut called “Version 2.1” comes with brisket, cheese, and a bit of kimchi. I really liked this, despite not loving the first version of this about four years back. This is well balanced between heat, sweet, fat and acid.
The Old Dirty Bird: This fried chicken and spicy Korean style slaw sandwich was perfect! I could eat this every day.
General Cho’s Chicken: These fried chicken fingers are coated with his rib sauce, which has a spicy gochujang kick to it.
For the real deal pit BBQ, we had a heap of brisket, pork shoulder, XXX bacon (smoked and deep fried), and two kinds of ribs (the gochujang sauced ribs, and a Texas style dry rub). All of it was delicious. We did some Korean slaw and smoked kimchi on the side to cut the fat.
Here’s a closer look at all of that meat.
I think the XXX bacon was my favorite of the meats:
Then we finished with banana pudding, which had Nilla wafers and chunks of banana in it. AWESOME!
I highly recommend this place. Everything was incredible, and that chicken sandwich is easily in my top dishes of 2019. Possibly the bacon as well.
KIMCHI SMOKE
301 Center Ave
Westwood, NJ 07675
I finally got a chance to check out Ardyn, the restaurant that former Charlie Palmer Steakhouse chef Ryan Lory opened in the west village.
The space is beautiful, with a rustic, woodland feel to the dining room.
There’s also a beautiful bar with great cocktails and $1 happy hour oysters from 5-7pm (along with drink specials).
We started with a couple of raw fish dishes. Hamachi tartare and fluke crudo.
Both were awesome and pretty, but if I had to choose one to go back to repeatedly, it would be the hamachi.
Chef Ryan is becoming known for his gorgeous plating – very aesthetic. He also became known for his 50/50 burger at Charlie Palmer. It’s 50% smoked bacon and 50% brisket, with some dry-aged wagyu trim and fat in there to take it over the top.
The only down side here was the thickness of the pickled tomato slice. Half the thickness would be perfect, but that acidy pop did do a great job of cutting the buttery fatness of the rich and well-seasoned burger.
Make sure you don’t neglect the fries here with your burger. They’re amazing and possibly some of the best I’ve ever had.
All the sides were nice, in fact, from the shishitos to the carrots to the greens.
The pastas here are also excellent. We tried two: ramp garganelli with morels, and squid ink cavatelli with uni cream.
It was tough to choose a favorite between the two perfectly cooked and plated pastas, so I suggest getting both if you have room.
But the mains really shined.
First, this absolutely stunning duo of duck containing crispy sliced breast and a house made sausage.
The breast was nice but the sausage stole the show – like when Lex Steele stars in a porno flick with some ugly broad that has gross fake tits.
Of course we had to try the 45-day dry-aged Snake River Farms domestic wagyu rib eye.
This thing was incredible. It had a sexy, deep brown maillard crust on the surface and a rare cook beneath. You can still see the flecks of marbling in the flesh! It could have been cooked slightly longer, but the beef was so high quality that you could eat it like this even without the fat fully rendering out. 9/10.
Dessert was equally stunning. This choclate layer cake with pistachio ice cream was really rich and moist, like Paris Hilton in 2003.
This custard was light yet very satisfying.
And this asian style grapefruit/pomelo dessert was just the right kind of acidy and citrusy way to end the meal with a cleansed palate.
I definitely recommend this place. And if you want a seat close to the action, head to the back and pop your ass onto one of the stools that faces into the kitchen. Be warned though – it’s warm back there!
ARDYN
33 W 8th St
New York, NY 10011
I recently got one of these Kize energy/protein bars from a trade show as a sample.
It’s a bit small and still has a bunch of calories (200), but it was nice and peanut buttery. Tasty.
I probably wouldn’t pick this up on my own simply because they are not fulfilling enough for a snack to hold me over between meals. I need something more substantial. But if you aren’t watching your caloric intake, these are very easy to crush. I could have taken down five or six with ease. And the good thing is that a portion of each sale goes to help those in need. That’s nice.
NOTE: THESE ARE LIMITED AVAILABILITY ITEMS!
As of now, we are sold out unfortunately.
These are a big seller in my shop, and I just realized that I never featured them until now. My tenderloin tails are dry aged for at least a month and they pack a wallop of earthy flavor. Here are a couple of ideas for what do do with them:
A tartare preparation, and a sous vide + sear to medium rare situation, which is great for steak sandwiches or serving with a mild horseradish cream sauce.
ORDER HERE!!! You’re gonna love these tasty fuckers. Just $50!
My wife and I tried the newly opened Meatpacking District French joint “Coco J’adore” this past weekend.
This place has a really beautiful interior that’s just screaming to be infiltrated by trendy types, insta-models and brunch-drunk socialites.
It will no doubt become a big time scene place with hard to acquire tables, but contrary to what you might assume from my lead-in, it’ll be worth the effort to get in here.
Both the food and drinks are awesome. Over the course of our sweeping menu tasting, we tried four different cocktails.
1) Covent Garden
This refreshing take on a sour was made with gin, aperol, amaro, chamomile peppercorn syrup, egg white and lemon.
2) Gustavia
Rum, cachasa, passion fruit, demerara, campari and ginger beer.
3) Madison
Rye, ricard, earl grey tea syrup, black cherry and lemon.
4) Nevsky
This was a favorite. Vodka, cinnamon, green apple juice, lemon and rose powder.
All tended to be on the sweet side, but there were a few others that were more robust in profile as well. I’ll try those next time.
Okay on to the food.
First off, nice table bread with whipped butter.
This fava bean “hummus” with mixed olives and citrus was awesome. I could eat this by the bucketload.
These scallops were perfectly seared and presented in a sauce that was reminiscent of runny egg yolk. Delicious. That;’s a carrot salsa on top.
I loved the escargots. They’re served in-shell in an aromatic bowl of peppercorns. Delicious. These are top tier.
We tried two pasta dishes: the salt cod agnolotti, which was our favorite of the two, and the rabbit gnocchi. The rabbit ate more like a fall or winter dish, while the agnolotti was light, summery and fresh. Both good though.
Next up, the wild salmon with couscous and broccoli rabe. Excellent. Nice crispy skin too. This was my wife’s favorite.
The filet mignon was cooked to a nice medium rare and served on a bed of mashed potatoes with a mix of sautéed wild mushrooms. Very nicely done. 8/10.
For dessert, we had the creme brûlée and the chocolate soufflé with vanilla ice cream. Of these, we preferred the creme brûlée but both were good.
This is a great addition to the neighborhood. Go give it a shot before it gets mobbed!
COCO J’ADORE
1 Little West 12th Street
New York, NY 10014
I went to La Leña in Hudson Yards’ “Little Spain” specifically to try a cut of steak from an 8-10yr old Holstein dairy cow from Mindful Meats in California.
This “Vaca Vieja” style steak is common in Spain and other parts of Europe, so I was psyched to try it. The beef was very lean, and also dry-aged, making it ripe for a quick cook. However, the restaurant spent nearly an hour cooking it in their fantastic open flame style kitchen. They ruined it.
We ordered medium rare but it came out to us somewhere between medium and medium well.
Ultimately it was a very uneven fire, with some parts in the center being properly medium rare, but with way too much thick grey-banding on the exterior.
Amateurish, and likely fired by a cook who was unfamiliar with open flame cooking. The result was a grainy textured eating experience. Not much in the way of flavor either. I had hoped for more uniqueness, having heard that dairy cows can develop great marbling with robust flavors when they get up there in age. 5/10.
At $120 for 24oz this was a complete rip off. Not only that, but when we informed the waiter of the improper cook, he simply said thanks and that he would let the chef know. No offer of a new steak. No money off the bill. Not even a free dessert or drink.
If you must go here, stick to the pork until these guys learn how to cook a steak. My wife said the pork tasting menu was good. Also, nice gin and tonic:
The new burger here, as of 2022, is AMAZING! Get it.
Quick review update from July 2025: Check out the video HERE:
Crystal tomato bread was delicious.
Really enjoyed these pillowy soft ham, cheese and mushroom croquettes.
Crispy artichoke with Romesco sauce. Perfection!
The tacos made with spicy salumi were really unique (sorry, no photos – but please watch the video). Burger is still a banger. One of the best I’ve ever had.
Skip on the fries. They were sorta soggy.
This carabinero, tripe and chorizo stew was to die for. Lots of tasty, tender tripe in there!
Basque cheesecake and flan desserts were excellent.
LA LEÑA
10 Hudson Yards
New York NY, 10001
A few weeks back some friends and I were discussing steakhouses, and one friend randomly mentioned this spot – a spot which I have been meaning to try for years now, but never got around to it. Same for him – always wanted to try, but never did. None of us had particularly high expectations going into this, as it’s a small spot with bargain-friendly pricing in a traditionally bargain-friendly area. My buddy and I were both shocked that we both actually wanted to try it, so a few of us got our schedules in order and made it happen, almost purely for research purposes. Here’s what went down:
Flavor: 8
We had the rib eye and the porterhouse for two. Both could have benefitted from some seasoning, but overall everything was cooked perfectly to medium rare and tender all over. They definitely cook with butter, which you can smell and taste, but it isn’t overpowering like some places. The steaks were also well-rested before they were served, with little to no bleed out.
We also tried their burger. I forgot to dress it up with the lettuce and tomato that comes on the side, but this 10oz beefy patty was cooked perfectly to medium rare and the bun help up nicely to both the cheddar and the burger juices. Like the steaks, it just needed salt.
Choice of Cuts & Quality Available: 8
All the major cuts are well represented here, and the beef is Certified Angus Beef, from Performance Foodservice. There was no dry-aged flavor coming through, so, if I had to guess, they are doing wet aging.
Portion Size & Plating: 9
Portions here are pretty big. The porterhouse clocks in at 45oz, the boneless strip and filet mignon are 12oz, and the rib eye is 16oz. They even offer a smaller t-bone (20oz) and a petite filet (8oz), which comes with three jumbo shrimp. Plating is pretty basic. Nothing too fancy. White plate, watercress garnish.
Price: 9
The prices here are awesome. That giant porterhouse for two is just $79. The rib eye is $40. We ordered so much shit and felt like we got away with murder. For what you get here, this place is a great deal.
Bar: 6
The cozy five-seat, elbow-shaped bar may be small, but it sees a lot of action. It’s stocked with a really great rum and scotch selection. Upon seeing the nice rums they had, I decided to order a rum old fashioned for my first cocktail. I was not disappointed.
They mix a nice martini to boot. I noticed that several people ate their dinner at the bar, either solo or with their companions, throughout the evening.
Specials and Other Meats: 9
There’s pork, duck, chicken and lamb. No veal, but this is a great spread for a small spot. I almost never see good pork at steak joints these days, so I had to try some. We went with the braised pork shank as a mid-course, and it was cooked perfectly tender. The risotto was a little soupy, and tasted like chicken stock a bit, but I would definitely order that again in a heartbeat.
In addition to the pork shank they also offer a rack of ribs and center cut chops. I asked about specials but only recalled that the soup of the day was a split pea with bacon.
Apps, Sides & Desserts: 7
We had the fries, the sautéed mushrooms and the creamed spinach as far as sides are concerned. All were pretty good, with the creamed spinach being the standout of the three. The fries needed salt (like the burger and steaks), but they had a great crisp on the outside.
For dessert, we had the cheesecake, which was rich and creamy. They don’t make the desserts in house, but I don’t mind if the stuff they serve is tasty.
See the seafood section below for notes on the app that we tried.
Seafood Selection: 7
There’s bass, salmon and rainbow trout on the entree menu here, as well as shrimp, scallops, calamari, crab cakes and mussels on the app side. We tried the bacon wrapped scallops app and they were pretty good. I was shocked that the bacon was crisp all the way around – no rubbery spots – and the scallop was still cooked properly. They just had the flavor of something that was pre-made and frozen.
Service: 9
Our waiter was great. I don’t think he was used to seeing such heavy orders from a small group of three, so we kind of shocked him. He was great though, knew his meat and made good recommendations.
Bread here is a basket of basic dinner rolls with pre-packaged butter. The rolls are served nice and warm.
Ambiance: 7
A steakhouse with outdoor seating in NYC is a hard thing to come by. This place has it.
The interior is basic for the type of structure that it’s in – just a stretch of seating along one side of the room, with the bar and kitchen entry doors on the other.I’m glad I finally came here. Now I know I can go back when I want a good bargain with a nice mom and pop neighborhood feel. It reminded me a lot of Murtha’s back home, only better.
WEST SIDE STEAKHOUSE
597 10th Ave
New York, NY 10036
