Category Archives: American

Betony

My wife and I learned that Betony was closing at the end of 2016, so we rushed in to finally give it a shot. It’s been on our list for a while but we never got around to trying it, despite living just a few blocks away.

We did the two course prix fix for $42, but my wife started with this interesting parsnip foam and scotch cocktail. So interesting.

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The tables are adorned with this olive oil crisp stuff that is addictive.

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Then comes the tasty and warm dill bread with a honey yogurt butter, and right around that time the waiter will bring out the amuse, which was a black truffle tea. So aromatic and delicious.

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My wife started with the fluke carpaccio. This was killer. The flavors really popped here due to the Indian lime and cilantro pickling that they worked on it.

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I went with the toasted grains and sprouts with labneh (Lebanese cream cheese / strained yogurt).

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A bit girly for my style, but I really enjoyed it and it was a substantial portion size. Plus I didn’t want to double up on lettuce greens or potato (the other app choices) since I know those were coming in my entree.

My entree was tenderloin, which was sous vide to a perfect medium rare prior to being charcoal crisped on the outside.

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It came with roasted fingerlings, grilled romaine, and a lettuce and tomato puree.

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I honestly wasn’t convinced that this was in fact a tenderloin, but I’ll go with what the menu said. I would have guessed a sirloin, due to the texture and shape, but it was really great nonetheless. Only down side: could have used a little more char on the outside. 8/10.

My wife went with the poached egg cavatelli. This was tossed with crisp crosne, aka “Chinese Artichokes” (and sometimes even “Japanese Artichokes”).

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The dish was more like a soup in terms of consistency once you popped the egg. Not really my speed, but the pasta was perfect, the sauce/broth was really tasty, and the portion size was good.

We skipped dessert because we were stuffed, but I’m sad to see this place close. Too bad we hadn’t come sooner. Pricey, but good.

BETONY
41 W 57th St
New York, NY 10019

The Black Derby

I came here with a group of food influencers for a Woodford Reserve promotional event hosted by Gotham Burger Social Club.

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At first, I thought I was just going to taste some cocktails made with Woodford, but it turned out to be a nice sit-down meal. As a result, I am offering my sincere apologies for these shitty photos that I had to snap with my phone.

The joint is classy inside, and the walls are lined with derby hats as lights. Of course, I wore my derby hat to fit the scene.

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The food here is top notch, and the manager, Nick, is a great guy. In the future he may do some large format “beast feasts” on the menu. I’m really looking forward to that. But let me get down to what we sampled.

Spicy steak tartare. This stuff is good! But the chilies will knock you on your ass if you aren’t equipped to handle the heat like a real man. I loved this dish.

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Crispy calamari. Amazing crunch on these, so perfectly cooked.

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Double cut bacon. Very nice braised texture. Really awesome.

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Loved the side addition of pickles on the plate as well.

Now on to the entrees. We tried their burger, which is nicely customizable in terms of cheeses and toppings. The patty is nice and thick, but the burger doesn’t feel too tall or large. It eats neat too, and the flavors are dynamite.

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Chicken parm with bolognese sauce. Wow! Beef and chicken living in harmony together.

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Nick sources his beef from DeBragga and LaFrieda, so whatever he is offering will be excellent quality. He even offers a culotte on occasion. On this night, there were two different cuts of steak frites offerings. The first of two steak frites: the hanger with chimichurri sauce.

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This baby was cooked so perfectly. Nice and tender inside, pink all the way, with a nice charred crisp on the outside.

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The strip steak frites was deceivingly great. I thought for sure I was going to like the hanger better, but the sauce on this was perfect.

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These pics don’t do it justice, but the cook temp on the strip was proper. It looks like medium but it was really somewhere between medium and medium rare.

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Both of these come in at a strong 8/10, but if you want a 9 or 10 point experience, you should order the hanger steak frites with the au poivre sauce rather than the chimichurri. That combination is fucking incredible.

Dessert is on point too. We tried creme brûlée, apple pie and cookies. No idea how I had room for dessert, but somehow I managed. Probably because this shit was delicious.

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I highly recommend this place. It just opened a few weeks ago or a month or two ago, and the menu changes up from time to time depending on whats good and fresh. The prices are very affordable and the quality is excellent.

THE BLACK DERBY
310 West 4th Street
New York, NY 10014

The Anthony

NOTE: THIS PLACE IS CLOSED

I was invited to newly opened The Anthony by my buddy Mike from Gotham Burger Social Club for a special tasting dinner with some other influencers and Instagrammers. We sampled a massive portion of the menu, and everything was pretty much fantastic. Let me get right into it for you hungry savages…

First, the cocktail menu is excellent. I tried this “Matador” drink, made with mezcal, lime, cilantro and spicy habanero honey – it was dynamite.

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To start, we had a cheese and meat board, with my favorite olives: Castelvetranos!

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Then some French onion fondue. This was really unique and flavorful.

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We also did some fried oysters, which were breaded to a perfect crisp and served in refreshing lettuce cups.

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But the star of the apps, though, were these mini char siu pork belly and liver mousse banh mi sandwiches. Holy shit! I could eat a dozen (two minis per order).

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While this item is listed as a starter, it can probably be consumed as a main if you order the banh mi to start. Duck confit and waffles.

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Fuck what you think you know about chicken and waffles. This is the way to do it.

On the side we did some cacao e pepe fries, which were really nicely cooked and golden brown.

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Some lobster mac and cheese, which was really nice as it was made with thick cavatappi / fusilli rigate (ridged).

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And some Asian style sautéed greens (broccolini / Chinese broccoli).

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Okay now let me get into the meat of the review. I’ll tackle the burgers first. We tried two: an off menu “Tavern Burger,” and the “Tony Prime.” Nice name, right? Maybe he iso a long lost brother of mine or something. He must be, because he is made of aged beef and a special house made creamed spinach cheese. Say whaaat?!??!

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Yup. That’s right – they make it in house by combining creamed spinach with cheese, spreading it out flat and thin, cooling it down to let it congeal, and then slicing it out  into individual cheese sliced for this incredible burger.

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This has to be one of my new favorite burgers in town. It’s so unique and special. It actually tastes like steak! Amazing. And so does the Tavern Burger, which is topped with a nice melty gruyere and arugula.

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We also tried the brick chicken. This had a great crispy top from the cooking process. I think it just suffered a bit and got too dry. I honestly don’t mind dry chicken from time to time, as long as there is a sauce to go with. Otherwise it was excellent.

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We also hit this pork chop pretty hard. Really nice spice and herb mix going on here, and a very tasty glaze.

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Underneath this 12oz Berkshire chop is a bacon and apple potato cake, and on top are caramelized onions.

And now for the champion. The 28-day dry aged 40oz tomahawk rib eye.

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This was truly a sight to behold.

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I got more funk and flavor from this 28-day steak than I have from 60-day chops. It was absolutely wonderful.

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It seemed a bit small for 40oz (and $140), but then again the bone was pretty big, as was the flavor. I was hoping for a bit more cap, but what I did taste was great. It was nicely cooked, well rested with no bleed-out, and it sported a nice outer crisp. 8/10.

I didn’t think any of us had room for dessert, but apparently humans are equipped with a second stomach that’s just for dessert.

First, this berry mousse. Very light and flavorful.

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Next, an apple pie style tart. Great hits of cinnamon and brown sugar here. Cold ice cream and hot pie – perfect combo.

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And chocolate cake, because why the fuck not.

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This was really a great meal. The biggest standouts for me, for which I will definitely go back, are the burgers, the banh mi and the duck waffles. I recommend you do the same.

THE ANTHONY
183 Bleecker St
New York, NY 10012

Bespoke Kitchen

NOTE: THIS JOINT IS NOW CLOSED!

The concept behind Bespoke Kitchen is a totally custom dining experience that’s different every time. The idea is simple: aside from about a dozen starter items, you choose from four proteins and whether you want your protein to have rich or light flavors. The alternative is to leave the entree completely up to the chefs with a secret protein. There are several chefs, too, by the way. All have different culinary backgrounds, but all are incredibly talented and well-experienced.

When I was here for an influencer event via their PR group, NYC Restaurant, organized by The Dishelin Guide, the available proteins were rib eye, branzino, sea bass or duck. The secret protein turned out to be lamb on this night, but I didn’t get to try any. It did look beautiful though:

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Let me get back to the starters though. We tried a bunch, so I will just fire them off with some commentary to go with each.

STARTERS

Diver Scallops:

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These were pretty good. They were halved scallops served atop a bed of spaghetti squash, hen of the woods mushrooms and pine nuts. The outside was seared and caramelized just right, leaving the meat supple and juicy inside.

Bacon Tasting:

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Thick cut belly, maple bacon and lamb bacon graced this beautiful natural wood platter of pork. My favorite was the lamb, not only because it is delicious but because it is a rare gem to find on any menu here in the city.

Bacon Dumplings:

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Lobster cocktail:

Why the fuck not? These were like cheddar and bacon Totino’s pizza rolls, only elevated and in a nicer wrapper.

Mixed Ceviche:

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Light and refreshing, this bowl contained fluke, octopus and shrimp, with a side of sweet potato chips.

Tuna tartare:

Short Rib Gnocchi:

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The gnocchi were light but with a crispy coating on them, and the short rib was rich and extremely flavorful. Big fan of this dish.

Grilled Octopus:

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This was really well executed. The tentacle was very tender, and the squid ink balsamic on the plate was perfect for smearing onto the purple potatoes. Check out my buddy Ben’s awesome shot of it:

A photo posted by Ben Hon (@stuffbeneats) on

My other crappy pic:

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I ended up going back another time and shooting this again. Check it:

ENTREES

Each protein comes as a fully composed meal, complete with a starch and a veggie. Naturally, I went with the rib eye. I also tried some of the duck.

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The rib eye was really juicy and succulent, with lots of nice beefy flavor. While there wasn’t much cap present, the eye was delicious. I score it at a nice 8/10. Two other rib eyes were ordered in our group, and each one was plated differently, with different veggies. One even had a poached egg on top!

But check out this duck!

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Beautiful tuna plating.

The fat could have used some better rendering, to get that rubbery quality out completely, but that is a tough challenge to accomplish on a breast while still maintaining a good medium rare cook temperature. I was fine with trimming the fat away and munching on that beautiful pink breast meat.

DESSERT

Burrata Cheesecake:

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This delight is made in house, which is very impressive being it is a burrata cheese. It was super creamy and light, served with graham cracker crumble and an apple caramel. It was simple and delicious.

Cinnamon Bun:

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This was really tasty, and my favorite of the desserts. It was a soft cake inside, some good crisp outside, and lots of ooey gooey dolce de leche glaze on top.

Chocolate Pudding:

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This lacked sweetness, and almost tasted as if it was sugarless or “diet” – not fake sugar, but NO sugar, or LOW sugar. I didn’t mind so much, since I don’t have a huge sweet tooth to begin with, but some other diners expressed dissatisfaction. I did get that cocoa flavor from it, though, and the texture was nice and smooth.

Butternut Squash Ice Cream:

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This was really interesting, and at first I didn’t think I’d like it, based on the description. Imagine candied yams in an ice cream format, but without that horrible starchy texture. It was similar to that flavor. I was oddly attracted to this, so I just kept going back to it over and over. That must mean it was a success.

I definitely recommend coming to this joint. Every meal you eat here will be different, even if you and your table-mates order the same exact thing at the same exact time. It’s kind of fun, new, exciting and adventurous. I’m happy to see something unique like this in NYC.

BESPOKE KITCHEN
615 Hudson St
New York, NY 10014

Atlantis Resort – Paradise Island Bahamas

My wife signed up for some crazy credit card that rewarded her with a free five day stay at Atlantis in the Bahamas. Then she used some of her frequent flyer points to secure us our flights. It was just a matter of paying for food at that point.

I’m sure you have no interest whatsoever in seeing my amazing vacation photos, so I’ll share with you, instead, some pics of the food we ate at the resort.

This resort is known for having very expensive food. We tried to avoid that a bit by hitting some of the cheaper joints for lunch, and supplementing hunger pangs with the assortment of snacks that we packed into our suitcases. This place is indeed expensive, with some joints even costing more than what we are accustomed to, even as NYC food lunatics.

Murray’s Deli

This is a classic NYC style Jewish deli. We had a massive loaded baked potato and a pastrami/corned beef open faced sandwich. We just couldn’t get enough in New York, so we had to eat some while in the Bahamas.

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Oh and the pickles…

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This place was pretty good.

Burger Shack

Classic American style diner with burgers, dogs, fries and other comfort foods.

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We actually ate here twice because the place we intended to visit prior to our second trip (Bimini Road – Bahamian food) was closed.

First Meal:

The burgers were pretty good. I can tell they use more fat in their patties than we do here in the states. That made for a more robust flavor but with a slightly less desirable texture. Either way a satisfying burger.

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The banana nutella shake was on point, by the way.

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And I’m sure you saw those fries creeping into the frame in the shots above. We actually ordered the combo of onion rings and fries.

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Fries were solid. Onions rings, not so much.

Second Meal:

Goombay Punch, essentially fruit soda (pineapple, mainly), is big down here. And sweet. We tried two varieties during the course of our vacation, and this one was superior (the other was called a “fruit champagne” and it sucked balls).

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Hot dogs are split and grilled, which I consider to be the best method for grilling dogs. We covered ours with mustard, ketchup, mayo and Tabasco sauce.

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Say hello to the Vitamin B: mac and cheese with blue cheese, chopped up hot dog, BBQ pork, and bacon. Insanity.

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Nobu

We had some free sake and sushi sampler platter to use at Nobu, so we figured we would eat a meat there.

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The sampler platter kinda sucked. I can’t believe they normally charge $40 for that. But we did redeem the meal a bit with this conch sashimi:

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And this crispy pork belly dish:

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This small bowl of spicy seafood soup cost $19, which was a total rip off, but it was in fact tasty.

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Unfortunately I was still hungry, so I ordered a noodle dish in hopes that the starch aspect would fill me up. Green tea soba noodles:

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These were actually pretty good. And of course Katherine lifted them for my Instagram feed.

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77 West

This was probably the best meal of the trip. We went for lunch, so kept it relatively light, but everything was excellent.

Good cocktails for the ambiance – not too sweet, just right.

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Probably one of the best tuna tartare dishes we’ve ever had; served in a spicy coconut curry style broth that really popped.

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And why not have another burger? This was much better than the ones at Burger Shack, and it came with fries or a salad for the same price, pretty much.

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I kept it light with a salad instead of fries, and that was a good move. The salad was actually really great and fresh.

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Seafire Grill

Of course we had to try a steakhouse. We pretty much shared a meal for one, since we didn’t want to break the bank.

We tried two cocktails (since we had credit for two free drinks): one was too strong and lacked finesse (the 1888 Rum Old Fashioned), but the other was perfect – a bourbon lemonade.

We started with this horrible crab cake. I’ve had better out of the freezer section of Shop Rite.

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After dining at over 100 steakhouses, some of which are not NYC-based, I’ve learned my lesson: If there is no prime or aged beef on the menu, I should probably stick with a filet. You’re rolling the dice on quality with any other cuts – especially when you’re outside of the USA. Additionally, since a filet had very little fat content to begin with, you don’t have to concern yourself with marbling quality or things like prime and choice. Furthermore, I also took a peek at the butcher shop area of this restaurant (you can buy steaks to grill on your yacht at the marina), and I was not impressed with the strip and rib eye offerings. Filet was the way to go.

It was decent. I’d say 7/10. It was super tender. It lacked some juiciness and outer crust, but it was cooked perfectly medium rare from end to end. If I weren’t such a steak snob, being spoiled by the selections in NYC, this would have been an outstanding cut.

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But at $58 for 10oz, however, this was incredibly overpriced. In NYC it’d be maybe $50, and that’s already pricey since its fucking NYC.

On the side we had some asparagus with Bernaise sauce. These were perfectly cooked, and they even shaved down the woody bottom part with a peeler.

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As always, I have to talk about the table bread in some way. Here, it was lame. A little mushy, kinda like tan Wonder Bread. Not warm.

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The ambiance and the bar were nice though, and it reminded me of something like Capital Grille in midtown. Rich and dark wood tones. If this joint were in NYC I’d probably score it in the high 60s or low 70s. Let’s just go with a 70, for the sake of ease, and because we really only tried three items.

Olives

Olives is a Todd English joint and it is directly connected to the casino at Atlantis, so the place has some standards to live up to. We weren’t planning on dining here, but when the entirety of Paradise Island lost power, we were unable to dine at the only Bahamian restaurant at the resort, Bimini Road, yet again. First time it was closed (peeve about the resort – random closures of restaurants on random days for random reasons), and the second time, which was our last night there, it was shut down because of the power outage.

Anyway, we ended up having a really nice meal at Olives. We had credit for two free cocktails (which we actually used after eating at Nobu earlier in the week).

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That same day we tried the tiramisu flan, which was really delicious and unique, since Nobu was insanely overpriced and the dessert menu looked dumb there.

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We split the rigatoni bolognese, which was really nicely cooked with sausage and ground meat.

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Since we were intending to eat Bahamian food but got denied, we tried the conch ceviche, thinking it would be stellar, made from a local catch. It was just okay. The conch sashimi at Nobu was better.

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On the side we had some of the free focaccia bread (which was nice) and this bland, flavorless broccolini.

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Handcraft Kitchen & Cocktails

I had the pleasure of attending an Instagram influencer event at Handcraft last night, and I have to say: I was super impressed with everything I drank and ate. This place really knows their stuff.

The meal started with some buffalo style deviled eggs, which were absolutely delicious.

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They had the same flavor profile you get from good spicy chicken wings, with a pop of hot sauce.

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Then came our first cocktail: Tokyo Drift. This was made with gin, sake, cucumber, lemon and fizz.

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It was really refreshing and slammable, which was nice to pair with the next part of the meal: Handcraft Nachos.

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These are tots, topped with corn, bean chili, pico de gallo, guacamole, chipotle sour cream and cheese sauce. These “totchos” were absolutely fantastic. You definitely need to start your meal with these when you come here.

Next up on cocktails was the Liquid Lunch: watermelon and strawberry gin, basil, balsamic vinegar and lime.

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This baby was like drinking a salad! So savory yet still with a nice pop of sweetness. I loved it.

We drank that with a killer fried chicken sandwich.

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This is up there with Delaney and Fuku+ in terms of taste and quality. It’s topped with pimento cheese, pickled green tomato and kale, served on focaccia.

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The chicken was so tender and juicy inside, and that cheese acted like a sauce to boot. Awesome.

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The final cocktail was a Bourbon Punch: bourbon, amaretto, southern comfort, orange and pineapple.

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The hard liquor really gets balanced out by the sweetness here, and the fruitiness of the drink went well with the next course: The Game Changer.

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This mountain of meat consists of a bison patty and a wild boar patty. Then it gets topped with duck confit, brie and cherry chutney, served neatly on a brioche bun. Amazing. The cherry chutney almost acts like a cranberry sauce, turning this into the perfect Thanksgiving substitute for those of you who despise turkey.

I highly recommend this place, and they have a great beer menu too.

HANDCRAFT KITCHEN & COCKTAILS
367 3rd Ave
New York, NY 10016

MeltKraft

The Somerset is a really nice grilled cheese sandwich that’s available at MeltKraft, down in the Turn-Style food hall at Columbus Circle. I got to try this when I was invited to a PR event to promote Turn-Style and all the shops within.

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What’s so special about it? Melted gruyere, cured ham, cornichon, pickles and grain mustard. The version pictured here has some added prosciutto, because why the fuck not?

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It also pairs up nicely with the tomato soup, which has a nice herbaceous kick to it from the fennel.

MELTKRAFT
TurnStyle Food Hall
1000S 8th Ave
New York, NY 10019

Fish Bar

NOTE: THIS JOINT IS NOW CLOSED AND CALLED HUDSON’S

A food photographer buddy of mine, Ben (check out his IG page), invited my wife and me to come along with him and a few other food influencer folks to Fish Bar, NYC’s newest floating dining room, which sets sail up and down the Hudson so people can enjoy some spectacular views of the skyline and Statue of Liberty while they eat.

It was a windy night, and bitter cold, so I didn’t want to fight with my settings too much to get all the good night shots. But I did get this fun shot of Jeff (FoodMento) giving some love to Lady Liberty.

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In fact, this is probably the best free way to see the Statue of Liberty. Skip the Staten Island ferry “tour” and do this instead.

This shoves off from the same dock area as (and is owned by the same company that runs) the North River Lobster boat. While it is also free to ride, the Fish Bar boat offers a nicer view and a much more elegant menu.

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We tried a lot of stuff, since there were six of us at the table. Let me get right down to it.

Drinks: Every cocktail we tried was incredibly strong. While that may be a good thing for those looking to get tanked, I was a little turned off by it. If I want straight alcohol, I will order a bourbon or a scotch. Shit even a martini.

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Charcuterie Board: This was a home run. For $28 you get a lot of really nice sliced meats. My favorite was the spicy salami, which was almost like a chorizo.

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Cheese Board: This was another win. There was a great selection of high quality cheeses. The only think missing was something of the oozing variety, like a super soft brie.

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Mezze: This platter included classic Greek spreadables like hummus and olive tapenade. All of them were good.

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Arancini: These rice balls were crisp on the outside but lacked a robust enough flavor on the inside to really justify getting them again. It just needed a pop of something, perhaps a truffle oil or something more earthy.

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Oysters: These were lightly batter-fried, which goes against my religion for oysters. In any event they were still pretty good. A bit pricey, but enjoyable.

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Ceviche: It was refreshing to see this made with actual fish instead of shrimp or scallops.  Topped with fried plantain chips, it was a nice presentation that featured the vehicle for delivering the ceviche into your gullet.

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Octopus: This was pretty good. It didn’t come in as my favorite, but it certainly wasn’t a failed menu item. I always get worried about octopus and whether it will be cooked properly when i see it offered, but that wasn’t a real concern here.

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Mussels: These were a little disappointing. They didn’t taste bad, but they did have a slightly burned taste, almost as if the shells were sitting against the metal of a hot pot for too long. I think that flavor permeated the sauce and then that got all over the exposed mussels.

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Burrata: This had a good hint of truffle oil to make it pop. The cheese was soft and velvety. Very nice.

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Risotto: This was decent. It had some good flavors from the various seafood and sausage components, like a paella, but it didn’t stand out as anything incredible to me.

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Calamari: These babies were delicious. They were served with sliced and fried cherry peppers, which gave it a spicy kick without going too far. I really liked this dish.

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Crab Salad: This lump crab meat salad was pretty tasty. All around good quality. No complaints, but then again nothing that really made it stand out from the pack. The plantain chips from the ceviche would have actually worked well here.

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Grilled Vegetables: This was served to us in error, as we didn’t order it. The array wasn’t bad, however, with the exception of the odd tasting broccolini that was included.

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Squid Ink Spaghetti: I had higher hopes for this, being we were on a boat with a seafood-heavy menu. The sauce was basically just like melted butter with the flavors of shrimp or lobster shells infused. On the plus side, the pasta itself was cooked nicely and wasn’t overpowering with the ink flavor. In addition, the seafood that was mixed in with it was perfectly cooked.

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Skirt Steak: Unfortunately this was under-seasoned and unevenly cooked. Part was overcooked, and part was correct at medium rare. The meat itself wasn’t tough or low quality; it just needed a bit more finesse. 5/10.

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Branzino: This fillet was the big winner of the night for the entrees. The skin was nicely crisped on the outside, and the flesh was cooked just right and remained tender, juicy and flaky.

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Walnut Cake: We were all pretty excited for this, but I think it sort of missed the mark or didn’t meet our expectations. I guess, perhaps, I was expecting more of a pie type item, like pecan pie. That’s my mistake though, not Fish Bar’s. In any case this was similar to a pound cake in flavor and texture.

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Chocolate Ganache: This was the winner for dessert. The layers inside were nicely diverse and the chocolate itself was rich without being too overwhelming.

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In short, I’d definitely come back here for the fantastic and free views of NYC from a beautiful small cruise ship when the weather is nice. And I’d certainly sit down and enjoy some charcuterie, fine cheeses, calamari and branzino any day.

FISH BAR
Pier 81
W 41st St
New York, NY 10036

Tavern on the Green

I scored a limited run Groupon for Tavern on the Green that was just $89 (plus a coupon code discount on top of that) for a four course meal for two.

We started with salads. I had the iceberg wedge. While the blue cheese dressing was a little bit watery, the other components of the salad were great, especially the diced tomato and bacon.

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My wife went with the caesar salad. I’m not sure if you can see it, but it was plated with some little anchovies as well. Pretty good salad.

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She also had the sea bass with roasted leeks and mashed potatoes. The skin was crisp and the fish was cooked nicely on the whole, though I had a few bites that were slightly overcooked.

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My wife went with haricot verts for her side item. These were crisp and buttery, lots of flavor.

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I went with the sirloin steak, 12oz, dry-aged, with creamed spinach, roasted fingerlings and au poivre sauce.

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I was suprised at how tasty this shit was. I was half expecting some throw-away cut of steak with tons of gristle, but it was really nice. 8/10.

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Here’s the gravy getting poured on top:

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I mistakenly chose the roasted baby vegetables as my side. These were terrible. Bland. I should have gone with the creamy whipped potato option instead, but I thought it would be an overload of potato items since they were already in both entrees.

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The shared carrot cake for dessert was flavorful and moist, but it sort of had the texture of a fruit cake. I didn’t mind it because I love carrot cake, but my wife, who is a baker, wasn’t too impressed.

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Good deal. If it ever comes up again, grab it.

TAVERN ON THE GREEN
Central Park West & 67th Street
New York, NY 10023

Metropolis

Metropolis is a new revitalized space that once served as the jazz lounge beneath Blue Water Grill in Union Square. It’s still owned and operated by the BR Guest restaurant group, and it seems that these folks can do no wrong when it comes to quality eating.

While there will inevitably be a few items at any place that a person may not like too much, I have to say that BR Guest delivers great food on a consistent basis, whether it’s Strip House, Dos Caminos, Bill’s or Blue Water Grill.

We came here to celebrate a birthday with another couple. My wife and I arrived early and ordered a drink at the bar, took in the live music and marveled at the amazing cocktail selections and quirky decor.

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Speaking of drinks, my recommendation is to skip the Montauk seawater martini for two. If you’re like me, then you’re a martini purist. When I saw seawater I got excited, because I love that kind of brine for a martini. But this drink is made with sweet vermouth and garnished with a sweet pickled tomato and similarly pickled string bean. Maybe you like a sweet martini. I do not. Perhaps next time I can request a more savory version of this.

The whole ordeal is concocted table side, which is fun, but ultimately the two drinks were shallow. They could have filled it up a bit higher at $35 for the pair.

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Okay so let’s get to the food. We browsed as we snacked on some delicious table bread with ricotta and olive oil.

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This joint’s menu is purposefully heavy on the seafood, and for good reason. It’s below Blue Water Grill and the former chef, who happens to be from Per Se, does an amazing job with the fish dishes in particular. The first things that will pop out at you are the seafood tower selections and caviar items. Take a suggestion from me: the seafood towers are awesome.

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That’s the “Flatiron” tower at $125 for 2-4 people. It contains two styles of oysters (six each of east and west), a dozen Little Neck clams, a char grilled octopus tentacle, seafood ceviche, a king crab leg, a half dozen mussels in tomato sauce and a whole lobster.

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We also shared the surf and turf tartare. This was a bit small and underwhelming, but certainly not bad by any means.

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We ended up going with two fish items and two meat items for our entrees. Let me first address the meat, since that’s what this website is all about. The filet mignon was perfectly cooked to medium rare, but unlike Strip House, it lacked that external char that I love so much. On the other hand, it was sauced with a really savory bacon reduction that blew us away. 7/10.

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The steak came with this little skillet of spinach that was topped with brulee’d cheese. Very nice.

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The real winner is the steak sandwich. It’s made with sliced rib eye steak that was cooked sous vide style in 45-day dry aged beef fat. Then it’s topped with charred onions and roasted tomato, and Velveeta wiz for that authentic Philly flare. Fucking fantastic. Get it.

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It’s served with waffle cut potato chips (crisps, if you’re European). These were okay. I think I would have preferred some standard shoestring French fries instead.

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Now for the fish. Hands down my favorite item of the night was the cod. It was served with an airy, creamy butter sauce and nicely roasted veggies. Then it was topped with a little circle of puff pastry.

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The fish itself was perfectly cooked, juicy, flaky and mild. I’d definitely go back for that.

The cedar plank salmon was excellent as well, cooked to a perfect medium rare and served with sweet roasted tomatoes and basil.

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The table next to us had some nice looking peanut butter and cherry Baked Alaska, so that got us into the mood for dessert.

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However we wanted to try some of the other items. Warm apple crisp pie with vanilla cinnamon ice cream:

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And cheese cake parfait with fruit and graham cracker crumble layers. Beautiful.

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Both were very nice, but I think the winner was the parfait.

METROPOLIS
31 Union Square West
New York, NY 10003