Category Archives: Pub Food

Burgers, Pub Food, Restaurant Reviews, Union Square/Flatiron

Old Town

November 9, 2014 Johnny Prime Leave a comment

Old Town is one of NYC’s oldest and most awesome bars. It opened in 1892 and has remained relatively unchanged since.

Even the urinals are old, and big (for big cocks): the kind that used to be at the Village Idiot, Ear Inn, Gallagher’s and Pastis.

Anyway the burger here is supposed to be pretty good, as is the burger over at Pete’s down the block, so my buddy had the brilliant idea that we set out to try a few burgers in the area in one night. We ended up hitting three places, because we have massive balls swinging between our legs. Here is the Old Town burger:

This was easily the best burger of the night. Juicy, nicely cooked, a good amount of cheese. Nice and simple. The only down side was that the fries were a bit under-seasoned, and the bun was a little hard or crumbly after toasting. Stick with the potato bun!

OLD TOWN
45 E. 18th St.
New York, NY 10003

Burgers, Midtown West, Pub Food, Restaurant Reviews

Alfie’s

October 29, 2014 Johnny Prime Leave a comment

I stopped into Alfie’s for a late night bite to get my burger fix in. The meat was not seasoned enough, but it was certainly cooked to the proper temperature. It was good and juicy. I just wish they packed on some salt and pepper before slapping this titty-fuck onto the grill. The rosemary herb fries were nicely cooked too, but they needed seasoning and salt as well:

ALFIE’S
800 9th Ave.
New York, NY 10019

American, Burgers, Midtown West, Pub Food, Restaurant Reviews

Rosie O’Grady’s Saloon

October 28, 2014 Johnny Prime Leave a comment

I popped in here for a quick lunch with a buddy of mine who was in town for a convention. I’d never been here before despite walking by a million times and always being aware of its existence. Perhaps I just assumed it was a standard overpriced midtown tourist trap or something.

So I took down their burger. I had a feeling it was going to be thick, so I didn’t go crazy with toppings: just cheese. I was right. Look at this fat fuck:

It was nice and tasty, well seasoned… and well… done… I ordered medium but it came back pretty much well done.

There’s still a slight bit of pink in there, so maybe medium well.

Anyway, the fries were not my preferred style. I like shoestring but these were steak fries.

The odd thing was that my buddy ordered a chicken sandwich and his came with shoestring fries. Hmm.

Anyway, the burger was still good despite being overcooked, So I may venture back in here for a steak some day, or perhaps the corned beef sandwich.

ROSIE O’GRADY’S
800 7th Ave.
New York, NY 10019

Burgers, Midtown West, Pub Food, Restaurant Reviews

McHales

October 15, 2014 Johnny Prime Leave a comment

McHale’s was once known for its great burgers. It recently closed, switched locations (slightly) and re-opened. I’m not sure if the management is the same, or the chef, or any of that. The place is gorgeous inside, very classy and old school-ish. And yet they play UFC fight events in there, which is good for me since I am a fan.

On to the burger.

At $13 for the McHale’s burger with a slice of american and fries, this baby is near perfect. The only downer was the sesame seed bun that was a bit crumbly and got thin along the bottom once the burger was stacked up. It came with lettuce, onion, tomato and pickle. Photo lighting credit goes to my chicken-sandwich eating friend, who sacrificed half an apartment rental commission to dine with yours truly. That’s a $600 chicken sandwich he had!

Fries were great too – well seasoned and crispy.

MCHALES
251 W. 51st St.
New York, NY 10019

Burgers, Nolita/Soho, Pub Food, Restaurant Reviews

Ear Inn

October 5, 2014 Johnny Prime Leave a comment

My buddy, whose opinion I value when it comes to food, swears by the burger at Ear Inn, and also the atmosphere here. Here he is, giving you all the finger in front of my beer:

It’s an old timey bar, been around for quite some time. It’s housed in a historic building on the far west end of Spring Street in Soho, and it used to sit on the Hudson, before the landfill was added upon the building of the twin towers.

The burger here is solid, and hats off to my friend who pointed my appetite toward this joint. The star of the show is a nice 8oz fucker served with a salad and roasted potatoes. Nice – I commented that it tasted like a good steak as I was eating it. All it needs is a potato bun and it’s a winner. Take a look at the food porn below:

EAR INN
326 Spring St.
New York, NY 10013

Burgers, Flash Deals, Midtown West, Pub Food, Restaurant Reviews

Iron Bar’s Pig Wings

September 25, 2014 Johnny Prime Leave a comment

“Pig Wings” are making a big showing now on bar and restaurant menus. WTF are they, you ask? They are small portions of bone-in pork that have been trimmed down to look like little drumsticks of sorts, with a hunk of meat surrounding the bone. I figured I would mention these fuckers since they are pretty good at Iron Bar over on 8th Avenue and 45th Street. They were crisp and juicy, with a really great dipping sauce to boot. I’m hoping to see more of them at other spots in the future.

I came back to this joint when I picked up an Amazon Local deal for $20 that scored me $40 worth of food and drink. Pretty sweet deal. I tried their Iron Burger, which had gorgonzola, grilled onions, and crispy prosciutto. Fucking sweet. Cooked perfectly, lots of funky flavor from the cheese, and good juiciness without going overboard. The fries were excellent too – nice battered style, really crispy, nice and soft inside.

My buddy picked up the Juicy Lucy burger, which is a patty stuffed with cheddar cheese. He gave it the thumbs up and said it was a great burger. Looks beautiful, right?

IRON BAR
713 8th Ave.
New York, NY 10036

German, Midtown West, Parms, Pub Food, Restaurant Reviews

Reichenbach Hall

September 24, 2014 Johnny Prime Leave a comment

This place is a massive German / Bavarian beer hall in midtown that serves up massive brews in massive mugs (and boots).

I came here soon after it opened with a lot of excitement in my heart, because I absolutely LOVE German beer halls. There’s just something about the fun group atmosphere that makes it unique.

Anyway, it was here that I discovered a really amazing grapefruit beer (Schoffenhofer). After drinking it, I was on the hunt, and even found some at a local distributor on Long Island. Needless to say, the fridge remained stocked with them until we moved back to the city.

Aside from the great beer selection, they have a nice fun menu too. We tried the pate, the HUGE pretzels, the wieners, and some sausage.

I sincerely hope this place becomes a bigger draw with bar folks. It has the potential for being one of the city’s best places for drinks.

UPDATE – SCHNITZEL WAS AWESOME!!!

REICHENBACH HALL
5 W. 37th St.
New York, NY 10018

Burgers, Pub Food, Restaurant Reviews, Upper West Side

E’s Bar

September 23, 2014 Johnny Prime Leave a comment

I’ve been coming here for the great trivia games on Tuesday nights, with first place prize being a $75 bar tab, second place at $50 and third place at $35. We won the $75 tab three weeks in a row, so I’ve been able to sample a bunch of the food here. Best thing so far: the burger and fries. So fucking good. Really nicely seasoned, great flavors, good toppings. Do yourself a favor and get in here to try it out.

I also tried the tomato watermelon gazpacho, which was really nice and fresh, as well as the falafel burger with red pepper fries. Pretty good, but the regular burger wins by a long shot.

E’S BAR
511 Amsterdam Ave.
New York, NY 10024

Burgers, Pub Food, Restaurant Reviews, Upper East Side

The Penrose

August 30, 2014 Johnny Prime Leave a comment

Last week when I was introduced to BurgerFi by my buddy, he also showed me The Penrose. The decor was mad cool – old fashioned gastro pub look and feel. Really nicely done. I made a thick, bold mental note, in sharpie, to make sure I went back to give that shit a try. So I did, with my wife in tow.

Here’s the breakdown:

We started with chicharones (pork rinds). There were really crispy, crackly and light. The lime juice really took them to the next level.

Next the entrees came out. I had the Penrose burger with cheddar. Really nicely cooked and seasoned. Loved every bite.

My wife had the mussels, which came with perfectly buttery and toasty bread and a really unique broth, which included almonds, that we were sucking up with straws at the end.

A really great meal. And these three items, with 2 drinks included (it was happy hour), only came to about $50. You can’t beat it. We will be back for sure.

THE PENROSE
1590 2nd Ave.
New York, NY 10028

American, Midtown West, Pub Food, Restaurant Reviews

Bar Bacon

August 18, 2014 Johnny Prime Leave a comment

My first day out shooting with my new camera brought my wife and I over to 9th Avenue, where we stopped in for lunch here at Bar Bacon. We had walked by a few times and were excited by the menu, so we finally gave it a shot.

We started with a flight of four 5oz beers and four types of bacon.

The beer & the bacon:
Left Hand milk stout paired with jalapeno bacon
Blue Moon paired with applewood smoked bacon
Empire amber ale paired with apple cider bacon
Six Point Sweet Action paired with pepper bacon

My wife had a bloody Mary that was pretty solid, garnished with a piece of thick cut bacon.

Next came the bacon banh mi sandwich. More like steamed pork buns as opposed to a Vietnamese sandwich. The two bites were tasty, but it was extremely small in portion size, and there was not much bacon in it. The BBQ flavored chips and coleslaw were great though.

Then we had the ever-increasing-in-popularity “pig wings” item that was covered with sri-racha BBQ sauce. These were good, but also small in portion size for the price. I like the pig wings over at Iron Bar a little better so far, but these held up nice.