Category Archives: Flash Deals

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

Wicked Willy’s

February 1, 2015 Johnny Prime Leave a comment

I snagged a groupon for this place that got me two burgers with fries, and two beers for $20. Not a bad snag. Unfortunately the day my buddy and I came here, there was some sort of fire going on underground in the sewers that made the entire block smell like burning diarrhea. Fucking obnoxious. Occasionally the smell would waft into the pirate-themed bar, which really sucked. You can see the scene below. Apparently the fire was raging, with that God-aweful stench, for about four days without response from the fire department. I guess no one thought to call, or no one realized that it was actually a fire as opposed to just a lingering bum smell.

In any case, the burger I tried was called “Black Beard.” The meat was a blend of chorizo and beef, topped with lettuce, tomato, onion and cheddar cheese.

It was seasoned well, and dressed with a garlic aioli that made the flavors pop. The only down side here was the bun. It was a little crumbly and dry.

Fries were solid. Crispy, golden, and seasoned properly:

Decent burger, fun bar, and I kinda liked the pirate theme. They play live music and even have peer pong tables set up, with a massive projector screen in the back room as well. Here’s a photo of some broad who was measuring dicks in the men’s bathroom:

WICKED WILLY’S
149 Bleecker St.
New York, NY 10012

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

Nelly Spillane’s

January 25, 2015 Johnny Prime Leave a comment

I snatched a Groupon for this joint. For about $20 we dug in on an app to share, two sandwiches/burgers, and a pitcher of beer. Pretty sweet deal, and the place has some good deals anyway for the daily specials. We started with a pitcher of Yuengling.

Here’s the app we shared – some standard wings. Nothing really bad or good to say about them. They were average.

The burger was ehh.

I feel like the meat may have been overworked. When mixing that chopped meat, one has to be careful not to over mix that shit, otherwise the resulting patty will be uniform in texture and sometimes can be tough. It wouldn’t surprise me if this joint uses frozen patties.

Fries were good and crisp, but not seasoned enough.

My wife’s grilled chicken sliders were excellent. Though a bit dry, they were generous in portion size and adequately cheesed up. The downside here was the salad that came with her trio of sliders. It was just sub par, at best.

To sum up: not bad if you’re in a bind and if you have that Groupon. If not, hop across to the west side of 33rd and hit Smashburger if you need that burger fix.

NELLY SPILLANE’S
18 E. 33rd St.
New York, NY 10016

Burgers, Downtown, Flash Deals, Pub Food, Restaurant Reviews

Manhattan Proper

January 10, 2015 Johnny Prime Leave a comment

We scored a sweet Gilt City deal for this place: $30 gets you a bucket of suds (six of either Bud, Bud Light, or Coors Light – you can also mix and match), and a pair of burger plates.

I went with the Proper Burger, which was topped with cheddar and bacon. It was cooked just right – a perfect medium. I’ve had better burgers, but for the price/deal, this was a great buy.

The fries were perfect – a nice crispy golden brown, but still soft inside, and well seasoned.

My buddy went with the black & blue burger on the bartender Kyle’s recommendation (great bartender, by the way), which is topped with blue cheese and caramelized onions. As you can see below, his was undercooked a bit (he ordered medium), but he still loved the flavors.

Decently decorated inside – slightly high end-esque, but comfortable. Also a good amount of TVs.

MANHATTAN PROPER
6 Murray St.
New York, NY 10007

Burgers, Diner, Flash Deals, Midtown East

Johnny Rocket’s

January 3, 2015 Johnny Prime Leave a comment

My first encounter with a Johnny Rocket’s was back in about 2000 in Hoboken, NJ. I liked the concept of a throwback, old school, all-American diner/burger and shake joint. Now that burgers and this restaurant concept is high on NYC foodie radar, I felt like it was time to give respect to a company that was ahead of its time.

My wife and I popped into the Third Avenue & 56th Street location with a special deal that my wife nabbed for $10 or something crazy. Basically we got to choose any two burgers, any two types of fries or onion rings, and any two shakes.

The place was booming with feel-good music from the 50s and early 60s. The decor was classic chrome and vinyl. As a fan of this era (cars, music, attire, etc), I was in a happy place.

I know this place is a chain, and it’s not Jean le Roquet or some French burger bistro. But let’s be honest here. If something tastes good, what the fuck does it matter?

Check out how delicious my classic double American cheeseburger looks, with jalapeños, shredded lettuce, sliced tomato and chopped onion looks. This place is so far the ONLY burger joint in NYC that knew to put a smear of mayonnaise on the bottom bun to prevent burger juice destruction. I was impressed.

The patties were just a shade overcooked for my liking, at medium-well instead of medium, but then again I was never even asked how I’d like my burger cooked. You may have noticed, I went with the onion rings. They had a nice crispy batter on them, they were well seasoned, not too big, and not mushy inside. Perfect for me.

My wife got the “12” burger, which I believe came with sliced onion and cheddar. She also opted for cheese fries, which were pretty nice as well.

Shakes are presented in the classic 50s/60s style, in old style Coke glasses with the metal glass holder, and a stainless mixer cup that contains some overflow extra shake. These were filling! But delicious. I went with a vanilla-chocolate mix, and my wife went with a chocolate-strawberry mix.

Overall I will just say this: the prices are extremely reasonable for NYC food, and if you’re a food elitist then you may be missing out on good food. They do a good job here so don’t walk on by just because the name is synonymous with the food court in the mall, ESPECIALLY if you score a sweet deal like my wife did.

JOHNNY ROCKET’S
930 3rd Ave
New York, NY 10022

Burgers, Flash Deals, Midtown West

Smokey Burger

December 14, 2014 Johnny Prime Leave a comment

Smokey Burger is a little organic burger shop on 44th Street between 8th and 9th Avenues. I found out about it through a Living Social deal.

I went with the signature “Smokey Burger” which involved cheddar, grilled onions, mushrooms, and chipotle sauce. This was an above average burger. The bun (I chose white) was supple yet durable. No ripping or tearing. The meat was properly cooked to medium and pretty nicely seasoned. Looks gorgeous, right?

But my wife’s “Cabana Burger” was the winner. It was topped with a sunny side up egg, and had a little bit more of a robust kick to it from the pickles and turkey bacon. Why not real bacon, you ask? This place happens to be halal, for you practicing Muslims out there.

On the side we had an order of onion rings and an order of fries. Both were a little bit limp or soggy, but nevertheless tasted good because they were well seasoned.

I also had a vanilla shake, which was incredible. For $6 it is well worth it, though I wish it was double the size. Very tasty.

SMOKEY BURGER
339 W 44th St
New York, NY 10036

American, East Village, Flash Deals, Restaurant Reviews

Duane Park

December 5, 2014 Johnny Prime Leave a comment

As usual, my wife got a sweet deal for this place; dinner and a show for two for $60. I wasn’t expecting to like either the food or the entertainment, but I was surprised at how good the food was, and how fun the entertainment was.

We started at the bar, which is really elegant and fancy. It’s set up like a 1920’s sort of art deco social club. They have a nice cocktail menu ($14 each). I had the Bowery Honey Bee, and my wife had a “That’s Gold, Darling.”

The table bread came out in a stainless steel cone, and was served warm and toasty, with a dish of white bean puree that resembled hummus, but with less aggressive spices.

Our deal entitled us to a limited menu three course tasting. I started with the roasted shrimp and grits. The shrimp were perfectly cooked and the grits were creamy. I just wish there was more!

My wife had the mushroom veloute, which was creamy, earthy and rich.

For my entree, I had the ale-braised pork shoulder, which came with mashed potatoes and sliced, roasted carrots. This was really nice. The meat was tender, soft and juicy.

My wife had the salmon, which was perfectly cooked and came with cannellini beans and tomatoes. I typically don’t like cooked salmon, but this was really tasty.

For dessert, I chose the sticky toffee pudding. It was mor elite a bread pudding than a proper pudding, so I was taken back a bit when it came to the table. It was delicious though, and warm. The ice cream scoop on top was the perfect balance.

My wife had the cheesecake of the day, which was apple. Very unique. And good timing for around the Thanksgiving holiday: a mash up of New York (cheesecake) and Americana (apple pie). Great flavors.

The entertainment was a blast. The band was playing classic soul and motown hits, and the singer was excellent!

He even did a few duets with a female vocalist – serious hips on her!

The funny thing about the show was that in-between songs, a pair of burlesque ladies would come out and jiggle their shit on stage. It was basically a classy strip joint in period-piece attire (or lack thereof).

The best part was watching the band as THEY watched the dancers, laughing, crack jokes to one another as they played, etc. The guitarist was getting dresses and bras thrown at him from across the room. He dangled this red sparkly one from his guitar:

DUANE PARK
308 Bowery
New York, NY 10012

East Village, Flash Deals, Pizza

Motorino

December 3, 2014 Johnny Prime Leave a comment

Motorino is one of those over-hyped pizza joints that non-native New Yorker’s think is a great New York pizza. Let me preface this review with this though: I did enjoy the food – ate every last scrap of it (I was starving). However, I felt that the crust was a little too soft. Th router edges were crispy and burnt, which was nice, but ultimately it was a floppy pizza. The sauce was weak (needed herbs or salt or something), and the cheese was sparse. My wife tried a no sauce-based pizza, with mushrooms, cheese, garlic, olives and soppressata. I found myself liking that better than my margherita pie. That’s a bad sign. When you are eating a pizza for the toppings and not for the basics of the pizza pie, then you are in the territory of “go somewhere else.”

Here’s the margherita pie. It’s mostly bread – very sparse on sauce, herbs and cheese. That may be fine for some people, but we needed to order a side of sauce just to dip the bread into. Despite generally liking the flavor of the bread/crust, I though the center of the crust (under the toppings) was way too wet and soggy. Perhaps they should pop this in the oven atop a grill so that the heat can get underneath the crust a bit, and make for a more solid foundation. When I make my pizza, I use a perforated pizza pan that allows for heat to directly hit the bottom of the pie, and I elevate the pizza off the surface of the heat.

Here’s the other pie – much better, but only because it had interesting toppings:

The highlight of the meal was the appetizer, an octopus salad with capers, potatoes, red onion, lemon and parsley. The octopus was really tender and flavorful.

Luckily our deal came with a bottle of wine – we picked this one from the Montepulciano region of Italy. It was great.

MOTORINO
349 E 12th St
New York, NY 10003

American, Flash Deals, Midtown East, Non-Steakhouse Steaks, NY Strip, Restaurant Reviews

Bill’s Food & Drink

November 7, 2014 Johnny Prime Leave a comment

NOTE: THIS PLACE IS NOW CALLED BILL’S TOWNHOUSE AND MAY FEATURE A DIFFERENT MENU AND CHEF.

I grabbed a Groupon for this place: $55 for a three course meal for two. Not bad. At first I was almost going to include this in my steakhouse reviews page, but after speaking with the waiter I got the sense that their aim was to go for American restaurant as opposed to just steak. They’ve trimmed the steak selection from five cuts to three, so don’t be fooled by the paintings of steaks on the walls – that ain’t necessarily their main aim.

Oh, porterhouse... How I love thee... Let me count the ways... — Oh, porterhouse… How I love thee… Let me count the ways…

I really liked this place. Great atmosphere, cool decor: taxidermy, framed old timey maps, and odd portrait paintings in a grand ballroom type of room with a massive fireplace and ornate mirrors.

The bar was jam packed for the after work happy hour, and I noticed that they even have a piano for live music performances down there.

So here was the menu for the three course price fix deal:

We started with drinks, and by far the two best cocktails were the lowlands old fashioned, and the Spanish gin and tonic. Really expertly mixed by the bartender. Then the bread came out – warm and toasty on the outside, soft and hot on the inside, and great smooth butter.

I had the roasted beets and my wife had the fennel and arugula salad with citrus. Both were really great. Mine was hearty, and her’s was light and fresh.

The entrees were both pretty much perfect. I had the peppercorn sauce strip steak. It was very slightly overcooked from how I ordered, but it was delicious nonetheless. The truffle herb fries were some of the best I’ve ever had. The addition of crispy fried basil on top was a great touch.

My wife had the Berkshire pork chop. This thing was THICK, and perfectly cooked. I’ve never had a pork chop like this that wasn’t dried out in some spots. This was juicy through and through.

Dessert was okay. I had a pumpkin cheesecake and my wife had a chocolate cake. The chocolate cake was like a very dense mousse; very rich, almost too sweet for me. It was a very big portion too – like a brick! The pumpkin cheesecake was light and fluffy, with a chocolate-based crust as opposed to graham cracker.

Here’s the total bill:

I definitely recommend this place. I will be back for sure. They have a rib eye for two on the regular menu that needs to be eaten…

On a second trip I tried both the wild Alaskan salmon and the roasted chicken. Both dishes had incredibly crispy skin, tons of flavor and perfect execution in terms of cooking temperature and juiciness. This place is fucking great.

The garbanzo bean soup was a little bit thin and light, but the smoky pork meat in it gave a flavor that reminded me of a split pea soup.

Dessert was soft serve ice cream. Simple but really hit the spot.

BILL’S FOOD & DRINK
57 E. 54th St.
New York, NY 10022

Burgers, Flash Deals, Midtown East, Restaurant Reviews

Dag’s Patio Cafe

October 31, 2014 Johnny Prime Leave a comment

I picked up a Groupon for this joint recently: $16 for two burgers, two fries and two shakes. They were out of shakes, so they gave us beer and wine instead. Not bad!

So this place stands out as one of the better burgers that I’ve had recently and the reason is because of two things: (1) ratio of bread to meat to toppings, and (2) the potato roll. We tried the applewood bacon cheddar burger with grilled onions, and the Dag burger with lettuce, tomato, onion and American (fuck yeah) cheese. Both were wonderful.

For point number one, regarding ratios, I implore you to look at the cross-section of the burger. Look at it. Not too much bun. Meat is a decent thickness, but not so thick that you have to unhinge your fucking jaw. Just a couple of basic toppings so you aren’t stacking up shit on top of shit and building a skyscraper.

As for point number two, the potato roll holds up to intense scrutiny like no other. It is strong, yet soft. It is flavorful and it absorbs juices. It is magical.

As I was browsing the menu a few other items caught my eye. Typically I will try a Chicago dog before any other hot dog menu item (Chicago beats New York on hot dogs, but New York beats Chicago on pizza). However I was enticed by the Dag dog, so I gave that a try.

The Dag dog was essentially the same as the bacon, cheddar and grilled onion burger but in dog form. It was nice. Not too sloppy, as a Chicago dog can sometimes be. They also split the dog and griddled it up nice on the flat top.

The fries were nice too. A thicker style but not quite steak fries. Nicely crisped on the outside and soft inside. A good sized portion too. The overhead pic from above shows the accurate portion size pre-gorging. The pic below was taken after I attacked those shits for a few minutes, dipping them in the Sri Racha ketchup and Tabasco mayo that I masterfully mixed up at their fixin’s bar.

DAG’S PATIO CAFE
342 E. 47th St.
New York, NY 10017

American, Burgers, Flash Deals, Midtown West, Restaurant Reviews

Hudson Eatery

October 28, 2014 Johnny Prime Leave a comment

I grabbed a local Groupon deal for this joint to try out their burger. It turned out to be a pretty good meal. $30 for two drinks, two entrees, and a shared app.

We started off with some drinks, beer & wine:

Next came the apps (we ordered an additional). Bacon and onion mac and cheese, followed by chili duck sauce shrimp. Both were tasty, though I didn’t think the $3 up charge for the bacon and onion in the mac was worth it. Also the shrimp came with a thousand island dipping sauce which didn’t mix well with the asian style sauce that was already on them. Other than that the batter and frying were perfect.

Then the burger came out. I ordered a burger with American cheese, bacon, and jalapeños. My only gripe was that the bun was a little flakey/crusty, but other than that it was well seasoned, they used fresh jalapeños, the bacon was crisp, the cheese was melty and good, and the burger was cooked just right.