Category Archives: Midtown West

Midtown West, Rib Eye, Steakhouse Reviews

Empire Steakhouse (54th)

January 11, 2015 Johnny Prime 3 Comments

Empire Steakhouse (54th) overall score: 84

This joint is right near my apartment, so it was just a matter of time before I wandered in. I’d been to the other Empire location a while back. It was okay; room for improvement there, but I still wanted to try this other location. I went with my wife for a quick dinner. Check it out:

Flavor: 8
I had the bone-in rib eye. It had a great sear and crust on the outside, and it was cooked to a nice medium-rare on the inside. There was not one drop of bleed-out, as the steak was properly rested before it was served. Aside from a bit of gristle in one spot, this was a great cut of beef. Better than the other location (which is now closed).

Choice of Cuts & Quality Available: 9
Empire covers the basics in a plentiful way. They offer porterhouse for two, three, or four; ribeye; filet; strip; and even prime rib. To top it off there are veal and lamb chops too.

Portion Size & Plating: 8
Portions here are average to good. The creamed spinach is enough for two to share at $11. Even the creme brûlée dessert is probably big enough to share. At 22-24oz, the steak is a good size too.

Price: 8
Great prices here. Our bill was just over $100 because my wife didn’t have much of an appetite.

Bar: 10
This is a great bar to hang out in. The bar room itself is beautiful, but not only is the atmosphere cool, but they have over 400 different bottles of wine and over 100 different single malt scotches – not to mention a serious bourbon and cognac selection.

Specials and Other Meats: 9
The great thing about this place is their pre-dinner price fix menu. At $49 you get a soup or salad to start, then either a filet or strip with crab cake or grilled shrimp, a side of either broccoli or mashed potatoes, and dessert. Awesome. I will definitely be back here for that deal.

Apps, Sides & Desserts: 7
Unfortunately, the chilled seafood platter missed the mark for us. The shrimp and lobster portions of the dish were just really bland and lacking in flavor. The lump crabmeat was excellent though. I noted the same problem in the review of the other location as well.

I had to drown it in their steak sauce to get some enjoyment out of it.

The creamed spinach was really good. It may have been a bit too salty, but I didn’t necessarily mind too much.

This creme brûlée is the best in the city. I’m serious. I’ve had them all over the place, and this shit was perfect. So creamy and light. Amazing texture and flavor, and just the right amount of broiled sugar on top.

Seafood Selection: 8
Aside from the chilled shellfish platter, I really can’t make an assessment on this here. The shrimp and lobster cocktail in that shellfish tower were just no good. Not rancid or “bad,” they just had no flavor whatsoever. It is my hope that, based on the greatness of the lump crabmeat, some of the other seafood selections are better. I recall liking the oysters a lot at the other location, so there’s that.

Service: 10
Our waiter, Tim, was awesome. We got to talking about cameras and photography when he noticed my camera, which he is currently in the market to get for himself. The rest of the staff were all very courteous and kind, and the service was FAST! We got our meal very quickly, and the servers were very happy to refill our plates with spinach and/or shellfish from the tower when we ran low. Decent bread basket, though not warm.

Ambiance: 7
This place was a little stale for me. I did like their private dining room, and loved the front of the house and bar, but the main dining hall was just lacking a little oomph for me. That said, does it really matter, as long as the food is good?

EMPIRE STEAKHOUSE
237 W. 54th St.
New York, NY 10019

Burgers, Midtown West, Pub Food, Restaurant Reviews

Stagecoach Tavern

January 10, 2015 Johnny Prime Leave a comment

I’ve walked by this joint a million times and never thought twice about entering.

But a buddy and me decided to stroll in and try the burger. I thought it was going to be a fucking tourist trap shithole, but I was wrong. The inside is spacious, and actually nice.

The burger here is incredible.

Better than Rosie O’Grady’s nearby, better than P.J. Carney’s as well. In fact, I’d say it is one of the best burgers in midtown. The patty had a great crunchy crust on the outside edges. it was cooked properly to my “medium” specification. It was thick but not too thick that you can’t add toppings, and the cheese ratio was just right. Bun was strong and pliable as well. The only thing I didn’t like was the lettuce (garden mix as opposed to iceberg). I also swapped out cheddar for American cheese.

My buddy got a “chicken burger,” which was essentially some chicken breast pounded flat and breaded/fried, then topped with ham and swiss, and smeared with some thousand island dressing.

The fries were also excellent here as well. Crispy, natural cut, golden-brown twigs of awesome.

STAGECOACH TAVERN
834 7th Ave.
New York, NY 10019

Chinese, Midtown West, Ramen, Restaurant Reviews, Thai

Puff Cha Ramen

December 31, 2014 Johnny Prime Leave a comment

In the annals of not-quite-ramen joints that use the word “ramen” in their name to draw in Ippudo and Totto overflow business in the midtown west area, Puff Cha has to be one of the best.

The place is small inside, with seating for a maximum of 18 guests, but it is very nicely and basically decorated. Colorful.

Like Kung Fu Little Steamed Buns “Ramen,” Puff Cha serves up a bunch of dry and soup noodle dishes, among other things like Thai curry puffs and bubble teas. These are essentially empanada-like puff pastry dough turnovers filled with all sorts of goodies. We tried the Korean BBQ varietal, which was okay but I imagine their signature Thai offerings are much better.

We also dabbled into their chicken wings, which, despite not being as crispy as I like, were definitely nice and flavorful, with a soy-based sticky sauce coating them.

We tried some lunch specials since we were both off from work and wandered in for the deal. I tried the roast pork noodle soup, which was really awesome.

The broth was packed with flavor, yet thin and clear. It was served with thinly sliced roast pork, fresh baby bok choy, scallions, cilantro, and a fried egg roll wrapper of some sort. The noodles were ramen style, and cooked just right.

My soup came with a spring roll too, which was decent. Not greasy, and very light.

My wife tried a “mock duck” in Thai peanut curry sauce, which was surprisingly delicious and very reminiscent of actual fatty duck skin. Nicely done! It was served with rice, baby bok choy, and a bowl of clear fish broth.

My wife’s dish came with a steamed dumpling, which was definitely more Thai or Vietnamese flavored as opposed to Chinese.

The greatest part of this meal was discovering that they have fresh, lightly pickled spicy jalapeño peppers and red onions in a dish for adding to your soups or rice/noodle dishes. Awesome!

In the back, they have a counter-top display case with some homemade desserts that looked simple and nice as well.

Very affordable – especially during the lunch deal times (until 4pm).

PUFF CHA
457 W 50th St
New York, NY 10019

Burgers, Midtown West, Pub Food, Restaurant Reviews

Jasper’s Taphouse & Kitchen

December 30, 2014 Johnny Prime Leave a comment

My wife and I came here for a quick lunch special during the week when we had some time off from work. They offer a great deal: $10 for a cheeseburger with fries (curly or hand-cut) or salad, plus a pint of their house lager. Pretty sweet!

Unfortunately the burger was overcooked (came back well or maybe medium well, rather than medium), under seasoned, and under cheesed (it was one small slice on a thick patty).

The fries were perfectly cooked and crispy, but also lacked some seasoning. My wife had the curly fries, and I had the hand-cut. I liked mine better.

Over all it was still a good deal, but I’d rather pay full price for a perfectly executed burger than save a few bucks on a half-assed job.

JASPER’S TAPHOUSE & KITCHEN
761 9th Ave.
New York, NY 10018 ‎

Midtown West, Pizza

Sacco Pizza

December 30, 2014 Johnny Prime Leave a comment

Sacco is a little category 2 joint on 9th Avenue in the 50s that I pass by all the time. Today my wife and I wandered in for a slice.

It was pretty good; nice and thin crust, good flavor on the sauce and cheese, and not a lot of oil drip-off.

The problem is, at $2.50 a slice, I found that the nearby dollar slice joint “NY Fresh Pizza” was somewhat on-par, and for the $2.50 price point in this neighborhood, I’d probably go back to Luigi’s or Bella Vita before coming here again. Not a bad slice at all though.

SACCO PIZZA
819 9th Ave
New York, NY 10019

Burgers, Midtown West, Pub Food, Restaurant Reviews

Brickyard Gastropub

December 24, 2014 Johnny Prime Leave a comment

Brickyard is a bar on 9th Avenue near 52nd Street that has some pretty fair-priced lunch specials.

The one I tried was $10 for a burger and fries, with just $3 drafts of anything on tap. I went with a nice refreshing UFO wheat beer to start off.

The burger was actually pretty decent, but the meat needed more seasoning, as well as an additional slice of cheese. The fries could use a bit more crisp to them as well. Not bad though: burger, fries and beer for $18 with tax and tip included. The pickle spear that came with the burger was a half-sour too, which I really liked.

BRICKYARD GASTROPUB
785 9th Ave.
New York, NY 10019

Midtown West, Pizza

NY Fresh Pizza

December 24, 2014 Johnny Prime Leave a comment

I walked by this little hole in the wall and figured I’d stick my dick in for a slice. This is on 9th Ave near 52nd Street.

It was actually pretty good as far as category 3 dollar slice joints go. I was so hungry that I forgot to take a pic of the pizza until I was nearly finished.

Not bad for a buck. Better than most dollar slice joints I’ve been to so far.

NY FRESH PIZZA
787 9th Ave
New York, NY 10019

Banh Mi, Midtown West, Pho, Restaurant Reviews, Vietnamese

CoBa 53

December 23, 2014 Johnny Prime Leave a comment

NOTE: THIS JOINT IS NOW CLOSED

My wife and I came to this joint to try some of the Vietnamese basics. We started with some drinks. I had “33,” which is a beer from Vietnam, and my wife had a lemonade mixed drink.

The first staple item to order is the spring rolls. These were not a hit for us. They were a little bland.

Next, the banh mi sandwich. This had good flavor, but the bread was all wrong (it needs to be a French baguette), and it needed more pate and another layer of meats to really fill it out. I would have liked some more slices of jalepenos and also less cilantro stems and more leaves.

The next big item to get is the pho. I liked the broth. It needed just a slight more oomph, but otherwise it was pretty enjoyable. It had sliced eye round as well as brisket. I added beef balls for an extra $2.

This next items isn’t necessarily a staple item to order, but my wife and I are fond of clay pot dishes. We got the pork belly version and it was really great. It was packed with lots of great porky and fatty meat, a boiled egg, fried tofu, squash and lemongrass.

For dessert we had the coconut lemongrass ice cream. It was a little gummy in texture, but otherwise was an interesting flavor.

Here’s the Willy:

COBA 53
401 W. 53rd St.
New York, NY 10019

Italian, Midtown West, Rib Eye, Steakhouse Reviews

Nino’s Tuscany

December 20, 2014 Johnny Prime Leave a comment

Nino’s Tuscany overall score: 68

EDIT: This place is now CLOSED!

This place grabbed my attention when I saw the meat in their window as I walked by.

The “Italian Steakhouse” concept has been picking up momentum lately, with places like Costata, Quality Italian and Il Mulino Prime developing lots of buzz. I had to try it. Plus is it just down the street from our apartment.

Flavor: 5
My steak was a little bit on the bland side unfortunately. It was cooked perfectly, and my compliments to the chef for a wonderful sear, but I think it was under-seasoned and just didn’t have some of the oomph that some other places nearby have. It was served on a hot plate that smelled deliciously of butter.

Choice of Cuts & Quality Available: 6
The cuts in the window looked fantastic, so I will have to be kind in this section, despite my steak being a bit gristled and fatty. I love a good rib eye that has soft, jelly-like fat, but my cut was laced with some of the more tough to eat ribbons of fat. A shame too, because it was indeed cooked so beautifully. They do offer all the basic steak cuts though: porterhouse, strip, filet and rib eye.

Portion Size & Plating: 8
Portions here are just right. Not too much, not too little. You’ll go home full, and the plating is simple and basic, clean, neat, and without pretense.

Price: 5
I felt that the price was a bit high given the fact that my steak was not up to snuff. At $52 I expect near perfection. My wife’s chicken dish was fairly priced, however, as were the rest of the items we ordered. We stayed away from the appetizers though, as they seemed a little steep as well.

Bar: 7
This joint has a very cool bar area. With brick arches and columns to split it away from the main dining areas, you feel like you are in a cozy neighborhood spot. There’s also live music near the main entrance and bar area too, so it makes for a nice place to have a drink.

Specials and Other Meats: 8
There were no specials read to us, but as far as other meats go, they did offer an ossobuco dish, and various veal, chicken and lamb preparations: a solid showing. My wife had Cornish Hen, which was really nice. Crispy skin, juicy meat all over (even the tits), and a nice rosemary wine flavor pairing. The only down side to her dish was that the broccoli rabe it was served with was not seasoned (needed salt).

Apps, Sides & Desserts: 6
We started with just a single slice of Canadian bacon (aka ham). It was nice, just maybe needed a sauce to pair with it.

We also did a side of sautéed spinach. This was really nice. Smelled really fresh, tasted of garlic and oil, and was generous in size.

For dessert we tried the tiramisu. This was okay. It wasn’t boozy, and it was nice and soft in texture, but the top was covered in what tasted like frozen cool ship cake frosting. That was a little off-putting but otherwise it was enjoyed.

Seafood Selection: 9
There’s lots to choose from here for seafood. They have a ton of nice shellfish on the app menu, along with smoked salmon (which was very tempting). For entrees they offer fresh lobster, lobster tails, salmon, sea bass, tuna, shrimp and even a whole roasted fish of the day. Nice! I can’t, in good conscience, give full points though since I didn’t get a chance to try any of it.

Service: 8
I thought our service was a bit on the slow side for a party of two. To Ninos’ defense, though, the place was really busy, so I can’t fault them for that. I’m happy to see businesses keeping busy and having a full house. Also the manager Benny was really friendly, well-dressed, and had a great table side manner. Everyone was pleasant and nice, and even the table bread was pretty good, served with a bowl of olive oil and olives.

Ambiance: 6
This place has a nice cozy, warm feel to it. A winter’s night was the perfect time for us to come, I think. The musician was playing a mix of Christmas music and Sinatra style favorites, and a few couples had even gotten up to dance for a song or two. Very nice.

NINO’S TUSCANY
117 W. 58th St.
New York, NY 10019

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

Hooters

December 16, 2014 Johnny Prime Leave a comment

Yes, Hooters… Did you think I was some kind of food elitist?

We all know the wings are pretty decent here. But Monday night is “Bunday” at Hooters, which means burger specials (ranging from $9.99 to $12.99) and $2.50 beers (bud, Bud Light, and Michelob Ultra). Three beers and a “Big Baja” burger (provolone, jalapeños, salsa) with fries (more like a half order of the curly fries) or tots for $25, right around the block from my apartment? Yup – I’m there.

Looks pretty good, right? I’m a professional photographer, though. I can make Jessica Simpson look good. In any event, the burger was fine – properly cooked and tasty. I’ve had better, and I’ve had worse. You go here for the deal, and if you’re a desperate pervert or don’t get cable or internet, you go for the tits. My buddy came for (the tits and) the BBQ bacon cheddar burger.