Bufon is a new meat and seafood focused joint in the lower east side. My wife and I tried five items from a menu that we really wanted to ravage. We definitely plan to go back to try more items.
Sunchoke
This was fantastic. Really nice, fresh and mildly starchy.
Halibut
The sauce on this was crack. It was some sort of buerre blanc with bottarga.
Pork Chop
Delicious. Served with butter beans and chopped up Chinese sausage. Super unique.
Picanha
Roasted to perfection. The fat was delicious as well. Scored and rendered to become a beef gelatin of sorts. Skip the vinegar based Creole salsa and get the au poivre for a more classic Sunday roast feel. 9/10.
Crispy Confit Potato
I didn’t expect a fancy hash brown, but it was really good.
No dessert was offered yet. They literally just opened. Interior decor still a work in progress, and the windows still needed to be cleaned!
I hit Seafire Grill with some buddies from high school. While this can technically fit into the steakhouse review format, I decided to keep it quick and easy, since the thrust of the menu here is seafood.
Speaking of seafood, we had a nice selection of raw east and west coast oysters to start, along with grilled calamari and Spanish octopus.
Of course I had steak for my main course. This was a nice 8/10. Rib eye, dry-aged on sight.
Nice seared tuna entree.
The sides were all good. We did creamed spinach, truffle mashed potatoes, and caulilini. For dessert, pecan pie and apple strudel.
Balvanera is an Argentine wine bar and steak-focused restaurant. We went with another couple, so we were able to try a bunch of stuff.
We started with four small plates:
Octopus
Roasted Beets
Blood Sausage
Burrata & Squash
All of these were really great, but I think we all sort of agreed that the octopus was the best, with the blood sausage either close behind or tied. Really great flavors on this stuff. The blood sausage had none of that grainy, irony, gamey flavor that you sometimes get with low quality or overcooked blood sausage. It had a sticky sweetness to it that was hard to describe. The octopus was so incredibly tender, and the Romesco sauce was killer.
We went with the 25oz, 28-day, dry-aged rib eye for our main course ($120).
This was cooked to a perfect medium rare, but it lacked a little bit of that dry-aged flavor. It was present mostly around the edges and along the bone. But that didn’t matter, because the flavor was so great. This is a solid 8/10 steak, potentially bordering on 9/10 if the aged flavor bumps up on future visits (definitely going back).
For dessert, we did a chocolate tart and flan. Both of these were pretty nice, but I think next time I will focus more on the small plates in the savory department instead of the sweet stuff.
My buddy told me about this place, and it looked so good that I needed to try it ASAP. We started with some nice cocktails and moved onto a trio of starters:
Stir Fried Manila Clams
Crispy Pork Jowl
Petite Filet Steak Tartare
These were all fantastic and unique. I think the tartare might have been my favorite, or perhaps dragging the pork jowl through the sauce that came with the clams. So delicious.
For entrees, we tried another trio:
Pad Kua Taley
Pan Roasted Pork Chop
Dry-Aged Rib Eye
These were great too, but a few slight criticisms: First, the noodles were excellent but the squid was a little bit overcooked. This was a delicious dish featuring wide/flat noodles and shrimp, squid, crabmeat, Asian celery, scallion, and sesame oil in a roasted chili sauce. Second, the pork chop was a little bit dry due to being overcooked. Thankfully, the salted chili lime sauce that it came with added that moisture and flavor back into it beautifully.
The steak is a great deal at $68 for 24oz of dry-aged beef on the bone. If I had to guess, this was choice grade. The roasted garlic with tomato, tamarind and dill flavors really help bring out its dry-aged characteristics. Bravo. 9/10.
For dessert, we had some more cocktails and a unique sweet and sticky rice dish that was topped with pumpkin custard.
I was reluctant to put this restaurant into my standard steakhouse review format with 100 points spread across ten categories. I think it would have made for an abnormally low score due to the structure of the review. But this place hits top marks for their bar and decor, with an inviting, bright, wide open and airy space. The flavors are so unique and new for the application into a chop house. The staff are all super friendly, helpful, knowledgeable and attentive. I really enjoyed this meal, and I can’t wait to go back to try the two other cuts of steak on the menu (strip and skirt), and perhaps some of the large format fish dishes as well.
TEAKWOOD THAI CHOPHOUSE
345 Greenwich, St.
New York, NY 10013
Bar Oliver is a small Spanish style tapas and pintxos joint at the intersection of Oliver, St. James, East Broadway, Bowery and Worth downtown.
My wife and I stopped in for drinks when they first opened, but now that the menu is fully built out, we wanted to go in and try some food.
We started with the Montauk red shrimp pintxos. These were tasty little bites. Expensive at $18 for two, but that’s the way of live here now I guess.
Next up, the mushrooms. These come with a beautiful egg yolk on top to break and mix in. Loved this dish.
We also tried the skate cheeks. These were served in a nice bright tomato sauce and ate more like a soup than I had expected. There were three to four good sized fish cheeks in there.
We contemplated getting a larger format rib eye, but instead we went with the wagyu hanger steak, which comes with fries and is served atop a really nice piquillo pepper sauce.
The steak was perfectly cooked, but it was a bit small for my liking. I’d say around 6oz. But at $39 it isn’t a bad deal. I give this a, 9/10. Perfectly cooked, nicely seasoned, great flavor and texture.
For dessert we did the Spanish cheesecake. To me, it ate more like a standard cheesecake. Still good though.
I would definitely go back to try more items. Especially the larger steaks. They had a good selection of local beef and domestic wagyu cross breed, all dry aged.
I went to Sartiano’s with four of my law school buddies after a round or two of drinks at Zero Bond, so we were able to try a lot of stuff.
I apologize for the lack of quality images. I really just shot video here, so as to minimize my use of the light. All the pics below are screen grabs from my video.
The caviar cannoli were delicious bites of savory goodness. They’re pricey, but when you’re going big with a meal like Sartiano’s, you get these! As a matter of fact, these were on the house thanks to my friend being a regular here.
The steak tartare was one of the best I’ve had in a while. There were some crispy sunchokes on top that really made this dish pop!
The fried calamari was almost fried in like a tempura batter, and it came with fried slices of zucchini and squash. I really loved this. perfectly seasoned!
The baked clams are fantastic here. I highly recommend those as well. We grabbed two orders, that way everyone got a few. I actually forgot to mention these in the Ride & Review.
Even the Caesar salad was great. It’s served in layers; almost like a salad lasagna.
The tomahawk was pricey, but it was a solid 8/10 in terms of flavor. The aged flavor was mild, but they do dry-age meats on the premises. It was really nicely cooked (clearly grilled and not seared or broiled)), and adorned with delicious roasted garlic and herbs.
A real beauty.
The veal parm was excellent. This stole the show for us. It rivals Carbone, Ballato and all the other greats in the area. Perfectly crisp with some nice melty mozz and grated parm on tip.
We had some roasted carrots and smash-fried fingerling potatoes to go with the mains, but we also threw down on some pasta as well.
We even had some meatballs on the side, not realizing that we would be getting some more with the “Sunday Sauce.”
The “Sunday Sauce” has a serving of baked ziti (tubes arranged vertically in the dish for extra presentation points) along with a heaping bowl of tomato sauce with slow cooked short rib, sausage, and more meatballs within. Awesome.
We also tried the green cavatelli with Jonah crab, which was really nice and fresh. I wish I had the stomach space to eat more of this.
For dessert, we had some chocolate ice cream for my boring-ass friend Paul, and tiramisu. Both were great.
All in, this was a fantastic meal. I can definitely understand the hype for this place. If you can get a table, do it! Personally, I would love to go again if I could.
I contemplated reviewing this in my steakhouse template, with ten categories of ten points each, but it seems like the website calls this place a restaurant as opposed to a steakhouse. I think we are on the borderline, for sure. In any case, let’s get started…
For the appetizers, we went with fries and horseradish aioli, madai crudo and grilled artichokes.
These are all great but the fries took the cake. They’re an absolute must. It may seem like a waste to get one of the sauces, but the horseradish aioli will work well with your steak later on, so it’s not a bad deal to grab one. The madai was really fresh and bright, and had some added meatiness and texture from the sliced caperberries in the garnish. Great touch! The grilled artichokes really popped because of the mint on there. I haven’t ever had that combination of flavors before. I like it!
On a second visit, we started with the wagyu French dip, which is probably the best item I’ve eaten here.
We also had the tuna tartare on another visit. This was perfect.
For our mains, we did the chicken paillard and the bone-in dry-aged strip steak. Both were incredible. The steak was perfectly cooked to medium rare and sported a mild aged flavor. I would definitely get this again. I give it a score of 9/10.
On a second visit, the dry-aged rib eye (boneless) pulled in with the same score. We also tried the 4oz Margaret River wagyu strip (boneless). Another 9/10.
The chicken was pounded super thin and almost had a potato chip crust on the top side. It comes with a really nice salad that had a good amount of acid in it. This was actually nice to cut the fat of the steak between bites.
For dessert, we had their apple pie with vanilla spice ice cream, and their Samoa cookie sundae. The apple pie was absolutely perfect, and it came with a little container of ice cream that reminded me of the kind you used to get from the ice cream truck, with the little paper tab on the top!
On a second visit, the little tub of ice cream was gone, but a nice raised glass was filled with a nicer ice cream. We also tried the Szechuan peppercorn -seasoned melon, which was nice.
That pie was probably the best dessert I’ve had in years. The sundae was good – a nice soft serve ice cream was under there – but over all there was a little bit too much salt content that took away from the Samoa flavors.
This place is definitely worth visiting again. I can’t wait to try more of their menu!
THE CORNER STORE
475 West Broadway
New York, NY 10012
Funny Bar just opened up nearby. The Cake Dealer and I recently wandered in here and had a few drinks, and we knew we wanted to come back.
It’s a live jazz bar with no cover charge, and a really sleek, streamlined menu of STEAK!
Literally, there are like four items on the menu: steak for one, steak for two, french fries, and a wedge salad. Oh and they surprised us each with a free small chocolate brownie sundae at the end of the meal, but it wasn’t on the menu.
We started with the wedge salad, which is simple but delicious.
The steak for one is a petite filet, or shoulder tender/teres major. I love this cut.
It has all the flavor of the chuck, from where it hails, and all the tenderness of a filet mignon. At $29 for about an 8oz steak that comes with fries, this is a great deal. 9/10.
The steak for two is a larger cut. The server told me it was a flatiron, and the host told me it was a strip steak. I don’t think either is correct.
At first I thought maybe it was a tri-tip based on the shape, but the muscle striations seem to go the wrong direction for that. Based on the muscle fibers, I think this is in the sirloin family. Perhaps top butt/sirloin, or top sirloin. Either way it was perfectly cooked, had a great crust, and was artfully topped with a maitre’d butter and herbs. At $69 this is also a great deal for people to try the best of what can be on an otherwise under-utilized cut. 8/10.
Although it might be better to get two of the steaks for one instead of one of the steaks for two, satisfaction will be guaranteed. The fries are perfectly cooked as well. This is the large plate that comes with the steak for two:
They even brought us a free dessert on the house afterwards – miniature brownie sundaes!
The Cake Dealer and I finally made it over to Beauty & Essex after living down here since late 2020. She had been to the bar once before, but I had only ever been inside to make a meat delivery when I was working at Golden Packing in 2021. The chef, Derrick Prince, was on some cooking competition TV shows back in the day, and since then, I’ve always enjoyed following along on his social media and trying out his food whenever I could. He’s a really talented chef.
First off, the service here is impeccable. This is the same for all Tao Group properties. Really great staff that genuinely cares. They started us off with complimentary glasses of bubbly. It was a nice glass too, not some cheap garbage. I ordered a martini as well, and it was made very nicely.
We ordered two apps, but Derrick sent out three more! We had the pleasure of trying the French dips on toast. the shishito peppers, the sea bass tacos, the grilled cheese and tomato soup dumplings, and the steak tartare quesadillas. I think my favorites were the French dips and the sea bass tacos, but The Cake Dealer preferred the dumplings. All of them were great though.
For our mains, we ordered the Peruvian chicken and the beef Wellington.
Both of these were delicious, but I think the winner for both of us was the chicken. Shocker! But there was just something about the jalapeno salsa verde, the squash, carrot and zucchini ribbons underneath, and those little shreds of crispy potato and peas on top that just came together in a magical way. Incredible.
And that’s not to trash the Wellington at all. It was cooked to an absolutely perfect, butter-knife tender medium rare. The sauce was velvety smooth, the pastry was crispy and light. A really great representation of that this dish is meant to be. This is a 9/10, especially since the price was shockingly low to me at like $65. The beef alone would cost more than that at a steakhouse, not including all the prep and labor to make it into a Wellington. Great value.
On the side, we ordered the caulilini, which consisted of broccolini and cauliflowerini (a cross between cauliflower and broccolini), served in a parmesan broth. This was really nice, but Derrick sent out these roasted Kyoto carrots that blew us away. They were roasted for hours and served with some sort of blood orange agrodolce sauce. Good enough to make you understand vegetarians.
For dessert, we tried these beauties that were shaped like cherries, which had either a vanilla or white chocolate mousse inside of a chocolate shell that was covered in a cherry glaze and plopped on top of a hazelnut and chocolate crumble. Perfect way to end the meal.
I highly recommend this place, and I will definitely be going back to try more of the menu. They even offer a brunch pre fixe, which comes with an app, an entree, a side, and a glass of sparkling rose for $35. Another steal of a deal in my opinion.
I finally got over to Foul Witch, named for the strange character in David Lynch’s “Mulholland Drive” (one of my all time favorite movies). I had heard good things about this place, as it’s a sister restaurant to the popular pizza joint Roberta’s.
Like Roberta’s, they offer an item called Fire & Ice. This is basically the same thing at Foul Witch, but instead of being toppings on a pizza, it is a bunch of deliciousness on a plate. Stracciatella cheese, fresh pepper, extra virgin olive oil, and a Calabrian chili paste spread.
Absolutely delicious, especially when stuffed into their sesame focaccia with cultured butter as a makeshift sandwich (I didn’t snap a pic of that mashup).
We also did a side of their Sorana beans with salsa verde, which ate like cannelini beans with an avocado mousse on top. Very nice.
In the middle, we housed two pastas and their Dutch Baby.
The Dutch Baby is a cross between a pop-over and Yorkshire pudding, topped with duck liver mousse and apple. As tasty as it was pretty.
The first pasta was turnip and poppyseed caramelle. This was nice, but the broth had a little bit of a burnt, bitter flavor (likely from the turnip). Otherwise very unique.
The second pasta was Pici al Peposo, which is like extra thick spaghetti served with a peppery meat, horseradish and Parmigiano cheese. We sort of identified the meat as short rib, but traditionally this dish is made with either stewed short rib or shank. This was really nice, although a bit heavy.
Finally, we finished with their wagyu chuck steak.
This was perfectly cooked, super tender, juicy, flavorful, well-seasoned and just over all delightful. 9/10. It was served with a Bearnaise sauce and various types of allium (onions, garlic, chives, shallots, leeks, etc).
We would have tried a dessert, but the charcoal grilling going on in the kitchen set off the smoke alarms, and it just became unbearable to stay any longer. FDNY showed up. Haha! In any case, I would definitely go back to try more things here.
