Category Archives: NY Strip

Filet Mignon, Nolita/Soho, NY Strip, Rib Eye, Steakhouse Reviews

Il Mulino Prime

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Il Mulino Prime overall score: 84

I came here with two other guys from law school, so we were able to give the menu a real good attack! Check it out.

Flavor: 9

We had the dry aged strip, the dry aged rib eye, and the 10oz filet mignon. All were really great. Nicely cooked to medium rare, and good aged flavor on these prime cuts.

Choice of Cuts & Quality Available: 9

There’s a great selection of prime cuts here with multiple sizes and age statements.

Portion Size & Plating: 10

The portions here are big, and the plating is a step above the rest, with garnishes of cherry tomato, charred lemon and rosemary. One thing I wish they did was roast those tomatoes a little bit.

Price: 9

Beef prices are sky high right now, but Il Mulino Prime keeps the cost in check. I was really happy with the pricing on the menu here.

Bar: 8

The bar here is beautiful. Sean mixed a great martini. The cocktail menu looked nice, and the wine list is impressive.

Specials and Other Meats: 9

We tried the veal chop (parm style), which was listed on the specials menu. Despite not having a bone (really just for presentation purposes), this packed a ton of flavor and was a stunner in the looks department.

Apps, Sides & Desserts: 8

We tried the garlic sauteed spinach and the fries on the side. Both were good, but the fries stole the show here for me. We did not try any desserts (just coffee).

Seafood Selection: 7

There’s standard steakhouse seafood fare here. We didn’t try any so can’t really rate it, but I would definitely try the clams.

Service: 8

Service was good albeit a little slow. We sat at 5:30 and didn’t finish until 8:30. They also initially forgot to bring out or fire our Filet Mignon, and I had some water spilled on me at one point (really not a big deal). Otherwise the people were super nice and pleasant.

Table bread was a nice focaccia (cold), and there was also a nice plate of olives, cheese and tapenade.

Ambiance: 7

Despite being small, the place feels bright and airy due to the high ceilings. It’s a nice space and it felt more like a mom and pop joint than part of the larger group of Il Mulino restaurants that now span the country. I would definitely go back to try more – especially the pasta dishes.

IL MULINO PRIME
331 West Broadway
New York, NY 10013

Full Points for Flavor, NY Strip, Other Cuts, Steakhouse Reviews

Gui Steakhouse

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Gui Steakhouse overall score: 84

First, check out my Ride & Review video HERE:

Flavor: 9

First, we went big on the king size prime rib.

This had a  kombu crust that made for a totally unique flavor. This was a 10, for sure. Perfectly cooked with some mild dry-aging on it.

We had the 48-day dry-aged bone-in strip steak that was on special for the day. The flavor was great, but there was definitely a good amount of chew to the meat. Due to that, the score is a 7. It was really beautiful though. Sadly, that drops the overall flavor score average to 8.5, which I have rounded up to 9.

Choice of Cuts & Quality Available: 9

There’s a great selection of cuts here, showcasing everything from A5 grade Wagyu, US dry-aged prime, cuts for two, cuts for one, and even some off-cuts like Denver steak and top round. I only took a point due to the quality issue on the strip steak that we had (a bit “toothsome”).

Portion Size & Plating: 8

The portions are good here, especially for the steaks. The sides are certainly shareable, but the desserts seem to be made for one. Plating is simple and rustic, using cast iron platters, ramekins and things like that.

Price: 9

The price is high here in midtown, with a whopping $145 for the king cut prime rib (16oz). Some of the larger aged steaks are about $6/oz, which can get pricy if you go big. The good thing here is that the food is worth the price, and they have some very reasonable options for smaller appetites. They even participate in restaurant week.

Bar: 8

The bar downstairs (Bar 92) is a small  but beautiful art deco stretch. They make great cocktails, and the martini cart is fun. It’s dim and lively. I can see myself having a drink here before a meal, for sure.

Specials and Other Meats: 7

The only non-beef meat protein on the entree menu is chicken. I respect the clarity and focus, but I was surprised there wasn’t a nice big pork option. Perhaps they run it as a special some days, as they did read off some beef specials to us.

Apps, Sides & Desserts: 7

We started with four items. First, the brioche. The butter is delicious but I would skip this. It’s a bit pricey and slightly underwhelming.

The “double cut bacon” is nice though. Thick cut bacon with a gochujang type sauce.

I would skip the dumplings. They needed a bit more salt on the filling inside, and just didn’t hit the mark for us.

The shrimp were delicious. Four per order, head on, and with a nice szechuan chili oil sauce (could have used a bit more kick to it, but enjoyable nonetheless).

On the side, we had three items. First was the creamy, cheesy corn. This was nice.

I would skip the carrots. I bit into a forkful of them and there was some woody texture that I had to spit out. Perhaps stems were left on for visual appeal and I didn’t realize?

The mixed mushrooms were excellent, but could have used a bit more of the truffle flavor.

He had four desserts. My favorite was the coconut milk panna cotta.

The earl grey ice cream was nice too, but they need to put the crumble on top instead of at the bottom of the dish.

Their Korean spin on the Paris Brest (Jeju Brest) was nice. It wasn’t as crunchy as I expected, but it sort of ate like a jelly donut crepe. Very tasty.

Lastly, the black and white mousse cake was incredible. Rich, flavorful, well-balanced, and a really good portion size if you want to share a dessert. If I was more of a chocolate lover, this would have been my favorite dessert.

Seafood Selection: 8

There’s a bunch of nice looking seafood selections here. We only ate the shrimp, but based on how well the other stuff came out, I can confidently say that the seafood here will be good. Next time.

Service: 10

Amazing. One of my friends has an egg yolk allergy, and the staff was really considerate, knowledgeable and friendly when we were trying to navigate the menu and ask about special preparations. They were also really attentive, they knew their meats and cuts, and they were super generous, giving us a few items on the house as compliments of the chef. The only negative was they forgot a potato item that we ordered. We had plenty to eat, though, and didn’t even realize it until after we left.

Ambiance: 9

Despite being upstairs in the Times Square area, this place really transports you. It’s a mix of art deco, mid century modern and dark/dim classy. I really like the space, and I’ll definitely be back for more.

GUI STEAKHOUSE
776 8th Ave
New York, NY 10036

American, Nolita/Soho, Non-Steakhouse Steaks, NY Strip, Restaurant Reviews, Rib Eye

The Corner Store

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The Corner Store is a new bistro type American restaurant over on West Broadway and Houston.

Check out my Ride & Review video HERE first:

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

Chelsea, Full Points for Flavor, Non-Steakhouse Steaks, NY Strip, Restaurant Reviews, Rib Eye, West Village

Crane Club

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I didn’t take great photos here, but the food, atmosphere, service and overall vibe is outstanding. The martinis are great, first off.

But the Garden Gibson was a little too sweet for my taste.

Second, the bread service is incredible. There’s semolina Italian bread, focaccia, and cacio e pepe babka, all service in an edible sourdough basket with whipped butter and a labneh onion dip.

We started the meal with a nice array of seafood to share: lobster tails, ebi shrimp cocktail, razor clams, baked cherrystone clams, and caviar service.

The pasta was killer. We did the butternut squash agniolotti, the frutti di mare spaghetti, and the baked shells. The baked shells tasted like French onion soup! Wild!

We also did some scalloped potatoes along with a burger and fries that they generally only serve downstairs to the exclusive Crane Club members. A real nice steakhouse style classic, and the fries are perfectly crisp and well seasoned.

For the mains, we tried the aged rib eye, the dover sole, and the parmigiano-aged NY strip steak. All of these were excellent, but the real stand out winner for me was the strip steak. It was so tender, so perfectly cooked, and so uniquely flavored. I can’t wait to go back for more! 10/10 for that baby, with a solid 9/10 for the rib eye.

Also really loved the tomahawk pork chop. It stole the show.

For dessert, we tried the banana layer cake, the apple crisp, and the cheese cake. It was hard to choose a favorite here, but I think I was leaning toward the apple crumble the most.

I can’t wait to go back here to try more shit. This place is a real winner, and it makes for a perfect replacement to Del Posto.

CRANE CLUB
85 10th Ave.
New York, NY 10011

African/Middle Eastern, Mediterranean, Midtown East, Non-Steakhouse Steaks, NY Strip, Restaurant Reviews

Leonetta

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First, check out my Ride & Review video HERE:

Leonetta is Chef Ed Cotton’s new restaurant, located in Murray Hill, where the old Brother Jimmy’s used to be located.

Ed Cotton was on Top Chef season 7, and he also heads up the kitchen at Jack & Charlie’s as well, which os one of my favorite places to eat.

My wife and I came here after the new year to run through the menu. Here’s what we tried:

Grilled Octopus Salad

This was a warm salad that ate almost like a salsa. The octopus was cooked perfectly.

Lamb Tartare

This was one of our favorites of the night. The lamb was super tender, and the added items really made it pop, especially the pomegranate seeds.

Tuna Puttanesca

This was my favorite of the three “raw bar” items that we started with. The Kalamata olive and raw tuna combination was divine.

Next we moved on to a pasta dish made with tiny rigatoni and lamb ragout.

The stewed/braised lamb was really delicious. My only critique here would be to make the chic peas fried crispy for some added texture.

We did some charred broccolini on the side here, which was the best broccolini I’ve ever had. Great char, cooked perfectly, wonderful bright flavors.

For our mains, we started with the 14oz strip steak with zataar-seasoned steak fries and harissa ketchup.

This was cooked perfectly. Although there was no dry-aging involved, the flavor still popped due to the seasonings. This is an easy 8/10.

We also tried the fried pork shank shawarma with pickles and zataar-spiced pita bread.

This dish was a home run. The exterior was fried to an amazing crisp. The skin crackled as you cut it.

The meat was cooked perfectly, and paired well with the street-style red and white sauces, like you might see at a halal falafel, lamb, chicken and rice cart.

On the side, we did some roasted mushrooms, which were absolutely delicious. Ed always nails the mushroom offerings.

For dessert, we tried the special panna cotta.

This was topped with orange caramelized pistachios. I absolutely loved it, but it did have a thicker than expected texture. Almost thicker than Labneh or Greek yogurt.

The cocktails here are amazing, so don’t miss the opportunity to go downstairs to Leo’s Famous, their beautiful lounge with a fireplace, for a night cap.

I can’t wait to go back and try the rest of the menu.

LEONETTA
181 Lexington Ave.
New York, NY 10016

American, German, Non-Steakhouse Steaks, NY Strip, Parms, Restaurant Reviews, Union Square/Flatiron

Veronika

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Veronika is the restaurant inside the Fotografiska photography museum on Park Avenue near 23rd street. My wife took me here for dinner, and I have to say, everything was pretty great.

We started with two tartares: uni and tuna, and wagyu. I liked the wagyu better but both were really nicely executed.

This German style veal shnitzel with a fried egg on top was the perfect shared course for the middle of the meal. I think the batter could have used a bit of salt after it came out of the fryer, but the capers with anchovy in them definitely added salt to the bites we had with them.

For our mains, we did the bone in strip and the lamb saddle.

Between the two, the lamb was much better. Nice and roasty. Perfect. The strip was dry aged but again it could have used a touch more salt. Perfectly cooked though. 8/10.

For dessert, we had an interesting take on strawberries and cream, served inside a meringue tube of sorts. Here are the before and after pics.

I would definitely go back here again! The food was great, and the ambiance was absolutely stunning.

VERONIKA
281 Park Ave. South
Second Floor
New York, NY 10010

American, Non-Steakhouse Steaks, NY Strip, Press Reviews, Restaurant Reviews, Upper West Side

Allure

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Allure is the new restaurant inside the Belleclaire Hotel on the upper west side, right on the corner of 77th and Broadway. The dining room has a beautiful skylight atrium overhead, almost like an old timey greenhouse.

My wife and I started with a round of delicious cocktails, my favorite of which was the smoked old fashioned, made with pistachio infused spirits.

Next, we had a trio of apps: prawns, tuna tartare and grilled baby cuttlefish. Of these, the prawns were definitely our favorite. The mole-esque sauce and spice levels were absolutely incredible.

For our mains, we had the rainbow trout with charred kale, olives and artichokes, along with the prime NY strip, which comes from Golden Packing.

Both were excellent, but, as predicted, the steak was the winner for me. The reverse was true for my wife.

The steak was a juicy and perfectly cooked center cut gem, smothered with a peppery au poivre cream sauce that I could drink every day. 9/10.

Served with florentino, a sort of broccolini meets cauliflower green-stalked flowering veggie, this is a steal of a composed meal at just $55. The steak was about 12oz. That’s blue cheese or gorgonzola on top, not butter.

We also did a side of mushrooms to go with this. Delicious.

For dessert, we had the “Nutella Kiss” with pistachio ice cream and merengue, and a creme brulee bread pudding. Both were top notch.

I would 100% go back here again. What a beautiful and delicious restaurant!

ALLURE
2175 Broadway
New York, NY 10024

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

Centurion

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First, check out my kickass Ride & Review video HERE:

If you haven’t heard about this place, it’s a very exclusive Amex Black card-holders joint. You CAN get access to it you have an Amex Platinum card, which my wife has. We were able to snag a reservation for 6:30PM on a Friday, and the experience was incredible. Seriously – watch the video above for the full effect.

We started with some cocktails that we really enjoyed. The stand out for me was the incredibly beautiful and delicious Carbon Martini, made with squid ink!

Our apps were a pair of tartare dishes. Table side wagyu beef tartare, and tuna tartare. Both incredible!

Next, we shared a wagyu burger. This was perfect. Thin slices of tomato, onion, pickles and just a single leaf of Bibb lettuce. Crispy bacon. Melty cheese and a special sauce. Perfect cook temp.

For entrees, we had lamb loin and aged strip steak (Snake River Farms). Both beautifully plated. The strip was 45-days aged, and 10oz.

I think we both liked the lamb slightly better. It came with a killer lamb sausage meatball wrapped in spinach (watch the video). Steak 9/10. Lamb 10/10.

For dessert we had a Lebanese pistachio milk flan called mouhalabieh, and a vanilla eclair. Both great.

Excellent table bread and butter here.

Some of the incredible views:

If you ever have the opportunity to dine or have drinks here, I highly recommend it. It’s definitely worth throwing on your bucket list.

CENTURION LOUNGE
1 Vanderbilt Ave
55th Floor
New York, NY 10017

Burgers, Filet Mignon, Midtown West, NY Strip, Other Cuts, Press Reviews, Rib Eye, Steakhouse Reviews

Steak Frites Bistro

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Steak Frites Bistro overall score: 86

The PR company that helps promote this restaurant invited me in for a free meal in exchange for some social media posts. I brought a couple of other friends from the Instagram food world and we gave it a shot.

Flavor: 9

We had three steaks here. First was the tremendous cote de boeuf, which was roughly 28oz on the bone, meant to be shared among two diners.

This comes out sliced with a hotel herb butter on top. Great presentation.

While this wasn’t dry aged and left a little bit to be desired in terms of texture, it was quite tasty, juicy and nicely cooked. 8/10.

Next up was the dry-aged strip steak.

What this lacked in crust and thickness, it made up for in flavor. The age definitely came through. 8/10.

A delicious crust on this chateaubriand filet mignon for two at 20oz for under $100. 9/10.

Finally, we tried the hanger steak.

This was the winner of the three, especially when eaten with the peppercorn cream sauce. It had a great hard crusty sear on the outside, it was cooked to a perfect medium rare on the inside, and it was properly sliced against the bias. 9/10.

I should also discuss the “Burger Francaise” here, which was a stellar dry aged patty cooked to a nice juicy rare, topped with gruyere, stone ground mustard, crispy fried shallots and gherkins, on a freshly made brioche bun. GO GET THIS!!! It’s a 10, and it was probably the best item of the night.

Their French Dip sandwich, offered at lunch, is killer. While a bit pricey at $34, you will definitely leave there very satisfied.

Choice of Cuts & Quality Available: 8

There’s a lot to choose from here, including some large format items meant for sharing like the chateaubriand. All the meats come from the great folks over at Pino’s Prime Meat Market.

Portion Size & Plating: 8

This place came through with good sized portions. The hanger, for a lighter appetite, is 9oz. The strip is 16oz on the bone, but it felt more like 12 or 14. The larger format steaks for two are just under the 30oz mark. Slightly light, but maybe fine for many diners. The presentation is nice, French and simple.

Price: 9

The pricing here is very fair. $35 for the hanger, $65 for the strip and $88 for the rib eye that’s meant for two people. I like that.

Bar: 8

The bar here is nice, and it was crowded while we were there, even on a nasty weather night. It can get a little cramped since there are high tops close to the back of the bar seats, as well as a row of tables behind the high tops, making for some narrow passing. Otherwise, nice cocktails and great beer and wine selections.

Specials and Other Meats: 9

There were no real specials read to us, but they do offer a rotisserie chicken that I’d like to try next time I go. At the bar, they’re offering 12 duck confit sandwiches per night (until it graces the lunch menu permanently. This was an easy 10/10. Absolutely insane! It’s cooked in duck fat at 165F for 24hrs.

Apps, Sides & Desserts: 8

We started with steak tartare, escargots, foie gras terrine and duck pate. All of these were great, but to me what stood out the most was the escargots. They were different than what’s typically presented at other French bistros. I liked that they came in a bowl/tray and had chunks of French bread already soaked in the delicious puddle of herb butter/sauce in there. The fries are also outstanding here, and they pretty much come with every meat item.

The green beans were good (not pictured), but we mainly ordered them just to have some green shit on the table.

On a second trip I tried the frisee lardon salad, which was stellar!

The Paris Brest is nice as well, with hazelnut.

The brest was swapped out recently for the eclair. Similar flavors.

The chocolate mousse was very nice too.

Also really loved this almondy, grapey, blueberryey baked thing called a claufutis.

Seafood Selection: 8

I didn’t try any seafood here, so can’t really rate it. But I think they would do a great job on the mussels given how well they prepared the escargots. I always felt they were similar, in many ways

UPDATE – I tried these large, plump and juicy mussels. They were really nice! Ask for extra baguette to dip.

Oysters also delicious.

Service: 10

Impeccable service here, and the bread game is on point! Just ask for extra butter.

Ambiance: 9

The location of this place may seem odd to some, but I always thought the area had a unique flare to it. Inside, they did a great job with the decidedly “French bistro” space they have, minus one point for the narrow passing areas that I noted in the bar section. I’ll definitely be back!

Side note: Brunch is pretty great here on weekends. Quiche Lorraine, Moroccan Baked Eggs, and Croque Madame – all top notch.

STEAK FRITES BISTRO
496 9th Avenue
New York, NY 10018

American, French, Midtown East, Non-Steakhouse Steaks, NY Strip, Press Reviews, Restaurant Reviews

Cornelius

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Cornelius is a new French and American style joint in Grand Central. My wife and I came in to give it a try, as the menu looked pretty incredible.

We started with some cocktails, all of which were killer. My favorites were the Sazerac (not pictured) and the caviar martini. If you have some time before you start to eat, grab the espresso old fashioned. That also works well with dessert too though.

We started with this foie gras terrine, which wasn’t on the menu. This is basically delicious meat butter, and it would also pair well with their cheese plate. We had that for dessert.

Next up was the beef tartare. This is made from hand cut prime tenderloin, but the bump of caviar is extra/not standard. I really loved this, and it’s definitely large enough to eat as a main course.

We shared this beautiful 28oz, 30-day dry aged NY strip/shell steak on the bone.

The sauce is a velvety and mild Hollandaise, and draped over the bone is a nice portion of sautéed broccoli rabe. On top, shaved Perigord black truffle. 9/10 – very tender, well rested, and great aged flavor coming through on that evenly browned crust.

Of course we didn’t stop there. These two dishes were both beautiful and well executed, but the winner of the night goes to the duck leg confit. The lamb collops of tenderloin were perfect, it’s just that the duck was masterfully prepared, The meat was so tender and well seasoned/balanced. And with a huge bed of lentils underneath, it was filling as well. Make sure you order that!

For dessert, along with the cheese plate up above, we had these incredible dolce de leche donuts. WOW! I was actually shoving some of the currant jelly into the hole to make them even more decadent.

This place is crazy good, and I really can’t wait to go back to try the chateaubriand for two and a few other items that look great.

CORNELIUS
89 East 42nd Street
New York, NY 10017