Category Archives: Other Cuts

Filet Mignon, Flash Deals, Other Cuts, Parms, Porterhouse, Press Reviews, Rib Eye, Steakhouse Reviews, Upper West Side

Lincoln Square Steak

April 25, 2016 Johnny Prime 2 Comments

Lincoln Square Steak overall score: 91

NOTE: THIS PLACE IS NOW CLOSED

My wife and I came here for our anniversary before catching a play at Lincoln Center. They had a great looking “early bird” price fix menu, and a solid looking selection of cuts on the regular menu. Check out the verdict below:

Flavor: 9
I ordered the rib eye from the dinner menu.

It had a great seared crust on the outside, and a good sized fat cap around the edge. The kitchen prepared this thing spot on to medium rare, cooked perfectly.

My wife went with the price fix menu deal, and chose the hanger steak. This, too, was super tender and cooked perfectly.

This was pretty big for a $39 price fix deal, and it came with an app, a side and a dessert. If I had to guess, I’d say this was about 12-14oz. Great seasoning and crust on the outside. These guys really know what they’re doing in the kitchen.

Here’s the porterhouse, which I had on a later, comped visit. 8/10

Choice of Cuts & Quality Available: 9
In addition to the rib eye and the hanger, they also offer two sizes of filet, two different strips, and varying sizes of porterhouse. Excellent showing, and most steaks are prime and dry aged.

Portion Size & Plating: 8
Portions are generous here. The hanger was a big size, and the rib eye felt right for the price. Plating is simple, nothing too fancy.

Price: 9
The prices here are comparable to midtown steakhouses, which can get steep at times, but I feel like here you are getting your money’s worth. Not to mention the price fix deal for $39 is awesome.

Bar: 9
While the location is somewhat tucked away just west of Amsterdam on 70th street, the bar here is really fantastic. It’s large and lounge-like, with high tops along the windows and a long, warm and inviting stretch of bar.

I’d definitely hang out here on a non-steak night. The cocktail menu is interesting as well, with unique twists on classic bar drinks.

Specials and Other Meats: 10
There’s a great selection of alternative meats here. If the standard cuts of beef aren’t your thing for some retarded reason, you can go with lamb, veal, pork or chicken, as well as braised short rib. Great selection, and with that kind of showing of meat, they don’t really need to offer any specials.

The chicken parm comes out pizza style. $40.

Apps, Sides & Desserts: 9
We started with some Bluepoint oysters and Canadian bacon; that’s the way any red-blooded American should begin a steak dinner.

The oysters were big, crisp and fresh. The bacon was perfectly cooked and seasoned. It went nicely with the steak sauce.

The waiter brought out some ravioli for us next, compliments of the house. Mushroom cream sauce. Very tasty.

For the sides, we tried both the creamed spinach and the truffle mac and cheese. Both were perfect. In fact, we actually finished both sides, which almost never happens. The spinach had that “creamless” texture that I love, and it packed a ton of flavor. The mac was nice and cheesy without being too heavy. The truffle flavor was definitely present and most welcomed.

For dessert, we tried the cheesecake, and the staff sent out a complimentary chocolate soufflé in honor of our anniversary.

I liked the cheesecake best, but the soufflé was very soft and moist inside. Nicely executed.

Seafood Selection: 8
There’s salmon, tuna, shrimp, swordfish, branzino, sea bass and lobster on the seafood entree menu. That’s amazing. While I can’t give full points here until I go back and try one or two of the seafood entrees, I can attest to the oysters being top notch.

Service: 10
The service here is incredible. Our waiter, Nol, was very attentive, made great suggestions, and was very nice and genuine. We were greeted immediately with some specially printed up menus that said “Happy Anniversary,” just because my wife made a notation on the OpenTable reservation.

And as you saw in the dessert section above, they comp’d a soufflé for us as well. Later on, when we got to talking more about steak, my website came up and it turns out that the manager, Bruno, knew of my endeavors here. Then even MORE stuff was comp’d.

I love it when that happens!

Another thing I’ll note here is the great table bread: fresh baked popovers that come out nice and warm, and with soft, spreadable butter. I love that shit!

Ambiance: 10
This joint is truly decked out from front to back, top to bottom. It has an intimate feeling with all the red coloring going on, and for even more intimacy there are some separate dining rooms of varying sizes. Great layout with different levels. Here’s a shot of the main dining room.

UPDATE 3/10/17 – GROUPON REVIEW

This is a pretty great deal. You get a bottle of wine, two apps, two entrees, two sides and two desserts for about $100.

The wine selection was from about three or four varietals per red or white. We went with a Malbec.

Not bad. Pretty smooth. Our apps were fried calamari and steak tartare. The calamari were lightly battered, super crisp and perfectly seasoned. Inside they were cooked just right.

The tartare was a bit too salty, but when you stacked it up onto the crostini with some of the dressed greens, it was cooled down a bit. If I had to guess, it was all filet mignon meat.

For our sides we went with the truffled creamed spinach again (but this time we didn’t detect any truffle flavor), and garlic and herb fries. They were pretty good, but I’ve definitely had better.

My steak was a petite filet mignon, about 8oz.

It was cooked to a nice medium rare, but for some reason it felt dry rather than juicy. It did have good flavor and a good crust though. 8/10.

The filet had nothing on my wife’s pork chops though.

The order came with two nice sized rib chops that were cooked perfectly through the center.

So juicy, so flavorful, and we couldn’t finish because each chop was about the size of my filet. Amazing deal.

Desserts were hit and miss. The cream puffs were a little bland and didn’t have too much flavor.

But the tiramisu was velvety smooth, rich with flavor and super soft.

LINCOLN SQUARE STEAK
208 West 70th Street
New York, NY 10023

Burgers, Midtown East, Other Cuts, Porterhouse, Press Reviews, Rib Eye, Steakhouse Reviews

Empire Steakhouse East

March 10, 2016 Johnny Prime Leave a comment

Empire Steakhouse East overall score: 85

The Empire Steakhouse empire just opened a midtown east location.

My friend Matt was asked in for a press meal and he graciously invited me to tag along. We were able to try a bunch of stuff with our group, so I will get right to it.

Flavor: 9
We tried two cuts: the tomahawk rib eye, and the “Emperor’s cut,” which is a T-bone steak from the rear portion of the animal that has a much larger tenderloin side. I’m not quite sure how this is different than a porterhouse, unless what they offer as a porterhouse is more accurately described as a T-bone, which generally has a smaller tenderloin side.

As you can see above, it looks a bit overcooked. With such a large hunk of beef, that is always a concern. Pair that with the hot plate presentation and some graying of meat is bound to happen. Much of the cut was fine, however, and the large tenderloin was very flavorful. The sirloin side was a little tougher, but this was a welcome texture change from the super soft tenderloin side. Flavors were very meaty, there was a great sear on the outside with a good crust, and the steak was well seasoned. In any case, I’ve decided to also include this cut on my porterhouse page even though it is also on the “other cuts” page as a T-bone. I feel like some diners may expect this was a porterhouse. I do, however, think the price tag on it is a bit hefty when compared to their porterhouse for two. I’m curious about the porterhouse and why it is so much cheaper that this cut. Is the porterhouse on the menu actually a T-Bone, which would mean that the emperor cut is actually the true porterhouse? 8/10.

The tomahawk rib eye was by far the better steak at 9/10. There was a good amount of funk to it, likely from the aging process, and it was cooked perfectly to the specified medium rare. The fat cap was a good size too, as you can see from the up-turned slice below. There is almost an equal portion of eye as there is cap.

Choice of Cuts & Quality Available: 10
All of the major cuts are prime and/or dry aged. The quality here is definitely a cut above (knee-slap). There are many sizes of porterhouse, multiple versions of the rib steak, several filets and even some off-cuts like the T-bone. In addition they offer A5 grade Kobe Wagyu filet and rib eye, imported from Japan.

Portion Size & Plating: 8
Portions here are all fairly large, and plating is simple, without too much flourish. For some items, however, they do make a solid attempt at beauty. The seafood platter, for example, is gorgeous (see below). And all plates were cleaned and wiped of any splash before coming out to the table.

Price: 9
Menu prices seem to be pretty good. There are some items that are very fairly priced, like a porterhouse for two for $96. I think the tomahawk steak ($65), and the emperor’s steak for two ($120) are a bit steep, but there are other alternatives. For example, if you want a rib eye you can choose the regular bone-in at $49, which is under the average price point for midtown steak joints. The porterhouse might be a cheaper alternative to the emperor’s steak, but, like I said above, if you’re all about the tenderloin, then that emperor’s cut might make more sense. The cool thing here is that you are getting great quality for that price either way.

Bar: 8
The bar area is pretty nice. It’s not huge, but it makes the best of the space, with street-side high tops and large door-sized windows that open out to the sidewalk. The bar has a good selection of single malts as well, and they make a good martini.

Specials and Other Meats: 8
There were no specials read to us, but this place does offer a fair amount of alternative meats, like lamb, veal and chicken. I didn’t notice any pork other than our bacon app. We tried the rack of lamb. This shit rivaled the beef. It was super flavorful, really well seasoned and perfectly cooked.

Apps, Sides & Desserts: 7
I’ll just fire these off quick. First the seafood platter. I was a little bummed that there were no clams, oysters or mussels. Also, the lobster was completely flavorless, as were the shrimp. That was probably the only thing lacking in this meal, and that’s what is dragging down the score here. But the lump crab meat was absolutely delicious. No lack of flavor there. Also, it was beautiful when it came out to the table.

As you can see we also tried the Canadian bacon. This was great. I highly recommend this when you come here, as there are very few other bacon apps that are quite as good. Pictured below is just a half of one slice (we ordered two slices to share among four people).

We also tried the creamed spinach and truffle mac & cheese. Both were excellent. In fact I was wishing I wasn’t so full on meat, because I wanted more of that mac & cheese!

Last, we also had some onion rings. These were lightly battered on the outside, tender on the inside, and lightly seasoned. We all liked them a lot.

For dessert, we shared an apple strudel and a slice of chocolate mousse cake. Both were amazing. The chocolate mousse cake was light and fluffy, not overly sweet, and had a really nice oreo cookie crust on it. Delicious.

The strudel was even better, in my opinion. The flaky dough was crisp but not hard, so you could eat it with a fork without having bits of crust shatter and fly all over the table. The apples had a nice hint of cinnamon and nutmeg to them. Just perfect.

Seafood Selection: 6
There’s a shitload of fish to choose from here, but from the small amount we had (shellfish app) I am concerned. That lobster and those shrimp… so disappointing. But entree fish is a whole different ballgame. Bass, salmon, sole, tuna, crab cakes, shrimp, scallops and lobster (up to 4lbs) are all on the hot menu here. Since I didn’t try any, I can’t really opine on anything except for the shrimp, lobster and crab meat from the appetizer. Giving the benefit of the doubt for the actual fish, I have split the baby here with a 6/10.

Service: 10
Impeccable. The guys here really know their cuts, and they are super attentive without being in your face. They were very patient with our photo-taking as well. HAHA! I may as well mention the bread and sauce here too. Same as the other location, they serve up nice warm onion bread rolls, and the steak sauce is pretty good!

Ambiance: 10
This place is absolutely gorgeous inside. There’s a beautiful spiral staircase just past the bar that goes up to what I assume is a private dining area. There’s also a nice back room with a long “last supper” style table for somewhat isolated large groups, with a large screen TV that plays a digital fireplace video. And beautifully upholstered booths and elegant tables are arranged under what has to be a 25ft ceiling in the main dining room. The back wall has a glass, temperature-controlled wine shelf that goes from floor to ceiling.

THE 1LB KOBE BURGER

You may have noticed a portion of a burger in one of my shots above. Well, when you’re eating with one of the guys from the Gotham Burger Social Club, you fucking try a burger.

Special thanks to Jill for taking this great shot of the guys:

Anyway here’s the burger:

This baby was juicy as fuck. I thought the patty might be too big at a full pound, but I was wrong. It didn’t overwhelm the bun or build up too high, somehow. The inside was cooked somewhere between rare and medium rare.

There was a great beefy, full flavor to it, as it is Kobe quality. We went with a mild cheese, Swiss, that wouldn’t overpower the meat flavors. This was really fucking good. At $37 (with fries and toppings) I guess it better be! They also offer a standard burger at the bar for $17.

To sum up, this place edges out the other location by a point, and has better marks for flavor, but it may end up being a bigger spread if I ever get back in to try a seafood entree. That section definitely has some wiggle room.

EMPIRE STEAKHOUSE
151 E 50th St
New York, NY 10022

East Village, Latin/Mexican & Caribbean, Lower East Side/Chinatown, Non-Steakhouse Steaks, Other Cuts, Restaurant Reviews

Yerba Buena

February 29, 2016 Johnny Prime Leave a comment

NOTE: THIS PLACE IS CLOSED!

My sister told me about this place a while back, and she later got me and my wife a gift certificate so that we’d give it a shot. Specifically, she told me to try the “poquito picante” cocktail, made with gin, cucumber, jalapeno and lime. It was really delicious. It had that heat from the jalapeno, but it was rounded out nicely with the sweetness from the lime syrup and then cooled off with the cucumber. My wife tried the “concoction,” a fresh fruit riff on a classic egg white whiskey sour. We ordered both cocktails at the bar while we waited for our table, and we were happy to learn that all drinks were half price for an all-day happy hour at the bar on Sundays.

We started with a hamachi ceviche. This was fresh and flavorful, and garnished with sesame seeds and dried, puffed corn. It had a mild flavor and wasn’t too overpowering on the citrus.

We also shared this trio of fries: hearts of palm, avocado and watermelon.

These were really interesting. The avocado was super creamy, as expected. The hearts of palm had some starchiness to it, about which we were both a bit surprised. They tasted great though. The watermelon was an even bigger surprise, however. It was sweet, yet savory, and crunchy, yet juicy. It went perfectly with the smokey ketchup that was served with these fries.

For her entree, my wife ordered the Lechon Confitado, which is suckling pig with sunchoke-black truffle puree and kale-red chiles.

This was the winning dish. The pork was cooked perfectly – like a juicy pulled or shredded pork without the over-saucing that typically occurs at BBQ joints. The confit coking method surely helps in that regard. It was topped with some greens and pickled red onion. The earthy and delicious sunchoke puree was drizzled around the plate.

I intended to order the rib eye that was listen on the menu, but they were out. Instead, they offered me a skirt steak, so I gave that a try.

It was cooked nicely to medium rare, but just wasn’t up to standard with some of the other places I’ve had skirt recently.

I’d say this came in at about a six out of ten for a combination of flavor and quality. It was juicy, but did have a bit of bleed-out, and lacked a good sear on the outside.

It was served with an avocado, tomato and onion salad, and some yucca fritters.

For dessert, we shared the “panqueques,” crepes filled with dolce de leche and served with a scoop of ice cream. The menu said it would be pistachio ice cream, which we were excited about, but they gave us chocolate instead.

In any case, dessert was delicious. The crepes were made fresh, and the dolce de leche was smooth and creamy.

This is definitely a place worth visiting if you’re in the Alphabet City area and looking for a bite or cocktail.

YERBA BUENA
23 Avenue A
New York, NY 10009

American, Burgers, Non-Steakhouse Steaks, Other Cuts, Pub Food, Restaurant Reviews, Rib Eye, Union Square/Flatiron

The Clocktower

February 13, 2016 Johnny Prime 2 Comments

My wife and I came here for an early Valentine’s Day date. We chomped though a good deal of food, so I’ll just get right to it.

The decor here is incredible. It’s elegant yet old fashioned-inspired. High ceilings, big fireplace, wide-planked dark wood floors, dark wainscoting, etc.

The bar is a destination in itself, and they make some really unique cocktails that utilize ingredients you’d never expect to see in a drink, like chicken stock and pea puree.

Table bread is a nice warm and toasty loaf that’s served with a soft, freshly salted whipped butter.

We started with a dashi cured smoked salmon appetizer that was topped with puffed rice, greens and a soft boiled quail egg.

This had a bright and acidic pop to it. A great way to start the meal.

Our next course was a burger, which we shared.

This this was pretty much perfect. By far, this was the best thing we ate here.

It was seared to a nice crisp on the outside, and a beautiful medium rare on the inside.

On top was lettuce, bacon, red onion, pickle, cheddar cheese and special sauce. Nothing too fancy – just really good quality shit. The bun was toasted and warm on the outside but soft like a potato roll on the inside. Just the right balance.

The fries were thick, long and hand-cut – like John Bobbitt’s dick – only crunchy on the outside and soft inside, like mashed potatoes. They could have used a little bit more seasoning or salt, but they were so perfectly cooked that I didn’t mind.

Our awesome waiter Jake, who had really great suggestions on drinks and food items, cleared the table and presented us with these kickass plates as we awaited out main course.

For our main course we ordered the cote de boeuf for two, which was a 40oz bone-in rib eye that came with gratin potatoes (two servings), a green bean salad, and bone marrow jus.

This thing was beautiful. The sear on the outside was like a salty and crisp meat bark, and the aroma was out of this world. It was dressed up with some lightly roasted garlic cloves and thyme.

As you can see, the meat was cooked to a gorgeous pink medium rare, and every bite was tender and juicy. The fat was so soft and mushy too – completely edible. Nine out of ten!

I wasn’t much of a fan of the bone marrow jus. For some reason it wasn’t working for me in the flavor department, but it did smell wonderful.

The potatoes were pretty good. With gratin style potatoes, I always find myself wishing that the chef had done several thinner crisped preparations and then layered them before serving, that way there is some more of that delicious top crunchy texture as you work your way down into the middle.

The green bean salad was nothing to scoff at. It was topped with truffle and tossed with foie gras! This thing was so earthy from the truffles, the truffle oil, the toasted hazelnuts and the foie that it was almost like having another meat course.

By time dessert rolled around we were pretty full, so we just shared this chocolate custard item with a cocktail that was made from cheerios milk and bourbon called “The American Seriel Killer.”

To our surprise, Jake later brought over a tin of shortbread, brittle and English toffee, along with a special dessert plate of grapefruit sorbet since he learned that we were celebrating a special occasion. Killer service here.

I highly recommend this place. At $25 the burger may seem a bit steep at first, but it’s a half pound of some of the best eating you’ll ever have, and it also comes with those delicious fries. Similarly, at $135 the steak for two may seem steep, but you get three sides with it, and I guarantee you will go home full and satisfied.

UPDATE 12/26/2022

We came back! This time for Christmas dinner. We tried the steak tartare, the scotch egg, the Beef Wellington, the prime rib, and the sticky toffee pudding. Everything was great! 9/10 on both the prime rib and Beef Wellington.

THE CLOCKTOWER
5 Madison Ave
New York, NY 10010

American, Midtown West, Non-Steakhouse Steaks, Other Cuts, Restaurant Reviews, Restaurant Week

The Back Room at One57

January 30, 2016 Johnny Prime Leave a comment

NOTE: THIS JOINT IS NOW CLOSED

NYC restaurant week now includes this joint at the One57 building on Billionaire’s Row, “The Back Room.” They offer a really great menu. The decor is beautiful and vast. It’s a huge place. Tables are wide and spacious. Very different from the usual situation in NYC.

The onion bread with garlic and herb cream cheese is a delicious way to start the meal here:

We also sipped on some really excellent cocktails.

The charcuterie board had five different styles of cured meat with some pickled items. I thought this was really generous. The quality of these meats was top notch, too. Coppa, cacciatorini, fennel sausage, soppressata, spicy nduja, lardon. The fat content was so soft and sticky that it was clinging to the bottom of my tongue like peanut butter. So good.

We also had the reginetti pasta, which are like little squiggly brain shapes that hold the sauce nicely in the convolutions.

For our main courses we went with the beef cheek and the quail. The beef cheek was braised in red wine to a perfect tenderness that still retained a nice juicy inside. It was served on a parsnip and rutabaga puree, and topped with crispy onions and a red onion jam.

My wife’s quail dish was nicely cooked and had good flavor, but it was slightly gamey. The quail was in no way bad. It just didn’t hit the same high mark as the beef.

Dessert was pretty great. Maybe restaurants in NYC are finally understanding that people want to see something different than tiramisu, creme brûlée, chocolate cake and fucking flan. First up was this cocoa toffee pudding with brulee’d bananas, salty cocoa nibs and malted coconut ice cream. Excellent.

We also had the meyer lemon zabaglione with whipped tea, lemon confit and earl grey ice cream. Very inventive and unique, and a nice bright way to end a meal.

The waiter, Ivan, was great. He even brought over a candle and complimentary glass of honeyed dessert wine for my wife since they knew it was her birthday (was mentioned on the Open Table reservation).

On a second visit I tried their two-course lunch for $32, along with a taste of a few other things that the rest of the table had.

First was this delicious grilled octopus.

The texture was perfect. While the chimichurri-esque green sauce was a bit bland, I did like it a lot with the octopus, and even with the table bread as well.

I went with the skirt steak for my main course.

The dollop of garlic butter on top really added a great flavor and creaminess to the cut. It was perfectly cooked to medium rare.

While the steak itself was a bit small, it did pack a ton of flavor. 8/10.

Here’s a look at the lobster roll on the lunch menu. I think it could use a bit more quality, large chunks of claw meat. The bread was solid, but I’ve had better lobster rolls elsewhere.

The duck leg confit was brilliant. So tender and juicy, and beautifully plated as well.

And speaking of beautiful plating, this bowl of fried oyster mushrooms with lemon are served with an edible chive blossom.

For dessert we sampled a trio of eclairs and a chocolate espresso cake, which was super soft, smooth and decadent. The texture was more like soft fudge or a thick custardy pudding.

Of the three eclairs, I liked the pink and red one the best. All three had great creamy fillings and were beautiful as well as tasty.

THE BACK ROOM AT ONE57
157 W. 57th St.
New York, NY 10019

American, Full Points for Flavor, Other Cuts, Restaurant Reviews, Steakhouse Reviews, West Village

Quality Eats

November 14, 2015 Johnny Prime 5 Comments

Quality Eats overall score: 85

Fourth Wall Restaurants, who’s group includes Smith & Wollensky, Maloney & Porcelli, Quality Meats and Quality Italian, has just opened up this new casual joint.

Is it a steakhouse? Maybe. I say yes in some ways, and no in others. I’ve decided to treat it like both a regular restaurant and a steakhouse, despite the fact that certain steakhouse review categories will ultimately be scored low due to a more minimalist menu and a completely different selection in terms of meat cuts. They focus on non-traditional cuts of meat here, so be prepared for something unique and different. Also be prepared for that Fourth Wall level of quality and excellence that you’ve come to know and love from them. The word “quality” is purposeful in this group of restaurants. Everything is always good at these places. That’s consistency, people… and I’m not talking about texture.

Flavor: 10
We had the bavette cut and the long bone short rib steak. Both were cooked to a perfect medium rare, both had tons of awesome beefy flavor, and any fat content was completely edible and tasty. Here are some quick angles of the long bone short rib:

They only allow you to order this cut “pink or grey.” Due to the high marbling and location along the bone, this meat can get chewy if not correctly cooked to either of those temperatures. Clearly I went with pink, and I was a very happy camper. These guys are masters in the kitchen.

If you’re wondering what it tastes like, think of the really flavorful bits near the bone of your rib eye steak, or the kind of meat you eat with cross-cut Korean style BBQ short ribs. So good.

Here’s a look at the perfectly cooked, beautifully charred bavette steak. Both plates came with a cup of corn creme brûlée – sweet yet savory, and creamy as fuck – and some pickled red onion. I explain a little bit about this bavette cut down in the next section.

This was nice. It’s a smaller portion, but at $19 it’s a steal because of how delicious it is. The flavor and texture is similar to a hanger or a very soft flank. It gets cut on the bias, against the grain of the meat and muscle striations, to increase textural tenderness.

Choice of Cuts & Quality Available: 7
Don’t let the low score here fool you. This place offers more affordable, less common cuts of beef, but the quality is still extremely high. They don’t have a rib eye, a NY strip or a porterhouse. As such, points must be removed for each missing item. Instead, however, they have a bone-in short rib steak (the meat that rides along the length of the bone as opposed to the eye meat. They have a hanger steak, which is relatively more common. But they also serve a bavette, or flap steak, which is an extension of the T-bone and Porterhouse steaks. It is officially part of the short loin section, in the belly of the animal. They also have top sirloin, skirt steak, and a specially prepared filet with mustard peppercorn sauce called the “Don Ameche” – that’s Mortimer Duke from Trading Places! So they make up for not having those pricey cuts. I wonder what made them glorify Don. It’s funny because I always thought a theme steakhouse or restaurant called “Duke & Duke” or “Winthorpe & Valentine” would be a great idea (located somewhere by Wall Street).

Portion Size & Plating: 9
Portions are naturally a bit smaller for some of the less common cuts of beef, but the plating is really fun. They’ve got these line drawings all over the plates that match the decor of the restaurant.

Price: 10
This is the most budget friendly of the Fourth Wall restaurants. The most expensive steak is $29, the cheapest is $19. Wonderful! I think you get your money’s worth here. You save a good amount when you eat here, and while doing so you get to try some steak cuts that you would ordinarily not see on other steakhouse menus. We had two apps, two entrees, two sides, two desserts and three drinks. Our total was $151, before tip.

Bar: 8
This bar has a great selection of unique cocktails, and some more hard to find beers. The bar area was pretty hopping on Friday evening when we went, in the 6:00 to 7:30 time frame.

Specials and Other Meats: 6
Since the menu is not massive, you’re limited to chicken and pork here in terms of non-beef meats. There were no specials offered by our waitress.

Apps, Sides & Desserts: 9
We did the PB&J bacon. Yes. It’s peanut butter and jalapeño jelly, with bacon. It was stupendously good. The jelly was spicy and sweet at the same time. If moms pack this on a sandwich in their kids’ lunch boxes, those kids will probably grow up to be UFC fighters or something. That’s how badass it is.

Our other starter was the steak tartare, because what is better to begin a steak meal with than raw steak?

The toast came with a marrow butter and radishes. The butter was really creamy and beefy, and the radish added a little bit of crunch element and a bright pop to the bite. The meat texture was soft and delicate, very tasty.

For sides, we first tried this scalloped sunchoke.

Sunchoke is the root of a sunflower. If you’ve never had it before, it tastes like a mix of artichoke and potato. It is one of my favorite starch-veggie items in the world. This was done beautifully, like a scalloped potato dish with some broiled cheese on top.

We also tried the creamed spinach hush puppies. These were pretty interesting:

A bit more dense and moist than your average hush puppy, the spinach inside added a juicy element to each bite.

It was also served with a beef jus mayo for dipping.

The dessert menu offered an array of interesting selections. We went with two ice cream items. First is my burnt marshmallow ice cream s’mores, with graham cracker shortbread, toasted marshmallows and a fudge swirl. Awesome. I declare that burnt marshmallow flavored ice cream needs to be in every grocery store, ASAP. Each bite tasted like a campfire or post-grilling snack.

My wife had an item called “This Shit is Bananas.” It’s roasted banana flavored ice cream with peanut butter caramel, candied bacon and cinnamon toast. ELVIS HAS ENTERED THE BUILDING!

I liked mine better, and my wife liked hers better. So that worked out.

Seafood Selection: 7
There’s octopus, branzino and scallops for main course seafood items. However, you have some seafood on the app menu as well, like hamachi crudo, crab and shrimp. Since we didn’t try any of these, I will be using a placeholder score of seven for now.

Service: 10
Our waitress was fun, bright and informative. We never felt rushed or slowed down, and the manager and kitchen staff each visited our table a few times to check in on us. This is the kind of service that I expect and have become accustomed to with Fourth Wall. They’re great people.

Ambiance: 9
This joint does well with the small space. As you stroll past the bar you can go up to a back room area that has more seating. The lighting all over is warm and dim, comforting, but the walls are vibrant and interesting.

The details they put on everything, from the walls to the ceilings, to the cutlery and bathroom tiles, is all fun and light hearted (like the plates above). I like how the M on “Quality Meats” is made to look like it was scratched out or missing on all their logos and signage.

There’s even some some meat- and drink-related tile work in the bathroom. It’s like an Atari game from the 80’s.

UPDATE FOR UPPER EAST SIDE LOCATION 9/9/17

My wife and I stopped into the upper east side location for brunch. We started with a pair of drinks.

The menu here is fairly similar to the downtown location.

My wife got the spinach beignets, which were pretty much the exact same thing as the creamed spinach croquettes.

I went with the strawberry and pistachio morning bun, which was essentially a huge cinnamon bun made of croissant bread.

Delicious, but pricey at $16.

QUALITY EATS
19 Greenwich Ave.
New York, NY 10014

Latin/Mexican & Caribbean, Midtown West, Other Cuts, Rib Eye, Steakhouse Reviews

K*Rico

November 14, 2015 Johnny Prime Leave a comment

**K*Rico overall score: 92**

This is a relatively recent addition to the smaller scale steakhouse scene. The cuisine here is Latin American/South American style, but with a focus on steak, being a steakhouse and all.

This time we had three people dining, so we were able to sample a bit more than usual. Here’s the breakdown:

Flavor: 9
We had this massive 40oz tomahawk rib eye that was dry aged for 70 days. This is on special right now for $95, so if you like what you see, go get it while supplies last!

They bring it out to the table while it’s still sizzling hot. Then they take it back and let it rest before slicing and plating.

The meat was incredibly tender and flavorful. I held back from full points only because I think it needed a little bit more seasoning.

Both the cap and the eye were delicious and cooked perfectly to medium rare. Here’s a shot of the remaining hunk of bone:

We also did a mixed grill item (parrillada mixta) for $59, which came with skirt steak, languica (sausage), sirloin, pork belly, pork tenderloin, chicken and blood sausage. For non-discriminating meat lovers, this is totally the way to go.

That green sauce is a cilantro based spread that specifically goes well with the pork and chicken.

Choice of Cuts & Quality Available: 10
This place regularly offers skirt, two strips (48oz bone in, and a 16oz), rib eye (22oz), two filets (8oz and 14oz), porterhouse for two, and a mixed grill for two. In addition, they also offer daily specials from the meat department. That’s a full blown 10. Plus all steaks are prime and grilled on an authentic plancha.

Portion Size & Plating: 10
Portions are large for the price. As you can see above, presentation is very nice as well. They’ve elevated the traditional steakhouse minimalist plating concept to something that pops.

Price: 10
Prices are really fair here, though slightly different in the restaurant than they are online (not by much). Most porterhouses for two are coming in at around $100 now, but here it is listed at $79. Also the massive 48oz sirloin steak for two is under $50, and the 22oz rib eye is listed at just $42. These are great deals if you’re on a budget but still want some good quality meat.

Bar: 9
This bar is massive. It stretches almost the full length of the restaurant from front to back. While you do not have window seating, there is ample room and a beautiful decor to take in. Just take a look at that skull and horns center piece!

There’s a great selection of Argentinian wines and some really nice cocktails as well.

Specials and Other Meats: 9
There’s a 20oz double cut pork chop, Peruvian roasted chicken, and a mixed grill for two that comes with a host of tasty shit. As mentioned above, we ordered the special tomahawk chop that was offered. Amazing meat-centric place! Just missing lamb and veal.

Apps, Sides & Desserts: 8
We started with some empanadas, which were filled with prime beef, raisins, cilantro and aji amarillo aioli. These were perfectly crisp on the outside and juicy on the inside. Not too hot where you burn your mouth, and the flavors were really well balanced when eating with some of the pickled red onion.

On the side we had the cauliflower mashed potatoes, which were creamy and flavorful. You’d never know you were eating a healthier version of the standard mashed potato dish.

We also tried the sauteed yucca. These were a little dry and under-seasoned, but the crunchy texture was great.

The brussels with bacon were perfect. Great char, good flavor. This is the ideal side for a meat eating extravaganza, because it comes with additional meat in the form of thick bacon. We actually didn’t order this: it was complimentary – nice surprise!

Since we were busting-at-the-seams full, we all shared a dessert. Espresso flan. This had a nice even and smooth texture, with a very nice, not-too-sweet coffee flavor.

Seafood Selection: 8
There’s cod, corvina and seabass in entree form, in addition to the apps of ceviche, grilled octo, calamari, mussels, shrimp and oysters. Really great showing! When I come back for the giant bone-in sirloin, I will be definitely giving the ceviche and octopus a try. Until then, I have to score this with a placeholder of eight. I’m sure it will be a higher score once I sink my teeth in to actually try the seafood.

Service: 10
Owner Tommy and waitress Maria were both fantastic. In fact all of the staff was warm and helpful. Maria offered great menu suggestions, and really knew her shit. It was interesting to learn from Tommy that his brother is the chef, and that they also own 1 2 3 Burger Shot Beer, just nearby, as well as a spot downtown. Our “doggie bag” was from there:

I may as well mention it here: the table bread here is actually fried, flavored pasta! Really crunchy and good.

Ambiance: 9
They’ve really made the best out of this typically narrow, storefront/brownstone location on 9th Avenue. They’ve done such a great job that this place easily contends with some of the gigantic, fancy steakhouses in midtown. The decor here is really classy and elegant. It’s Latin American/South American, but it’s not hitting you over the head with that fact. It’s subtle. The smaller size of this joint allows you to enjoy a more intimate or low key experience. However it’s great for dates as well as large groups, because once you get beyond the bar, the restaurant opens up to a wider dining space. Since the kitchen is a massive expanse down at the basement level, K*Rico takes full advantage of every square foot of space on the main dining floor. Very smart use of space.

K*RICO
772 9th Ave.
New York, NY 10019

American, Brooklyn, Full Points for Flavor, Non-Steakhouse Steaks, Other Cuts, Restaurant Reviews, Rib Eye

The Pines

November 2, 2015 Johnny Prime Leave a comment

NOTE: THIS JOINT IS NOW CLOSED

Last month when I was at Meatopia I had the pleasure of meeting John Poiarkoff, the genius chef behind the wheels of steel at The Pines in Brooklyn.

In our inevitable conversation about meat and steak, I discovered that his carnivorous endeavors at the restaurant were not only out of the ordinary and interesting, but exemplified that rare love of beef possessed only by a true connoisseur.

For example, he explained how the blade steak (aka Denver cut, part of the chuck) on the menu was prepared sous vide style. It bathes for several hours in a sealed bag, allowing the tentacle-like marbling to render down, making the steak super tender before it gets seared off in a pan for a nice outer crisp.

He also mentioned that he had some rib eyes in an outdoor walk-in that he converted into a dry-aging room. When he said how long they were in there, 106 days, I nearly lost my shit. I kindly asked him again. “How long did you say?” 106 days!

He went on to say that they would soon be breaking the rack down into portioned cuts and serving them as special menu items. Needless to say, I was all over it. I made sure to follow The Pines on Instagram and to keep my eye out for any news about that steak. Sure enough, just a few weeks later I saw the post announcing that they were going to be serving those rib eyes. The very next day my wife and I headed over.

To my excitement, the menu was chock full of delicious looking meat goodies. We sipped on a pair of nice cocktails while we wrestled with what to order.

On the left is The Pines, a rye drink with douglas fir (burnt/smoked pine needles for a really nice woodsy, aromatic nose) and yuzu; on the right is the Air & Sea, a gin drink with dulse, lemon and violet.

We ended up going for three entrees instead of the traditional apps, sides and entrees routine. But before our first item came out, John sent over an order of duck rillettes. This is aged duck served terrine style with a pastrami sandwich theme: dill sauce (it tasted like pickles), a cabbage kraut, mustard and crunchy puffed rye grains.

This inventive dish threw us for a tasty loop, and it set the tone for what was one of the most fun, innovative and delicious meals we’ve had in a long time.

John paired the duck with this really smooth, clean sake:

Oh and there was this nice little amuse of carrot soup/puree with sage oil. It had a spicy and smoky kick to it.

Our first entree was pork jowl. If you’ve never had this, it is essentially bacon from the face of a pig. It’s cured, smoked cheek meat. If you know anything about the cheek meat of an animal, you know that it is some of the most tender and sought after bits of goodness you can find. This tasted like really awesome smoked bacon. It was savory yet slightly sweet, and sat on a pumpkin and cabbage pancake that was somewhat reminiscent of corn bread.

I could very happily eat that shit every morning for breakfast, though I may be tempted to throw a fried egg on top – you know – because breakfast is the perfect time to eat like a savage barbarian. Anyway this dish wasn’t heavy or greasy like you might expect from bacon. The curing and smoking helps in that respect.

Our first steak dish came out next. After hearing about that blade steak, I couldn’t pass it up.

John mixed the normal blade steak plate up a bit and served it with some roasted broccoli, braised oxtail and cheesy potato puree.

As you can see, there’s even a bit of shaved horseradish over the top to punch up the salt and tie the meat in with the potato. Really nice.

This steak is incredibly good. John has taken a lesser known, less desirable and rarely featured cut and showcased it in a way that will have you searching for it in every restaurant. It’s easily 10/10 for flavor. It was so juicy and tender inside. Perfectly cooked, as you can see, and the sear on the outside locked in all that flavor. It was super crispy on the outside without any part of the inside getting cooked beyond medium rare. Just awesome!

John paired this with a unique and unexpected rose, which had some tartness to it. The cool thing about The Pines is that, if you’re interested, you can learn a lot about the food you’re eating and the stuff you’re drinking. John gets to know all the people who provide his source material. The vintner of this wine, for example, or the farmers and ranchers who provide the meat and produce. He gets to know their stories, and he shares it with diners for a more rich, engaging experience. I dig and appreciate that, and it’s exactly what I was talking about on here recently – that I want to see more of it.

I should probably mention here that The Pines sources all of its beef from Happy Valley Meat Co., which is based out of Central PA. Both John and his sous chef Neel Patil (the creative force behind the duck rillettes dish, featured above) are extremely modest in that they attribute so much credit for the success of their menu to those farmers. While much credit is indeed deserved by the farmers, it is very easy to fuck up good meat if you don’t know what you’re doing. John and Neel clearly deserve as much credit as the farmers, because they knocked the beef dishes out of the park!

So now comes the big boy – the 106-day, dry-aged rib eye. John explained that the process for these is as follows: First it hits a hot grill for a little smoke and sear, and those lovely grill marks. Then it gets a nice warm sous vide bath. Last, it hits a hot pan to lock in all the juices and get a crispy sear. Thrice cooked rib eye! Here’s a shot of John holding our cut before it hits the pan:

And here it is after the pan, resting, but before serving. Just look at that gorgeous sear!!!

While we waited for it to be sliced and plated, John rolled out another pairing for us.

This wine was truly incredible. He poured us a taste from two different bottles: one that was just opened 30 minutes prior, an another that was already opened for two days.

The difference was astounding. The freshly opened wine was really nice and flavorful, full bodied and robust without being overpowering. It had a nice round, smooth finish. The wine that was opened for two days had all the same characteristics, but the after taste was of dry aged beef or truffled charcuterie. It was incredible! I kept going at it. It was like having a delicious meat snack with each sip, and it reminded me of the awesome Trufa Seca sausage I had with my latest Carnivore Club box. It paired perfectly with the steak.

Anyway then the masterpiece came out:

It was plated with grilled Japanese mushrooms, bone marrow, potatoes that were pretty much confit style, and this awesome kimchi cabbage that was finished with rendered beef fat:

This right here is the best steak I’ve ever eaten at a non-steakhouse, and I can tell you it seriously rivals the best steakhouses as well – it may even be better than all of them.

I’m still trying to wrap my mind around how incredible this thing was, and I don’t know if it can really compare to anything I’ve had at a steakhouse other than the long bone wagyu rib eye at Del Frisco’s. This thing is really in that kind of league. And look at how perfectly executed this thing is:

It was so tender and flavorful. Every bite was a “wow,” and the cap was fucking INSANE! I’ve never had anything like it before. I was expecting a lot of game and funk with this meat, but it was just the right subtle amount of “blue cheese” flavor. It came out most when I smeared some marrow onto the slices of eye meat. And the fat around the cap was even softer and more delicious than the marrow.

I don’t know how we did it, but we managed to fit dessert into our guts as well. Probably because what we saw on the menu was new and unique. We had to try something.

We went back and forth between two and ultimately left it in John’s hands. He came out with both; the chocolate cake, and the miso butterscotch pudding.

The chocolate cake was mildly sweet because it was expertly cut by the cashew and sage ice cream. The pomegranate balanced the whole thing with a nice acidic and tart zing.

The miso butterscotch pudding is definitely something for the more adventurous dessert person. I seemed to focus my attention more on the celery ice cream than the pudding at first, but that pudding was so freaking good. The ice cream was like a palette cleanser, and the pudding was creamy and velvety – almost like a liquified peanut butter in texture – extremely innovative.

With dessert, we sipped on a trio of amaro selections, as well as a bitter lemon soda digestif that was made in house. Of these, our favorite was the Brovo #1 (center). It had a spicy cinnamon flavor that was easy to drink. And, as is true with the other stuff above, you can learn all about the people who make these spirits as you dine, because John and his staff are happy to share that information with you if you’re interested, like we were.

Want to hear something really amazing? This is the kitchen:

So small, yet so powerful. It is run like a well-oiled machine by incredibly skilled mechanics, pumping out what is absolutely some the finest food in NYC.

Please do yourselves a favor and go here. They may even give you a quick tour of the aging room out back if you ask nicely. Take a look at the ducks and steaks aging away! I think those ducks are at two weeks, and the steak is something like 86 days.

I went back with a crew of food bloggers and instagrammers for a nice meal around the holidays.

Here’s a photogasm of everything we ate, which included a duo of rib eyes – one aged for 35 days and another aged for over 80 days.

Molasses gingerbread cookies stuffed with fois gras and pistachios:

Kale salad with toasted barley:

Grilled radicchio salad:

Roasted broccoli with shaved horseradish:

Fettuccine with mussels and chilies in a Parmesan cream sauce:

Presentation of beef!!!

Post slicing:

Gnawing on the bone is always fun:

Dessert 1: bread pudding.

Dessert 2: herbaceous chocolate ganache.

We even drank some Japanese whisky from a bone marrow slide!

Chef John even got in on the action. Marrow luges rule!!!

THE PINES
284 3rd Ave.
Brooklyn, NY 11215

American, Hawaii, Non-Steakhouse Steaks, Other Cuts, Restaurant Reviews

Koa’s Seaside Grill

October 16, 2015 Johnny Prime Leave a comment

Koa’s Seaside Grill

Dinner at Koa’s was really insane, in terms of the view.

We were seated in the corner overlooking that ocean just before sunset. Check out some of these pics I grabbed as the sun was going down throughout our meal:

The meal itself was pretty good too. We started by sharing a hearts of palm salad. I was somewhat expecting a non-leafy greens salad, and something more along the lines of just hearts of palm, some kind of vinegar dressing with onions and cucumbers and shit. But it was green, as one might expect upon hearing the word “salad.” It was good. It had a nice citrus-based dressing, and all the shit was fresh and bright.

I had the coconut curry grilled mahi maui. It was a bit is mall, but it tasted really nice, and the fish had a good crisp to the texture. Unfortunately it was a slight bit dry.

My wife got the winning dish here: kind crab legs and steak.

The meat was decent – sirloin. I’ve had better. Probably not on par with the aged, prime meats I am used to, but it certainly gained traction with the absolutely delicious king crab legs. Awesome.

Service here was excellent, and the atmosphere makes all the difference in terms of your dining experience. The host, John offered to take pics of guests near our table since it had the best view in the house. Here my favorite shot that he took of us:

Burgers, Flash Deals, Midtown East, NY Strip, Other Cuts, Porterhouse, Press Reviews, Rib Eye, Steakhouse Reviews

Charlie Palmer Steak

August 7, 2015 Johnny Prime Leave a comment

Charlie Palmer Steak overall score: 89

NOTE: This joint has MOVED locations.

My wife read an article about Charlie Palmer’s new steakhouse opening up at the old Rothman’s location. They were offering a 15% off promotion since it was their soft opening, so we jumped on it. My wife also made mention that we were celebrating a birthday on her OpenTable reservation (this will be important later).

Flavor: 9
We had two cuts of steak: the bone-on rib eye, and the teres major. I had never heard of that cut before. Apparently it is off the shoulder area, and is tender like a filet. To me, it was somewhere in between a hanger and a filet in flavor. It had a great char on the outside and was cooked perfectly medium rare on the inside.

The rib eye was really nice. Also perfectly cooked, and very juicy with only a little bit of bleed out going on. My only gripe is that I think the rib eye needed some more seasoning. I found myself dipping into the sauces too often for a boost of flavor, but the sauces were very good (see below).

Here’s a shot of the bernaise sauce, though I think I enjoyed the horseradish cream and the Charlie Palmer signature steak sauces a little better:

Choice of Cuts & Quality Available: 10
This place has a really big selection of cuts. See below:

I was excited to see stuff that I had never heard of before, so that’s a big win for this joint. Also the presence of high end meats makes for a dynamic dining experience: you can always come back and try something new each visit.

Portion Size & Plating: 8
Portions here are average. I know the trend is “bigger is better,” but that’s not always the case. At least here you know you are getting great quality. The plating is pretty nice too, which you will see in the shots below.

Price: 10
This score is subjective, I know, because we got an incredible 15% off promotion, AND our waiter, Charles, took a few items like sides and desserts off the bill because we were celebrating a birthday. That was pretty awesome. Had we not had those benefits, I may have scored this an 8 or possibly even a 7. Prices are really starting to skyrocket these days. I know rent is high, but it may start to turn diners away when they see a steak for almost $60.

Bar: 9
The new modern bar is nice. It’s got a direct line of sight to the street, through large windows that open like shutters, so that’s cool. It is definitely going to be a vibrant lunch and after work spot in midtown, especially since they kept the magnanimous bar tender Mike from the old Rothman’s. He’s somewhat of a famous cat in there.

The drinks were really nice too. My martini was mixed perfectly, and the “Doctor’s Note” was absolutely delicious with the Laphroaig added in there for smoke.

Specials and Other Meats: 8
There were no specials read to us at the table, so not sure if this will be something they plan to add once the main opening happens. Otherwise, they do have a nice selection of other meats to choose from aside from beef. As a side note here, they do offer a seven course tasting menu that looks out of this world.

Apps, Sides & Desserts: 9
We started with the chicken liver and fois gras pate, which was creamy and rich, yet not heavy at all. The fig jam that it came with was delicious, with healthy chunks of the fruit within:

Next was the yellowtail sashimi served up on a salt rock. Very nice and fresh, with a touch of herbiness:

We shared a shellfish platter for one ($38). It came with two each of crab claws, oysters, clams, and shrimp, with a half a lobster tail and a single lobster claw. Not bad, but I felt the clams were not that great (may have been a larger variety than Little Necks), and the amount of shellfish was a bit lacking for almost $40, though probably fine for one person I suppose.

On the side we had a nice variety of items. First was grilled oyster mushrooms. These were meaty and earthy. Very nice:

Then we had a truffle twice baked potato. This was the star of the show. It was like mashed potato mixed with cheese and truffles and then put back into the baked potato carcass. Really good shit.

Then we tried the Jersey corn. Nothing special here but it was very tasty and fresh, and nicely seasoned.

For desert we had two items: a cheesecake pudding, which was fucking delicious. Lighter than a cheesecake and really silky smooth, with graham cracker crumble on top.

The other was a blueberry and raspberry cobbler with a scoop of vanilla ice cream on top. This was heart warming and comforting.

Seafood Selection: 8
There’s a great deal of seafood on the menu. We only got to try the shellfish platter, so I can’t really judge this category based on only that item. Next visit.

Service: 10
Charles, our waiter, was amazing. He had some nice suggestions for us, and he was really nice. I was really shocked that he had some items taken off of our bill because we were celebrating a birthday. Total class act! I hope you readers are fortunate enough to have him as your waiter if you decide to go.

A few other mentions here: the table bread was really good. Three different types of bread in a sack. One was a sliced dinner roll, another was a really tasty and crispy-crusted Italian bread, and the last was a potato and onion roll that had actual pieces of potato and onion in the bread.

Ambiance: 8
They’ve made a good improvement on the old Rothman’s decor. Although I tend to prefer traditional over modern, the modern they chose for here is toned down and elegant. Take a look:

There’s even a small private dining area in the back:

And the cutlery is pretty cool looking, and felt really natural in your hands:

SECOND TRIP UPDATE

On a second trip, my wife and I noticed that they changed up the decor a bit (those ball lights were replaced, and the private room got a make over). Still a similar vibe though. Charles is unfortunately no longer working there. Bummer! But hopefully he is on to bigger and better things.

We used a Gilt City deal that got us an app, a porterhouse for two, a side, a glass of wine each, and a signed cookbook. My wife, of course, got that at a heavy discount as well, so I think our entire meal with all the perks cost her like $15 less than the porterhouse itself.

To start, we got this awesome thick slab pork belly/bacon dish that came with a fried quail egg and potato hash, served in a hot skillet. This was probably the best bacon dish I’ve ever tried. Sticky, crispy, meaty, fatty and packed with flavor.

We also tried the Alaskan king crabcake with fried green tomatoes and corn relish. This was really tasty, and it reminded me of a similar dish we had at Minton’s. The tomato added a nice zingy tart punch.

At first bite, I thought the porterhouse was a bit under seasoned, but the dish was served with a bowl of freshly shaved sea salt for you to flavor to taste. Excellent! Check out the beautiful presentation of this steak. I usually hate the “sizzling platter” for a steak, because I worry about the steak continuing to cook while it sits in the skillet. But nothing got messed up here, as you can see from the perfect medium rare cooking temp.

On the side we had the truffle mac & cheese. We were excited about it because the truffle baked potato was so good last time, but this ultimately fell flat. The pasta tasted grainy and watered down. The cheese sauce lacked punch, and the truffle was more aroma than flavor. I would have likely ordered those oyster mushrooms again from above, but they were no longer offered on the menu.

For dessert we shared what was probably the best carrot cake we have ever tasted. It was moist and flavorful without being overly rich. So good.

A nice bonus was being able to meet Chef Ryan Lory, who I have been following on Instagram for a while now. I encourage you to do the same – his food pics are really awesome, and most of his shots are what he is whipping up for the tasting menu in the kitchen at the steakhouse. Check him out below, getting some tourist love:

THIRD TRIP UPDATE 6/25/17

I was recently invited into Charlie Palmer to help influence for their new 50/50 burger, which is a grind that’s half bacon and half beef. It’s available on Fridays for 50% off through Labor Day.

I have to say, I really liked this burger. Honestly, it didn’t look like much coming out, and I was skeptical of the grind for various reasons (can’t cook bacon – even Neuskes, which is what they use – to medium rare and hope for a good texture). But this thing was majorly good.

It had the sear quality of a steak on the patty, and it was cooked nicely to medium rare all the way though. No rubbery bacon content, and you got that smokey sweetness without it being overboard for the sake of “baconness.”

The fries are really something special too. Somewhere in between regular thickness and potato sticks – shoestring, if you will. Beautifully cooked and nicely seasoned.

Martini game is still on point.

And this time I tried a bolognese tagliatelle pasta dish that was really rich and flavorful. Nicely prepared.

As for the steaks, this time I tried a bone-in strip steak.

A solid 8/10 for flavor. Wonderful ashy char on the outside and nice temperature inside.

Asparagus was good.

Really enjoyed the tomato-based steak sauce with the mashed potatoes.

Olive oil cake dessert was a bit dry in parts but still flavorful.

I was bummed out to see that their oyster mushroom side was no longer offered, and neither was the terres major or the rib eye for one. On the bright side, we did get to meet Charlie Palmer himself. Such a nice man, extremely hand-on and talented.

OLD ADDRESS:
CHARLIE PALMER STEAK
5 E 54th St
New York, NY 10022

NEW ADDRESS:
Archer Hotel New York
47 W 38th St
New York, NY 10018

Lincoln Square Steak overall score: 91

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Empire Steakhouse East overall score: 85

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Quality Eats overall score: 85

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K*Rico overall score: 92

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Charlie Palmer Steak overall score: 89

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carnivore connoisseur

**K*Rico overall score: 92**