My wife and I stopped in Tre for their weekend happy hour menu, which is a great deal and runs from 2-7pm.
We started with some cocktails, which were excellent. The espresso martini and aperol spritz were both well made.
We tried five items.
The fried calamari was dry and rubbery. Skip these.
The sautéed broccoli rabe was tasty, but at $13 it was too small of a portion size (this was from the regular menu, not the happy hour menu).
The fried artichokes were great. Nice crisp, good seasoning, tender.
I also liked the linguine al limone. For a discounted happy hour deal, this was a great buy. Lots of garlic though.
We also ordered the chicken milanese from the main menu. This was perfectly crisp, tender inside, pounded thin, and topped with a nice arugula and tomato salad.
Keep an eye out for the operating fee, which is a 4% charge added to your bill. Not sure why they don’t just raise prices instead. On the flip side, they also offer a cash discount.
Would definitely come back to try more stuff. Give this place a shot.
My wife and I popped in here because we heard good things. We started with some nice cocktails, and a beautiful bread basket with focaccia and basil-infused olive oil.
Then moved on to the roasted octopus and crispy artichokes.
Both of these were great, and the octopus came with a few pieces of crispy artichoke as well. We were glad that we ordered the artichoke side dish for some extra though. They were delicious! Also the cauliflower puree underneath the octopus was so flavorful. I could eat that like a dip all day!
In the middle course, we had the dinner special of truffle pappardelle with chicken milanese, as well as the fusili with red pesto and straciatella.
Both of these were expertly seasoned and beautifully plated. We really enjoyed these. The red pesto was a unique mix of walnuts and red pepper that I had never had before. The Milanese was fried super crisp and pounded super thin. Perfect.
For the main course, we had their crispy pork shoulder with fennel and arugula salad. At $22 this is an absolute steal.
The skin was perfectly crisp, covering a layer of deliciously sticky fat and tender, juicy braised pork. Amazing.
For dessert, we had their tiramisu. This was really nice as well.
We love this place, and we can’t wait to go back! We also noticed that they have some excellent buy-one get-one free deals on Uber Eats. Needless to say, we will definitely be going back and also ordering delivery.
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.
If you’re not already aware, I’ve been getting pretty deep into the ebike culture and community here in NYC. I run the NYC Zooz Club and I helped create Electric Wednesday with Mike Rios of S3 Crew. Electric Wednesday is the glue that holds the various riding clubs together here in NYC. We’ve created something really special.
And, since I know you’re ultimately here for food and not bikes, I have been using it to go to and from restaurants in a new series I created called Ride & Review!
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I own the founders edition, bike number 5, in full titanium.
It’s costly, but now Austin, the creator of the bike, offers a Shadow Chimera, which is made of black steel. That will cut your price nearly in half. DO IT!!!
My wife and I came here twice. The first visit was just for a snack and a drink, so I never wrote it up. But now that we’ve had a full meal here, I figured I would put together a review from both experiences.
On the first visit, we had drinks, an Israeli scotch egg, and some cake. They have a nice selection of beer and wine. Saison Dupont is my favorite of all time.
The Israeli scotch egg is surrounded by falafel, which was unique and delicious.
On the second visit we did some entrees. My wife had the lamb burger, which comes with crunchy slaw and a harissa mayo. She added Gruyere cheese at the owner’s suggestion. It was absolutely delicious. Easily a top three lamb burger.
I had the chicken schnitzel plate, which came with fries and a salad. The schnitzel was unique in that it was breaded with a sesame seed batter!
I really liked it.
The cake we had on our first visit was a flourless chocolate birthday cake, which, I think, may have even been vegan. I liked it more than my wife did.
We will definitely be back to try more items from Eastwood. Super friendly staff, great prices, and great food!
This Italian steak joint just opened up in midtown on Madison Avenue, and the owners were kind enough to invite me in to take photos and promote on social media. Read on below, but first check out my Ride and Review video HERE!
Flavor:
We tried the t-bone, which was a beautiful 24oz hunk of beef. The filet side had a lot of aged flavor on it, and it was incredibly tender. The strip side had an awesome rosemary flavor to it, and was also very tender. I don’t know what they do to their steaks, but you can cut them with a spoon here! That’s how soft the meat is.
Choice of Cuts & Quality Available:
There’s a good selection of cuts here, and the menu notes that they are all USDA prime. You have all your standard steakhouse selections, plus some larger format items for sharing.
Portion Size & Plating:
Everything we had was a good portion size for the price point listed on the menu. The plating was nice also – no sizzling plate for the t-bone, of which I am not a fan, so that was good. I am not sure if they do that for the porterhouse.
Price:
Given the location and competition in the area, price is always a tough nut to crack, but this place offers great quality meat for a very fair price.
Bar:
The bar here is really beautiful. A thick marble slab with some princely stools. A beautifully appointed wall of booze, and a nicely mixed martini with Castelvetrano olives is all you need to tie it off.
Specials and Other Meats:
There is a great selection of other proteins here, including pork, veal, lamb and chicken. We went with the veal pizzaiola, which was as delicious as it was beautiful. What a beast!
You can also hit up some alternative meats in the pasta section of the menu. We had the opportunity to try this delicious bowl of cavatelli with an oxtail ragu that was incredible.
Apps, Sides & Desserts:
We didn’t get to try any sides, but the appetizers and desserts were excellent. Most notable were the baked clams and octopus carpaccio, which were both unique and delicious.
We also tried the Caesar salad, which was served on a nicely composed dish with some crispy croutons and three delicious, clean and flavorful anchovies.
This crab cake also really hit the spot, and it is one of their most popular items. I can taste why.
For dessert, we tried the apple strudel and the chocolate salami. We both preferred the chocolate salami, hands down! It was a unique cross between a cookie/cake type thing, and fudge.
Seafood Selection:
We didn’t try any seafood mains, but if the quality of the starters is any indication for those, then the seafood here will be tip-top. We really enjoyed what we tried!
Service:
Service was awesome here. The chef, Diego, even came out to the tables to say hello to all the folks in the dining room, asking if everything was okay. Also worth noting the nice selection of bread for the table here – good stuff!
Ambiance:
The decor here is gorgeous. They have a nice modern but elegant setup here, and the space doubles when you go upstairs. I really can’t wait to come back and try some more of their proteins, especially the lamb loin!
DELBIANCO PRIME
423 Madison Avenue
New York, NY 10017
For our final meal of the trip to Charleston, we went to the often difficult to reserve Fig with a couple that I’m friends with who live nearby. I managed to score a last minute reservation at 9:15pm, and we ended up closing down the joint at close to midnight. It turned out to be our overall best meal of the trip. Let’s get into it…
We started with a bunch of items that we all shared. Broiled oysters aji dolce, chicken liver pate, raw hogfish (similar to snapper) with rice and popcorn (crazy!), lamb bolognese ricotta gnocchi, and wagyu beef tartare.
These were, each of them, all-star level dishes, and I am hard-pressed to pick a favorite among them. I would order each of them again in a heartbeat, but I think I was most surprised by the hogfish. It was so unique, and I’m a sucker for popcorn. The gnocchi was definitely meant to be a main dish, but we shared among the four of us.
For mains, we also went heavy with five dishes. Baked wreckfish, sautéed flounder, mustard crusted swordfish, Berkshire pork milanese and lump crab spaghetti with lemon and bottarga.
Again, everything really incredible. I think, though, what stood out the most to me was the swordfish. The capers and mustard crust really paired beautifully with the medium-rare cooked fish. Loved it!
For dessert, we went with these lemon curd cream puffs, which were really nice.
I highly recommend Fig if you’re in Charleston. Absolutely delicious!
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
