Category Archives: Restaurant Reviews

Burgers, East Village, Parms, Press Reviews, Restaurant Reviews

Spiegel

September 10, 2014 Johnny Prime Leave a comment

My wife and I were invited to a press dinner for Spiegel, a downtown spot that opened in May of this year on 1st Avenue at 2nd Street (very close to the famed Nexus of the Universe, ala Seinfeld).

Restaurateur/owner Shmulik Avital and Executive Chef Dario Tapia (formerly at Westville and Maison Kayser) serve up a truly wide variety of foods with multi-national influences, spanning from classic to eclectic with everything in between. Shmulik spoke with us at length about how he was raised in a mixed-tenant building in Israel, where his neighbors were from nearly every country throughout Europe, the middle east, and northern Africa. Growing up, the mothers would exchange recipes with their neighbors, and soon the building was a true melting pot of international cuisine. His family is Moroccan, but you’ll see influences from all over the world on his menu. Truly fantastic. Shmulik also spoke about his motorcycle trip through Central America, where he gained inspiration to add a fish taco dish to his menu because he loved and enjoyed it so much.

They sport an equally varied wine list, directed by Vino-Man Kirk Struble, featuring selections from across the globe as well as a gaggle of imported beers (I love the Weihenstephan).

The ambiance is like a cafe, with a nice, large, custom U-shaped bar, oak and fabric seating, decorative brick walls, massive windows and tiled floors. An outdoor searing area that wraps around from avenue to street is set to open in April of 2015 as well.

The name Spiegel comes from Shmulik’s love of old cinema, particularly Lawrence of Arabia, his favorite film, which was produced by Sam Spiegel. Shmulik intends to have classic film nights in the restaurant to pay tribute to his love of classic, pre-1960s/1970s film.

Also worth noting: if you like what you see and read below, go check this joint out. They’re running a 50% Groupon deal right now that’s $15 for $30 worth of food. You can find it HERE.

Here’s a look at what we gobbled up, in menu form:

First, some starters and salads:

The zucchini fritters were nice and crispy outside, and flavorful inside. They came with a yogurt type sauce and a small side of nicely dressed arugula.

The star of the apps was the fried and stuffed mushrooms. Filled with cream cheese and smoked salmon, this was like a dream. Nicely seasoned as well. A real winner.

The baked feta fish was okay. I wasn’t too much of a fan of the tomato and eggplant sauce here, but the cheese was delightful.

The Spiegel chopped salad was nice and refreshing. All the veggies were treated superbly. I especially liked the hearts of palm: one of my favorite things to eat outside of the meat realm.

The kale salad was excellent. Expertly dressed and no bitterness. Sweet and savory all at once. I’d definitely recommend this one.

Next, a few sides. The carrots had a great cumin flavor going on that really made them stand out and punch up.

The broccoli had good flavor but it could have benefitted from a bit more salt and maybe some cracked black pepper. Otherwise it was great.

The star of the sides was the beet dish. I just kept going back at this plate. Really good shit, and beautifully colored.

Then some entrees. First was the veggie couscous. It packed enough flavor to stand on its own without the addition of any meats. It reminded me of pastina that my mother used to make, only more soupy and less creamy. This was an okay dish, but I’d probably go for something with a bit more substance on a subsequent visit.

The salmon was perfect. Juicy, tender, brimming with mild flavor. It came on a bed of roasted, chopped potatoes.

The veal schnitzel was the favorite for me and my wife. The breading was nice and crispy, and it had a great spicy kick to it.

And then came a pair of burgers, which were prepared specially for me, the meat man (the other dishes were mostly just fish and veg). The first one is called “The Kipling,” named after a patron who always orders it. It has a topping of the same tomato and eggplant sauce from the baked feta dish. To me, it was very reminiscent of a Sloppy Joe in terms of flavor profile. The burger was solid and held together, not like the mushy chopped meat in a Sloppy Joe. I think what took me to that “Sloppy Joe” place was the tomato flavor. On the other side of things, the french fries were some of the best I’ve ever had. They were absolutely perfect. There was a crisp batter texture to the outside, but the inside was soft and flavorful like mashed potatoes.

The other burger was the classic. Liberally seasoned beef, lettuce, onion and tomato. I prefer this to the Kipling. The only issues for me were that both burgers were a bit over cooked, and I think this classic burger could have benefitted from some cheese. This plate came with a small chic pea salad which was herby and refreshing, and topped with a little bit of crumbled feta.

Last, dessert. First was flan, which I really liked because it was firm yet creamy and smooth. The chocolate mousse was killer. I think I may have finished one whole order by myself. Last was the apple pie tart crumble thingy, which was very well executed and delicious. Overall I think the desserts were excellent, and I suppose that is a nod to the head chef’s experience at Maison Kayser.

I had an espresso, which was strong and tasty, from a roaster in California that the owner knows personally. This shot below is a nice decorative foam on top of a cappucino.

A quick note on their hours of operation:

Breakfast is 7:00am – Noon, every day.
Lunch/Dinner is 11:00am – 11:00pm Sunday – Thursday, and ’til Midnight on Friday and Saturday.
Brunch is 11:00am – 5:00pm on Saturdays and Sundays.
Happy Hour, with $7 select wines by the glass and $3 – $4 imported beers, runs every day from 4:00pm – 8:00pm.

SPIEGEL
26 1st Ave.
New York, NY 10009

Flash Deals, Latin/Mexican & Caribbean, Midtown West, Restaurant Reviews

Inti

September 8, 2014 Johnny Prime Leave a comment

My bargain hunter wife found a sweet deal for 50% off (up to $20 off total) of a local Peruvian food joint called Inti. I had never had Peruvian food before, but always heard good things about their rotisserie chicken and their Chinese fusion dishes. So here’s what we had:

I guess I should first mention the puffed corn kernels and green sauce that are on the table. The kernels are nice and crispy, not too salty. The sauce is amazing. A mix of jalapeño, celery, cilantro, and other goodies. We were shoveling this shit into our mouths, that’s how good it was.

We ordered a couple of potato-based apps. The first one was essentially mashed potatoes with meat and veggies in the middle, then deep fried to a light crispy outside shell. My wife described it as being like Shepherd’s Pie. This was incredible. A definite re-order on the next trip.

The other potato app was a cold dish, with crabmeat and avocado stuffed inside a yellow potato mash. This was also very tasty and refreshing, but I think the other potato app just nudged this out by a bit.

Then the rotisserie chicken came out. This shit was excellent. Our table fell silent as we dug into the juicy, tender and flavorful meat. The skin was coated with such a great, earthy spice mix. Throw a little green sauce on the chicken breast meat to spice it up too. This is a real winner, especially at only $14.

Next was the Peruvian/Chinese fusion beef fried rice. They certainly don’t short you on fillings here: the rice was packed with beef, egg and scallion, and it too had a nice earthy and soy flavor. Guess what? The green sauce went really well on this too.

We also had a nice array of beverages too. Although I didn’t get a pic, my wife had this really great purple corn drink that was sweet like a soda but without any bubbles or fake flavoring. She also had a can of carbonated beverage that was like a strange mix of mountain dew plus bubble gum.

I had a pair of Peruvian beers. very nice.

Bottom line: this place is worthy of a visit. I already purchased another deal through Groupon for a dinner for two. Go for it.

INTI
820 10th Ave.
New York, NY 10019

Burgers, Flash Deals, Italian, Midtown West, Restaurant Reviews

Stecchino

August 31, 2014 Johnny Prime Leave a comment

STECCHINO IS NOW CLOSED

My wife and I met some friends at Stecchino for dinner last night. The menu is pretty interesting, and features some really great products.

First we had some starters, like fried artichokes, burrata, and octopus carpaccio. All were fantastic. The artichokes were packed with flavor, and mostly heart. The burrata was incredibly smooth and creamy. And the octopus was tender and we’ll dressed.

For my entrée I had the burger, as it may go to the way side after management’s upcoming planned menu changes. It was a solid burger. Check it out:

It came with fries, which could have benefited from some more crisp.

My wife had rabbit fettuccine. The meat was tender but be careful: in my bite i had a small piece of rabbit bone. Look at that beautiful blob of ricotta on top!

I had to grab a pic of this. It was a limited quantity menu item: short rib. But a huge piece of rib. Tremendous, and really juicy, tender and delicious.

I also had a bite of my other friend’s chicken scarpariello. Both the sausage and the chicken in the dish were very flavorful.

Bottom line: Stecchino (which means toothpick in Italian, and is the name of my friend’s whippet) is a great place to eat. I’m excited to see how the menu changes in the upcoming weeks, especially because my wife purchased a brunch Groupon for $23, which gets us two entrées and two pitchers of bloody Mary. Yes!

The breakfast burger turned out to be amazing. Really tasty maple bacon, cheddar cheese, and a fried egg. Wonderful.

The real highlight was the potato dish that came with my wife’s smoked salmon eggs benedict. They were like baked potatoes that had been ripped apart and then deep fried with a light crispy breading. FUCKING MINT!

Burgers, Pub Food, Restaurant Reviews, Upper East Side

The Penrose

August 30, 2014 Johnny Prime Leave a comment

Last week when I was introduced to BurgerFi by my buddy, he also showed me The Penrose. The decor was mad cool – old fashioned gastro pub look and feel. Really nicely done. I made a thick, bold mental note, in sharpie, to make sure I went back to give that shit a try. So I did, with my wife in tow.

Here’s the breakdown:

We started with chicharones (pork rinds). There were really crispy, crackly and light. The lime juice really took them to the next level.

Next the entrees came out. I had the Penrose burger with cheddar. Really nicely cooked and seasoned. Loved every bite.

My wife had the mussels, which came with perfectly buttery and toasty bread and a really unique broth, which included almonds, that we were sucking up with straws at the end.

A really great meal. And these three items, with 2 drinks included (it was happy hour), only came to about $50. You can’t beat it. We will be back for sure.

THE PENROSE
1590 2nd Ave.
New York, NY 10028

American, Midtown West, Pub Food, Restaurant Reviews

Bar Bacon

August 18, 2014 Johnny Prime Leave a comment

My first day out shooting with my new camera brought my wife and I over to 9th Avenue, where we stopped in for lunch here at Bar Bacon. We had walked by a few times and were excited by the menu, so we finally gave it a shot.

We started with a flight of four 5oz beers and four types of bacon.

The beer & the bacon:
Left Hand milk stout paired with jalapeno bacon
Blue Moon paired with applewood smoked bacon
Empire amber ale paired with apple cider bacon
Six Point Sweet Action paired with pepper bacon

My wife had a bloody Mary that was pretty solid, garnished with a piece of thick cut bacon.

Next came the bacon banh mi sandwich. More like steamed pork buns as opposed to a Vietnamese sandwich. The two bites were tasty, but it was extremely small in portion size, and there was not much bacon in it. The BBQ flavored chips and coleslaw were great though.

Then we had the ever-increasing-in-popularity “pig wings” item that was covered with sri-racha BBQ sauce. These were good, but also small in portion size for the price. I like the pig wings over at Iron Bar a little better so far, but these held up nice.

Some atmosphere pics:

In sum: very yummy, but a bit over-priced and very small portions.

BARBACON
836 9th Ave.
New York, NY 10019

East Village, Latin/Mexican & Caribbean, Ramen, Restaurant Reviews

Miss Lily’s 7A

August 12, 2014 Johnny Prime Leave a comment

This is just a quick and dirty review of Miss Lily’s jerk ramen. The verdict? Jerkworthy. Really fucking good. Take a look:

So what we have here is jerk chicken, pork belly, shoyu marinated ackee, egg and fermented scotch bonnet paste in a jerk broth. Jerk broth… Hehe…

Every element was fantastic. The chicken was flavorful and juicy. The pork was nice and fatty. The shoyu marinated ackee, which I had to google, is a fruit. However it was presented in such a way and with such interesting texture that I thought I was eating some kind of offal meat like kidney, fois gras or brains. It was freaking great! The egg was perfectly cooked. The scotch bonnet paste, I thought, could have used a bit more spice to it. I was expecting HOT. But if you need some spice, just add he “rass hot sauce” to your bowl and you’ll be good to go. The broth was really flavorful and hearty as is, but the sauce really punched it up.

We also had the coconut grilled jerk corn, which was really tasty – sweet and savory/spicy at the same time.

And some local brews.

MISS LILY’S 7A
109 Ave. A
New York, NY 10009

French, Midtown West, Non-Steakhouse Steaks, NY Strip, Restaurant Reviews

Ca Va

August 7, 2014 Johnny Prime Leave a comment

My wife is friends with Mark Hannon, who is the chef over at Ca Va. We came in initially to try out restaurant week, but Mark had something else in store for us. Something amazing.

Mark grew up with a chef for a dad, so it only seemed natural for him to follow in his footsteps. He spent some time running kitchens at some of Thailand’s nicest hotels, and he got close with Todd English over the course of about a decade of working for him. He married an Australian chef, and is now back here in NYC, where he was essentially given free reign over the contents of the Ca Va menu (aside from a few things that needed to stay on or be done a certain way). Since taking the helm at Ca Va in the last moth or so, reviews and diners’ reactions have changed in a significantly positive way. When you see what I have to say below you’ll understand why.

First we ordered a couple of cocktails that were really nicely prepared.

Then, before we knew it, this really cool stand of deviled eggs with caviar and winter truffle came out. It was delicious. Creamy, earthy – a perfect way to start the meal.

Next was escargot with fried sea beans, some interesting purees, stuffed snail shells and crisp ham. The crispy ham was a great way to add a little salt into the dish, and the snails were perfect – soft, tender, buttery.

Next was grilled octopus with cannelini beans, chorizo and dehydrated olive powder. We’ve been having a lot of grilled octopus lately, and this dish sits among the best of them. So tender and juicy. I cleaned this plate off so well it was shining like a mirror when I was done.

Next came kale salad with goat cheese mousse, fava beans, dehydrated prosciutto, radish and snow peas. The big star here was the potato chip-like dehydrated prosciutto. Instantly my mind was imagining bags upon bags of them being consumed while watching movies at home on the couch. Fucking delightful.

Then came a scallop dish. It was seared perfectly and garnished with a trail of mushroom dirt (mushroom, shallot, almond flour, dextrose, garlic) and truffles, topped with caviar, and sitting atop asparagus and braised pulled oxtail. Holy shit. This was insane! This represents the best scallop I’ve ever eaten. Mark blew it out of the water.

Next was, by far, the most interesting plate of food of the night and possibly of the year. Duck breast and seared fois gras with toasted marshmallows, chocolate sauce, peanuts, cinnamon, huckleberries and roasted kale sprouts. It was savory yet sweet, but not too sweet, which is what you might expect when you see the stuff listed above. Combining the elements with the duck really made for some taste bud-awakening flavors.

Oh yeah baby – here it comes. Aged New York strip with tangy mustard potato salad and bone marrow powder, drizzled with a bone marrow bordelaise. Let’s just say that the meat man went home a very happy dude. Perfectly cooked to medium rare, sliced and plated beautifully, TONS of flavor and juiciness.

The first dessert was a bread pudding. I have a pic of the ingredients here but I was embarrassed about whipping out the cell phone camera to shoot the plate because Mark was sitting and chatting with us as we ate this course. I would’ve felt like a d-bag sticking my camera in his food instead of just eating it. It was great. Lots of times the texture of bread pudding isn’t right. Either the soak doesn’t hit all the bread and you get some bricks in there, or you are really just eating it for the sauces and toppings. This bread pudding was different. I usually don’t like white chocolate but I loved every bite of it here. The bread pudding itself was very silky and smooth, with really nice texture.

Last came a little plate of cookies and chocolates. The cookies were great, made in-house. The chocolates were pretty good too, nice and rich, but not made in-house.

Jordan, our waiter, was really great. We made sure to give him a good tip seeing as though he had to deal with us for about three hours.

CA VA
310 W. 44th St.
New York, NY 10036

American, Filet Mignon, Midtown West, Non-Steakhouse Steaks, Restaurant Reviews

David Burke Fabrick

August 4, 2014 Johnny Prime Leave a comment

NOTE: THIS JOINT IS NOW CLOSED

Okay so listen up. I saw this awesome photo on Chef David Burke’s Instagram feed. I showed my wife and we immediately decided that we needed to go.

We made a reservation for an hour or two later, psyched as all hell to dig into that incredible looking hunk of beef.

When we sat, the waiter brought out a little shot of strained cold gazpacho; tomato with melon. Very refreshing.

I had the “rabbit hunter” cocktail: bourbon, lime, ginger beer and mint. It was good; like a bourbon mojito.

My wife had the “antica Manhattan,” which was made with buffalo trace bourbon, antica carpano, maple syrup, bitters and brandied cherry. It was excellent, except for the fact that later on during the meal we found a gnat floating belly up in it. Doh!

We started with a pair of apps. First was the “skin and bones,” which was essentially chicken liver pate sandwiched between two pieces of crispy chicken skin, and served with chicken dumplings drizzled with vindaloo sauce. The cool thing about these dumplings was that they were “bone-in.” The chicken bones were little handles to grab the dumplings. Observe:

Next was octopus tacos (can we call them tactos?) with guacamole, chipotle sauce and salsa. These were excellent. The octopus was nice and charred but tender inside, and the sauces were great. Maybe a few jalapeno slices or some lettuce would have made this dish perfect.

We ordered a side of chic pea fries to go with our steak too. These were interesting. Crispy on the outside and creamy on the inside. The dipping sauce was more of the chipotle cream from the tacos.

So now for the big fucker. The Bronx filet for two, with bone marrow. The presentation is gorgeous, isn’t it?

Even that first slice up front. Looks delectable, no? Hmm… Maybe just a little too much grey on the edges?

Oh FUCK. After that first, nice looking piece, it looks like whoever sliced this puppy was trying to hide the incredibly overcooked portions!

I kid about the hiding. But, yeah… It turns out that the rest of the steak was really well done. We ordered it medium rare. I guess with these big hunks, lots of chefs have trouble getting an even cook across the meat. The bone still had blood on it. It certainly was an awkward size and shape. What a shame. When it’s done properly it is probably an incredible meal.

When the waiter came around to ask how everything was, I mentioned that it tasted good but that it was severely overcooked. He grabbed a manager and she agreed, though she relayed what the chef said, which was that the edges are over but the middle is okay. Unfortunately that just wasn’t the case. There were about 3 or 4 bites of medium rare combined from all slices, and the rest was hockey puck. The manager generously offered to have the chef fire up another for us, which would be ready in 25 minutes, but we declined because we had to get back home to field some interview calls for a New York Times story that is being written up about the two of us. The steak normally takes 40 minutes to cook, and we were already pushing it on time. So we put on our big-boy pants and ate the dry, grey meat as best as we could. It was still yummy, but really dry and over done. I imagine it to be a great item when properly cooked. 5/10.

The manager was kind enough to send out some free desserts for us, and we were not charged for the overcooked steak. For dessert we had the “Burke-n-bag.” This one is great for photo ops. It is essentially a really amazing candy bar dolled up to look like a purse, and served with a little scoop of vanilla bean ice cream.

We also had the frozen yogurt banana split. This was pretty good. The fro-yo was actually delicious, and the pink stuff you see is the sauce that was poured over and then hardened into a shell. Magic Shell!?! Total blast from the past. The banana was just so-so; maybe a little under-ripe. The brownies weren’t really needed, I don’t think.

Last are the cheese cake pops with bubble gum whipped cream. I wasn’t a big fan of these, but I can see how someone could love them. When it comes to all-things cheesecake, nothing can compare to my sister’s cheesecake. MY sister’s cheesecake is so good that it’ll make you want to murder YOUR sister.

So anyway – moral of the story is this: beautiful pics of food can be deceiving. Also the table next door had a wrong item taken to them. Red snapper instead of tuna. So maybe this place was just having a bad night. Our steak was ruined, there was a gnat in my wife’s drink and the table next door had the wrong item delivered to them that apparently no one at any other table had ordered. Ehh, whatever. We all know David Burke is an amazing chef. It’s just too bad he wasn’t actually there cooking for us this evening.

FABRICK
Archer Hotel New York
47 W. 38th St.
New York, NY 10018

Carcass Club/Beast Feast, Chinese, Flash Deals, Fusion, Japanese, Nolita/Soho, Restaurant Reviews

The General

July 28, 2014 Johnny Prime Leave a comment

My wife purchased a steak for two deal at this Latino steakhouse down on 14th street, but soon after the joint closed down. WTF! Anyway, the restaurant group honored the deal at one of their other joints called The General. We had heard some good things about it, so we were happy to take the deal to that location. Instead of steak, though, we went with their Peking duck. It was fucking amazing.

So the deal went like this: any two apps, then the Peking duck, a side, and any dessert to share.

Drinks were not included but we had some good ones. I had a blueberry compote and vodka drink called “The General’s Elixir.” Garnished with a sprig of rosemary for aroma. it was nice. My wife had a traditional sake box.

We started with the seared toro – normally a $30 menu item. It was really nice, delicate, and packed with flavor and just a little bit of heat from the jalapenos.

Then there was the Kate roll, which involved Alaskan king crab, salmon, and a cucumber wrap. Really fresh and delicious. We were sort of wishing that we tried the artichoke and hamachi app instead, but this roll was really good. If the Peking duck wasn’t to filling, we would have tried that as a third app.

Then the shit hit the fucking fan, and this bitch came out to the party:

Here’s the actual presentation after slicing, with the steamed buns and everything. This was one of the best Peking ducks we’ve ever had. The skin was crispy, yet juicy. The meat was tender and moist, packed with deliciousness. It came with sliced scallions, cucumbers, and pineapple. And that’s a little sauce pan of watery hoisin sauce to drizzle on your buns. Fuck yeah!

The only down side: those beautiful red chili peppers were NOT sliced and presented with the duck. Sad.

The rice we ordered as a side was a bit greasy for our liking, but it was really tasty, with shrimp, Chinese sausage, a whole bunch of other yummy tid-bits, and topped with a fried egg. My wife makes a much better fried rice, but this was fine for me as a side.

For dessert we shared an assortment of frozen treats and pops called “The General’s Freezer.” It was like they took inspiration from a little bit of everything you’d find on an ice cream truck (toasted almond, strawberry shortcake, ice cream sandwich, etc), elevated them to gourmet, miniaturized them, and served them in pairs so we could each try one. This was fun!

Some decor:

THE GENERAL IS CLOSED

American, Midtown West, Non-Steakhouse Steaks, Restaurant Reviews, Restaurant Week, Rib Eye

Butter

July 28, 2014 Johnny Prime Leave a comment

My buddy celebrated his 40th birthday out back in the garden here at Butter, and when we got good and hungry, my wife and I went inside to eat some grub at the bar.

My wife had the restaurant week menu, which came with veal bacon, hake (fish), and chocolate cake.

The veal bacon was the real star here, drizzled with a nice mustard seed sauce, and accompanied with a side of sesame oil cabbage slaw.

The fish was better than alright. Nice and clean, good flavor, and pretty tasty overall. Maybe I was just too hungry for my rib eye to pay any real attention to the fish bullshit.

Here’s the “butter cut” rib eye, served with crispy purple potato wedges and a hay stack of onion straws. Really juicy, good fat content, and cooked correctly to medium rare. This would hang with the big boys in the steak house world for sure.