Category Archives: Rib Eye

Burgers, Filet Mignon, Midtown West, NY Strip, Other Cuts, Parms, Porterhouse, Restaurant Week, Rib Eye, Steakhouse Reviews

Gallaghers – NEW & IMPROVED

February 20, 2014 Johnny Prime Leave a comment

Gallaghers overall score: 95

Gallaghers had recently closed down, was repurchased, renovated, and now has reopened, returning a once-considered-to-be NYC staple in the steakhouse world to its former glory. It had fallen on ill times for a while before it closed. I went a few years ago and was disappointed (if you are curious, the old, defunct review is HERE). But now, with a new chef, decor upgrades, etc – it is BACK with a vengeance. I was totally blown away by the improvements they made, so I figured I would write an entirely new entry for the joint. Out with the old, in with the new.

Flavor: 9
We tried the rib eye and the marrow crusted filet. Both were incredible. I hate to say it, but I think the filet packed more of a punch than the rib eye in terms of flavor; probably because of the smashed, roasted garlic that was spread on top, and the amazing quality of the fat that was introduced back into the meat via the marrow. The rib eye was perfectly cooked, with a great sear on the outside that locked in the juicy pinkness inside. I found it to be just a hair under seasoned though, so decided to hold back on giving full points on flavor. Check out the pics. As you can see, the filet came with a little side of roasted marrow as well, and that was topped with a crunchy bread crumb crust to give it texture. Fantastic.

Choice of Cuts & Quality Available: 10
Everything here is top notch quality. I mean, fuck, you can see it right in the window as it ages. They offer a porterhouse, two versions of a strip, a rib eye, a prime rib, a chopped steak, and several sizes and varieties of filet.

Portion Size & Plating: 10
Portions are excellent. The filet is basically 10oz or 14oz, which is pretty good for the vagina cut. The rib eye was around 20oz, probably more, if I had to guess. Side items and apps were good sizes too, and not as overpriced as one might expect from a prime theater district location. Plating was impressive; simple yet artful and elegant. Check out the crudo and carpaccio apps below. Gorgeous.

Price: 8
Obviously the cost is a bit inflated because of the location; I don’t even want to know what this place pays out in rent every month. You get a great meal for the money though, so it’s worth the splurge. Here’s the bill – see for yourself:

Bar: 10
This is a bar of legendary status. It’s been around since the late 20’s. If you haven’t been there, please do yourself a favor and go immediately. They mix a fine martini, and the bartender Leo is awesome: a true master of mixing. I even tried an old fashioned from the cocktail menu and it was done incredibly.

Specials and Other Meats: 9
They didn’t read any specials to us, but everything is special here. I am really impressed with the turn-around this place made. Bravo. As for other meats, they offer veal, lamb, and chicken. They pulled the pork item they used to serve (no big deal), but they do offer some alternative beef cuts like the chopped steak (glorified burger) and the prime rib (rib eye for women). And I mentioned above the several different types of filet you can order, but I will list them here for you: blue cheese crust, marrow crust, pepper/Makers Mark crust, mushroom garlic butter, sweet chili rubbed, porcini and coffee rubbed, and cajun rubbed.

Apps, Sides & Desserts: 10
We tried a few items: the hamachi crudo, the veal carpaccio, and the french onion soup, to start. The hamachi was crisp, clean and really nicely plated. The yuzu jalapeno dressing really punched it up. The veal carpaccio was so light and delicate. It was amazing. I didn’t care much for the beets, but hey, I loved it otherwise. The french onion soup was nicely executed. It wasn’t too heavy or overly salty, yet it still packed great flavor.

Dessert and after dinner drinks came to us on the house, which was just incredible. We had a sampling. We had the key lime pie, which was my favorite of the bunch, the banana cream pie (which came with a brulee’d banana), and the chocolate cake. They look every bit as good as they tasted. And for a guy like me who generally isn’t into sweets as much as others, they were not overly sweet – they were just right.

Seafood Selection: 9
There’s a good amount to choose from all over the menu. I like the nod to the man’s seafood steak: the swordfish, steak of the sea. Well played. We had a great seat near the open concept kitchen as well, so we got to drool over the shellfish display:

Service: 10
Impeccable. What an amazing group of people. Everyone. Hostesses, management, wait staff, kitchen team – all great people. Just to give a tribute, Nick & Caesar felt like family, had really great menu recommendations for us, and were attentive and genuinely nice guys. Nick is truly a work horse. The guy commutes well over an hour to get there, and I was happy to know he’s been serving guests at Gallaghers for 25 years. Awesome. The managers Charlie and James really went above and beyond and gave us way too much shit on the house and made us feel like kings. This place is really something else, and it is precisely because of the amazing staff that runs the joint. I also had the pleasure of meeting the chef Allen (forgive my spelling if it is wrong) as well. He was focused back there, but really happy to know that the guests were enjoying the new Gallaghers. His food was really delicious, and it was awesome that he let me back there to ogle his work station. Right as I snapped this photo of the coal fired brick oven, a massive tray of steaks came out to get fired up. My mouth dropped with joy. Wish I got a shot of that.

Since I have to mention the bread: good crisp bread, nice spreadable butter.

Ambiance: 10
This place is historic. The remodel preserved all that great history but gave it a modern, clean feel. You still know you’re in an old steakhouse, like Keens, but you don’t have that musty, stale, dark atmosphere. The decor is classy, sophisticated, and loaded with history. Check out the open concept in the rear, where we sat. You can see right into the kitchen, and it’s bright and clean in there. State of the art.

But wait a fucking minute… What’s the first thing you see when you walk up to this restaurant off the street? MEAT. GLORIOUS MEAT!!! Just the meat locker window alone makes this place a stand-out joint in a city flooded with steakhouses. Are you fucking kidding me? This room is heaven. HEAVEN!

And what review would be complete without a discussion of “the office” – you know, where the magic happens. Clean, over-sized urinals, because, lets face it, men who dine here have over-sized cocks. Fine marble everywhere, nice tile work. Cloth towels to dry your hands after. Nice.

My wife and I also came in with my parents for restaurant week, January 2016. Well, I ordered a strip from the regular menu, but everyone else ordered off the price fix lunch menu. Here’s my steak – absolute perfection, and very good butchering/trimming – ZERO GRISTLE! This was a 10/10.

I grabbed one of my mom’s eggs… which I suppose I did as a sperm as well, some 38 years ago… but this time instead of burrowing my head into it, I put it on top of my steak:

I also put down some fries with it, and then ate bacon for dessert.

Okay so the main reason for this update is the restaurant week deal. For $25 you get an app/salad, an entree and a dessert. My wife got a wedge salad, lamb chops and cheesecake. Great price!

For $10 more you can get a 10oz filet, which is still a great deal, but they do also offer a sliced filet with peppers and onions for the same $25 price point. I guess it is smaller.

My mom got the split pea and ham soup to start, and prime rib hash browns with poached eggs for her entree:

The table started with this new chilled octopus salad too, served with onions and tomatoes. Very tender, but it still had a great char on the outside.

UPDATE 6/2/18

Prime Rib: 9/10

Porterhouse: 8/10

I also took down their monster veal parm. This thing is massive.

While I prefer the parms at many other places, there’s something to be said about the sheer size of this thing. It was probably about 32oz.

Veal Chop: 9/10

Burger

This could be a star. The patty has some of the most dry aged flavor I’ve ever had on a burger. It just needed a better bun to hold up to the juices and thickness of the burger, and it also needed more salt. Available only at lunch time.

Prime Rib Sandwich

This is awesome. Available only at lunch time.

GALLAGHER’S
228 W. 52nd St.
New York, NY 10019

Italian, Midtown West, Porterhouse, Rib Eye, Steakhouse Reviews

Bistecca Fiorentina

February 12, 2014 Johnny Prime Leave a comment

Bistecca Fiorentina overall score: 80

UPDATE: THIS PLACE IS NOW CLOSED

My wife and I came here for a quick meal before catching the opening night performance of Rocky (the musical) on Broadway. Stallone showed up at the end of the performance so it made all the singing and dancing worth while.

Anyway this little pre-theater joint had a great looking menu. It turned out to be a great meal.

Flavor: 7
For steaks, we shared a rib eye and a single cut porterhouse. The rib eye was flavorful and cooked nicely at a medium rare. It had a few gristled spots and was generally pretty thin, but overall I liked it. The porterhouse was good too, and served with a gravy of some kind, as well as a rosemary, butter-garlic and white wine gravy (and a steak sauce, which I didn’t use much). Since the porterhouse was served on a hot plate and pre-sliced, however, it overcooked a little as it sat there. Still pretty tasty though.

Choice of Cuts & Quality Available: 7
The cuts were aged and in general good quality. As noted above, my rib eye was a little gristled and thin. They offered all the four basics in terms of cuts, and even a few outliers.

Portion Size & Plating: 7
Portions here are good. My rib eye was probably about 14-16oz, bone-in, and about an inch or slightly less in thickness. ALthough that’s a little small, it was reflected fairly in the price at only $36. It compared with the rib eye sizes at Keens, Bull & Bear and Dylan Prime. The porterhouse for one was 32oz, which was a good size, and also at a fair price.

Price: 9
Our bill came to $180. Pretty great considering how much we got to eat. We ordered two cocktails, a big seafood tower, two steaks, and a side.

Bar: 7
This place is situated in the ground floor space of a brownstone building just west of the theaters, on 46th between 8th and 9th. I didn’t expect much from the bar but it was actually set up in a nice spot where you could gaze outside and hang out for a drink. The martini was well made as well – maybe could just use some bigger olives.

Specials and Other Meats: 9
There was a big menu of special items that I assume varies each week or even each day. They offered lamb, veal, chicken, pork, all of it. They even had this incredible looking hunk of prosciutto sitting in a vintage, hand-cranked meat slicer right in the middle of the dining room. I asked about it: fully operational and they use it when people order prosciutto.

Apps, Sides & Desserts: 8
For an app we had the seafood tower, which I will discuss in more detail below. On the side we had a plate of fried artichokes. They were interesting. A little dense/heavy, and you had to eat around the pinchy parts just above the quartered heart, but I enjoyed. To our surprise the porterhouse for one came with a small side of creamed spinach. It was actually great; not too salty or overly creamy, great spinach flavor. We had no room for dessert, plus we wanted to get to the theater.

Seafood Selection: 9
There’s a lot of nice looking seafood on the menu; and I assume it is all nice quality because the price points were almost the same as the steaks. While we didn’t get the branzino or the sea bass, we DID order the hot & cold seafood platter for two. That came with four oysters, four clams, four scallops, three shrimp, three grilled & breaded langostines, a lobster tail, and a king crab leg. Everything was delicious, and the platter rivaled those in some of the best steak joints in the city.

Service: 10
The staff was excellent. All the waiters were dressed to impress, including the bartender. Nick, one of the guys working the floor, is actually related to the Ben & Jacks folks, so you know this little steak place comes from good breeding stock. Our waiter served slices of the steak onto our plates for us, dressed it with sauce, and even did it all again when he saw we were clearing the first set of slices. Water was always filled, and the table was cleaned and neatened between courses. The table breads consisted of bruscetta (two pieces) and a nice hunk of crispy bread. Maybe one suggestion would be to bring the bread out at a warmer temperature, and with softer butter.

Ambiance: 7
Obviously this place isn’t set up for the kind of experience you get at Keens or Quality Meats, where they dump millions of dollars into the decor. The walls are exposed brick, the floors are weathered wood, and there are no big fancy booths. But it is clean and nice, and they do have Sinatra on the stereo system. Take it at face value: this is a nice little bottom-of-the-brownstone restaurant geared for the pre-theater crowd, with curbside dining during the nice weather. It serves good food (and great seafood) at fair prices, and the staff is incredible.

BISTECCA FIORENTINA
317 W. 46th St.
New York, NY 10036

Long Island, Rib Eye, Steakhouse Reviews

Majors (Woodbury)

February 10, 2014 Johnny Prime Leave a comment

Majors overall score: 69

UPDATE: MAJOR’S IS NOW CLOSED!

Flavor: 7

Majors isn’t winning any accolades for steak flavor, but I must say it was a decent steak that surprised me a little. Well seasoned, evenly cooked, and at the correct temperature.

Choice of Cuts & Quality Available: 6

They have all the basic cuts here at what I imagine is good quality choice grade. They seem to know how to cook it too, so that’s a bonus. Obviously coming off of a lot of prime and better cuts tends to make steaks at these kinds of joints seem pretty rough. But for what this place is meant to be, its not too terrible.

Portion Size & Plating: 8

Portions are all sizable here. That’s one plus about the burbs – people want big portions, and Majors delivers. The plating is very basic – nothing fancy at all.

Price: 8

Very reasonable. I think my scotch (Macallan 18) ended up costing almost as much as my steak at $30. There are other places to get a better buy for your dollar, but it was definitely nice to have a rest from the NYC prices.

Bar: 8

The bar is cool here. I could see myself slamming a few drinks on occasion just to shoot the shit.

Specials and Other Meats: 7

This is your standard local steakhouse with nothing too outlandish on the menu. They cover the basics in various sizes, and there’s really not much more you can ask for.

Apps, Sides & Desserts: 5

I had an iceberg wedge and it was decent. It takes serious effort to fuck one up. I wasn’t crazy about the bottled style blue cheese dressing. I was sort of hoping for some real deal crumbles, but it was otherwise edible.

Seafood Selection: 7

Clam dishes, crab cake, tuna items: all very basic and expected. It’s a neighborhood joint and it’s a step up from the bullshit chains like Outback and Boulder Creek.

Service: 7

Standard good service here. A friend of mine who ate with us even scored digits from the waitress who served us. Bonus! One down side was a wobbly table. With 8 people seated around it, it got kind of ridiculous.

Ambiance: 6

A typical pub style ambiance, with red and white plastic-ish checkerboard table coverings. It had a very similar feel (though not quite as cool) to Arthur’s Tavern. They even have the silver bowl filled with picked items to start the meal, same as Arthur’s.

American, Italian, Non-Steakhouse Steaks, Restaurant Reviews, Rib Eye, Union Square/Flatiron

Corkbuzz Wine Studio

January 20, 2014 Johnny Prime Leave a comment

I’m not quite sure how to handle this write-up for the website. Is it a review, or commentary? Corkbuzz isn’t a steakhouse, and this meal is kind of a “limited time offer,” so I am going to go with commentary, and not give it a full steakhouse review.

Corkbuzz is a unique place in the food world. Primarily it is a wine bar and wine-centric restaurant, but it is also a home-base for wine education, according to their website. As you all may know, I am generally a martini kind of guy, despite the fact that me, my father, and my grandfather all make/made wine (I’ve even made flavored meads, or honey-based wines). Seriously – and I’m not saying this just because he’s my dad: the best wine I’ve ever tasted was my dad’s pinot noir, which he made from scratch with fresh grapes.

So anyway – a buddy of mine emailed me asking if I knew anything about this place, and if I thought the “Steakhouse Sundays” deal was good. He showed me this page:

$500 for 6 people, including tip, with 4 bottles of wine, Pat LaFrieda rib eye, and sides/apps?!?? Uhh… YES… no brainer, that is a GREAT fucking deal! So I told my wife about it, and we decided that we had to jump on it as well. Check out the results below:

First we sat at the bar and waited for our party to arrive. Nice view, and the cocktails were awesome.

Once seated, they presented the first wine:

And brought us the wedge salad:

And shrimp cocktail (a little pathetic, but whatever…)

Next came the red wines…

Then the sides arrived… Roasted cauliflower, and creamed spinach…

Then the steak with potatoes and onion rings…

And finally a pumpkin bread pudding dessert with ricotta whipped cream…

Here are the wines again, for those who are all about it…

Everything was great. We were all full, but not ridiculously over-stuffed to the point of vomitude. The steak was great. I noted that it was a little under-salted, but the steak sauce (some kind of wine reduction) was plenty salty to inject that back into the meat. The sides were all great – especially the roasted cauliflower. The creamed spinach was a bit too firm for my liking, but it was nice that it wasn’t so overly creamy. The potato item would have been better if it was crispy (was a little soggy), but overall a really great meal. The wine alone was worth the price we paid.

CORKBUZZ WINE STUDIO
13 E. 13th St.
New York, NY 10003

Flash Deals, Midtown East, Rib Eye, Steakhouse Reviews

Bull & Bear Prime Steakhouse

December 6, 2013 Johnny Prime Leave a comment

Bull & Bear Prime Steakhouse overall score: 84

My wife and I tried this place because she got a great deal on a steak dinner for two from Gilt City. The regular coupon was $99 for two apps, two sides, and two entrees. But my bargain hunter wife got it for $84. The kicker was this: EVERY item on the menu was included in the deal – no restrictions. With that said, I chose the regularly priced $95 Wagyu rib eye for my entree. It was either that or the $79 longbone rib eye. So my single steak cost more than the coupon. Crazy. Verdict is below:

Flavor: 9

After asking the waiter twice if the Wagyu rib eye was included, and being told emphatically “yes,” I was convinced that all was right with the world. It was delicious. Small (14oz), but delicious. Cooked perfectly, well seasoned, juicy, tender, and good to the last bite. However, if you are going to pay full price for something like this, I think the better bet is to head over to Del Frisco’s Double Eagle; I found their Wagyu rib eye to be superior (double the size and better flavor, yet for the same price). My wife had the lamb chops (two double cut chops). She ordered them medium rare but they came back medium to medium-well. Shame.

Choice of Cuts & Quality Available: 8

Everything is good quality, and they cover every type of cut possible; two rib eyes, a few filets, porterhouse, strip… Nothing outside the basics though.

Portion Size & Plating: 8

The plating was basic, and I thought the portion size was a little small for my rib eye, but the Wagyu’s are sometimes smaller than the American cuts. At $95, if I paid full price, I would have been a little upset with a 14oz steak. In fact had I been paying full price I would have gone with the 30oz longbone rib eye, which looked awesome when I saw a waiter carry it to another table. But I had to jump on the Wagyu since it was essentially free.

Price: 10

I really can’t say shit about price since we had an amazing coupon deal, and it included their most expensive cuts. We paid $100 over the initial $84 because we each had a drink, we ordered a dessert (not included), and then tip.

Bar: 7

There bar room is tremendous and beautiful, and that’s why it has seven points. I had to yank three. The main problem was that there weren’t enough bartenders to deal with the mobbed, crowded room. Perhaps we were just there at a bad time? It took about 20 minutes to get the attention of a bartender who had been ignoring my friend and I when we first stepped up to the bar. To top it off, the drinks were insanely overpriced. Two Johnny Walker blacks cost me $45, and drinks were $20 a pop on the cocktail menu as well (“Winter in Manhattan” – $19 – orange and cinnamon infused whiskey). Fuck that shit.

Specials and Other Meats: 8

The waiter didn’t read off any specials. Not sure if that was because there were none, or because it was busy and he forgot. As for other meats, they offered veal, lamb, and chicken.

Apps, Sides & Desserts: 9

We tried the crab cake and the day boat scallops for starters. Both were really good. The crab cake was meaty and crispy on the edges, and the scallops were cooked perfectly and dressed with a nice sauce.

On the side we had creamed spinach and truffle french fries. Deliciousness oozed from both. The creamed spinach was a little bit creamier than I normally like (ratio was off a bit) but I was surprised by how nice and well-balanced it tasted. The fries were awesome. Really great earthy flavor from the truffles, and they were nicely seasoned with Parmesan cheese and garlic.

For dessert we tried the maple bacon ice cream, which had actual bits of bacon folded into the ice cream. It was breakfasty. Interesting and yummy at first, but three scoops was two too many for the taste buds.

Seafood Selection: 8

The appetizer section is a little light on the normal types of seafood items you usually see at a steak joint, but the entree menu has an ocean section with several types of fish to choose from.

Service: 8

Shit was busy as fuck in this place. I don’t know if it was because tourists were in town for the previous night’s Christmas Tree lighting ceremony, or if this is a regular thing… But getting a drink at the bar was a nightmare, and the time lapse between being seated, ordering, getting drinks delivered, getting apps/entrees, etc. was very long. Our waiter was great though, so no complaints there. Just insanely busy. On a lighter note, the table bread came out with a really soft and creamy whipped butter – very nice.

Ambiance: 9

Both the bar room and the restaurant itself are beautiful, which is to be expected of the Waldorf. Dark wood paneling rises all the way up the walls to meet the high vaulted ceilings, where elegant chandeliers hang down to dimly light the room. The floor is carpeted with a wide red plaid pattern that makes for a warm, cozy atmosphere. It’s gorgeous. I only took a point away for the general feeling of “too busy.” Perhaps a different night would make for a more intimate dining experience.

BULL & BEAR PRIME
540 Lexington Ave.
New York, NY 10022

Filet Mignon, Full Points for Flavor, Rib Eye, Steakhouse Reviews, Tribeca

American Cut

November 20, 2013 Johnny Prime Leave a comment

AMERICAN CUT OVERALL SCORE: 94

After having one of the best meals of my life at Marc Forgione, I had to check this place out when I heard the iron chef was opening a steakhouse. Staying true to his innovative spirit, Chef Forgione excited us in every course with his unique dishes and menu items. Everything – from the cocktail menu at the bar, to the apps, entrees and desserts – has his envelope-pushing signature on it. I love that about his food. See below:

Flavor: 10

I had the NYC cut rib eye, which was a 20oz bone-in cut that was seasoned with pastrami spices (mainly mustard seed and rye seed). It was definitely different and unique. I loved it for the first half of the steak, but on the back end I was kinda just craving a regular steak taste. But the meat was cooked perfectly, it was juicy and tender, and it had great char and crust. Bravo for thinking outside the box on this cut. On a second trip I shared the rib eye for two with a friend and my wife. It was perfectly cooked, and absolutely delicious. I also got to taste a bit of the filet mignon from another friend who ordered it. Very juuicy and tender, with great seasoning.

20131025_185137_LLS — new york cut (pastrami spice)

Choice of Cuts & Quality Available: 10

The quality is all fantastic from what I could tell; all aged for many weeks. They had several different steaks for two to choose from (rib eye, porterhouse), a standalone strip, a standalone rib eye (the one I had), a filet (plus one on special), a hanger steak, and a wagyu rib eye.

Portion Size & Plating: 9

The sizes here are good: 20oz for the rib eye, 14oz for the strip, 10oz for both the hanger and filet, 42oz for the rib eye for two, and 40oz for the porterhouse. Plating was nice – basic, elegant, but not overly fancy. A word of caution: the rib eye for two has a lot of bone on it – tomahawk style. I could probably take it down by myself, but if you load up on apps and sides, you will be okay with sharing it.

Price: 9

The steaks are very fair in price ($44 for the rib eye), but I thought some of the apps were a little too pricey. For example, the chili lobster was $27 and it was, at best, a half of a 1-pound lobster. I’ve had bigger and better lobsters for $3.99/lb from my local grocery store; it WAS really tasty though, and you are paying for the work that goes into the preparation of this dish. Also the bacon – two thick cut slabs is $16. A bit expensive. Both dishes were yummy though (see below). On the plus side, I had $100 from a contest I won on Tabelog for my restaurant reviews, so I used that toward the bill.

Bar: 9

The bar is nice here. It’s set back behind the greeting station, but it’s a good set up, and it attracts a lot of people who are out for the night, regardless of whether they are eating at the restaurant. It’s a fun place. They have a great cocktail menu with some really nice, interesting things. My wife tried a fig margarita and an artichoke sour. Both were good in my opinion, but the artichoke cocktail was a little too bitter in the back end of each sip. They mixed a good martini, but the martini could definitely benefit from some better quality olives. With dessert I tried the homemade sambuca: it was nice and potent, with strong hints of vanilla, ginger and coffee.

Specials & Other Meats: 10

Our waitress offered us three specials: a baby greens salad with squash, a 7oz filet with hunter’s sauce (reduced red wine, bacon, mushroom), and a brussels sprouts with pearl onions side dish. We didn’t try any because we were too enticed by the regular menu items. In the “other meats” department they offer a braised short rib; lamb, veal, and pork porterhouses; a clove chicken; and as I said above some wagyu and alternative cuts like hanger. I guess I’ll mention it here – why he fuck not… the steak sauce was nice and tangy, and would go well with any meat. My steak was heavily spiced with the pastrami stuff, so I didn’t use it, but it might be good on something like chicken. I like the cool old-timey apothecary bottle it was presented in too:

Apps Sides & Dessert: 8

We started with three items: bacon, octopus, and steak tartare. The steak tartare was a bit too tangy and vinegary for our liking. It came with a soft-boiled, pickled quail egg that sat at the bottom of the meat. It was served with toasted bread and homemade sweet pickles. Overall it was just too sour and salty for our taste, but we did eat it all.

The bacon was delicious. Crispy outside, soft and fatty inside, great flavor. Just a bit pricey as I mentioned before. It was topped with a nice sort of onion marmalade:

Here’s a shot of the bone marrow app, which my wife tried on a second visit. Gorgeous and stunning, and really fucking delicious:

The octopus was excellent. I’ve had better at a local Italian place on Long Island, but that place is hit or miss and I really liked the array of different flavors that came through with each bite here. Olive oil, shaved celery, roasted red peppers, lemon and garlic. It was great, and super soft:

On the side we had the sunchoked spinach. it was a nice take on creamed spinach. I love the flavor of sunchoke so I was excited to try this. They put some fontina cheese on top to give it the extra salt and cream, but I thought maybe half or three-quarters of the amount of cheese would have been plenty.

For dessert we tried the AC car bomb – Guinness ice cream on a bed of chocolate bread pudding and topped with a Jameson caramel. It was delicious, even though we were already stuffed.

On the second trip we had the crackerjack sundae – fun, but a bit too sweet:

Seafood Selection: 9

They had a lot to choose from for fish: planked salmon, swordfish, halibut, and a bunch of goodies over on the app side of the menu like shellfish and seafood platters. We tried the chili lobster, which seems to thread its way through both the app and main course sides of the menu. It had a great buttery, spicy flavor in the broth, but the app portion was a bit too small for $27 (as mentioned above, a half of a 1-pound lobster at best).

Service: 10

Everyone was great here. Our waitress Sonja was helpful, informative, friendly, and attentive. So were the bus men and the management. They all dress in nice grey suit vests with ties, and they swoop in like hawks when you finish up with a plate or if you need water or anything. At the start of the meal, they bring over some really nice, warm “everything biscuits” with a vegetable butter. Nice way to start the meat-a-thon. These things are addictive though, so be careful not to spoil your appetite before you even get your apps!

At the end of the meal they even had some nice snack sized freebies to munch on while paying the bill (think elevated girls scout cookies):

Ambiance: 10

The art deco decor was nice and warm for a change. The seating is all top notch, club style arm-chairs, and there’s plenty of room at the tables. The bathrooms are fitted with small circular tiles on the floor, marble all over the rest, with big, raised urinals and tall pedestal sinks. Very nice smell for a shitter too, I must say. The cutlery was nice too – take a look (his new knives even have his signature etched into the blade):

THAT's not a knife... THIS is a knife. — THAT’s not a knife… THIS is a knife.

AMERICAN CUT
363 Greenwich St.
New York, NY 10013

American, Full Points for Flavor, Italian, Non-Steakhouse Steaks, Restaurant Reviews, Rib Eye, West Village

Piora

September 28, 2013 Johnny Prime Leave a comment

First, you have to watch this video:

Okay… So that is the whole reason we went here. I needed to do an honorable mention here just for that alone, despite the joint not being a true steakhouse. Well, I needed to try that steak AND sample their ridiculously delicious sounding menu, which you can see HERE. I think we tried most of the items on the menu. Seriously.

We started with a few of their awesome drinks from the cocktail menu, which were painstakingly crafted by this dude, who shaved chunks of ice by hand to fill the glasses.

Check out his arsenal of wizard potions too:

Okay so after that we ordered up some monkey bread for $6. A dollar per lump, each about the size of a mini-muffin or small cupcake. My biggest negative of the dining experience – this item should’ve been free. It was small, and I’ve had better bread for free at places like BLT Prime, Quality Meats, Quality Italian, Tellers, etc. This was essentially the same bread as the stuff at Quality Italian, but it cost $6 instead of nothing. Oh – it came with a seaweed butter (big deal) and some nice lard (that was yummy).

Next we shared some starters: BBQ octopus and duck confit. Unfortunately I forgot to snap pics of those items, but they were both really delicious.

An amuse was brought out to us next: apple with chartreuse and beet:

For pre-entrées we shared four items between the four of us: black garlic bucatini with Dungeness crab and chilis; (Riders of) Rohan duck (that’s a LoTR reference, by the way), suckling pig, and sea trout. All were small portions, so it was easy to sock away with four hungry diners. I won’t get into the serious specifics here, since this is a fucking steak blog, not a duck and pig blog, but the pasta was really nice with the crab meat on top. The aged duck was frigging awesome – may as well have been a steak; that’s how flavorful and legit this fucker was. The pork was soft inside with a nice crispy outside. See pics below. And as for the trout – some of the best crispy fish skin I’ve had to date.

Sea Trout. See Trout Swim. See Trout Get Eaten. — Sea Trout.
See Trout Swim.
See Trout Get Eaten.

We sided that shit up with an order of sunchokes with hazelnut, topped with parmesan cheese. Really great shit.

Now for the good shit – the steak. The special, secret, off-menu, bone-in, 40oz rib eye/cote de beouf was … Well … You saw the video. It was fucking great. It ranks #2 in best steaks from a non-steakhouse; behind only the great and powerful Marc Forgione (who just opened a new steakhouse in Tribeca, by the way, called American Cut). This steak was nice – it had a bacon candy-like taste on the edges; great sear, locking in the flavor. The meat was tender, cooked just right. Take a look at the pics, before and after slicing:

It came with two side items: olive oil potato balls, and spigarello (which is best described as broccoli flavored kale, sautéed with garlic and oil). I didn’t care much for the potato balls, but the spigarello was nice. You can sorta see those items here in the plating:

For dessert we had a scoop of salted caramel ice cream (not pictured), and an order of the white peach shaved ice, which sat on a coconut panna cotta with some blueberry sauce. THAT was really flavorful. I wish I had ordered three or four of those for my entrée. The coconut panna cotta was so light and fluffy. Totally gobble-worthy.

And then the bill came:

And then I took a dump in the bathroom. And they all lived happily ever after. The end.

PIORA
430 Hudson St.
New York, NY 10014

Greek, Midtown East, Porterhouse, Rib Eye, Steakhouse Reviews, Union Square/Flatiron

Parea Prime

May 20, 2013 Johnny Prime Leave a comment

Parea Prime overall score: 83

NOTE: This restaurant is now CLOSED.

Flavor: 8

I had the rib eye, as usual. it was really nicely cooked, tender, juicy, delicious. The only downside was that the meat was a little bit tight. Not tough, but maybe it didn’t have as much marbling as I had hoped. Also the fat cap was a little bit on the smaller side than I usually like, and less of it was edible than normal. Overall though I really enjoyed my steak (8/10). I tried some of the lamb chops, braised short rib, and the porterhouse as well – all were good, though the porterhouse was a bit overcooked (6/10).

Choice of Cuts & Quality Available: 9

The quality here is all prime, and supposedly hand selected by Pat LaFrieda himself! The online menu showed a rib eye for two, but they didn’t have it at the restaurant. Otherwise they had all the basics; porterhouse for multiple even numbers of diners, filet, strip, and rib eye. They also had some alternative meats like pork (which they were out of), veal, lamb and braised short rib. A nice selection.

Portion Size & Plating: 9

With the exception of the sides, the portions are all very generous, and the plating is up to par with other more modern, elegant steakhouses. I’d say my rib eye was upwards of 22oz.

Price: 8

I can’t really complain at all here. At the end of the meal we were given some free booze (see service section). The rib eye was a bit pricey in my opinion, but the other steaks seemed fair (as well as the drinks). See the rest below:

Bar: 8

The bar is nice, though I wonder if the place would have been better arranged if they put the bar closer to the street/windows that in the back. They mixed a good martini though, and they have a great selection of house cocktails that looked (and tasted) great. My martini was $12, which, after spending $20 last week at Del Frisco’s, seemed like a steal (how sad is that?).

Specials and Other Meats: 8

There was no special beef cut, but they did offer some oysters and clams on special. As for other meats, they had braised short rib (which was yummy), lamb chops (also delicious), veal and pork chops (which they were out of).

Apps, Sides & Desserts: 8

We started with some slab bacon, which was fatty and delicious. At $5 a slab it was worth it. We also shared some grilled octopus – it was tasty and bright, but it had less char on it than I had expected. Next we had some grilled calamari stuffed with Greek cheeses. These were very nice. During dinner we had some rosemary oregano fries, which were really crisp, aromatic and tasty. We also tried the creamed spinach and sauteed broccoli rabe with feta. Both were excellent, however there was just not enough of it in each order.

Seafood Selection: 7

They have a decent raw bar and app selection, but other than that it seems to just be sea bass (both Mediterranean and Chilean) and salmon for dinner (along with a crab cake plate).

Service: 10

The service here is absolutely awesome. Our water Salvador was really nice and helpful, and he had great suggestions for drinks and entrees. After dinner we had the great pleasure of chatting with the general manager Jean Christophe for quite a bit of time. He was a chef for many years at various great NYC steakhouses. This man is a class act, and a true gentleman. Both he and our waiter offered us some complimentary after dinner drinks from their high end selections (top notch tequilas and cognacs). I always enjoy meeting the people who run these places. When they truly love the industry it reflects in their service just how much each diner means to them.

Ambiance: 8

The ambiance was nice, but the music was a bit too clubby for my taste. Otherwise everything was neat, well decorated, and elegant – from the tables to the bathrooms. We had a nice big round table in the front of the restaurant, near the windows, and we enjoyed it.

American, Full Points for Flavor, Italian, Non-Steakhouse Steaks, Restaurant Reviews, Rib Eye, Tribeca

Marc Forgione

April 19, 2013 Johnny Prime Leave a comment

Iron Chef Marc Forgione’s restaurant in Tribeca is amazing. Recently my wife came upon an article that featured the pig face platter; a dish that comprises a half a pig face and some side items that vary with each week (our week was a taco theme, as is pictured in the article, with a ramp sour cream, jicama salsa, etc.). They don’t offer it every week, and when they DO offer it, it is only on Thursdays. Well, our anniversary fell on a Thursday this year – so it was perfect. With nervous anticipation my wife called several times inquiring about whether pig face would be on the menu. Yesterday morning they gave the definitive “yes.” We were psyched.

Look at this delicious face! The cheek meat was incredibly soft and juicy, and the skin all over was unbelievable; you know the kind… sticky and fatty on one side, crispy and savory on the other. Perfection.

For our meal we started with a nice octopus salad – really fantastic. Then we had the piggy face. Afterward we shared a massive 40oz french cut cowboy rib eye. Take a look at how amazing it looks (if only you could “see” how amazing it tasted too). I can’t rank Marc Forgione on this website because it’s not a steakhouse, but, if I were going to, this would get a 10 for flavor.

As you can see in this shot it came with side items (a composed dish, as they say): carrot juice glazed carrot, some roasted potatoes, and roasted bone marrow. The steak itself was topped with a chimichurri sauce and little blobs of cold rosemary butter, which was nice because it didn’t melt into the meat and drench the plate in butter. You could pluck them off and spread it to your liking.

It was a heavy meal, and would’ve been heavier if we started off with the fois gras instead of the octopus. The waiter, Jason, was helpful in making sure we didn’t have a richness blowout when he suggested we go with the octopus based on the other stuff we were ordering. He was great by the way. So were the cocktails. The service here in general is fantastic (definitely a 10). We even had a personalized “Welcome” / “Happy Anniversary” letter signed by Marc sitting at our table when we were seated, and at the end of the meal we had the pleasure of getting a glimpse of the culinary genius before we left.

We were also given a nice manager’s discount on the bill!

I hope Marc and his staff get a chance to see this post and this website. As a Carnivore Connoisseur, I think they would appreciate being mentioned as one of the best steaks in town, even when measured against establishments that ONLY deal in steak.

MARC FORGIONE
134 Reade St.
New York, NY 10013

Midtown West, Other Cuts, Rib Eye, Steakhouse Reviews

Tad’s Steakhouse (for real)

April 2, 2013 Johnny Prime Leave a comment

Tad’s Steakhouse (W. 50th Street) overall score: 35

NOTE: THIS PLACE WILL BE CLOSED AS OF JANUARY 2020

Now that I successfully fucked up your whole shit with an incredible April Fools Day joke, here is the REAL review of Tad’s. I apologize in advance for vulgarity, and for the fact that there is no official Tad’s website for me to provide you. Quality!

Flavor: 5

Surprisingly enough, the steak DID have flavor. I was baffled by this, as the steak was slapped onto the grill with absolutely no seasoning whatsoever. I guess the grill itself imparted some leftover flavors from whatever else was on it before. I had the “cowboy,” which was a thin slice of ribeye, somehwere between 1/4 inch thick and 3/8 inches thick. It had veins of gristle throughout, some flecks of bone fragment, but overall I was able to eat about 70% of it. My buddy had the strip, which was similar in thickness, flavor, and edibility, though his was a little under cooked from the medium that we both ordered (yes – they actually do ask how you want it cooked).

Choice of Cuts & Quality Available: 5

The quality here is choice at best, and I am suspect that it is even choice to begin with – but let’s say for argument’s sake that is IS choice. Good. Now, I don’t mind that when it is done right. Here, they simply grill over an open flame, so not too much that can go wrong other than quality and seasoning issues. The cuts are very thin, with lots of fat/gristle. I was happy to see that the bones were generally left in, which imparts a bit more flavor, but at this point we are talking about a difference between dog shit and cat shit. So why split hairs? They do have what they call strip or sirloin, a cowboy (rib steak), something that attempts to pass muster as a filet or tenderloin, as well as a t-bone.

Portion Size & Plating: 5

The plating is dinner style, meaning you get your sides and veggies right there included with your meal, slapped on the plate like a soggy old tit flapping in the wind against a bony chest. I suppose if you were to eat everything on your plate, regardless of how horrific it is, you will be full. Your body might punish you later though. They do offer several different sizes for the various steaks, so it all depends on how sick you want to get.

Price: 5

I can think of better ways to spend $10 for lunch, but you do get a lot of shit (nearly literal) for your money. The $10 gets you a steak, potato or rice side, and a salad. It is actually supposed to be $8.25, but we were charged 80 cents for sauteed onions without our knowledge – classic upcharge move! They asked if we wanted them, as if it were part of the whole gravy, butter and au jus topping selection. But it was not. It was 80 extra cents for a pile of onions I didn’t touch other than to taste one or two slivers.

Bar: 1

There is no bar, but they did sell beer in the fridge, so I left a point on the board for that.

Specials and Other Meats: 5

Tad’s has variety! You can mix and match a lot of stuff to make your meal into a special, and they have numbered meal selections like a Chinese restaurant to boot. For other meats they have ribs, roasted chicken, and pork chops.

Apps, Sides & Desserts: 1

We started with the standard side salad, which was crisp, cold, and topped with horrible dressing. Then we moved on to our potatoes. The mashed were out of a box/powdered. Horrible. My buddy went with a baked potato – that was the smart choice. The sauteed onions were terrible too; soggy and grease-laden, with an odd, translucent, glistening, pinkish-red hue to them. Needless to say we skipped dessert.

Seafood Selection: 1

No seafood on the menu, other than fried shrimp. One point! And that’s that.

Service: 6

The guy at the grill was nice, but he completely forgot that my buddy and I ordered two different pieces of meat. When I alerted him to this as he was plating up our sides, he insisted that both meats were the same. They weren’t – I know. Anyway, my buddy and I had to swap steaks at our seat. This section would be a bust if not for the wonderful lady who told us to leave our trays at the end of the meal and she would clean up the table for us. Solid!

Ambiance: 1

This place is hot inside, and similar to a McDonalds or Sizzler. Obviously you need to know what you are getting into before you dine at this kind of establishment, preferably while shit-bag wasted to the point of delerium. That might actually be kinda fun.

TAD’S STEAKS
761 7th Ave.
New York, NY 10019

Gallaghers overall score: 95

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Bistecca Fiorentina overall score: 80

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Majors overall score: 69

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Bull & Bear Prime Steakhouse overall score: 84

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AMERICAN CUT OVERALL SCORE: 94

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Parea Prime overall score: 83

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Tad’s Steakhouse (W. 50th Street) overall score: 35

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carnivore connoisseur