Chinese, Midtown West, Restaurant Reviews

Radiance Tea House & Books

November 2, 2014 Johnny Prime Leave a comment

Me, my wife and her cousin came in here for a quick lunch that ended up being a pretty big, delicious meal. Check out all the shit we ate. I pretty much liked every bit of it, but the least favorites were the chicken rolls, egg custard had the BBQ pork bun.

The ladies had lemongrass mint tea. I smelled the lemongrass, but in the sip I took it was only mint that I tasted, and very light in terms of flavor as well.

This is silky tofu in chili oil. A very nice dish indeed, and good spice to it.

These little fuckers are the pork soup dumplings. These were my favorite of all the dim sum, but you have to get on them quickly otherwise the liquids may leak out. But be careful: have it too soon and you will burn your mouth.

These packets of yum are the chicken with wood ear mushroom dumplings. These were my least favorite of the dim sum, but they were my wife’s favorite.

This was egg custard. The texture was nice, similar to a soft creme brûlée, but it needed just a bit more of the sauce on top to make it perfect.

Crystal shrimp dumplings. These are always good when they’re done the right way. I liked them. Good snap texture, soft, flavorful and briny.

The BBQ pork bun was a little lacking for me. Too much dough, and the meat was more like sloppy Joe mix to me.

This was one of the stars. Pork belly steamed buns with cilantro, onion and tomato. Great flavorful bites, and the pork was nice without too much chew fat. Loved it.

These are the curry chicken rolls. I liked them. The chicken is pounded flat and used as a wrapper to house the veggies inside. Maybe could have used a bit of salt. Otherwise I liked them. My wife wasn’t a fan, however.

Ice cream with green tea drink. Simply and delicious.

Assorted mochi: sesame, peanut, red bean, green tea, mango, and taro. My favorites were the peanut and red bean.

Some of the decor: the place is a cross between a coffee shop, a restaurant and a book store. Neat little place. Glad we came.

RADIANCE TEA HOUSE & BOOKS
158 W. 55th St.
New York, NY 10019

Italian, Nolita/Soho, Restaurant Reviews

Torrisi

November 2, 2014 Johnny Prime 2 Comments

UPDATE! NEW TORRISI IS OPEN!!!

The new address is: 275 Mulberry St, New York, NY 10012

Here are some delicious bites my wife and I tried:

I came here with my wife and her cousin for the ten course $100 price fix meal.

It’s tough to get a rez here because it is such a tiny spot; very few tables:

The ladies had a sparkling rose, and I tried three different beers, which seemed to pair nicely with the meal as I went through the courses. My favorite was the white rascal belgian style white ale.

So here’s how shit went down in terms of food:

Amuse:
Beggar’s purse with housemade buffalo mozzarella, tied up with chive string and filled with trout roe and crispy bread crumbs. This was a great, briny bite. I could pop these in my mouth like snacks all night.

One:
Squash macchiato with brown butter and bay leaf apple cider and mulled spices. This was a great little shot of liquid, like a tea, or consommé soup.

Two:
Japanese abalone sous vide with pickled and charred celery, hazelnut purée and chopped hazelnuts. This was really refreshing and delicate. I was wishing I had a huge bowl of it instead of a little salsa or french onion dip sized dish.

Three:
East coast Blue crab in gelee minestrone with squash, preserved tomatoes, green beans, bread crumbs, black beans and basil pistou. I hardly had any crab in my serving, but otherwise it was pretty good. It was more like a salad than a soup for sure, due to the gelee technique used.

Four:
The “mixed grill” course had a few components. First was a Rhode Island oyster with dill, smokey grilled cherry mignonette and fresh ground horseradish. This was an excellent bite. By far one of the better dishes served.

Then came a trumpet royal/king mushroom “mille feuille in terrine” (lots of thin slices) that was seared in foie gras butter and topped with sea salt flakes. My favorite of the night. It was meaty, fatty, and packed with flavor. Wonderful texture too – nice crunch and bite to it on the edges, yet it was still soft like a mushroom at the same time.

The last part of the mixed grill was a veal terrine made with tongue, tail, sweetbreads and carrot sausage with pickled fennel salad and smoked brioche pretzels. There were three mustards too: Bavarian, fig, and nectar. My favorite was the nectar. Since there were three of us dining, I was sort of hoping we would each get a slice of terrine. Not the case. I think it is usually one slice per two guests, so we did get a little more than what is typically served. Still not quite enough in my opinion.

Five:
East coast diver scallop with super thinly sliced white and matsutaki mushrooms in a marsala bouillon with sliced chives. It sat on a nice display of bay leaf and crushed scallop shells. This was really pretty, and also tasty. The scallop was perfectly cooked and then sliced sashimi style.

Six:
Scottish salmon tartare filled cannelloni with salmon roe, basil, crispy shallots and Meyer lemon zest. This was a great little log of pasta. I’ve never had salmon with pasta before, so it was a great surprise for me.

Seven:
Sheep’s milk gnocchi with chestnut, chives and brown butter ragu with shallots and pecorino. This was a sweet pillow of pasta. Dessert pasta, almost. Very well done though.

Eight:
Squab cacciatore skin-on breast with mulberry and walnut dumpling and juniper berry and walnut sauce. This was reminiscent of a duck dish. Perfectly executed breast and a great sweet yet savory sauce.

Palate Cleanser:
Lemon ginger Italian ice. The ginger really gave it a great spicy kick. Loved it.

Coffee:
Espresso for me, cappuccino for the ladies.

Nine:
Whipped ricotta cheesecake with finger lime graham cracker dusting and olive oil, served in eggshells that sat on a porcelain rabbit’s ass area. Nice presentation. Great bite of cheesecake here. Very soft and creamy.

Ten:
Italian rainbow/tricolor almond/orange sponge cake with chocolate ganache, almond slivers and custard. This was quintessential Italian. The back of the slice was the tricolor cookie/cake. It was beautiful, but not my type of dessert per se. Again I was expecting a third slice here since we were three diners. But again I think the regular portion is one slice for two diners. In this case it was enough for the three of us since none of us particularly loved this dish.

So that’s about it. I liked the meal very much, but I felt it was a bit expensive for the small portion sizes (despite it being a ten course tasting menu I was still hungry afterwards). That said, I doubt I’d come back unless it was for some sort of special event. Here’s the bill for three people:

We were sent home with a little box of desserts as well. Nice touch. Out of the items listed on the paper, my favorite was the spicy mango gumdrop thing.

TORRISI IS CLOSED

Burgers, Flash Deals, Midtown East, Restaurant Reviews

Dag’s Patio Cafe

October 31, 2014 Johnny Prime Leave a comment

I picked up a Groupon for this joint recently: $16 for two burgers, two fries and two shakes. They were out of shakes, so they gave us beer and wine instead. Not bad!

So this place stands out as one of the better burgers that I’ve had recently and the reason is because of two things: (1) ratio of bread to meat to toppings, and (2) the potato roll. We tried the applewood bacon cheddar burger with grilled onions, and the Dag burger with lettuce, tomato, onion and American (fuck yeah) cheese. Both were wonderful.

For point number one, regarding ratios, I implore you to look at the cross-section of the burger. Look at it. Not too much bun. Meat is a decent thickness, but not so thick that you have to unhinge your fucking jaw. Just a couple of basic toppings so you aren’t stacking up shit on top of shit and building a skyscraper.

As for point number two, the potato roll holds up to intense scrutiny like no other. It is strong, yet soft. It is flavorful and it absorbs juices. It is magical.

As I was browsing the menu a few other items caught my eye. Typically I will try a Chicago dog before any other hot dog menu item (Chicago beats New York on hot dogs, but New York beats Chicago on pizza). However I was enticed by the Dag dog, so I gave that a try.

The Dag dog was essentially the same as the bacon, cheddar and grilled onion burger but in dog form. It was nice. Not too sloppy, as a Chicago dog can sometimes be. They also split the dog and griddled it up nice on the flat top.

The fries were nice too. A thicker style but not quite steak fries. Nicely crisped on the outside and soft inside. A good sized portion too. The overhead pic from above shows the accurate portion size pre-gorging. The pic below was taken after I attacked those shits for a few minutes, dipping them in the Sri Racha ketchup and Tabasco mayo that I masterfully mixed up at their fixin’s bar.

DAG’S PATIO CAFE
342 E. 47th St.
New York, NY 10017

Burgers, Midtown West, Pub Food, Restaurant Reviews

Alfie’s

October 29, 2014 Johnny Prime Leave a comment

I stopped into Alfie’s for a late night bite to get my burger fix in. The meat was not seasoned enough, but it was certainly cooked to the proper temperature. It was good and juicy. I just wish they packed on some salt and pepper before slapping this titty-fuck onto the grill. The rosemary herb fries were nicely cooked too, but they needed seasoning and salt as well:

ALFIE’S
800 9th Ave.
New York, NY 10019

American, Burgers, Midtown West, Pub Food, Restaurant Reviews

Rosie O’Grady’s Saloon

October 28, 2014 Johnny Prime Leave a comment

I popped in here for a quick lunch with a buddy of mine who was in town for a convention. I’d never been here before despite walking by a million times and always being aware of its existence. Perhaps I just assumed it was a standard overpriced midtown tourist trap or something.

So I took down their burger. I had a feeling it was going to be thick, so I didn’t go crazy with toppings: just cheese. I was right. Look at this fat fuck:

It was nice and tasty, well seasoned… and well… done… I ordered medium but it came back pretty much well done.

There’s still a slight bit of pink in there, so maybe medium well.

Anyway, the fries were not my preferred style. I like shoestring but these were steak fries.

The odd thing was that my buddy ordered a chicken sandwich and his came with shoestring fries. Hmm.

Anyway, the burger was still good despite being overcooked, So I may venture back in here for a steak some day, or perhaps the corned beef sandwich.

ROSIE O’GRADY’S
800 7th Ave.
New York, NY 10019

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

Hudson Eatery

October 28, 2014 Johnny Prime Leave a comment

I grabbed a local Groupon deal for this joint to try out their burger. It turned out to be a pretty good meal. $30 for two drinks, two entrees, and a shared app.

We started off with some drinks, beer & wine:

Next came the apps (we ordered an additional). Bacon and onion mac and cheese, followed by chili duck sauce shrimp. Both were tasty, though I didn’t think the $3 up charge for the bacon and onion in the mac was worth it. Also the shrimp came with a thousand island dipping sauce which didn’t mix well with the asian style sauce that was already on them. Other than that the batter and frying were perfect.

Then the burger came out. I ordered a burger with American cheese, bacon, and jalapeños. My only gripe was that the bun was a little flakey/crusty, but other than that it was well seasoned, they used fresh jalapeños, the bacon was crisp, the cheese was melty and good, and the burger was cooked just right.

The fries were pretty good too – nicely salted, unlike Thalia from the night before, but with that same natural cut style.

My wife had a salmon sandwich that looked pretty nice as well, topped with lettuce, tomato, onion, and avocado.

HUDSON EATERY
601 W. 57th St.
New York, NY 10019

American, Burgers, Long Island

Joe’s Sirloin Burger Grill

October 26, 2014 Johnny Prime Leave a comment

This new joint on Long Island serves up some pretty damn good grub. And it’s right near my brother’s house, so now there’s a sweet go-to spot for when I visit.

I had the classic bacon cheeseburger with added jalepenos. This was awesome. My only real gripe is that I wish they used fresh jalapeños instead of pickled pre-sliced ones. No matter though, because it was still jerkworthy:

I had half of my wife’s gorgonzola burger too. This was great as well, and the cheese did not overwhelm the meat:

The cool thing is that, like Charly’s, the burgers are packed in clamshells rather than wrapped up in paper. The rigid packaging material prevents burgers from getting all fucked up in the bag if you buy it to go.

The fries and onion rings were solid too. I liked the onion rings better than the fries, but I attribute that to the fact that they held up better in the bag. We arrived out to LI late, so my brother picked dinner up for us. Even after sitting in the bag for a while the fried items were still pretty crispy. Nice!

JOE’S SIRLOIN BURGER GRILL
1400 Lakeland Ave
Bohemia, NY 11716

Commentary

Priceless New York Oktoberfest Event

October 24, 2014 Johnny Prime 1 Comment

My wife’s credit card gives us all sorts of perks, like being able to attend Top Chef Duels and Masters premiere parties, or to dine on a billboard above Times Square. The perk we took advantage of yesterday was a special Oktoberfest beer tasting and food pairing event hosted by several breweries around New York, right next door to our apartment at the bar in Whole Foods. Yes – there is a bar in Whole Foods, and it is actually a pretty good bar!

I won’t go through all 12 beers that we got to try, but I will highlight some of the better choices.

My absolute favorite of the night came from local Oceanside brewery Barrier Brewing Company. It was a briny, salt-of-the-sea Belgian style wheat beer that had hints of toasted peat, called Le Pete. It was fucking perfect. The only thing that would possibly make this beer better is if it were served with an ice cold place of oysters on the half shell.

My next favorite was Original Sin’s Hard Apple Cider. It was crisp, light, flavorful, and not too sweet. Most cider’s hurt my teeth because of the sweetness. This was naturally sweet without being overbearing. Boozy, bubbly apple water. Awesome.

My third favorite was the Sierra Nevada Narwhal Imperial Stout. It was a beastly 10.2% ABV with notes of chocolate and molasses for sweetness and toasted coffee for a little bitterness at the end. This was paired with our dessert (see below).

Okay now onto the food and pairings.

We entered the bar to a nice set-up of bench tables with an assortment of snacks already set out for us:

The best was by far the hummus with toasted, herb pretzel bread pieces (immediately above).

The first course was a barley risotto with aged cheddar. This was pretty nice. Good texture to the barley, great flavor from the aged cheddar, and a little bit of sauteed apple in there for a kick. Naturally this was paired with one of the Original Sin ciders.

Next was quail with a butternut squash bread pudding and some sliced root veggies. This dish was great. The sauce was a little bitter, but when you mopped it up with the bread pudding it was a great balance. This was served with a Barrier beer made from butternut squash. Pretty nice.

Dessert was chocolate cheesecake made with the Narwhal beer I mentioned above. A whipped cream was made from the beer as well, and it was garnished with cocoa nibs and sat atop a nice graham cracker crust. Top marks for presentation here though – dessert in a mini beer mug for Oktoberfest:

We closed with a really cool presentation of a home brew kit product from Brooklyn Brew Shop. Looks pretty simple, and tastes pretty great. We were served their chestnut brown ale from the kit, which was my fourth favorite beer of the night, alongside the Barrier cream ale.

American, Flash Deals, Midtown West, Restaurant Reviews

Craft & Claw

October 23, 2014 Johnny Prime Leave a comment

Craft & Claw is this season’s eat-spot at the Hudson Hotel. They’re slinging craft beers in a German/Bavarian beer hall type setting for Oktoberfest, and serving up some tasty lobster and crab rolls.

As usual, my wife nabbed a sweet deal. For $40 we got two beers and two rolls. Below are the beers we selected. The hefeweizen was flavorful, and the Abita really did have a pecan taste to it.

We ordered the sri racha banh mi lobster roll, and the yuzu mayo crab roll. Both were served with a side of lightly seasoned old bay kettle-style potato chips.

The crab roll was a bit heavy on the mayo. I was hoping for more lump meat but the crab was highly shredded. It was still really good though, especially given the deal we had.

The big winner of the night was the lobster roll. The veggies added a good crunch to the texture, and the lobster meat was substantially chunky. Very satisfying.

I’m not sure this would all be worth it had it not been for the deal my wife scored though ($25 for each roll). Icing on the cake was a mug and t-shirt for each of us:

Commentary

NYC Wine & Food Festival

October 20, 2014 Johnny Prime Leave a comment

My wife and I got access to the NYC Wine & Food Festival on what was essentially “industry day.” People there were mostly people who work in either the food, wine or liquor business in some way or another.

There were a few stand out tables that really blew us away. I’ll feature those up front, and then do a photo dump on the rest. Enjoy.

First, the big winner for me: Fossil Farms. This place was slinging the best food at the event: duck pastrami with pate, foie gras and micro greens on a wonderful baguette.

After getting down on that deliciousness, I was intrigued. I starting chatting with the representatives and the owner. They’re big on game meat, and not-so-common products, like alligator, kangaroo, elk, etc. Check out the list below:

Here’s a scan of their “about us” info pamphlet as well: This is like my dream supplier!!!

It turns out they supply some of my favorite joints in the city. It’s no wonder I was drawn to this table. Blue Smoke, Eataly, Freeman’s Alley, Hill Country, Momofuku, Ottomanelli… Some of my old favorites. I even noticed some others on the list that I’ve been wanting to try, like St. Anslem and Route 66 Smokehouse. After my experience here with the fine folks at Fossil farms, I will definitely be adding those two to the short list. Lance (CEO/Founder) and Jen (Marketing/PR) were really informative and easy to chat with. I’m glad I was exposed to this.

Next up was the 3D sugar printing machine. WTF?!?? YES. I couldn’t believe the stuff this thing was printing! All edible, all made of sugar. Incredible. They had everything from little candy machine type things, to modern art sculptures. You can imagine that my wife was floored by this masterpiece of modern technology, being a baker and all.

We got to speak with the inventor of the machine. Apparently these babies are selling for $10,000 each, and soon there will be a smaller, more affordable version available as well.

Next: Booze. There was an abundance of wine here, but my wife and I were all about the booze. Here are a few of the stand-out brands that we got to try:

Fifty Pounds gin. I’m a gin martini guy. This stuff was incredible. I sipped it neat and warm, but it still was delicious. It had all the flavors I want from a slightly dirty but very dry martini (this is a London dry gin) in all the right proportions. The name is clever too: it stems from an old tax that the king levied upon producers of booze. All distillers were supposed to pay 50 pounds per year.

Four Roses bourbon. The single barrel (on the right) was by far my favorite of the three. The cool thing is that these guys gave out high quality glassware as well:

Some very smooth brandy, which was set up next to the gin:

Nice aged rum:

An Irish cream type liquor, which I really loved, by Amarula. Silky smooth, lots of flavor, and a cool elephant keychain to take home. This hails from South Africa, I believe: