Midtown West, Rib Eye, Steakhouse Reviews

STK (midtown)

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STK (midtown) overall score: 87

Flavor: 9
The flavor here is pretty much ALMOST perfect. I think what drops it one point from perfect is due to the quality (which I address below). Seasoned nicely, nice full flavor, and cooked close to perfect (a slight bit of bleed-out, but nothing serious). The bone-in rib eye is delicious. I ate every bite. Even the fat was, for the most part, really yummy. One or two spots were a little tight, and the fat cap was a bit on the small side, but still – a very tasty meal. The steaks even come with two complimentary sauces. I chose the blue butter and the horseradish sauce. The horseradish sauce was the big winner, and it was similar to the cream served with our oysters. When it comes down to it, though, I barely used either sauce. Not necessary with just good tasting meat.
steak

Choice of Cuts & Quality Available: 7

The selection here is great. On the regular menu they have two types of rib eye: bone in, and cowboy (differing mainly in size). They have a porterhouse for one, and two sizes of filet. I didn’t notice a solo strip on the menu, otherwise that covers the basics. In addition they also have some braised beef, which is nice. The only draw back is that the steak I had was a bit tight in the main part of the cut. A little tough, or grainy. I think that has to do with low intra-muscular fat, or marbling. With more of that, the meat becomes more tender and flavorful. Perhaps some more aging is necessary.

Portion Size & Plating: 8

At 20oz for the rib eye, 24oz for the porterhouse, 34oz for the cowboy, and 10-14oz for the filets (boneless or bone-in conundrum filet), the portion sizes are nice! The sides were a bit on the small side, but our waitress Kathryn alerted us to that and recommended we order two sides instead of just one.

Price: 9

Prices are fair. Our steaks were $49 a piece. Not cheap, but not pricey either. use your own judgment regarding flavor and quality ratio for the price. I, personally, probably won’t come back, given the other places I’ve been to, but it certainly isn’t a bad meal at all. The martini was $15, also average. Sides were a bit hefty at $12 for a relatively small portion size. They were tasty though.

bill

Bar: 8

The bar here is pretty cool. There are two bars, actually; one toward the front of the restaurant, and one in the back. I had a drink up front: the bar is a nice white marble counter. They serve a nice martini, and there is a good specialty cocktail menu too. I don’t think I’d hang here often after work, but it is a decent joint for a drink.
martini

Specials and Other Meats: 10

On special there was escargot for an appetizer, a boar chop and porterhouse for two for entrees, and lobster mac & cheese for a side. As far as other meats go, there was plenty of duck on the menu, some pork, chicken, lamb, and braised beef. Not too bad. They offer a $65 price fix deal too; four courses. but it is probably best to pick the fish entree, because the steak entree they offer is a measly 4oz filet. TINY!  Smaller even than Shula’s!
Apps, Sides & Desserts: 10

To start, we had a dozen oysters, which consisted of half east coasters and half west coasters. Both were mild, creamy, crisp, cold and delicious. They came with a really amazing light, airy horseradish cream. For sides we had sauteed broccolini and creamed spinach, of course. The spinach was low on cream, which I like. Very tasty, though a bit salty. The broccolini was perfect; firm but juicy, with a slight char, and accompanied by some crisp fried onions. For dessert we had the bag-o-donuts (Ayyyyyyyyyy… Fuhgettaboutit!!! You fuckin’ FUCK!). They were MINT! They were filled with a nice cream sauce, and came with jelly dip. COME ON! Perfectly fried.

sides (with steak), and donuts
sides (with steak), and donuts

 

Seafood Selection: 8

For seafood there was only tuna and a market fish (which I didn’t catch – BUDDUM TSSSSSSSSS). Plenty of shellfish and raw bar selections, with three sizes of seafood platters available.

Service: 10

The service was great! Our waitress Kathryn has been in the business a while, and it showed. She was helpful, attentive, and gave us the perfect amount of space and privacy to enjoy our meal. She was helpful with the selection of food, and answered all our questions about specials and menu items. The table bread was really nice: warm, fresh baked in a small cast iron pan, covered with melty butter. But the down-side — served with a very bitter parsley pesto oil type of deal. It needed sugar or salt to cut the bitter.

bread
Ambiance: 8
The ambiance was okay. It was a modern joint; not a traditional steakhouse vibe. High ceilings, elegant decor, lots of big glass floor-to-ceiling windows, etc. My friend and I commented that it felt like being inside of a whale; not a whale’s vagina (San Diego), but a whale – like the mythic/Biblical Jonah. The music was a mix of pop and classic rock at first, but halfway through the meal the music got VERY loud, and the music became a variety of different mega-mixes, where each dong only lasts 15 seconds before being terribly mixed into some other track of the same genre and/or decade. I took two points for that alone. Otherwise it falls in line with places like Primehouse (deceased) and Nick & Stef’s (the old version).
ambiance

STK
1114 6th Ave.
New York, NY 10036