Tag Archives: german

American, Burgers, Eastern European, Fusion, Midtown East, Non-Steakhouse Steaks, Other Cuts, Restaurant Reviews

Mischa

April 27, 2023 Johnny Prime Leave a comment

First off, check out my YouTube Ride & Review video HERE.

This joint popped onto my radar via Instagram, and I saw a couple of dishes that I really wanted to try when I browsed their menu online, Namely, the mortadella and foie gras terrine, and the dry aged prime rib. There were some pasta items on the menu that looked good too, so I rounded up another couple to give this place a thorough try across the entire menu.

This joint serves eastern European flavors and derives inspiration for dishes from India, the Baltic region, Russia, Scandinavia and more.

The cocktails I tried were split down the middle: One was great, the other was too sweet. If you like margaritas, get this horseradish and cucumber version with smoked salt. Amazing.

Skip on the old fashioned – it’s way too sweet.

We decided to start with the foie gras and mortadella terrine. All of us were excited. It was good, but I think we all agreed that we like both items separate rather than together. Good flavor, thoughtful presentation, etc. It’s just that 2+2=4 in this case, not 5. Math.

Next up was the mushroom patty melt. The bartender recommended this, and it turned out to be our top two or three item of the night. I never would have ordered it otherwise. It was both beautiful and tasty.

It comes with two “long tots” which eat like a cross between tots, fish sticks and knish. Enjoyable.

For the middle course, we tried two items under the pasta menu: spaetzle and kasha varnishkes. The kasha varnishkes were bowtie pasta shaped noodles, cooked al dente, and served with a mix of caramelized onion, couscous and herbs. It was good but a bit heavy on the onion. My buddy said there wasn’t enough butter. The spaetzle was the better of the two. In fact, that was my favorite item of the night.

For the mains, we ordered the braised pork belly, the dry aged prime rib, and a side of saag (Indian style stewed spinach).

The pork belly was good. It had a nice flavor despite some of the leaner portions being slightly dry. Nice touch with the charred lemon.

The prime rib was dry and mealy/grainy in texture. I’m not sure what happened here, because even though it was overcooked there should have been a lot of juiciness left. The dry aged flavor was nice though, at least, but the jus should have been left in a gravy boat on the side rather than poured over the entire plate without asking. The jus was over-reduced and a bit bitter, sadly. Also, at $120 for 20oz it’s way steep, even with the boiled potatoes as a “composed dish” rather than “a la carte” like a steakhouse. 6/10.

Here’s a shot of the saag. I always love this stuff. It’s my go to order at Indian restaurants.

Dessert was a beautiful and warm sticky bun with apple and a touch of flake salt and spices like cardamom. This was a hit.

Over all this place served up a good meal, but not great. I was disappointed by the prime rib and probably wouldn’t go back.

MISCHA
157 E 53rd St
New York, NY 10022

Burgers, Downtown, Eastern European, German, Parms, Press Reviews, Restaurant Reviews

Schilling

February 13, 2023 Johnny Prime Leave a comment

First, check out this quick Ride & Review video HERE:

I had no idea what to expect when I came here. I had never really had Austrian food before, other than the similarities that overlap with German cuisine. I was blown away by the quality and flavor of everything here.

My wife and I started with some drinks. I stuck with beer, because, well, Austria! My wife had this really amazing apple, cinnamon and beet juice cocktail called Mary’s Secret that was really incredible.

We started with the fried hen of the woods mushrooms, which were perfectly cooked and crispy all around. I loved these.

Next up: the Austrian veal and pork meatballs. WOW! These were served with a mushroom gravy and crispy sunchokes. AMAZING!

The burger, while a bit salty, was really deliciously crafted. The patty was a loose blend of hanger and brisket which stayed tender and juice from end to end.

The bacon and house made mayo, combined with a well-seasoned patty and some melty cheddar, just kicked the salt levels up a bit too much. But I really did enjoy this burger.

The burger also came with herb fries and a dup of really nice dips: a house made ketchup, which ate more like a dark, horseradish based steak sauce (delicious), and dijonnaise.

We also ordered the pork schnitzel, which was easily the best schnitzel I’ve had.

It came with a trio of miniature sides: cucumbers in a creamy yogurt type sauce, muddled lingonberry jam, and potato salad. These, along with the lightly dressed greens, made for a very generously sized entree at just $32.

For dessert, The Royal Nussbaum (spiked hot chocolates) and a really well crafted apple strudel with schlag and creamy vanilla ice cream.

I will definitely be back here again to try more of the menu, specifically the spaetzle and pates.

SCHILLING
109 Washington St
New York, NY 10006

Brooklyn, German, Restaurant Reviews

Brooklyn Bavarian Biergarten

October 22, 2017 Johnny Prime Leave a comment

My wife and I stopped in here for a quick bite and a drink before seeing a show nearby.

The space is pretty nice, with outdoor seating and bars, and a good selection of German brews. I tried a Grevenstein, which was an unfiltered style lager, and my wife tried a cider. Pints are $7 each, and liter steins are $12.

The food was pretty great. This wurst-sampler platter was $24: four sausages, fries and pretzel bread on a bed of kraut with and a trio of mustards.

This giant soft pretzel was $8.

Cool spot.

BROOKLYN BAVARIAN BIERGARTEN
265 Prospect Ave
Brooklyn, NY 11215

German, New Jersey, Pub Food, Restaurant Reviews

Pilsener Haus & Biergarten

August 29, 2016 Johnny Prime Leave a comment

This is officially one of my new favorite places. Pilsener Haus & Biergarten is a German beer hall situated in an old factory in North Hoboken, New Jersey.

The interior is expansive and roomy, with really awesome decor.

They serve up some classic Oktoberfest style foods and other German classics – especially tubed meats!

I managed to snap a photo of these delicious mussels during a party that my wife and I attended for a short time.

I know North Hoboken isn’t the most convenient place to go, but this place is well worth the trip. I’m looking forward to another visit with a crew of buddies who also love German beer halls as much as me.

PILSENER HAUS & BIERGARTEN
1422 Grand St
Hoboken, NJ 07030

East Village, German, Long Island, Pub Food, Restaurant Reviews

Zum Schneider

August 1, 2016 Johnny Prime Leave a comment

One of the most fun bar scenes you will ever experience in Manhattan is Zum Schneider for Oktoberfest. Yeah, yeah, yeah (or, should I say, Ja Ja Ja) I know it gets mobbed in there, and you have to stand on line to get in, but it is SO worth it. The beers are excellent, the food is tasty, and the company is fantastic, always.

This year they are offering the festivities under a huge tent on the Hudson River (at 23rd Street), so we will see how that pans out.

If panned out wonderfully, from the little that I can remember. Check out some pics – it was even a good time in the rain:

A short video of the Ja Ja Ja’s into tune:

Another year in the bag, as a return to the big tent on a very similar weather day brought even more fun:

This time I sampled a lot more of the food, like this nice meat and cheese plate. The blue cheese was good and funky, and the meats were nicely cured (there was even some head cheese).

I saw these fuckers roasting outside, so I had to try one:

It was a simple preparation. Just some seasonings plus char. I liked it.

My buddy had some roast chicken and a potato dumpling in gravy.

And of course we tried some brats and pretzels. The brats were on stale shitty bread but they were at least grilled nicely.

MONTAUK LOCATION UPDATE – JULY 2016

The Montauk location is every bit as awesome as the NYC location, only it is steps from the beach.

We really just came in for a drink before dinner across the street at Harvest, but I couldn’t resist this hax’n pork shank:

So I ordered it as an appetizer of sorts. It was excellent. While not salted enough by itself, when eaten in conjunction with the pickled red and white cabbage, it was perfectly balanced. The cabbage cut the fat nicely too.

The potato dumpling and stuffing balls that came with it were skippable, but the beer braise liquid was amazing. Perhaps just a few slices of nice sourdough bread would have been better.

ZUM SCHNEIDER’S
107 Ave. C
New York, NY 10009

ZUM SCHNEIDER’S MONTAUK
4 S Elmwood Ave
Montauk, NY 11954

Product Reviews

Tannenhof Schwarzwalder Landjager

August 6, 2015 Johnny Prime 2 Comments

Landjager is a traditional semi-dry sausage product reminiscent of jerky sticks, but more natural. My wife brought home this package:

Here’s what I found on Tannenhof: they seem to be a purveyor of cured meats. Their products look tasty. Schwarzwalder seems to be a type of landjager, since I see other brands using the moniker, but it seems that all landjager are made of roughly equal amounts of pork, beef and lard.

“Savory snack” is written beneath the word landjager. I think you can guess that the green emblem says “traditional specialty” and “guaranteed quality,” since English is a Germanic language and all that nonsense… Anyway here’s what they look like – there were actually two pair of links in the package:

The sausages themselves are very smoky in flavor. They’re somewhat hard like a pepperoni in texture, but not as spiced. They seem to be real sausages and not some mashed up conglomerate like a Slim Jim, though I suppose anyone can mold them to look like real sausages. Take a look at the cross-section and decide for yourself.

The smell is reminiscent of raw hide dog treats. They taste okay – no added flavors other than smoke and whatever spices were used in the initial sausage making, but it was tough for me to get beyond that dog snack smell, having had German Shepherds all my life and giving them snacks that smelled exactly like this. If I can’t snack on them, they might be good to cook with as a smoky flavor enhancer in something like split pea soup.

One last thing: Don’t hassle the Tannenhof.

Downtown, German, Pub Food, Restaurant Reviews

Clinton Hall

August 4, 2015 Johnny Prime Leave a comment

CHECK OUT THE RIDE & REVIEW HERE!!!

This recent addition (last 2 years) to the downtown barscape benefits from ample seating (indoor and outdoor), a massive amount of space, and a good selection of beer.

My wife and I stopped here for a quick drink and a bite before seeing an extremely overpriced and under-sized studio apartment that is up for sale nearby.

Pretty cool to see a few kids playing with the giant Jenga set on one bench. Nice.

I was happy to see that it was happy hour on the weekend, so that’s a big plus.

We started with a pair of $5 pints (growler was filled with water):

My pour, on the right, was a little bit shy of a full glass, but whatever.

I ordered the chicken sandwich, which came with fries, and was topped with lettuce, pesto sauce and brie cheese on a potato bun:

Pretty good. The breast was juicy – not dry as I expected it might be.

My wife had the crispy buffalo cauliflower, an interesting concoction that almost makes you feel like you’re eating healthy if it weren’t for the buttery hot sauce and crumbled blue cheese sprinkled all over the batter-fried veggie morsels. Tasty!

This part of downtown could use a kick in the ass for nightlife and daytime boozing. Clinton Hall is a welcome addition to the area.

UPDATE 11/10/2023 – Great food options here, and a perfect spot for our Electric Wednesday ebike meetup.

CLINTON HALL
90 Washington St.
New York, NY 10006

Commentary

German Meat Snacks

July 20, 2015 Johnny Prime 2 Comments

My wife brought me home some delicious treats from Germany. Namely: MEAT!!! And meat from a famous German shop to boot, Metzgerei Schlosser.

There was also a selection of German booze, cheeses, spreads, jams, and odd condiment packets:

My wife has no idea whether these meats were pre-cooked, cured, smoked, or whatever, due to the language barrier and lack of information on the packaging. So I will essentially be boiling them and/or grilling them to be safe. Hope I’m not destroying anything!

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:

German, Midtown West, Parms, Pub Food, Restaurant Reviews

Reichenbach Hall

September 24, 2014 Johnny Prime Leave a comment

This place is a massive German / Bavarian beer hall in midtown that serves up massive brews in massive mugs (and boots).

I came here soon after it opened with a lot of excitement in my heart, because I absolutely LOVE German beer halls. There’s just something about the fun group atmosphere that makes it unique.

Anyway, it was here that I discovered a really amazing grapefruit beer (Schoffenhofer). After drinking it, I was on the hunt, and even found some at a local distributor on Long Island. Needless to say, the fridge remained stocked with them until we moved back to the city.