Tag Archives: iron chef

Filet Mignon, Flash Deals, NY Strip, Steakhouse Reviews

Uncle Jack’s (west side)

August 8, 2016 Johnny Prime 3 Comments

Uncle Jack’s (west side) overall score: 83

My wife and I came here to use a Groupon that we purchased, which gave us a five-course steak dinner for two for just $99.

Flavor: 7
We had the options to choose a filet and a strip as our entrees, so that’s how we rolled. Both came in at 7/10 for flavor. They were cooked properly to medium rare, they had a good crust and sear on the outside, and they were seasoned properly.

Filet:

Strip:

I think they just lacked flavor due to the fact that they were such lean cuts. As a steak man, I tend to always go with a rib eye, which generally has more marbling, more fat, and therefore more flavor. For this reason, when cooking cuts like tenderloin and strip loin, many steakhouses will be quite liberal in their use of butter. Butter adds fat flavor back into the beef, and it triggers all sorts of cum-inducing sensations that start at your taste buds and end at the tip of your rock-hard cock. I didn’t taste too much butter at all, so my dick remained pretty flaccid throughout the meal. I did taste soy, which was nice, but ultimately it competed with the steaks natural earthy and aged flavor qualities. As a result, the steaks were just a little flat, and lacked flavor depth. Most of the score here is for good execution on the cook temperature and sear.

Choice of Cuts & Quality Available: 10
Uncle Jack’s has a really great selection of USDA Prime and dry-aged beef. Top notch stuff. There’s an elephant’s shitload of variety in terms of sizing, bones, cuts and even some specialty stuff like wagyu and kobe. An elephant shits large loads. That’s why I used that analogy there.

Portion Size & Plating: 10
The filet comes in three styles: puss-bag 8oz, 12oz, or manly 20oz bone-in tenderloin. I must say, ordering the big tenderloin here is not a pussy move. A little kid had one next to us and I felt like a rimmed out gaping asshole for sharing two steaks between me and my wife that, when combined in weight, added up to his one cut. That kid is going to grow up to crush so much pussy that he will STILL be crushing pussy while he rests between bouts of crushing pussy. The ribeye is 24oz (bone-in), the strips are 12oz or 16oz boneless, and the porterhouses start at 44oz (22oz pp). They also offer a cote de boeuf 44oz rib eye for two. Everything is pretty much on the large side here, which is good, and similar to Lex Steele’s penis. They even offer some wagyu and kobe selections as well. TONS of variety.

Price: 9
Since we had that great Groupon, this was a bargain. While it wasn’t the best steak we’ve had, I still feel that we got a good bang for our buck here.

Bar: 8
The bar is perpendicular to the windows on the right as you walk in, but there are a few high tops along the windows for people watching. The location, 9th avenue and 34th/35th street, is not the best for hanging out, as it is close to what I call “the armpit of the city” (the Penn Station and Port Authority areas), but the bar does mix up some nice cocktails. Although the waiter or bartender got my martini order wrong (see service section below), it still tasted great.

Specials and Other Meats: 8
There were no specials read to us that I can recall (probably because they knew we were eating from the Groupon menu), but they do offer pork, lamb and chicken for people who have too much estrogen in their bodies to properly enjoy beef like real men with dicks between their legs.

Apps, Sides & Desserts: 8
We had baked clams and a crab cake to start.

I like that they give you eight clams per order (they split the clams up between us when they served them). The spicy butter and lemon breadcrumb stuffing was good, and the clams were whole, quality Little Necks, not chopped up cherrystones or bait clams that were then re-inserted into a clam shell that wasn’t its own. As for the crab cake, we loved the sauce in which it was served. It was like a reduced crab bisque soup mixed with vodka sauce. Very flavorful, and the top of the cake had a great crispy crust.

Our salads were next. My wife went with the farmers mixed greens. Some of the greens were soggy, wilted and probably rotten, so that was a bummer. Otherwise the salad had great flavor from the cranberries and pine nuts, and it was well dressed, so that’s a plus. My caesar was pretty standard.

On the side we had creamed spinach and mashed potatoes.

That pic is just a combined plate that I was eating from, not the full size portions. These were both pretty good, but nothing too stand out. I liked the potatoes better, which is reverse from my usual preference when it comes to these sides.

Seafood Selection: 8
There’s tuna, salmon, “day boat fresh catch” and surf & turf (lobster tail, shrimp or crab oscar with either a filet or strip). That’s a decent amount of shit in addition to the standard shellfish on the app menu. But if you’re ordering seafood for your main course at a steakhouse, you better have tits and a vagina, otherwise you are pretty much an asshole. Go home.

Service: 7
Unfortunately we had some slow service here. The staff was all nice, pleasant and courteous, but we found ourselves waiting a while to get drinks and order food. It picked up a bit after that, but it was slow to start. This was a little odd since the place wasn’t too crowded when we went at 6pm. A few other things I found to be odd or a bit off: (1) The steak sauce doesn’t come out to the table with the steak. You have to ask for it. We didn’t get sauce (not a problem, but I always like to taste it), and I overheard another table asking for it since they didn’t get it either. (2) Also there was no bread basket. Finally, (3) this time I ordered my martini on the rocks instead of up. They made it up instead. Not that big of a deal, but figured I’d mention it. I didn’t send it back, and it still tasted great.

Ambiance: 8
This joint is old school, where waiters wear bow ties, tables are covered in white cloth, and the decor consists of wood paneling, large mirrors, exposed brick, ornate chandeliers and a patterned tin ceiling. It’s a warm and inviting atmosphere, yet classy and elegant, without being pretentious. It’s a classic steakhouse look and feel.

UNCLE JACK’S (WEST SIDE)
440 9th Ave
New York, NY 10001

Burgers, Flash Deals, Midtown East, Other Cuts, Porterhouse, Press Reviews, Restaurant Week, Steakhouse Reviews

American Cut (midtown)

August 1, 2016 Johnny Prime Leave a comment

American Cut (midtown) overall score: 89

My wife and I came here for a $29 restaurant week lunch. It happens to be one of the better deals for restaurant week, so we had to give it a try.

Flavor: 5 (updated to 7)
Unfortunately we were not that happy with the skirt steak on the price fix menu. While it was cooked to a perfect medium rare, it had an odd, rubbery texture and was under-seasoned (needed salt). I don’t mean rubbery like chewy. It was definitely tender, but it was an odd sort of tender that reminded me of some of the fake-tasting cuts my wife and I have had in Mexico while on vacation, which kind of grossed us out. Perhaps it was over tenderized? I’m not sure. I honestly don’t know what it is, but we know it when we taste it. On top of that, the chimichurri sauce added almost no flavor to the dish. It just tasted like “green” from the parsley. I didn’t get any salt content or even any garlic flavor from it. I was bummed. I didn’t even really want to finish it or continue eating, both because of the lack of flavor and the odd texture.

I recommend sticking to the standard cuts and regular menu for steak here. If they are anything like the downtown American Cut location, then you’re in VERY good hands.

Choice of Cuts & Quality Available: 9 (updated to 10)
I took a point off here because the steak that I did try was sub-par, but I do know that the other cuts here should be okay, in theory. I hope to get back again soon and try a proper cut to get a better sense of both this category and the flavor category.

Portion Size & Plating: 8
Portions vary here. For the steak, they are pretty good. All are large sized cuts for a fair price, and even though we didn’t like the skirt, there certainly was a lot of it. I thought the beef tartare was a bit small in terms of the amount of actual beef on the plate, but the salad that came with it, and the marrow as well, make up for that (see below). The tots and shrimp cocktail items we got with the restaurant week menu were a bit skimpy (three medium-sized shrimp and about 15 tots). There’s a strong possibility, however, that these items are cut back a bit in size simply because they are included with a discounted lunch promo like restaurant week. American Cut also runs a regular $28 lunch price fix menu. I’m not sure how that differs from the restaurant week menu that we tried for $29.

Price: 7 (updated to 9)
Our bill came to about $75 after tax and tip for one $29 restaurant week lunch with a glass of wine and an order of beef tartare. Not bad, but not awesome considering we weren’t too happy with the skirt steak. Even though the place is pricey, the best value you get is when you order steaks from the full dinner menu and stick to that. My sense is that this score will increase after a second trip with a better steak-eating experience.

Bar: 8 (updated to 9)
The bar here is great. It’s spacious, nicely art-deco in style, and seems like a really great place to hang out after work. I’m guessing that this isn’t the greatest place to be on weekends, but that doesn’t mean the bar isn’t gorgeous. The only down side is that the space is ground floor level, so no windows or natural light.

Specials and Other Meats: 10
Short rib, lamb, veal, chicken, and wagyu beef selections grace the menu here. I didn’t notice any pork, unfortunately. Perhaps the pig face from Marc Forgione could pop on as a special every so often, or a slab of pork belly served like a steak. That would be something worth adding to the menu. At the very least, I think an Italian style pork chop with cherry peppers and onions would work.

Apps, Sides & Desserts: 9
Shrimp Cocktail: This was a bit small (three medium-sized shrimp), and there was something slightly bitter about the taste of the shrimp. They were nicely cooked, however, and I liked the fact that they were pre-dressed with a horseradish-based cocktail sauce. Presentation was interesting too.

Steak Tartare: This was great. While I think the plate could have had some more actual meat on it, the addition of marrow and a salad beneath was very good, and made up for the smaller portion. The salad was dressed just right, and included celery leaf, which added a great freshness to the dish. The grilled bread was soft inside yet crunchy on the outer edges.

Tots: These were pretty good, and had a good spice level to them, but they were lacking a touch of salt. The inside was soft like a mashed potato, and the outside was perfectly golden crisp.

Cookies To Go: These were tasty, and had a little bit of flake salt on top to make the chocolate flavors pop. They were soft and delicious.

Seafood Selection: 9
Similar to the downtown spot, there’s a lot of nice seafood to choose from here. Sole, halibut, tuna and salmon are on the entree menu, along with surf and turf lobster-based shit as well. And you can always hit the appetizer section for your cold shellfish, or the crabcakes, octopus, etc.

Service: 9
Service here is great, just like downtown. We did feel a bit rushed, however, which was odd because the restaurant had plenty of room for other diners to come in. It’s not like they needed the table to clear out. In any event, the people are friendly, and the table bread, as usual, is the delicious everything biscuit with herb butter.

Ambiance: 9
This place is gorgeous, large and spacious despite being a ground floor level joint. The only negative is that there are no windows, so it can feel a bit cavernous despite being grand and airy inside. The decor is awesome and it is similar in style to the downtown spot, very art deco.

UPDATE: 2/2/18

My wife picked up a flash deal from Blackboard Eats, which scored us 20% off our bill as well as two free cocktails. We started off at the bar for their $10 smoked old fashioned cocktails for happy hour.

Then, when we sat, we got our two free cocktails.

And of course those incredible everything biscuits with veggie and herb butter.

We shared the foie for our app. It was nice and soft. Not too rich, which I like. Just right.

We shared a porterhouse next, and I noticed that they revamped their menu with a lot more interesting and widely varying beef cut selections. Dry-aged, wet-aged, domestic wagyu and Miyazaki wagyu all grace the menu here. I was impressed.

This was their wet-aged for 28-days and then flambéed table side with marrow butter and some other deliciousness prior to slicing. 8/10.

We cleaned it off.

On the side we had their sun choke spinach, which I really loved. This might be my favorite version of creamed spinach.

For dessert we had the banana and Jameson donuts with chocolate chip ice cream. Very nice.

All in, we saved about $75 with the Blackboards Eats deal.

BURGERS

The “Big Mark” and the standard burger here are good, but as far as steakhouse burgers go, you can do better elsewhere for the same price point.

But that famous Pastrami Rib Eye is always good:

And so is the chili lobster.

AMERICAN CUT
109 E 56th St
New York, NY 10022

Commentary

Meatopia

October 19, 2015 Johnny Prime Leave a comment

Thanks to food friends Matt Bruck and Lulu Phongmany I was able to attend the carnivore paradise known as Meatopia at this year’s NYC Wine & Food Festival.

Originally set up by the late meat enthusiast Josh Ozersky, this is the 11th Meatopia event. Meatopia also happens in other cities worldwide, expanding like my belt size after indulging in these delicious meats.

The concept here was pure wood and coal fire, no gas or electric. Just flames and meat carcass. Some shit was done quick on the flames for a sear, and other shit was done low and slow in smokers like these:

With heavy hitters like Creekstone Farms and Pat LaFrieda involved in the mix, you can imagine how excited I was to be here. And without mincing words I will simply say this: Meatopia is the greatest food event I have ever attended in my life.

Upon walking out onto Pier 92, I was blasted with the invigorating scent of roasting meat, and bathed in the billowing bovine smoke that was coming off of the giant Pat LaFrieda fire pit. Heavenly rays of sunlight shone down through the smoke and kissed the meat, as if God himself was proclaiming this to be a righteous undertaking.

Chef Capon, of Bowery Meat Company and Burger & Barrel fame, was there with LaFrieda, helping pull apart the 1000lb beast that roasted away on top of the grill.

What a sight to behold! And nothing was wasted from this animal. As you can see, even the head got picked apart by the savage carnivores that roamed the pier. Even the guys at Gotham Burger Social Club took a bite.

Want to know the most depressing part about the LaFrieda station? I didn’t know this meat was for the crowd. I thought they were providing the meat for all the other stations to use in their dishes, like a supplier of sorts. By time I figured out that I could eat this shit, they had run out. That’s right – they ran out of 1000lbs of meat!!! I was on line for it, five people away from getting a bite, when they finally called it quits on the beast. Not even a scrap!

I did try every other item at the event, however, which is probably a rare claim to make for anyone who attended, I would imagine. There was so much food. I think maybe 30 stations or more. It was very easy to get full if you weren’t smart, or fat.

My first and last stop of the day was this killer broth made by Marco Canora’s “Brodo.” This hearty and hot beef stock was just the right thing needed to keep warm on the windy pier.

As I wandered around with childlike wonder, I couldn’t help but be drawn to the Beatrice Inn station, where Chef Angie Mar was slinging pig for her hungry meat minions. I found myself just staring at this shit. Something deep inside me was triggered. Something primal and cave man -esque…

These not-so-little piggies were roasting on a spit all day and night.

Watch them spin!

So the actual food item being served here was a whole roasted wild boar, blackberries, port and mash. Here’s what a small plate looked like. My photo does it no justice:

This was succulent, juicy, crispy and savory. It had a slight hint of sweet from the berries that made the pig flavors pop. It was one of my top choices of the day, for sure.

Another favorite was Hometown Barbeque. This was a masterful execution of beef rib. So tender and juicy. I know those words are used up like cheap hookers, but they are accurate. The bark on these ribs was crisp without being too hard – just enough to lock in all the meat juices. It had sweetness, but the savory beef flavor was the star of the show.

Occasionally some meat angel would come around and plop one of these dinosaur bones in your hands for you to gnaw on for a while. Some were from Hometown, and some were from LaFrieda.

Another favorite was this sri racha pork belly by The Backroom at Moody’s. I went back for it twice. The belly was cooked sous vide style for 48 hours (okay that probably involves electricity), and THEN smoked. It had a nice pungent flavor that reminded me of fish sauce or Vietnamese food.

They also presented a nice array of charcuterie:

My favorite of the day, just slightly ahead of that pork belly, was this hot beef tongue sandwich by Harry & Ida’s Meat & Supply Company. The meat was so soft, unlike what you might expect from common tongue preparations that can sometimes be rushed, or have the consistency of deli meat.

This was more like pulled meat, or braised stew meat. Absolutely delicious. And they even had a nice tongue hanging on display for food porn photos:

I’m jumping around again here, because I want to front-load this review with the most interesting shit up top, in the event that you meat minions start to nod off, or the ADD kicks into high gear.

CHORIZO ICE CREAM!

There. Did that wake you up a little? It was actually good. These novelty ice cream flavors always strike me as purposefully odd – done with the intent of shocking someone rather than actually delivering a good flavor. But this chorizo ice cream was lightly chorizo flavored, and it was balanced by the presence of caramel. Oddfellow’s is not pulling stunts here. This is good shit.

There was a healthy variety of rib eye and prime rib preparations going around (Hawksmoor London, Andre Lima de Luca and Balthazar, in particular). Never did I feel like the shit was overlapping or redundant. I was actually surprised at how nicely cooked they all were, given the windy conditions and an open flame that is hard to control or regulate in terms of temperatures.

Speaking of those wind conditions causing problems, I think Jason French and the guys at the Ned Ludd station were battling what was probably the worst of the wind conditions. They were one of the first booths next to the large tent in the back. As the wind whipped in from the southwest, it gathered along the tent walls and flowed directly to their station, which was on the south-facing side of the pier. WHAM. The wind over there was bonkers. I have no idea how they were even able to cook in such conditions.

The meat quality of their lamb dish suffered a bit, at least in the plate I had, as it was overcooked and slightly tough. My guess is that these guys were concerned about serving something raw, and wanted to keep the meat roasting despite the wind – so they had to keep stoking the flames. It was still really tasty despite all that nonsense, which is a testament to the chef and cooks. I think if they had more control over the environment this would have been a winning dish: Whole roasted pastured lamb with grape leaf cumin yogurt sauce, and a basmati rice salad with golden raisins and cilantro.

And I was glad to see a nice lamb carcass gracing their work station:

Perhaps the most prominently featured cut of the day was short rib. Check out all the different varieties below:

This last one is from Ai Fiori.

Tough to choose a favorite between those. If I had to, I’d probably lean toward The Cecil (their veal was really memorable), or Hill Country.

Naturally there was some brisket as well:

One interesting item was this braised beef cheek terrine from Employees Only. Super soft and flavorful. I was hoping to see more cheek represented at this event, but this was really nice with the pickled tomatoes and radishes on top.

The only place featuring strip was El Blok. It as really nicely cooked with fresh turmeric and sour orange, sitting on a side of smoked calabaza.

There was a beef pinwheel sandwich from Brindle Room:

And several other pork and non-beef items, most notable of which was probably this Portuguese porchetta fried rice from 42 The Restaurant – a very interesting mash up of Asian and Portuguese flavors:

Funny thing about that last photo: I was joking that chicken doesn’t really count as meat. The sauce on there was actually really great though, so it became acceptable to serve at this event, in my eyes.

This station sent me home with a packet of Badia spice seasoning. I always like samples!

There was even some dessert as well. I didn’t take a picture of the cookie I ate, but this banana chocolate turnover with maple bacon and peanut butter from Oceana was excellent. In fact their menu looks pretty brilliant, and it’s somewhat nearby, so I will have to go with my wife soon to try it out.

Don’t look so glum, whoever you are working back there in the pit… There’s meat hanging behind you and I’m sure there will be other Meatopia celebrations in the coming months. Can you say MIAMI?!?

That about does it guys. What an amazing day. I don’t want to wash any of my clothes because the lingering smell of smoke and meat is too precious to cast aside. It should somehow be bottled and sold as cologne.

Oh yeah… one last photo – my stalker pic of Iron Chef Michael Symon, who was the host of the event. People were waiting for hours just to press the flesh with him. I was too busy eating for any glad-handing with celebs!

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):