Tag Archives: new york city

Ted’s Montana Grill

I’ve been eyeballing this place for a while since I work nearby. I’ve been here before for some happy hour staples like $5 nachos (big), $5 sliders (4 of them), and $4 beers (Yeungling). Today I was determined to try the burger out.

I started with an order of salt and pepper onion rings.

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These things were excellent – perfectly crispy, no grease, and a really nice horseradish dipping sauce that I ended up using for my fries as well.

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Speaking of which, the fries were nice and golden brown, natural skin-on slices, crispy, and well seasoned.

As for the burger, it was a good size. A little sunder-seasoned, and it had an odd flavor profile to it. At first I thought it was maybe aged, or perhaps they gave me bison instead of beef. But it wasn’t a gamey flavor. Not sure how to describe it other than different. not necessarily BAD; just unexpected, perhaps?

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Anyway – it was nice and patriotic with the flag toothpick. It came with bacon, cheddar, grilled onions, lettuce, tomato, pickles and raw onion. Check the cut:

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The pic makes it look a little overdone, but it was a proper medium.

Another thing I like about tho splice is the dish of pickles they give at the bar. Half sours, bright green, thick slices, very delicious. I put these on my burger instead of the bread and butters that came on my plate.

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For dessert we did some ice cream and cookies. One cookie was chocolate chip, the other was chocolate chocolate chip. Nice and simple, but good.

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Lastly, here’s a shot of my friend’s vagina meal – grilled chicken with guac on a whole wheat bun. Looks good; just like a wet snatch.

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Anyhow – keep an eye out for a proper steakhouse review of this place, as I plan to come back soon and try their 14oz rib eye, along with a salad and dessert for just $29 (ask for the theater menu). Great fucking deal, if you ask me!

UPDATE – full-on steakhouse review below:

Ted’s Montana Grill overall score: 73

My wife and I came in for the “theater menu” deal: $29 (now $35) for three courses. Not a bad price. Check the verdict below.

Flavor: 6
My first bite of the beef rib eye was a nine, but it went downhill from there. The steak was nicely cooked and all, but the meat was a bit tough, a bit over-salted and wet. When I say wet, I mean there were small puddles of grease on the top of the steak. Also when I say tough, I mean the grain of the meat was tight and a little difficult to chew. While it did have a decent flavor, I had to drop the score because of these things. There was also a good deal of gristle on the cut, and a shitload of bleed-out once I got down on it. If it weren’t for that and the gristle I might have scored this a seven.

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Choice of Cuts & Quality Available: 7
Here, they do not offer a porterhouse, and no cuts large enough for two. there is a filet, a NY strip, a rib eye, and a “steak frites” strip, which they say is a center cut strip. There is only one size of each offering, though to their credit they do offer each as a choice of either beef or bison. If it weren’t for that diversity of choice, I might have dropped this to a five or six. Speaking of choice, I think that’s what they’re rocking here in terms of quality.

Portion Size & Plating: 8
For the price, the portions are pretty good. If I had to guess I’d say my steak was 12-14oz. The soup was a good size, as was the salad and other items for the theater menu pricing. Very fair considering this joint is nestled in the heart of skyrocket rent central.

Price: 8
If you’re not a food snob or a steak expert, this place is perfect for casual dining. The prices are super fair. For six courses and two espressos the bill came to $86 with tax and tip included.

Bar: 9
The bar here is a blast. They have a great happy hour menu with good drink specials and snack food. You can’t people-watch so well into the street, but it is definitely a lively and fun place to go after work. I’d certainly come here for the happy hour often. In fact I’ve done so twice before; good nachos and sliders, excellent onion rings, great free pickle slices, and cheap draft beer. If you never come here for steak, that’d be fine, as long as you stop in once for the happy hour. Grab a pint and some sliders or nachos and you will be satisfied. In fact, that is my firm recommendation to anyone thinking of coming here: stick to the bar.

Specials and Other Meats: 7
There’s really just chicken and ribs, aside from the bison and beef. And there are no specials, as the menu is pretty much more like an elevated and refined Outback or Fridays type of deal.

Apps, Sides & Desserts: 6
My salad was really basic: romaine, croutons and dressing. Not much else to say about it.

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The New England clam chowder was nice and thick, and quite flavorful. Almost kind of like a sauce… which got me thinking… New England Clam Chowder Spaghetti… Look out for a recipe one of these days…

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Desserts were pretty basic, and in retrospect I think the “adult shakes” are probably the most appealing thing in the dessert department.

I had a fudge brownie sundae (one of two options on the theater menu). The brownie was a little hard but the ice cream was good (because it is made by Haagen Dazs).

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My wife had the cheesecake. Pretty good actually, except for the berry sauce on it that had a sort of processed, “from a squeeze bottle” kind of flavor to it.

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Seafood Selection: 6
There’s a cedar plank salmon on the theater menu, which looked nice, but my wife went with the crab cakes. These were actually really nice. A little crisp texture on the outside, good quality lump crab meat, and the addition of guacamole made for a really refreshing bite. They also offer trout and a catch of the day, but no shellfish, raw items or anything like that.

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Service: 8
Service was fine. It did feel a little rushed, like our guy wanted to take our plates early with each course. Also the hot sauce was snatched from our table without asking if we were still using it. Bummer, because I was using it with my fries.

Ambiance: 8
I actually like the feel of this place. It’s warm and inviting, there is always a decent crowd of people having a good time, and the walls have bison heads on them. Love it.

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TED’S MONTANA GRILL
110 W. 51st St.
New York, NY 10020

S Prime Steakhouse

S Prime overall score: 88

My wife found a Groupon deal for this joint: $50 gets you $100. They had a nice menu, and now that we’re in the city again, the trip to Queens to check the place out was no worse than heading downtown after work. Nice easy subway ride on the R train.

Flavor: 9
I had the 60-day dry aged signature rib eye, of course. It was fucking great. Some of the fat wasn’t as soft and jelly-ish as I like, so that’s why I took a point (I had some scraps left). Otherwise this place is spot on, perfectly cooked, perfect temperature, no bleed out, nicely rested, juicy as a pair of titties in an early 90’s rap video.

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Choice of Cuts & Quality Available: 10
All the beef is dry aged in house, and prime. I was impressed with the beef here, and there was a great selection to choose from.

Portion Size & Plating: 9
Portions here are pretty big. As you can see from the images, you get a good deal of shit for your buck here. Plating is elegant and refined but not over the top fancy. At 28oz, the rib eye is a nice manly size, though it did feel a bit smaller than 28oz when it came out. Typically that is the weight before cooking and sometimes even before aging, so there is expected weight loss during those processes.

Price: 8
The prices here are pretty high for Queens, but the quality offsets that damage. Also, with their long-running Groupon deal, there is really no excuse not to come try this place out. Don’t let the pricey steaks deter you. Our bill for two came to $228 (not including the oysters and 2 drinks at the bar), minus $100 for the Groupon. Not bad.

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Bar: 10
There’s an absolutely awesome happy hour deal here. Dollar oysters and half price drinks and bar bites. The bar is big too, and it was already pretty full at 6:00pm when I arrived. They even have extra seating at high tables nearby, and a narrow bar along the windows. By time we were finishing our meal, the place was packed. Seems like a good scene. Anyway, we ordered up a few drinks and a dozen oysters before sitting for dinner. Total steal! Also worth noting here: HUGE wine selection, and beautiful displays of wine, for those of you who are wine freaks.

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Specials and Other Meats: 9
The other meats offered here are chicken, veal, and lamb. A very solid showing. They even have a cajun rub that they offer on their steaks, which is interesting. Our waiter also told us about some specials that were not on the menu, like a stuffed broiled lobster (my wife almost got it), and a berry cobbler dessert.

Apps, Sides & Desserts: 8
We started with the agave braised pork belly, which was huge and delicious. The outer skin was perfectly crispy too.

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Then we dove into a trio of tartares: tuna, scallop, and beef. All were good, but we liked the tuna the best:

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On the side we had parmesan herb fries, which were tasty but could have benefitted from a bit more crispiness.

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The fries went really well with the steak sauce, which was finally a refreshing step away from heavy tomato based sauces that other steak joints push on you:

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We also tried the creamed spinach. Our waiter talked us away from sautéed spinach and toward this dish because it had a nice bread crumb crumble on top. I wasn’t crazy about it. The texture of the spinach was a little too watery for my taste. Kinda wish we had stuck with the sautéed spinach order instead, but it’s all good.

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For dessert we split a slice of key lime pie. This was the only item that I thought was over priced. It was a bit small for $10, and we’ve had better key lime pie elsewhere.

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Seafood Selection: 9
There’s a great selection of seafood items. Aside from minimum 2-pound lobbies, they also rock a whole roasted branzino, salmon, tuna, and scallop entrees. And you can’t really beat dollar oysters at happy hour. We also tried the tuna and scallop tartare apps too, which were really good. My wife’s entree was a broiled lobster, which she loved. I only took a point here because one or two of the oysters were sub-par, but at a dollar a pop, who cares?

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Service: 9
When we sat down, the restaurant was largely empty, but we were put at a small table right next to another couple. That kinda stinks. I guess we could have asked for a different spot, but I don’t like being an annoying customer. Other than that, service was excellent, our waiter was perfect, and the manager was really polite and even waited on us when we were sitting at the bar along the windows before dinner. Oh yeah – the bread. There was a nice selection to choose from: pumpernickel, pretzel, seven grain, and more. The only issue is they were not warm and toasty, but the soft, whipped butter was delicious.

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They also brought out some nice, warm manchego cheese with honey drizzled over the top as a little snack. Very nice.

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Ambiance: 7
The space is very “Queens,” if that makes any sense. It was clearly a garage or some sort of wide open space that was converted into a restaurant. That’s great! I liked the lighting, the seating, the layout, etc. It had a nice upstairs and a beautiful stairway leading up. I think there was just a slight clash between modern and traditional that didn’t fit the space, and it also felt like it could be a club, despite the awesome 80’s music they had playing (nice!). Otherwise it is beautiful inside, and the bathrooms and kitchen are super clean. I know this next thing is a little nit-picky, but our table was massively wobbly. We had to shove a wad of doily underneath to balance it out a little better. We’ve had a string of bad wobbles lately at recent restaurants, so I figured I’d mention it here just because.

S PRIME
35-15 36th St.
Long Island City, NY 11106

Del Frisco’s Grille

Del Frisco’s Grille overall score: 82

Flavor: 9 (downgraded to 8 after subsequent visits)
True to the Del Frisco’s brand, the steaks here really pack a donkey-punch of flavor. I went with the standard rib eye, which is boneless and comes in at around 16oz. of crisped goodness. It was cooked perfectly, had tons of soft, flavorful, edible fat, and it was juicy. The only down side was that it was a bit on the thin side for my liking. About one inch thick… I mean thin… What am I at fucking Applebees? But hey – it WAS delicious. And I was actually surprised they were able to get a good sear and crust on it without overcooking. Impressive skills from the chef. My wife had a trio of filets (on special). Each was wrapped in applewood smoked bacon and then topped; one was Oscar style (crab meat + Hollandaise), one was mushroom & red wine reduction, and the last was fois gras (best one because it added some much needed fat into the filet). And now I will take this time to rant about something that happened with the trio… Only one bite of one steak succesfully merged the bacon with the meat in proper cooking temps. The problem is with the method… wrapping shit in bacon…. People … I love bacon just like any other trendy asshole with a bacon themed t-shirt who posts bacon-related crap on Facebook … but there is a time and place to use it. The idea behind wrapping shit in bacon is to impart fat into something, and/or give things a smoky flavor. This is great – a wonderful concept… but it needs to be executed properly – EXACTLY – for it to be a success. Inevitably the bacon wrapping problem boils down to one of two things: EITHER (1) your meat is overcooked because you need to make sure the bacon is fully cooked before you serve it… so prolonged cooking time overcooks the star of the plate, which is the filet… OR (2) you undercook the bacon, leaving it rubbery, so that the steak is not overcooked. But then you end up serving disgusting half-cooked bacon, which is a health hazard if not just an incredibly shitty thing to do to bacon. Please… Unless you are among the ranks of fucking Thomas or Hubert Keller, then you need to go fuck yourself if you are wrapping good meat with bacon. And if you are either of them, I would hope you are wrapping meat with caul fat rather than bacon, since it essentially melts into the meat. If it MUST be done, then please half-cook the bacon first BEFORE wrapping the meat, and while the meat is cooking you can spoon some bacon grease over the top to make sure the flavor is imparted into the meat. /endrant
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Choice of Cuts & Quality Available: 8

The MEAT selection here is pretty much the same as the Double Eagle location around the block (seafood and other meats selection varies). They offer an upgraded version of each type of meat as a special; a boneless strip and a bone-in strip (16oz vs 22oz), and a boneless rib eye and a bone-in rib eye (same ounces as the strips). They had a great selection of filets: small (8oz), medium (12oz), and bone-in large (special) at 16oz. They also had a trio of filets on special (4oz each). All around this is pretty good. No porterhouse, so I had to take an extra point.

Portion Size & Plating: 8

My steak was 16oz, boneless. That’s a good-sized slab of meat – a little on the small side if you have a good pair of balls swinging between your thighs – but it’s still a pound of flesh, and not as small as the one at Dylan Prime. They had a broad range of sizes. Filets came in 8, 12, and 16oz portions, and even 4oz in the trio plate. Strips were either 16 or 22oz, and same with the rib eyes. Plating was basic: beef + plate.
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Price: 7

Prices here range from $37 for the pussy filet to $60 for the manlier upgraded cuts of steak. My regular menu rib eye was $42. That’s a pretty good price for a pound of perfectly cooked meat, however, the other items were a bit too pricey ($16 for 5 shrimp, $5 a piece for lamb sliders, etc). At the Double Eagle, it seems more worth it for the higher prices – maybe because of the atmosphere. See below and make your own judgments.
The price is wrong, bitch.
The price is wrong, bitch.
Bar: 10
The bar here is pretty cool, and definitely a good place to hang out after work if you work in midtown. It butts up close to the windows that look out into the Rockefeller Center area. I imagine it gets a good crowd in nice weather when the patio seating is available. They also have a nice fiery oven for cooking the flatbreads and pizzas right next to the bar, so you can sit there and watch the flames. The martini was made just right to boot – and $3 cheaper than at their other establishment around the block.
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Specials and Other Meats: 8

As I said earlier, on special there were lots of meats. A strip, a rib eye, a filet, and a trio of filets (pictured below – they came with asparagus as well). This isn’t really the kind of place for “other meats,” and I guess to that end it isn’t really a proper “steakhouse” either. They have sandwiches on the menu, and some plated dishes that take on the alternative meats like chicken, veal, beef short rib, and lamb (app).
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Apps, Sides & Desserts: 7 (updated to 8 after subsequent visits)
No shellfish here (oysters/clams). We started with an order of cocktail shrimp and the lamb sliders. The shrimp were good, almost peppery, but there were only 5 for the whopping $16 price tag … and they weren’t that big: their small size didn’t match their large price. They did come with a nice dipping sauce that was some sort of horseradish, cream-based thingy. The lamb sliders were tasty and potent. They came topped with arugula, roasted red pepper, tzatziki sauce and goat cheese. I enjoyed them so the hefty $15 price tag for three wasn’t as bad as the shrimp. For sides we had Parmesan & sea salt fries and truffled mac & cheese. Both sides were too salty. The mac & cheese was unbearably salty, but the truffle taste was really good. I just wish they held back with the salt. The fries were more doable – they had some nice chopped up herbs on them too. For dessert we had nutella bread pudding. This was hands down the best dish of the night. Crispy coating, juicy middle, incredible flavor, topped with coffee ice cream… man… I will go back just for that.
apps, sides, and dessert
apps, sides, and dessert

Seafood Selection: 7

They offer salmon, tuna & sole by way of “the sea” here. No lobster, no oysters or clams. A shame, but at least they have the famous and delicious Del Frisco’s crab cake. Stick with that and you are set. But, again, you probably aren’t coming here for a full-on steakhouse experience. It’s not that kind of place.

Service: 10

The service was good. No real complaints. There was very little interaction as it was a busy time. Unlike traditional steakhouses, here you won’t get a basket of bread with your water or drinks (unless they forgot about that). Hmm… maybe they did forget… because they also forgot to bring sugar out for my Cappuccino.
Ambiance: 8
As I said above, it isn’t a typical steakhouse setting. It’s more of a concept restaurant. It’s a lot like a gangbang – you go in and out, it’s loud, busy, social, lots of people coming, there is use of a back door entrance, etc… That’s fine, but I have judging standards to which I need to stay true. This isn’t some subjective bullshit like sexual harassment in the workplace or The Beatles vs The Stones. This is truth. Okay then – onward…The wait staff are all dressed nicely but not traditionally in suits or jackets. They have both men and women taking orders and serving. The decor was modern, and the vibe is loud, happy hour, after work crowd chaos. It’s definitely not the same class of restaurant as other places I’ve rated, mainly because the Del Frisco’s “Grille” brand is marketed toward a more casual and social dining atmosphere. If you want a more sit-down and take-your-time kind of place, then go to the Double Eagle around the block. The bathrooms are nice though – four single user rooms with a dim, clean and modern look. I was almost tempted to have King Richard the Turd usurp the coveted Porcelain Throne and squat over The Tepid Pool to unleash a reign of brown terror the likes of which Manhattan has never seen… but I refrained from that conquest.
cross section of a rib eye: left side is the fat cap, right side is the "roast" side, as I like to call it.
cross section of a rib eye: left side is the fat cap, right side is the “roast” side, as I like to call it.

UPDATE: 09/19/14

Check this out… My buddy got this email from Del Frisco’s Grille about a crazy burger & beer deal. The details were as follows: double cheeseburger, fries, and any pint of beer for only $17.50! Needless to say, we jumped at the opportunity.

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I am a big fan of the Del Frisco’s brand, and despite not giving this location as much accolades as the Double Eagle site, one of the best in the world, I am still a loyal patron. I’ve heard great things about their burgers in particular.

Here’s the burgerporn:

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Verdict: the meat was cooked properly, well seasoned, and had a nice ratio of cheese to meat. The tomato was nice and cold, contrasting with the hot burger and cheese. Downside: it was a bit bread, as the bun was big, but on the positive side there was no dog or flopping of the bottom due to burger grease. I liked it a lot.

I chose the parmesan sea salt fries. They were really flavorful, but a bit limp. Perhaps another session in the deep frier would take them to the next level.

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Okay so all’s well, right? Wrong. The bill came and, to our surprise, we were being charged way more than $17.50 each! As it turns out, the NYC location is apparently an exception to the $17.50 deal. The price is supposed to be $24.50. Now, this all makes perfect sense in hindsight, as the regular price for a burger is something like $18.50 WITHOUT the beer. Also NYC rents are astronomical. It only makes sense that they would have to charge more for the food here. We asked Chad, the manager, if they’d still honor it, being my friend had actually received TWO emails with the $17.50 price. There was no way around it. Chad explained that the price could not be altered. He told us that he didn’t have a button on the register to change the price of the burger. We were a bit upset, but I reassured him that I DID like the burger. When I pulled out my card to present it to him, as I do at the end of every meal, he suddenly remembered the “oh shit, it’s Johnny Prime” button on the register. “We can adjust the price of the beer,” he said. Well, hey, that works for us! “You were in here before,” he remembered. “Yes, for steaks,” I answered. Chad even remembered where my wife and I sat! Wow! Anyway, he had a new, adjusted bill printed up, in which we were not charged for the beer.

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My buddy pays close attention to these sorts of things, still pointing out that we were over-charged by $2 from what the ad said as we were walking home. I don’t really blame him, because that $17.50 price was really the whole reason we even went. There was no limitation on the email, and no exclusion of NYC in the fine print of the ad. But I also really didn’t care and wouldn’t have minded; I’ve paid some hefty bills in my day, and as long as the food is good, I am generally fine with it. But in keeping with the stellar service of the Del Frisco’s brand, Chad earned the Grille another point for service to make it a full 10. This location really can’t compare with the Double Eagle, but at least now I know I will definitely be coming back at some point to try some more items off the dinner menu. Chad: we humbly thank you for making it right on the $17.50 issue. You’re a stand-up gentleman.

UPDATE: 7/18/17

I went back for an influencer event and got to try (and re-try) lots of stuff.

The Porterhouse: 9/10

This was awesome. It had a good pepper crust, nicely cooked, and both the strip side and filet side were both tender and juicy. My only issue is that it seemed kinda small.

The NY Strip: 9/10

This and the porterhouse were both on point. Really great job cooking this bad boy.

The Rib Eye: 8/10

This suffered slightly because it was over-salted (you can actually see a track of it along the left side of the cut in the photos below). Despite what looks like a lot of inedible fat on this baby, it was all really soft beef jelly.

The Tenderloin: 7/10

This bone-in “filet” was just a bit blah in comparison to the other three cuts we tried. It was cooked nicely and it was tender, however it just fell flat and lacked the character that the others had.

All of the other sides, apps and desserts we tried were good.

Pizza

Tuna Tacos

Shrimp Cocktail

Philly Cheese Egg Rolls

Lemon Cake; Creme Brulee Cheesecake; Coconut Cream Pie

Also not pictured: creamed spinach with bacon, mac and cheese, and the burger again. The creamed spinach went nicely with the mac and cheese, together in one bite. The salt from the creamed spinach added what was lacking in the mac. Given how much I enjoyed all these sides, apps and desserts on this visit, I added a point to the score. However with an average new steak rating of 8.25, I had to round down and lower the flavor score from 9 to 8. In the end, the total score is still the same at 82.

By the way – this filet mignon burger is fucking incredible. ew addition to the menu.

Prime rib was 8/10

DEL FRISCO’S GRILLE
50 Rockefeller Plaza
New York, NY 10020

Quality Italian

Quality Italian overall score: 96

Flavor: 10
When you’ve eaten as much steak as I have, it takes a lot to achieve memorable, lasting impressions of a meal. QI delivered in spades. This was by far the best regular menu item steak I have ever had. I say “regular menu item” because, of course, when I dropped $94 on a 32oz wagyu rib eye at Del Frisco’s I got a better steak. But for $46??? Holy shitbags my friends… It’s $10 cheaper than most rival restaurants, and for that price you get the most delicious tomahawk style rib chop you will ever sink your teeth into. And it’s a nice big 28oz fucker to boot.
Juicy all the way through, from fat cap to bone. Perfectly cooked pink all the way through. Soft, tender meat even in the roast portion. The fat was delicious – not too oily or greasy, and all of it soft and edible. Seasoning was just right – not too salty to the point where you get the meat sweats afterward (hate that). Simply put: the thing is fucking fantastic. But not only is the steak incredible; everything else is too. My wife had the lemon chicken (pic below in “other meats” section); it was a generous portion size and really tender and juicy – even in the huge tit area (large breast) where things can tend to dry out. Apps, sides and desserts were some of the best I’ve ever had as well.  Read on, assholes.
rib eye before and after
rib eye before and after

Choice of Cuts & Quality Available: 10

Everything is prime and aged, and they cover every type of cut possible. They even offer some steaks for two, and a bunch of different types of filets for assholes who eat filets. Every base is covered, and then some.

Portion Size & Plating: 10

The plating was amazing here, just like it was at their sister restaurants Quality Meats and Maloney & Porcelli (Smith & Wollensky not so much). Little touches like herbs for garnish, interesting little porcelain cups filled with coarse salt, mortar and pestle containers for the fresh sauces, and just the way the food was decorated as well – not just slapped on the plate but artfully done. Portion sizes were all very healthy – healthy meaning big – not healthy meaning pussy-sized small dishes for losers on diets. The tartare was the size of a big burger. The sunchokes were two potatoes worth. The pasta side was enough for two no problem. The steak was huge, and the chicken was, I think, a half chicken (thigh, drum, wing, tit, still articulated).

Price: 9

I was a little surprised that the bill only came to $175 and change. For what we had, I was expecting over $200. Everything is extremely fair in price, especially when you take into consideration the PRIME real estate they have. Right on 6th avenue, overlooking the street, and just below the park. Are you fucking kidding? And steaks are still under $50 each??? Wow.
William Price
William Price
Bar: 10
There are two bars to mention here. First you are met with a really nice little bistro style open air/semi-outdoor bar at the front door. Great place to hang out for some negroni on tap, or house made white peach bellinis (also on tap) and watch the people whiz by on their way home from work.
signage and outdoor bar area
signage and outdoor bar area
Upstairs there is a big bar at the top of the steps. Nicely decorated, modern, sleek, but not pretentious. They make great drinks. My martini was perfect, and was garnished with the best olives (castelvetranos). My wife had a great drink called “the midtown,” which was made with bourbon, vermouth, sour cherry, orange peel, and burnt sugar. Nice ice cubes too for those who care (you know who you are).
half drunk martini and "the midtown"
half drunk martini and “the midtown”
Specials and Other Meats: 10
The waiter read off some delicious sounding off-menu specials, and highlighted a few featured menu items that were considered house specialties. One dish they have already become instantly famous for is the chicken parm. It is pounded flat onto a pizza dish and topped with sauce and cheese, then baked. It seriously looks like a pizza. I might have to go back to try this. Anyway they have all kinds of meat on tap here. Beef (of course), chicken, veal, pork, lamb. Everything is covered. One thing to note here – truffles on demand. What? Yes. You can have them come over and tick off a few shavings of truffles on anything your little heart desires (for a fee, of course). Fucking brilliant idea. Below is the lemon chicken dish I described above:
chicken alan
chicken alan
Apps, Sides & Desserts: 10
We started off with the steak tartare and the grilled octopus saltimbocca. Both were fucking incredible. I liked the tartare at Quality Meats better, but it was still really great here. Underneath the patty of chopped beef there was a little pool of mushroom aioli, which was really great when you folded it into the meat and mixed it all up (with a squeeze of lemon too). They even had some shaved cheese on top for a salty crunch. The octopus was perfect. They swapped garbanzos (chic peas) for the cannolinis. I think this is a common thing in Italian food culture, because whenever my mom ran out of cannolinis she used garbanzos for our pasta fagioli. Either bean is fine. Both are great.
tartare and octo
tartare and octo
For sides we had sunchokes (a delicious cross between potato and artichoke, with an amazing little dipping aioli), and porterhouse filled agnolotti (little football shaped pasta dumplings/packages) with a brown butter sauce. Also amazing. They don’t offer creamed spinach here, but they did offer sautéed spinach. I was too excited for the sunchokes though, so I didn’t try it.
pasta and sunchokes
pasta and sunchokes
For dessert we shared a watermelon, lime, strawberry and basil sorbet. It was so fucking good. Very aromatic from the basil, and they even crystallized and sugarified some basil to sprinkle on top and garnish. Really interesting flavors.
sorbet
sorbet
So many of the other desserts looked good too. It was so hard to choose. They even had a cannoli cart rolling around where you could have them make and fill cannolis for you with whatever flavors you want. This place takes steakhouse dining to a whole new level.
Seafood Selection: 8
Other than the octo, we didn’t have any seafood. They had some nice sounding fish entrees like grilled branzino, etc. And they offered 4 different types of oysters on special (Montauk, Rhode Island, and two west coasters), a nice seafood tower, and some interesting shrimp based pastas. Next trip I will have to delve deeper into the seafood menu.
Service: 10
John was hands down the best waiter I’ve ever had – even better than the young guy at Keen’s that I was so impressed with. I instantly felt like I had known John forever. He was warm, funny, very nice, natural, and extremely knowledgeable on the menu. He knew it in and out, and he knew just where to go and what to suggest when we had follow-up questions. The management was the same way – all very welcoming and friendly. I had the opportunity to meet a bunch of people on the floor. Scott, Roger, and Mike: thank you for making me feel like such a celebrity! My wife was beaming when we left – we had such a great time and you really made our special night memorable. I only wish we had a little more time to spare. We would have loved to take Roger up on his offer to hang out at the bar for a while and have some after dinner drinks. Hopefully next time! Other awesome things to mention in the service department: fresh hot garlic bread. Bread like that makes me wish I had 4 hands (One for each lump, just like how Benny wished he had 3 hands – one for each tit – in the movie Total Recall).
garlic bread
garlic bread
For larger tables, they have this bigger bread dish:
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Also; Kate, the sauce specialist. She made the steak sauce table side, mixing up concoctions of raisin molasses puree, fresh tomato, oregano, and other herbs/spices. It was like watching a wizard make a potion. She stirred it up nice in a mortar and pestle, and boom – we had the most delicious and fresh steak sauce in town. We put it on everything we ate, and even took some home with us.
sauce making
sauce making
Ambiance: 9
I love the simple, bare and elegant look here. They really made the best of the space. I think a few more booth type seats might be nice to add, but the concept here is a little more open anyway, so it might not fit right to have big private type booths jammed in there. The views out the windows are great. I didn’t expect to like a second floor dining room this much. The lighting was cool and interesting: glass balls held in a clamp or vice; very industrial, but not the meat-locker type of look that Quality Meats has. Even the shitter was nice, with its beautiful arched wooden doors. It smelled like the inside of a Yankee Candle store. You would never know that people shit and piss in there – very clean and pretty. For a second floor joint, tho splice is pretty dynamite.
dining room
dining room

 

the room where shitting happens
the room where shitting happens

UPDATE

I came back about a year later and really put the hurt on some bone-in strip, filet, and chicken parm. Check out the pics. This place still holds up really well after a year.

Thank you Roger and Gaetano for putting up another amazing meal!

We started with an order of prosciutto, and also ricotta cheese with honey, pine nuts and pear. Really fucking simple and delicious.

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Next came the chicken parm. Holy fuckbags, this is some blow-your-mind shit.  They pound out and chop the chicken into the shape of a pizza and then cover it with sauce and cheese. It’s amazing.

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They also offer a brunch version of this baby with eggs and bacon on top. Super tasty.

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Speaking of brunch, carbonara pasta!!!

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We ordered only the side of mushrooms, but the house sent out some kale carbonara and spaghetti squash too! All were amazing. The mushrooms were a blend of four different types; very earthy and fresh. The kale was really great. This dish beats creamed spinach any day.

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I had the bone-in strip. Really juicy and perfectly cooked. I ate every bite like a fat bastard.

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The filet stole the show though. My buddy got it with this dumpling that was filled with melted gorgonzola. Perfect!

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I almost forgot – the house sent out a free bottle of wine too. WOW!

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Some more food porn from a third visit. Man the shit is always on point at this joint.

Doughnuts:

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Veal osso buco for two:

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Pappardelle:

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Porterhouse for two:

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Mushrooms and peppers with the steak:

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One night my wife and I came here and really just focused on the pasta. Here’s a shitty photo of the really great bucatini with clams (cockles):

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The pasta was cooked perfectly and had a really amazing flavor, with a generous heaping of saffron sprinkled on top.

We had a side of artichoke mac and cheese. Really great texture from the bread crumbs on top, and gratuitous amounts of delicious artichoke brewing beneath the surface.

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On special was a garganelli pasta (similar to a rigatoni or ziti shape) with pork shoulder and guanciale (cured pork jowls). So fucking good.

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They really execute this stuff like no other place. I think my favorite pasta dishes all come from Quality Italian (like the pappardelle that you get with the veal shank, pictured above – fucking amazing).

That night we had the smores ice cream dessert. Burnt marshmallow flavored ice cream and a tart filled with brownie? Yes please!

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The drink selection is always on point too. My wife ordered a tricolor margarita. Check out the ice cube, layered with different colored margarita ingredients, so that when it melts you’r just getting more margarita, instead of water:

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And I was able to try some really nice beer that I’ve never seen before:

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After this non-steak visit, I put this place into a tie with its sister restaurant, Quality Meats. They top the leaderboard right now.

UPDATE 2/20/16

This place is truly amazing. I inserted a few updated photos above, but here is a look at their “bone-in filet” – a really nice piece of tenderloin that’s still attached to the vertebra.

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It was cooked very nicely and was super tender and juicy, yet retained a great charred flavor from the grill.

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My wife tried the balsamic lacquered filet, which is service with a marrow bone filled with fried hazelnuts and marrow. Delicious as well, and cooked similarly perfect.

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I’ve thoroughly enjoyed every cut of beef available here, and a few specials and steak alternatives as well. I can guarantee you will have a great meal here. My most recent waiter, Michael, and the manager Gaetano, really made us feel like royalty here. A few more shots of the incredible food here.

Corn brûlée:

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Sauteed spinach:

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Fries:

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Assorted gelato: ferraro rocher, coffee and nuts, and blood orange creamsicle.

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A beautiful lemon tart:

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Apple strudel thing:

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Tartufo for two (big enough for four):

QUALITY ITALIAN
57 W. 57th St.
New York, NY 10019

212 Steakhouse

212 Steakhouse overall score: 87

212 Steakhouse is relatively new on the steakhouse scene. It seems like they are offering some pretty amazing deals via Living Social to draw business and to introduce people to real-deal kobe beef, imported from Japan. This place is the only joint that’s actually certified by the Japanese Kobe Beef Marketing and Distribution Promotion Association on America’s east coast.

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So the deal is for about $90 (my wife got it for about $70). You get one appetizer to share, up to $30 value. You get two glasses of wine (one each) and two 4oz pieces of steak, either strip loin or rib eye. It may seem like very little, size-wise, but there is no waste, and tremendous flavor. Right now 212 is offering 60-80% off the regular price for this steak. At a regular price of $45/oz, these pieces at $15/oz are a steal.

When I first walked in and sat at the bar, I was greeted warmly by the bartender, who mixed up a great martini for me. Soon afterward I noticed the chef was out on the floor, having his staff taste the souffle he just made in the back. Christos, the chef, is a really friendly and outgoing guy. His heritage is Greek, and he’s spent almost 20 years in the kitchens around New York, with even a little international experience in Brazil. He’s the kind of chef that always tries changing recipes to make a dish better, never serves something he thinks is bad, and is constantly looking to learn and improve his trade.

I’m going to do my best to fit the review of this place into my cookie-cutter review format, but in reality this place breaks the mold. The quality is so high off the charts here that it almost makes me want to reassess all my other 10-point scores for flavor and quality. Real kobe is just incredible. Okay so here we go…

Flavor: 10 (now an average of 8 after below update)
Easily some of the very best steak I’ve ever had and will ever have in my life. You can taste the flavor of the meat more in the strip loin, and you can taste the flavor of the fat more in the rib eye. I think both my wife and I preferred the strip. Typically I will pick the rib eye because I enjoy the fat flavor more, and there tends to be better marbling in the rib eye. But with meat like kobe, there is plenty of good, melty, intra-muscular fat and marbling in the strip cuts as well. Listen, assholes… The point is this: you can’t go wrong either way. Just look at this shit! Strip 10/10, rib eye 9/10.

rib eye
rib eye
strip loin
strip loin

More from another visit (strip, tenderloin [10/10] and rib eye).

Choice of Cuts & Quality Available: 10
You have a choice of Japanese kobe, US kobe, US wagyu or Japanese wagyu. The cuts are either rib eye, tenderloin, strip, or skirt. Most items are offered by the ounce, so, for the most part, you can tailor your steak to your appetite. While they don’t have the full gamut of cuts you find at traditional steakhouses, the quality here is so high that I would be remiss to give nothing less than full points here.

Portion Size & Plating: 9
Portions are pretty much DIY, so if you’re willing to spend to get more, then you’ll be a happy camper. The pre-set size cuts are 8oz, 10oz or 12oz, which is pretty standard for the high quality meat game, and they’re typically boneless as well. Otherwise you’re looking at a minimum of 4oz on the Japanese meats. And before you freak out about the bone being taken out, ask yourself if you’ve ever tried meat like this before. The bone is not needed when there is so much flavor in the beef and you can literally melt the marbling with the warmth in your finger! The plating for the beef is really nice, on slate plates. But don’t run your knife across the plate or you might get the chills. EEEEEEK!

Price: 10
I have to give a 10 here because we felt like we got such an amazing deal. If you’re going to blow your budget on a steak meal then this might be the right place to do it. It’s not a traditional steakhouse atmosphere, so know that going into the transaction. What you are coming here for is once-in-a-lifetime steak. And since they are still running mega-discounts on their menu right now, both as a walk in and via the Living Social deal, I suggest you high-tail your asses over there ASAP to take advantage of these prices. They have every justification to charge double. Believe me; it’s worth every bite. Not only that but they seemingly knocked some items off our bill as well, like the desserts. That said, the minimum 4oz order will run you $60, and that’s at the super-duper-blowout-sale price. The normal price is $45/oz, muthafucka! Let’s put it in yet another way: Had we paid full price for this meal, it would have cost us about $460. Even the discounted price, as you see below, was still over $200. We paid just about $150 I think, with tax and tip included.

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Bar: 8
The bar is nice, so don’t get me wrong here with the lower score. They were out of Beefeater gin, which isn’t a big deal. My martini was $13, which is fair for NYC (yet also crazy when you think about what a bottle of gin costs). I just prefer a bar that sits close to the street, with an open feel and views. It’s nicely decorated, the bartender is excellent and friendly, and there’s lots of high quality booze and wine to match the high quality beef. It’s just not exactly a happening spot. The great thing is that they serve kalamata olives at the bar as a free snack. Awesome.

Specials and Other Meats: 7
What you see is what you get, as far as the menu goes. Christos told me that he likes to make a few special items from time to time, like scallops, but that the menu is pretty strictly adhered to by the big boss man. As far as other meats go, well, it’s either beef or seafood, my friends. Deal with it.

New to the menu is some lamb. 7/10.

Apps, Sides & Desserts: 9 (now 8 after below update)
We had baked parmesan polenta fries, which were light, crispy, and surprisingly flavorful.

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The grilled octopus app was highly recommended by all the staff, including Christos. It was soft, tender and really flavorful with a classic Mediterranean profile. The liquid that it was served in (oil and lemon, with capers, peppers and herbs) took away some of that nice grilled char that I love so much, but the liquid was perfect for dipping bread in afterward.

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For dessert we had espresso chocolate chip coffee ice cream and creme brulee. These were both really good, both texture-wise and flavor-wise. But we will definitely be coming back for the chocolate souffle, which is one of Christos’ specialty items.

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Seafood Selection: 9
There’s lots to choose from here, including a highly diverse menu of whole cooked fish. We will definitely be back to try the mussels, which, along with the octopus, are seafood dishes of particular note and considered signature items by the staff. But the whole fish plates sound amazing, and so did the various raw items on the cold apps menu. Until then, I can only judge this category based on the octopus, which was just shy of absolutely amazing.

Service: 10
Our waiter, Glenn, was very attentive and kind. He recommended a great Italian wine to go with our meal, and we really enjoyed it (Tuscany Bolgheri Elisabeta-Aulo Rosso IGT 2009).

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Christos is, simply put, a highly valuable asset. He’s as good in the front of the house as he is in the back. He kept coming to our table for each course to make sure we enjoyed everything, and he was a delight to talk to. We truly felt like honored guests. The staff even made some special bread slices to serve up just for us at the start of the meal, toasted with olive oil, oregano, smoked salt and lemon. Regular bread and plain butter is absolute shit after you’ve tasted something like this.

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Ambiance: 8
They’ve done the absolute best they could with the space they have. The decor is very classy, dark woods, elegant fixtures. It’s done very well. It won’t compare to some of the mega-giganto steakhouses elsewhere in midtown, but you’re primarily here for the food. So stop looking around the room and focus on your amazing plate of the world’s best beef.

UPDATE 8/2/17

I went back with a Groupon (paid $18, got $60 to spend) and a friend to try out their Australian wagyu porterhouse. Well, I should say we started with 4oz of Kobe strip loin, which was just as excellent as I remembered from my last visit. 10/10. Natural buttery flavor, lean enough to still taste like beef, and every bit of fat completely edible.

The porterhouse was really nice, but something was lacking. The menu said it was dry aged, but we really only tasted it on a few bits that were on the edges and had a good char.

The cook temp was slightly more than medium rare (which is what we ordered) and more towards the medium side.

We enjoyed it, and ate every last bit of it.

However, I think the issue with this cut is the method of preparation. We both felt that the filet side had more flavor than the strip side, which is odd and backwards. Only a few bits of the strip side were better, along the outside edge. That ridge of fat was very tender and edible, which was a nice change. 8/10.

I also tried their dry aged Australian Wagyu rib eye for two (36oz) when I went for complimentary a press meal.

It lacked a little bit of aged flavor, and was slightly overcooked. Still really tasty though, so 7/10.

On another visit, I had the USDA strip steak. Also a 7/10.

We also tried the creamed spinach, which was a bit too soupy on the bottom as compared to the crisp on top. The cheese crisp on top basically slid off in one piece and underneath was like a spinach stew. It had nice flavor but I wasn’t happy with the consistency. Dessert was just okay. I had a mandarin soufflé but to me it was more like orange flavored ice cream. I’ve taken the apps, sides and desserts score down to an 8.

The seafood platter for two contains three items: warm octopus salad, a half lobster cocktail, and eight oysters. Not too bad for $55.

We also sampled their pasta, which was incredible. This is the strozzapreti with wagyu beef bolognese sauce. A must try.

212 STEAKHOUSE
316 E. 53rd St.
New York, NY 10022

Prime & Beyond

Prime & Beyond overall score: 74

NOTE: THIS JOINT IS NOW CLOSED!

People who plan to go here should realize and appreciate the fact that this is primarily a meat house, so the menu is limited on purpose. It is NOT meant to be a massive, traditional steakhouse with a never-ending menu and a gigantic, full-staffed kitchen. What they are doing here is focused and directed, purposeful and deliberate. Think ramen menu (limited, small) as opposed to diner menu (everything but the kitchen sink). So as a caveat, low scores in some of these categories really mean nothing when you think about it. Flavor is the big essential here, and they did a great job in that category. My wife and I came here for a secret $50 deal and to cash in some OpenTable rewards. The deal, running through the end of the month, is for a glass of wine, a soup or salad, a choice of app, and a wet or dry aged strip steak. Essentially you get the wine, soup/salad and app for free, since $50 is the regular cost for just the steak.

Flavor: 8
My bone-in rib eye was under-seasoned and unevenly seasoned (some parts had the needed salt, others were flat on taste). However it was very evenly cooked; quite impressive, actually. The scallion and anchovy sauce added that necessary salt back into the bite. Use it. I expected the fat to be broken down more from the 9 week aging on mine. It definitely had some waste. By itself the rib eye was a 7 out of 10, but the rating here jumps up because of the strip.

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scallion & anchovy sauce topping
scallion & anchovy sauce topping

The strip was nicely seasoned. And similar with the perfectly even cook job. The strip was a juicy wet-aged boneless cut that had been aging at least 20 days. You can definitely can tell the difference. It was better than the rib eye (9/10). The strip portion was a little thin, but since it was part of the $50 price fix it was to be expected.

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Both steaks a little under (these were somewhere between rare and medium rare, closer to rare) but I was expecting that from the minions at yelp.

Choice of Cuts & Quality Available: 10
You have a lot to choose from here, both in the single cut steak section and the steak for two section. Kevin took me to the aging room downstairs and showed me all the goodies through the glass. Before they cook your meat, they will bring out a plate with your cuts to show you the superb marbling. The dry aged selections are a 50 day minimum in the aging process. The steak I had was at 9 weeks. For wet-aged, the minimum is 20 days. They have all the essential cuts and then some. Bravo.

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Portion Size & Plating: 9
Portions are good here, considering how much is lost during the lengthy aging process. My rib eye was 20oz, bone-in.

Price: 9
As I mentioned above, we had some OpenTable cash AND took advantage of a special deal, so the price was right for us on this trip. The steak prices are average and on par with other competitors, and the appetizers are fairly large portions, but you are in a very different kind of atmosphere here, so you have to take that into consideration for your own pricing judgment. When you see the ambiance section you’ll understand.

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Bar: 5
This is not a proper bar, but it really doesn’t matter for what this place is about. They only offer wine, beer (bottles and taps) and soju. Good enough. I couldn’t have a martini, but this is the kind of environment where it’s not needed. The bar is small, with room for only 4 people, but it is close to windows and the steps up to street level.

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Specials and Other Meats: 6
The menu is pretty much beef-centric with the exception of the apps, which offer some great pork selections. They have kalbi and bulgolgi, and a really delicious looking “burger rice” item that I may have to come back for some day soon.

Apps, Sides & Desserts: 9
The apps here are strong. We had a bunch of shit.

The bacon was perfectly roasted, then cut up and served with a spice salt.

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The yuzu dressing salad was very refreshing and properly dressed.

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The butternut squash soup was flavorful and not too thick and filling, though I was sort of taken back that it was being served in the summer.

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The Wagyu salami was incredibly soft and spicy. There was a LOT of it too, for only $8. I would almost prefer this to be available per slice as opposed to a large app size order of 8 slices. It was too much, almost. Maybe they should make it $1/slice?

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The pork soo yook is essentially braised pork belly in a sweet, tangy, and spicy BBQ sauce. So soft and delicious. The sauce was a little too sweet and too salty, but still really yummy. It came with braised carrots and peppers, as well as some crispy chip things to add texture. The mixed greens on the side went perfect with the excess sauce used as a dressing.

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Dessert was called “the planetarium.” It was milk choc mousse with a pear filling. Pretty good. Not overly sweet but I definitely had to chug water to calm down the taste buds.

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Seafood Selection: 2
Unfortunately there’s only scallops and crab cake on the app menu. But please recall what I said above in the introductory paragraph. That said, perhaps some shellfish or octopus could make their way onto the menu in some prominent form. Korean cuisine is known for excellence in preparing those great items.

Service: 9
Our experience here was great. Nathan was a great waiter, very attentive, and with great suggestions. And Kevin was very helpful and informative when he took me down to see the aging room.

Ambiance: 7
This has the feel of a small neighborhood restaurant. It’s clean, white interior and painted bricks make the dark brown tables and chairs pop. The old timey 1930s and 1940s music was great too.

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PRIME & BEYOND
90 E. 10th St.
New York, NY 10003

Bareburger

My wife had a pretty great deal for this place. Basically one of us ate for free, is how the deal worked out. Two burgers, two drinks. No complaints on price, that’s for sure.

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I had bison meat in my “Southern Burger,” which was pepperjack, applewood smoked thick cut bacon, pickled green tomatoes, fried onions, and whole grain maple horseradish mustard – with a fried egg on top. It was good and everything, but there was just ONE green tomato that didn’t cover the burger circumference. Also the bison that I chose for the beef patty was too dry. My thought was to add the fried egg for the runny yolk to add fat back in, but they overcooked the egg.

Southern Burger with a fried egg on top
Southern Burger with a fried egg on top

My wife had a lamb burger with a shitload of stuff that she custom picked (not a burger listed on the menu). The lamb meat tasted pretty great, as I recall, but she wasn’t blown away either. We’ve both had better burgers. Fries weren’t crisy enough either – a little sog going on. What a shame.

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BAREBURGER
366 W 46th St
New York, NY 10036

George Martin’s Strip Steak

George Martin’s Strip Steak overall score: 94

I always thought Long Island steakhouses couldn’t hit the same high marks as some NYC steakhouses, but George Martin changed my view on that. One of several restaurants within the George Martin group, the Strip Steak restaurant in Great River is simply amazing. We went with a group of six for the “restaurant week” price fix deal ($25), but some of us ended up ordering off the regular steak menu. If you are ever on the island and looking for steak, skip Tellers. Skip Prime. Skip Blackstone, Lugers and 21 Main. Go to George Martin. He knows his beef. The same group of us (plus two more) went back for yet another visit, for a friend’s birthday, and we had another amazing meal. 
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Flavor:10
I ordered the ribeye. It had a beautifully seasoned crust, packed with tons of flavor. The inside was very juicy, and the chef allowed it to rest just long enough before serving. It was cooked to perfection from end to end, and the meat itself was top notch quality that must have had some really nice marbling, because not one scrap was left behind. The actual flavor was similar to the steak I had at Dylan Prime, but the cut here was bigger and on the bone. I also had a taste of the filet, which was really delicious as well; tender juicy and evenly cooked all the way through. My only regret was not getting to taste the signature strip steak. On the second visit, I ordered the 20oz partial-bone strip steak. It was perfectly cooked, juicy, and well rested as expected. My wife had the braised short rib, which was moist and tender. On the third visit I tried the filet, which was excellent; nice crispy charred edges and a perfect medium rare center. I also got to try the rosemary and garlic rubbed skirt steak, as well as the braised short rib. Everything is top notch here. You really can’t miss. On a fourth visit, the entire group I ate with said that this was the best steak they had ever eaten. It really is an amazing establishment.
A rib eye and a filet:
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filet
Choice of Cuts & Quality Available: 10
They offer a bone-in strip, a bone-in porterhouse for two, a bone-in ribeye, an assortment of filets prepared in various ways (no less than five preparations), and even a skirt steak. Beef quality seems to be Certified Angus brand across the board for all the main cuts (not sure about the skirt, but it is prepared with a molasses soy marinade).
Portion Size & Plating: 10
The portion sizes were just right: the ribeye was 24oz, the strip was 20oz, and the porterhouse for two was 38oz. The filets were offered at either 8oz or 12oz portions, so there is variety based on appetite. The skirt steak was 12oz. All the steaks come with a side of delicious fried onion “shoestrings.” My wife ordered the duck that was offered with the price fix; a HALF DUCK I should say. Huge and delicious, crispy skin, succulent meat. The Berkshire pork chop is a manly 14oz as well. Big shit!
Price: 9
The price felt a little high at the end of the meal, but we had ordered a few drinks, sides, wine, desserts, etc. The menu prices are fair; ranging from $27 (skirt) to $40 (ribeye). The porterhouse for two comes in at $78. The filet was available on a price fix menu for restaurant week, which came with an appetizer, the filet, and a dessert for $35. Nice deal (Only $25 if you don’t substitute the entree for the filet at an upcharge of $10)! They also offer price fix deals on Sundays ($40 for four courses, one of which is flank steak + braised short rib). Check out the bill for 6 people at the end of a fourth visit, no restaurant week deals involved (still very reasonable!):
Bill from another visit:
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Bar: 8
This place has a nice long bar, and it is tucked away in a really nice neighborhood near the Great South Bay. They have a great specialty cocktail menu, and an extensive selection of wines. I’m not sure I’d go out of my way to come and hang out here if I wasn’t getting a steak dinner, but the martini was perfectly mixed, and even topped with blue cheese stuffed olives. On the second trip we tried a bathtub gin from the cocktail menu – delicious! Pomegranate, simple syrup, and gin. Also give the black cherry whisky sour, dark & stormy, and Strip Steak Manhattan mixers a try.
martini
Specials and Other Meats: 10
Great selection of alternative meats here, as well as price fix menu offerings for those looking to save a bit of money. They offer a veal chop, and they even had a few specials like a pork porterhouse chop. I didn’t order anything from the specials, but definitely happy to see the other meats represented in full force. I will be back here again in the future, so I might try something from here next time. On return trips, I’ve had the filet, the strip, the skirt steak, and the braised short rib. All were great. Below is a picture of the pork chop they offer, which was cooked absolutely perfect – juicy, thick, cooked evenly throughout. It is rare to find a place that does a pork chop this well. Most places fuck it up and dry the shit out, and it becomes a chore to eat it. The chef at George Martin is really awesome, and I was happy to learn that he actually has seen this blog! They also had some shellfish on special (PEI mussels), a crsipy salmon topped with crab meat, and a butternut squash soup.
Apps, Sides & Desserts: 8
I ordered a deconstructed BLT with avocado and fresh mozzarella. The description said thick cut bacon was involved, but the app didn’t really deliver on the promise. I was expecting a slab type, not the kind you find on a burger at McDonalds. On the bright side, the crab cake was fantastic – mostly crab meat with a dusting of breading for texture. The creamed spinach was awesome: it was garnished with some shaved cheese and breadcrumbs to give it some separation and individuality. Each plate came with delicious fried onions as well. For dessert we tried the cheesecake (not too heavy – lots of good flavor), the apple crisp with ice cream (really nice, warm), and chocolate cake. The chocolate cake was the largest of the three in size, with the other two being somewhat smaller (probably because they were price fix items). I had a frozen hot chocolate, which was essentially like an ice cream/chocolate/caramel parfait with a vodka whipped cream that was made using liquid nitrogen. Delicious. On the second visit, we had the braised filet appetizer, which was great aside from the bland and slightly sweet polenta underneath. The oysters were ice cold and really crisp. The string beans were a little bland, despite being slathered with blue cheese and bacon. For dessert we had liquid nitrogen espresso mint chocolate ice cream. INCREDIBLY SMOOTH! Perfect way to end the awesome meal. On my third visit, we tried the cheesecake creme brulee (essentially a cheesecake with a brulee’d top), the lobster & crab fontina cheese fondue (nice and creamy, tasty), and the chili pop shrimp (best app on the menu – crunchy tempura batter with a sweet spice kick). On the side we got to try the GM salad, which was pretty good, though not as fantastic as they make it out to be. We also had sauteed spinach and mashed potatos, which were both solid choices. Fourth visit: see some seafood apps in the below section, but we also had a flavorful butternut squash soup, the baked mac & cheese, which was really creamy and crisp on the top, duo of chocolate and vanilla creme brulee, and an amazing liquid nitrogen chocolate ice cream that tasted almost like frozen pudding (along with a complimentary birthday cake for the birthday girl). See the pics below:
Check out these desserts that we got FREE on another visit: strawberries and cream, due of creme brulee, and a creme brulee style cheesecake.
free dessert
Mussels and clams app:
app 1
Wedge salad and oysters:
more apps
Seafood Selection: 9
The seafood ranged from the typical steakhouse fare (crab cakes, lobster, shellfish) to more interesting items like chimichurri rubbed wild salmon. There is definitely something to eat here if you are an asshole who doesn’t eat “real” animals. If you don’t eat fish either, then go hang yourself, because you are a fucking loser. On the fourth trip we had some great seafood apps; crisp clean oysters, amazing sauteed little neck clams, delicious PEI mussels, and some crispy fried calamari. All really fanastic. My brother had twin Brazilian lobster tails for his meal, and he said they were really good as well. My wife almost went for the salmon that was on special the fourth time we went, but ultimately she went with the pork chop instead. Something tells me she would have loved her meal regardless of what she ordered. Yes – this place is that good. You can blindly point to any item on the menu and it will be great.
Service: 10
Not only is the food great, but the staff is really top notch. The hostess Jenn is very friendly, always smiling, and regularly checking in to make sure everything is okay (as well as the manager). It is a real treat to find people that put so much effort into making diners happy and comfortable. Everything else was really good here too. Even good, clean tableware and a good bread selection with a cool, but whipped and spreadable flavored butter. Praise must be given to the George Martin group for knowing how to hire incredibly friendly, helpful, knowledgeable, and attentive wait staff, and an absolutey all star chef. Our waitress also knew a lot about wine and was accommodating with any questions or changes we had to orders.
On a recent visit we had a waitress named Alyson. She was awesome! One of our guests eats a gluten free diet, and Alyson knew SO MUCH about the food items served at GM that she was able to really converse with the gluten free guest about what could be eaten, which items/sauces to avoid, etc. We were all very impressed.
Ambiance: 10
Set up in an old home by the bay that used to be a brothel, George Martin boasts some really elegant decor with an upscale yet warm atmosphere. They even had a live keyboardist playing some piano tunes. In classic steakhouse fashion, the room is dim, but not dark. The walls are warm with pinstripe wallpaper and interesting old fancy-time 1920’s era photos of nude broads in the main dining room. One side dining room had a beautiful chandelier and fireplace; it looked like the dining room from the Clue mansion or something. A third dining room that I was able to see had what looked like cushioned red padded walls with mirrors interspersed. I later learned that area used to be the stage spot where burlesque performers would dance in the old days. The place is very interesting; art deco but modern, cozy and cool. On a subsequent visit, I learned that the restaurant is fabled to be haunted. One of our dining guests even said she felt the presence of a man in a suit standing beside her, and this happened BEFORE we heard about the place possibly being haunted. Creepy. There are tales of people being murdered, hanging themselves, and getting into shootouts at the former speakeasy establishment – really fun local lore that makes the dining experience more vivid. Also, lots of the original decor still remains in the place, like the old window shutter treatments that sport bullet holes and now adorn the fireplace in the “please don’t tell” room (a fourth, more private dining area).
Take a look at this photo of the room where my friend felt the presence of an otherworldly spirit. Do you notice anything out of the ordinary?
george martin

 

Some additional photos and notes from my recent birthday dinner here. My parents took my wife and I out.

They started us with a freebie order of pulled filet on cabbage with spicy pomegranate sauce. There were tasty little bites!

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Here are some shots of the filet and prime rib (a Sunday special menu item):

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And finally, as always, the amazing staff had something special because they knew we were celebrating:

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They even knocked off a chunk of money from the bill. God I love this place!

GEORGE MARTIN STRIP STEAK
60 River Rd.
Great River, NY 11739

Capizzi Pizzeria Italiana

I recently became aware of Capizzi when I was invited for a couple of press dinners. It is situated right between my wife and my work places, so it was an easy spot to try out on a whim.

This cozy little joint is tucked away under the bridge on 9th Avenue at Port Authority.

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When you walk in, you feel like you’re at someone’s house that has been temporarily transformed into a dining room. The old tube TV and the floor-standing, old timey radio have been moved aside to make room for guests. They even have and old school fridge and ice box along the cabinetry on one side of the room…

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…and dried peppers hanging from the ceiling, just like at grandma’s house.

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Which they crush into their own house crushed red pepper, served alongside dried oregano that is still on the stems. Just like home!

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By 6pm on the Friday before Memorial Day, when people are itching to vacate the city, this place was already jumping WITH A LINE OUT THE DOOR AND DOWN THE STREET. Completely full. Wow!

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The plates mirror this cozy home feeling, and it’s no wonder Capizzi was jammed up from such an early time… because everything was awesome. And it boasts an extensive Wine selection for all you wine drinking folks out there. In my two visits, I got to taste pretty much all their wines by the glass. The montepulciano, nero d’avola, lambrusco, chianti, and muscato were all great.

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Our waiter Andre started us off with a couple of glasses of sangiovese on our first visit, which is one of my favorite varietals. The cool thing about the second visit was that he was there again, but this time just visiting on his off-day to say hello to friends, which I thought was pretty cool. He remembered us too! Great guy. On the second trip we had the pleasure of being served by Sami as our waitress, and Javier as bus boy. Service here is impeccable! Javier was fast, attentive, and very nice. Sami was a sweetheart, and made excellent suggestions for what to order. The people running Capizzi definitely know how to choose good quality staff.

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We had a plate of soft, tasty burrata cheese that was garnished with basil, artichoke hearts, sliced grape tomatoes, roasted red peppers, and prosciutto – all lightly drizzled with olive oil. It was excellent. Simple and delicious.

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Next came the antipasto misto: a plate of Italian meats, cheese, olives, mushrooms, sun dried tomatoes, roasted red peppers, and eggplant. A nice way to double down on our starter plate. As you can see in the pic, Andre again served us from the main plate. Top notch service here!

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The antipasto came with a basket of toasted, lightly cheesed flatbread. Naked pizza, if you will. Really airy and crispy. We took this home with us since we couldn’t finish it all, and wanted to save room for pizza.

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On trip number two we tried two salads – HUGE portion sizes. Definitely can split these. These were both very simple dishes that showcased incredible, fresh ingredients. In the first case, cucumber, roasted red peppers, and really top quality olive oil.

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The other salad was a simple, refreshing fennel and orange salad. Again massive portion size, and very tasty.

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Then comes the pizza. We ordered a regular Margherita pie with some arugula and prosciutto on top. The pie was doughy yet crisped and lightly charred on the surfaces and crust. This kind of perfection can only be achieved with an authentic wood burning brick oven.

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The sauce was deftly applied with just the right volume and ratio to the crust and cheese. It had a very slight sweetness to it, which was cut nicely by the peppery arugula and salty prosciutto. The cheese was fresh and melty, and on top there was some fresh grated parmesan cheese for that earthy kick. We devoured every bite of this masterpiece.

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On a second visit we tried two pies. First the margherita pie – your basic cheese and sauce pizza. It was fucking PERFECT. Words escape me right now as I try to describe it. It was crisp, yet soft. It was savory, fresh, and juicy from point to crust. Honestly this is now my favorite pizza in New York, and I grew up a spoiled pizza brat.

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The other pie we tried was on special for the night, and was topped with speck, prosciutto, arugula and mozzarella. This was really great. In fact, pretty much every pizza on the menu sounds enticing. My wife and I plan to move back into the city this summer, and this area is one of or top choices for location. Needless to say, Capizzi will be our go-to pizza joint, no question. Look at how amazing the pizza is…

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We finished off the meal with my wife’s favorite classic dessert, tiramisu, on our first visit. It was good – nice and light, not too boozy; a great ending to a wonderful meal.

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On the second visit, we took advice from our waitress Sami to try the Oreo truffle cannoli. She hit the nail on the head. It was just the right amount of sweet without being overpowering. It was flavorfully unique, but with enough tribute paid to the classic cannoli dessert not to offend any traditionalist sensibilities. And as always, the plating was beautiful to boot.

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As a pizza aficionado, I definitely recommend this place to those looking for a great pie (no single slices here – for that you need to go to Saluggis). Do yourself a favor and go here ASAP. I think for sit-down, full-pie pizza, this is absolutely my new favorite place to go.

An interesting side note about this place:

“They got an old-fashion’ toilet… You know… The box, and, and, and, ah the chain-thing… We might be able to tape the gun behind it.”

– Tessio

chain toilet capizzi

CAPIZZI
547 9th Ave
New York, NY 10018

Old Homestead

Old Homestead overall score: 81

UPDATE 5/18/2023: I came back with a nice Ride & Review, which you can watch HERE:

The Prime Rib was an easy 9/10 or maybe even a 10/10. Good aged flavor. The Porterhouse was small but still tasty. The rib eye was good too. Both 7 or 8/10. No real score change here other than to say that I would come back for that prime rib any time!

UPDATE 4/27/14: I came here with my dad, my brother in law, and my nephew for a quick lunch after checking out the NY auto show. There was definitely a slight improvement since my last visit, as I bumped it two points.
We started with the sweet chili fried calamari. They were good – nice and crisp, good flavor. We had to ask for the bread basket, which was kinda strange, but the highlight of that was the raisin nut bread. Very nice.  
I had the 19oz bone-in filet, some onion rings, and the truffle mac & cheese. Big respect to our fun waiter Sarko, who guided me in the right direction to order the filet medium rare instead of rare. He explained that if it was boneless, then rare would be the way to go. However, since the bone inhibits the center from warming up fast enough, he cautioned me that some of the fat near the bone may not render properly unless I went to medium rare. It turned out perfectly. I was really happy with my hunk of red meat.
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The onion rings were a bit too juicy but otherwise really tasty. The truffle mac and cheese didn’t have the truffle abundance I was expecting, but they were still pretty yummy regardless.
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I still need to come back here for a proper dinner seating, as I feel like the experience would be a bit different for that service. But this visit definitely re-sparked my interest in the joint. Like Arnold, I’ll be back.
My wife, who is awesome, took me here for a birthday lunch after shooting some .22 rifle rounds at the pistol range. Talk about a guy’s perfect day! I thought it would be difficult to review a steakhouse based on the lunch menu, but Old Homestead basically offers the same food for lunch that they offer for dinner, the only difference being that the lunch menu is a little bit cheaper (by $2, generally, for each item) and they don’t offer some of the more massive steak cuts at lunch time (Shame – I probably would have gotten the larger cut too – oh well – their loss).

Flavor: 9 

The steak tasted great. I ordered the gotham ribeye, a bone-in 22oz cut that tasted like a prime rib that kissed the grill. It was juicy like a roast, and had a little crisp going (more would have been nice). Great taste but one point off for missing the mark with not enough crisp and a bit more non-chewable gristle than I like to see. They let it rest just the right amount of time, so there was no blood loss and it stayed very juicy.

Choice of Cuts & Quality Available: 9

This place has lots of sizes and cuts available for the four main steaks. I think I counted five filet mignon items of varying preparations, sizes and bone structures. Two sizes for the ribeye (not at lunch, however), and a prime rib to boot (essentially, a slow roasted ribeye). They offer two sizes of “New York Sirloin” as well as an au poivre and a top round – not quite sure why they were calling some steaks a sirloin and not a strip. Perhaps it is from the T-bone (the lesser porterhouse, not good enough to be called a strip when cut off the bone). They also offer a “Kobe” sirloin for a big price upgrade. The porterhouse is only offered for two, which is common at many steakhouses.

Portion Size & Plating: 9

The portions here are average to above average, but they also offer items for smaller appetites. The filets ranged from 10oz (still a good size for a filet) to 18oz (biggest I’ve seen), the “sirloins” from 14oz to 18oz (a little on the average side, but not bad), and the ribeyes from 22oz to 32oz (good). Plating was nice. Usually you just see bare bones stuff at steak houses, but here they went that extra step to make the presentation pop. The tuna tartar was served with some crispy fried wanton chips, and the oysters rockefeller were served on a bed of rock salt that looked like ice, and garnished with seaweed pods. Also of note were the tots/fries – they were served in mini deep fryer baskets. Very cool (see service section as well). I took off a point because the creamed spinach was a little small, though enough for two at $7, and the tots were not numerous enough, but probably enough for one.

Price: 8

The prices are average to slightly high for NYC steak. You certainly don’t go home hungry, so that is a plus. The prices seemed to match nicely with the size and quality for the steak, so no exceptional marks here, but there were a few bad marks. First the oysters rockefeller: There were only four on the plate, which may be normal (I don’t know), but they were essentially a dollop of creamed spinach on top of an oyster and then broiled for a few minutes. Nothing spectacular. I wasn’t impressed, and I think they essentially ruined four perfectly good oysters for the high price of $17 (that’s $4.25 each, dicks). The dessert sundae was pretty expensive too at $11 for what you could get at Friendly’s for $3. The martini was a bit high at $15, the beer average at $8. Our total was $204 with tax and tip included. As for the steak ($40, actually not too bad), you get a good slab of meat for the price, and that’s all one can really ask for these days.

Bar: 7

The bar is small, but very elegant – nice wood cabinetry and wine racks up behind he serving dugout, and a nice selection of top shelf potent potables (Alex Trebek would be happy). This isn’t the kind of place I can see myself hanging out for a drink or a bite at the bar though. It is essentially just a restaurant. The martini was made perfectly, however, so that is a plus. Also the bar has some nice basket weave black & white tile flooring – real classic looking. I like that.

Specials and Other Meats: 7

Old Homestead has a narrow range of alternative meats – rack of lamb, which is semi-industry standard, and a chicken item. It would have been interesting to see a pork porterhouse or a veal chop of some kind. The word “homestead” makes me think of game too, like perhaps venison. I think this would go over well in a place like NYC, where diners are more culinarily curious. Specials were not offered, but I imagine that is because it was the lunch hour. They DO offer some secret menu items that you need to know about in advance though, like the really awesome sounding burger specials. Look into it, asshole. You won’t be let down.

Apps, Sides & Desserts: 7

Before we even came here, I knew what I was ordering because I looked at the menu online. I’d never had oysters rockefeller until now. I was always the kind of guy who ate them raw and raw only. Cooking an oyster is blasphemy! Sadly I have not turned a corner; I didn’t like the oysters, but everything else was pretty good. The oysters had some bits of shell in them, and the topping was just a blob of creamed spinach – no special care was given to make them different. My wife had the tuna tartar, which was very nice, served with avocado mixed into it, but it was not as good as Primehouse’s take on the dish. To go with the steak, of course, we had creamed spinach; it was just average: nothing to write about (though I just did). The steak came with a mound of fried onions, which were nice and crisp and flavorful. We also ordered the “Kobe” slab bacon, which was sort-of out of place based on the flavor profile. It was really charred, smokey and piggy. It had some rubbery fat on it, but it was really delicious. It just felt so “BBQ” that it almost seemed like it was from a different restaurant. It was tough to mix that flavor (which was awesome by the way) with the steak flavors. Tots were crispy and nice – a fun alternative to fries. For dessert we had the drug store old fashioned sundae. That was pretty yummy, and I found myself continually digging into it even though I was stuffed.

Seafood Selection: 8

This section of my reviews is starting to become increasingly important to me, since my wife has been staying away from red meats after her gallbladder surgery. Old Homestead offers a nice selection of fish cuts for entrees, like salmon, tuna and sea bass, in addition to the shellfish appetizers and basic broiled lobster and crab cake crustacean fare. The sea bass was a big hunk of fish (probably 12-14oz). I was amazed that it was properly cooked through without any over- or undercooked portions. It was bold (fishy) and rich, but it had a nice crisp to it on the outside, served on a bed of green beans in a dark fish broth.

Service: 9

The waiters are all male, wearing ties and aprons. They were attentive, nice, and not in our faces. The menu says that bread will not be served unless you ask. I wasn’t going to, but my wife insisted for the integrity and consistency of the blog. So here goes: the bread was not warm, the butter was semi-solid/cool. They did have two types of bread though; a raisin nut roll, and a ciabatta type of roll. One thing I will add here: the fries and tots come in these really cool mini deep-fryer baskets lined with old fashioned newspaper print (wax paper with print on it). That was fun in terms of plating/presentation. I guess the steak sauce can go here too. And no, asshole, I didn’t put it on my steak. It was delicious however. I would use that shit for BBQ ribs or chicken any day. It had hints of orange, tamarind, horseradish, molasses and fried garlic (okay we peeked at the ingredients too). Try it.

Ambiance: 8

Old Homestead is long and narrow, unlike other steakhouses that are very large spaces. The dining room is dark. The tables are all very nice dark jacobean colored wood, and they match the paneled wainscoting that goes all the way up the wall and meets with the elegant build-out ceiling that has a fancy painted pressed-tin pattern that is illuminated by built-in up-lighting. Hanging below that are modern, Japanese looking square block lights covered in what looked like paper or tightly woven burlap. A stark contrast to the cheap, ugly rust-colored tile floor that adorns the dining room. Old Homestead – replace that shit with some nice wide-plank bamboo flooring. Come on! The bathroom was unisex for one – neat and clean, but with cheap-ass paper towels.
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OLD HOMESTEAD
56 9th Ave.
New York, NY 10011