Tag Archives: penn station

NY Pizza Suprema

NY Pizza Suprema is one of midtown Manhattan’s best pizza joints.

Patrons will grab slices and scarf them down at the counter before hitting MSG, just across the avenue, for a game, concert, or whatever. Well, they used to, before public events were put on lockdown. I stopped in after a wonderful visit to the DMV, and ate my slice while walking to the subway.

This is a great slice. Thin, crisp and flavorful. A great representation of the classic NYC style. At $4, though, it’s a hefty price for a slice. It is, however, extremely convenient to Penn Station, so if you’re in the area and in need of a great slice, this is the place to go.

NY PIZZA SUPREMA
413 8th Ave
New York, NY 10001

Pat LaFrieda Meat Counter

I’ve been fixing to get to this spot in The Pennsy for a while, and I finally had the opportunity last weekend. I organized a bunch of Instagram food savages to come in and shoot pics, sample the menu and promote the LaFrieda brand, which I have come to love so much.

First up, the roast beef sandwich:

This baby is served cold cut style, with bleu cheese, horseradish aioli, pickled red onions and watercress on a toasted semolina roll.

It’s very difficult to choose a favorite among so many selections here. It really depends on what mood you’re in.

Next was the black Angus steak sandwich.

That’s sliced filet mignon with melted Monterey Jack cheese, caramelized onions, baby spinach and au jus on a toasted ciabatta roll. Awesome.

Grandpa’s meatball sandwich is pretty tight.

Tomato sauce and fresh mozzarella on a pressed ciabatta roll. Simple and delicious.

This fucker was intensely flavorful.

Slow roasted pork with broccoli rabe and melted provolone on a ciabatta roll. So juicy!

“World’s Greatest Hot Dog” is a bold claim for a menu item to make, but LaFrieda really delivers with this.

This baby is actually two hot dogs with honey mustard, caramelized onions and hot peppers.

As you can see, the dogs are split and grilled, which is a big win for me. I love that preparation.

And finally, the short rib platter.

This is slow roasted and maple glazed, served with greens and a celery root slaw.

For $15 this has to be one of the best buys in NYC for a steak.

This stuff is fork tender too. I was barely able to pick this up without it falling apart – that’s how soft it is!

Do yourself a favor and get this right away. 9/10.

My wife had the genius idea to pop all the items from the soft rib platter onto one of the LaFrieda homemade potato chips.

Pretty incredible! And wash it all down with fresh lemonade or iced tea from the taps.

PAT LAFRIEDA MEAT COUNTER
The Pennsy
2 Penn Plaza
New York, NY 10121

Concrete

I scooped up a Groupon deal for this place because I wanted to try the burger, and it was pretty close by work. I came by on a Sunday once and it was closed (Penn Station/Garment District area is a dead zone on weekends), but the weekday happy hour was a great deal: $3 domestics and $4 drafts from 5pm-8pm.

The menu is actually pretty decent here. The burger was good! Potato bun, good healthy amount of cheese (and by healthy I mean a lot), and good crisp on a fat burger. Just pushing the limits on the thickness that I like in a burger.

concrete burger

concrete burger half

I got about nine french fries with my burger, which was a little lame, but at least they tasted good.

concrete fries

My vaginal buddy first ordered a chicken sandwich, but that was doused with mayo, which he doesn’t like, so he sent it back and asked for the chicken fingers instead, since he was in a rush. Service was a bit slow up until then, so it wasn’t a problem to swap the order. The fingers were unique; breaded with cornflakes and fried to a golden crisp. The meat was tender too. I think maybe they just needed a dusting of salt.

concrete chicken fingers

This next thing we got as a sort-of dessert. Fried peanut butter and jelly balls. They were tasty! But they took a very long time to come out. Good things come to those who wait, I guess. One/two thing(s) that would make them even better: a chocolate dipping sauce and/or a dusting of cinnamon.

concrete pb&j

concrete pb&j half

I never expected good food to come out of this joint. They have a C rating on the window, and the place is a small dumpy little shit hole in a shit hole neighborhood. But I’d definitely go back for this tasty and unique grub. I recommend you give these items a try! They also have a nice looking spicy lamb burger as well.

Everything pictured here was good, and in the color of light brown. So you can guess what color my shit will be.

CONCRETE
320 W. 37th St.
New York, NY 10018

Delmonico’s Kitchen

Delmonico’s Kitchen overall score: 91

YES! A new Delmonico’s opened recently in midtown. The original is one of my top joints, so I had to give this place a try.

Flavor: 10

I had the rib eye (Delmonico steak), and it was pretty much perfect in every way. Much like the original location, the cuts are top-notch, cooked properly, juicy, well rested, crusted nicely and extremely flavorful. It was served with a nice stack of fried onion strings, similar to what they do at George Martin. It was a great way to add a little saltiness with each bite if you wanted. On a second trip I tried the strip steak, and it was equally incredible.

Choice of Cuts & Quality Available: 9

The selection here is very similar to the original, with the addition of a “butcher’s pick” – I wonder though if that is just the butcher choosing one of their standard cuts, since the item was simply a Delmonico with a dollop of Maytag and served as a composed plate with asparagus. No matter, though, because the quality is fucking ridiculous anyway.

Portion Size & Plating: 8

The sizes are great – slightly on the smallish side, but you can eat every bite. Same as the original location. Plating is basic; neat and clean.

Price: 9

Delmonico’s is always a great buy for your money. The prices are average but the quality and flavor are top-notch – that makes for a really good deal. A single cut of steak tops out at $45, which is great compared to other places that go as high as $55 for a steak.

Bar: 9

The bar here is fun. There’s some booth seating across from it in the main entryway, so you can sit and eat in the bar area if you want as well. Lots of foot traffic near Penn Station brings in all manner of people coming in for a drink. The martini was done well too; with three big olives to top it off. And speaking of big… if you’re a breast man, you can sit at the bar and check out the juggy bartender with tits the size of melons bobbling out of her top.

Specials and Other Meats: 9

There were several specials: one from each section of the menu. Duck ragu pappardelle for the pasta item, a grilled salmon for the fish item, the “butcher’s pick” (Delmonico with blue cheese and asparagus) for beef, and a baked apple tart for dessert. As for other meats, they offered chicken – that’s it! And not their classic ala king either – it was another preparation. Now, I am a purist, but they could benefit from a manly pork chop or even a lamb item to round this section out.

Apps, Sides & Desserts: 9

This portion of the menu selection is similar to the original restaurant. We tried the oysters, the creamed spinach, and the classic Delmonico potato item, which was a ramiken of cut up potatoes, skin on, baked with cheese, bacon and spices. it was fantastic. The spinach was just like the other joint: not quite where I like it to be, lacking just a little something. Oysters were absolutely incredible: creamy, briny, and delicious. Only down side is that they did need a bit more shucking to get the meat fully detached from the shell. Also, we dug into the hamachi crudo (bright with blood orange flavor, fresh and light) and “wagyu” carpaccio (deep, rich, and peppery) appetizer items – both were thoroughly enjoyed and we wished we had more. The dessert menu was completely different here than the other restaurant, as far as I can remember. We tried the Boston creme beignets (which were like little zeppoles with a Boston creme flavored pudding and chocolate syrup sauce) and the chocolate hazelnut mousse (which came with a small scoop of coconut ice cream). They were both really fucking decadent and delicious. If it was socially acceptable, I would’ve rubbed the shit all over my balls and sat there for a while in pure bliss. On a second trip I tried the crab cake eggs benedict. I was expecting a hocky puck of soft, lightly bread crumbed crab cake with some poached eggs on top, but instead it was a ball shaped cake with one fried quail egg on top. It wasn’t bad at all – just not what I expected (call it egg benedict – singular – not plural). Also the cake itself was a little hard – too much crisp on the outer egde for my liking.

Seafood Selection: 9

You’re pretty much limited to lobster, day boat cod cassoulet, and the catch of the day for entrees (which was a grilled salmon). But there is a great variety of seafood for starters (both hot and cold) to “tide” this section over. Yeah that’s right. I put the word “tide” in “quotes” in the “seafood” section of my review. Pulitzer. My wife tried the Lobster Newberg this time around, and it was pretty good!  She ordered a smaller sized portion, but it still came with a lot of lobster meat. It was flavored with leeks and fennel, and served in a light broth, almost soup style.

Service: 10

As to be expected at a Delmonico’s establishment, the service here is impeccable. Our server, Aaron, was fabulous, and the manager Dennis came over to the table and hung out with us for a bit and told us all about the new establishment and how things were happening with hurricane Sandy and their grand opening. Great guys, the both of them. The table breads were warm and varied from raisin bread, to “everything bagel” flavor logs, to olive bread. And the butter is whipped, smooth, creamy, soft, and sprinkled with a natural salt. Really nice way to start the meal. Only bad thing was that when I placed the reservation online, I said we were celebrating a friends birthday. No one wished him a happy birthday. My experience with online reservations has always been that places make an effort to do a little something when you put notes into the form. On the second trip, Aaron waited on me again, and not only did he remember me, but he also remembered my drink. Now THAT is service…

Ambiance: 9

Inside there are a couple of distinct dining areas on the main floor; one is set up more dim and upscale/modern, and the other is more casual kitchen style, and brighter too. It’s nicely done, but it just lacks what the original location has, which is that rich history. Still – it is very nice for a second location. We had a great time and can’t really say anything bad about it. The bathrooms are nice too – beautiful, unisex, large, single-person/individual shitters with nice thrones, wide, dark, wood-planked floors, and even a small flat screen TV so you can watch something while you piss or shit out your meal.

DELMONICO’S KITCHEN
207 W. 36th St.
New York, NY 10001