All posts by Johnny Prime

Burgers, Midtown West, Pub Food, Restaurant Reviews

Jasper’s Taphouse & Kitchen

December 30, 2014 Johnny Prime Leave a comment

My wife and I came here for a quick lunch special during the week when we had some time off from work. They offer a great deal: $10 for a cheeseburger with fries (curly or hand-cut) or salad, plus a pint of their house lager. Pretty sweet!

Unfortunately the burger was overcooked (came back well or maybe medium well, rather than medium), under seasoned, and under cheesed (it was one small slice on a thick patty).

The fries were perfectly cooked and crispy, but also lacked some seasoning. My wife had the curly fries, and I had the hand-cut. I liked mine better.

Over all it was still a good deal, but I’d rather pay full price for a perfectly executed burger than save a few bucks on a half-assed job.

JASPER’S TAPHOUSE & KITCHEN
761 9th Ave.
New York, NY 10018 ‎

Midtown West, Pizza

Sacco Pizza

December 30, 2014 Johnny Prime Leave a comment

Sacco is a little category 2 joint on 9th Avenue in the 50s that I pass by all the time. Today my wife and I wandered in for a slice.

It was pretty good; nice and thin crust, good flavor on the sauce and cheese, and not a lot of oil drip-off.

The problem is, at $2.50 a slice, I found that the nearby dollar slice joint “NY Fresh Pizza” was somewhat on-par, and for the $2.50 price point in this neighborhood, I’d probably go back to Luigi’s or Bella Vita before coming here again. Not a bad slice at all though.

SACCO PIZZA
819 9th Ave
New York, NY 10019

Burgers, Midtown West, Pub Food, Restaurant Reviews

Brickyard Gastropub

December 24, 2014 Johnny Prime Leave a comment

Brickyard is a bar on 9th Avenue near 52nd Street that has some pretty fair-priced lunch specials.

The one I tried was $10 for a burger and fries, with just $3 drafts of anything on tap. I went with a nice refreshing UFO wheat beer to start off.

The burger was actually pretty decent, but the meat needed more seasoning, as well as an additional slice of cheese. The fries could use a bit more crisp to them as well. Not bad though: burger, fries and beer for $18 with tax and tip included. The pickle spear that came with the burger was a half-sour too, which I really liked.

BRICKYARD GASTROPUB
785 9th Ave.
New York, NY 10019

Midtown West, Pizza

NY Fresh Pizza

December 24, 2014 Johnny Prime Leave a comment

I walked by this little hole in the wall and figured I’d stick my dick in for a slice. This is on 9th Ave near 52nd Street.

It was actually pretty good as far as category 3 dollar slice joints go. I was so hungry that I forgot to take a pic of the pizza until I was nearly finished.

Not bad for a buck. Better than most dollar slice joints I’ve been to so far.

NY FRESH PIZZA
787 9th Ave
New York, NY 10019

Chelsea, Commentary, Food Halls

Chelsea Market

December 23, 2014 Johnny Prime Leave a comment

Below are a couple of photos from Chelsea Market. Eventually I will give some more info about what’s to be eaten here. For now, other than these two photos, I can really only provide you with a link to my review of the famous Mokbar ramen joint that is located here.

Banh Mi, Midtown West, Pho, Restaurant Reviews, Vietnamese

CoBa 53

December 23, 2014 Johnny Prime Leave a comment

NOTE: THIS JOINT IS NOW CLOSED

My wife and I came to this joint to try some of the Vietnamese basics. We started with some drinks. I had “33,” which is a beer from Vietnam, and my wife had a lemonade mixed drink.

The first staple item to order is the spring rolls. These were not a hit for us. They were a little bland.

Next, the banh mi sandwich. This had good flavor, but the bread was all wrong (it needs to be a French baguette), and it needed more pate and another layer of meats to really fill it out. I would have liked some more slices of jalepenos and also less cilantro stems and more leaves.

The next big item to get is the pho. I liked the broth. It needed just a slight more oomph, but otherwise it was pretty enjoyable. It had sliced eye round as well as brisket. I added beef balls for an extra $2.

This next items isn’t necessarily a staple item to order, but my wife and I are fond of clay pot dishes. We got the pork belly version and it was really great. It was packed with lots of great porky and fatty meat, a boiled egg, fried tofu, squash and lemongrass.

For dessert we had the coconut lemongrass ice cream. It was a little gummy in texture, but otherwise was an interesting flavor.

Here’s the Willy:

COBA 53
401 W. 53rd St.
New York, NY 10019

Pho, Queens, Restaurant Reviews, Vietnamese

Pho Bang

December 22, 2014 Johnny Prime 2 Comments

Pho Bang in Elmhurst has been touted as one of the best places to get a bowl of the increasingly popular Vietnamese beef noodle soup. I liked the broth flavor here: it was rich in beefy flavor, though not as light-feeling and aromatic as it should be. Since it was a little bit of a hike for me, I’d probably not go back since I can get a bowl that is on-par if not better downtown.

The main problem for me with this bowl of soup was that I found a piece of thick, food-grade plastic bag in it. When I told the waiter, the manager came over and explained that it was just part of the bag that was snipped off to either unload the pre-packaged broth.

Anyway, I was hungry, so I plucked it out and ate it. But this would probably be a nail in the coffin of “not coming back here again” for most people. Here’s the piece of bag – it was about the size of a fingernail:

PHO BANG
8290 Broadway
Elmhurst, NY 11373

Hot Pot, Lower East Side/Chinatown, Restaurant Reviews

99 Favor Taste

December 21, 2014 Johnny Prime Leave a comment

Me, my wife and some friends hit this hot pot joint for a late night meal. It was absolutely amazing. For $19 you can order as much as you want, all you can eat, and BYOB. They’ll charge you an overage if you waste food, but everything is so delicious that you likely won’t have too much left at the end of the meal. SOMEONE will eat it all. That someone was me last night.

We went with a spicy broth AND a pork bone broth. Both were excellent. The spicy broth will numb you up if you hit on some of the peppercorns. Otherwise it isn’t too spicy to the point where you are sweating. The pig bone broth was rich and flavorful; really hearty.

They bring out some Korean and Japanese type snacks first: soy beans, kimchi, and pickled items.

While waiting for your broth to boil, you go mix up some sauces to dip your meats into once they are cooked.

We went with pig brains, tripe, fish balls, squid, fried tofu skin, lamb, beef, boo choy and mushrooms. Check it out:

Cook that shit up!

This place is a ton of fun with a big group. Get your ass down there and enjoy yourselves. BE HUNGRY!

99 FAVOR TASTE
285 Grand St.
New York, NY 10002

Pizza, West Village

Joe’s Pizza

December 20, 2014 Johnny Prime 2 Comments

I love the pizza here. It’s flat, crispy, has fresh mozzarella, and nice sauce. This famous pizza joint was even featured in the movie Spider-Man. Go here if you are ever in the Bleecker and 7th Avenue area. You won’t be disappointed. Throw some fresh basil on this and it is a perfect pie.

Joe’s Pizza
7 Carmine St
New York, NY 10014

American, Burgers, Pub Food, Restaurant Reviews, West Village

Corner Bistro

December 20, 2014 Johnny Prime Leave a comment

Corner Bistro has long been hailed as one of the best places in NYC for a burger. About 12 years ago I sunk my teeth into a burger here, and only just recently had the chance to come back and try it again.

Most beers are under $4, and the bloody Mary was $7.

The hype is well placed. It IS a great burger and a very fair price (Bistro Burger for under $10). It was nicely cooked, but could benefit from slightly fewer raw onion circles and perhaps a second slice of cheese.