JWF is a dynamite place on the upper east side that serves up some really nice traditional British style pub fare. I’m talking everything from scotch eggs, to bangers and mash, to bubble and squeak, to toads in the holes (get your minds out of the gutter).
Me and two “mates” of mine (see how I used the language of the Brits there?) popped in for a quick look-around, and to try the burger. Here’s what we stumbled upon.
A beautifully renovated lower level:
A warm, friendly bar atmosphere:
And a fantastic fucking burger:
I’ll definitely be back up this way to try out some of their other menu items. But let me tell you: this burger comes in as one of the best I’ve had in the city so far. Really juicy. Bun could use a slight upgrade, but otherwise this shit is legit.
SECOND TRIP UPDATE – 8/1/16
The bun certainly got an upgrade in quality, but unfortunately the burger itself was a bit overcooked. It was a bit more like medium well than medium rare.
Fries were pretty great.
JONES WOOD FOUNDRY
401 E. 76th St.
New York, NY 10021
My cousins and I popped in here for a quick lunch yesterday, and I have to say, I was really impressed with the burger here.
It’s topped with melty raclette cheese, charred onions, fresh pickles and remoulade, and served on a potato onion roll. This thing was juicy, well seasoned, just the right thickness with toppings, and just all-around well put together.
It’s definitely a top ten burger, for sure. I later learned that this joint is also owned by the same folks that run Bar Sardine, so they clearly know their way around a burger. For $18, this baby comes with nice golden, crisp, natural cut French fries too.
They have tons of fresh shellfish on the menu, and particularly large variety of oysters. Those would actually pair perfectly with the drink I had, the michelada, which is beer, tomato juice, hot sauces, lime juice and pepper. It may not sound great, but I assure you, it is.
I’ll be back here for sure.
JEFFREY’S GROCERY
172 Wavery Pl
New York, NY 10014
My wife and I came here for a $29 restaurant week lunch. It happens to be one of the better deals for restaurant week, so we had to give it a try.
Flavor: 5 (updated to 7)
Unfortunately we were not that happy with the skirt steak on the price fix menu. While it was cooked to a perfect medium rare, it had an odd, rubbery texture and was under-seasoned (needed salt). I don’t mean rubbery like chewy. It was definitely tender, but it was an odd sort of tender that reminded me of some of the fake-tasting cuts my wife and I have had in Mexico while on vacation, which kind of grossed us out. Perhaps it was over tenderized? I’m not sure. I honestly don’t know what it is, but we know it when we taste it. On top of that, the chimichurri sauce added almost no flavor to the dish. It just tasted like “green” from the parsley. I didn’t get any salt content or even any garlic flavor from it. I was bummed. I didn’t even really want to finish it or continue eating, both because of the lack of flavor and the odd texture.
I recommend sticking to the standard cuts and regular menu for steak here. If they are anything like the downtown American Cut location, then you’re in VERY good hands.
Choice of Cuts & Quality Available: 9 (updated to 10)
I took a point off here because the steak that I did try was sub-par, but I do know that the other cuts here should be okay, in theory. I hope to get back again soon and try a proper cut to get a better sense of both this category and the flavor category.
Portion Size & Plating: 8
Portions vary here. For the steak, they are pretty good. All are large sized cuts for a fair price, and even though we didn’t like the skirt, there certainly was a lot of it. I thought the beef tartare was a bit small in terms of the amount of actual beef on the plate, but the salad that came with it, and the marrow as well, make up for that (see below). The tots and shrimp cocktail items we got with the restaurant week menu were a bit skimpy (three medium-sized shrimp and about 15 tots). There’s a strong possibility, however, that these items are cut back a bit in size simply because they are included with a discounted lunch promo like restaurant week. American Cut also runs a regular $28 lunch price fix menu. I’m not sure how that differs from the restaurant week menu that we tried for $29.
Price: 7 (updated to 9)
Our bill came to about $75 after tax and tip for one $29 restaurant week lunch with a glass of wine and an order of beef tartare. Not bad, but not awesome considering we weren’t too happy with the skirt steak. Even though the place is pricey, the best value you get is when you order steaks from the full dinner menu and stick to that. My sense is that this score will increase after a second trip with a better steak-eating experience.
Bar: 8 (updated to 9)
The bar here is great. It’s spacious, nicely art-deco in style, and seems like a really great place to hang out after work. I’m guessing that this isn’t the greatest place to be on weekends, but that doesn’t mean the bar isn’t gorgeous. The only down side is that the space is ground floor level, so no windows or natural light.
Specials and Other Meats: 10
Short rib, lamb, veal, chicken, and wagyu beef selections grace the menu here. I didn’t notice any pork, unfortunately. Perhaps the pig face from Marc Forgione could pop on as a special every so often, or a slab of pork belly served like a steak. That would be something worth adding to the menu. At the very least, I think an Italian style pork chop with cherry peppers and onions would work.
Apps, Sides & Desserts: 9
Shrimp Cocktail: This was a bit small (three medium-sized shrimp), and there was something slightly bitter about the taste of the shrimp. They were nicely cooked, however, and I liked the fact that they were pre-dressed with a horseradish-based cocktail sauce. Presentation was interesting too.
Steak Tartare: This was great. While I think the plate could have had some more actual meat on it, the addition of marrow and a salad beneath was very good, and made up for the smaller portion. The salad was dressed just right, and included celery leaf, which added a great freshness to the dish. The grilled bread was soft inside yet crunchy on the outer edges.
Tots: These were pretty good, and had a good spice level to them, but they were lacking a touch of salt. The inside was soft like a mashed potato, and the outside was perfectly golden crisp.
Cookies To Go: These were tasty, and had a little bit of flake salt on top to make the chocolate flavors pop. They were soft and delicious.
Seafood Selection: 9
Similar to the downtown spot, there’s a lot of nice seafood to choose from here. Sole, halibut, tuna and salmon are on the entree menu, along with surf and turf lobster-based shit as well. And you can always hit the appetizer section for your cold shellfish, or the crabcakes, octopus, etc.
Service: 9
Service here is great, just like downtown. We did feel a bit rushed, however, which was odd because the restaurant had plenty of room for other diners to come in. It’s not like they needed the table to clear out. In any event, the people are friendly, and the table bread, as usual, is the delicious everything biscuit with herb butter.
Ambiance: 9
This place is gorgeous, large and spacious despite being a ground floor level joint. The only negative is that there are no windows, so it can feel a bit cavernous despite being grand and airy inside. The decor is awesome and it is similar in style to the downtown spot, very art deco.
UPDATE: 2/2/18
My wife picked up a flash deal from Blackboard Eats, which scored us 20% off our bill as well as two free cocktails. We started off at the bar for their $10 smoked old fashioned cocktails for happy hour.
Then, when we sat, we got our two free cocktails.
And of course those incredible everything biscuits with veggie and herb butter.
We shared the foie for our app. It was nice and soft. Not too rich, which I like. Just right.
We shared a porterhouse next, and I noticed that they revamped their menu with a lot more interesting and widely varying beef cut selections. Dry-aged, wet-aged, domestic wagyu and Miyazaki wagyu all grace the menu here. I was impressed.
This was their wet-aged for 28-days and then flambéed table side with marrow butter and some other deliciousness prior to slicing. 8/10.
We cleaned it off.
On the side we had their sun choke spinach, which I really loved. This might be my favorite version of creamed spinach.
For dessert we had the banana and Jameson donuts with chocolate chip ice cream. Very nice.
All in, we saved about $75 with the Blackboards Eats deal.
BURGERS
The “Big Mark” and the standard burger here are good, but as far as steakhouse burgers go, you can do better elsewhere for the same price point.
Gebhard’s is a beer connoisseur’s dream bar. Their bottle menu is five or six pages long, printed in tiny 8-point font (perhaps even smaller), and organized by style. Their tap selection is pretty stellar as well. When I was there, I tried a flight of four different brews from Brooklyn. A pilsner, a saison, a sour fruit beer and a stout (pictured below from front to back, or right to left).
All were pretty great, but the stars of this joint, for me, were these White Castle style sliders.
They’re made with Schweid & Sons ground beef, topped with cheese, steamed minced onions, and a dijon-based sauce that will knock your socks off. These little things were awesome, so it’s no surprise that renowned and respected burger expert Rev Ciancio (formerly of Burger Conquest) is promoting these things. It’s safe to say that these are my favorite sliders.
I highly recommend getting up there to try them out for yourselves. The tots were perfectly crisp as well, and, if sliders aren’t your thing, then you can go with the full sized burger.
After seeing an episode or two of the show about this burger chain, starring all the famous Wahlbergs and their entourage, I wanted to give their burgers a shot. Lucky for my wife and I, they opened a joint in Coney Island, just diagonally across the side street from Nathan’s.
We went with an “Our Burger,” which is a single patty with cheese, “Wahl Sauce,” lettuce, tomato and onion. We also added some fresh jalapenos.
I liked that the jalapenos were fresh, and the topping quality, including the cheese, was good. The burger, however, was a let down. Despite a good sear and crust, the patty itself was a bit hard and uniform in texture. It reminded me of a direct-from-the-freezer-to-the-grill backyard cookout burger. I wasn’t a fan. The bun wasn’t as soft as I’d like either. The burger price was $7.50.
The tots, however, were golden, crisp and delicious. At just $3, this is a nice add-on.
We also tried their “Fluffanuttah” shake, but since they ran out of vanilla ice cream, we had ours made with chocolate. This is an alcoholic shake, with marshmallow flavored vodka and banana liqueur. This cost $12, and there was about half as much overflow in a second cup, so I feel this was a pretty good price.
Overall I’d say skip this joint, though they do have a nice view from up on the rooftop, where there is also a bar that plays horrible mid-90’s music – and I’m not talking about NKOTB or Marky Mark and the Funky Bunch, unfortunately. Those would have been fun.
My friend Jeff from Foodmento organized an instagrammer event at Pao de Queijo, a Brazilian sandwich and burger joint in Astoria. Lucky for me, I was invited!
This place also slings some really great smoothies and shakes, like this “Verano” shake, with pineapple, coconut and graviola (similar in flavor to a mango).
This hit the spot and was super refreshing on such a hot, sunny day.
With a bunch of instagrammers on hand, there was a barrage of sandwich pics and stack shots going on.
I managed to grab half of two sandwiches/burgers that I was really interested in trying. On the top/right in the pics below is the “X Banana” burger, which is a beef burger with banana, cheese, corn, potato sticks, lettuce, tomato and mayo. On the bottom/left is the “X Brazil” sandwich, consisting of sliced beef, cheese, egg, Brazilian sausage, corn, potato sticks, lettuce, tomato and mayo.
Both were really great. I preferred the burger over the steak sandwich, mainly because the burger was more properly seasoned, and that banana was a great surprise that really drove some standout flavors. The burger patties have herbs and spices in the mix, which make these burgers very unique among the landscape of other burger joints.
“X Banana” Burger:
The “X Brazil” was great in concept. I have two critiques: I think the steak just needed a bit more salt before it hit the grill, and perhaps the sausage should be chopped up a bit before it gets put onto the sandwich, that way your teeth don’t have to work through the snappy casing as much when biting down. Otherwise I loved it, and I would definitely order this again without any second thoughts.
“X Brazil” Sandwich:
The best part about these sandwiches is that they’re properly constructed to minimize slippage and crap falling out the sides, which could otherwise make for a messy eating experience. The bread surrounds the contents nicely, and they’re wrapped compact enough so that it’s easy to get your whole mouth around for a bite.
There is so much more to try on their menu, like a burger with pineapple, or sandwiches with ham and chicken thrown into the mix. The sandwiches and burgers run anywhere from $3.75 for a simple ham and cheese to $12.50 for the “X Brazil.” Very reasonable.
Fries come separate at $3, and they’re really great when you add some of the green sauce on them, which you can find on each table.
But the real star(s) of the “side show” are the restaurant’s namesake: Pao de Queijo, or cheese breads.
These toasty little balls are a bread dough that’s been kneaded and mixed with cheese. The outside is crisp and warm, and the inside is a cross between bread and cheese. So awesome, so soft, so tasty… but beware: these things are fucking addicting.
In fact, as a promotion from this Instagram event, when you go here, if you mention the word “acai” you will get three free Pao de Queijo (three balls).
And speaking of acai, if you’re still hungry for dessert after all that sandwich gorging, or if you’re dieting for some ridiculous reason, then grab an acai bowl while you’re here.
This one has acai puree on the bottom, which was like a cold berry soup, and is topped with bananas, mango, granola and mint.
Oddly enough, my wife and I came here to try out some pasta on the recommendation of friends, but we ended up eating an American style brunch instead. We will definitely be back for a proper Italian meal, but I have to say, the American brunch was pretty good.
My wife went with the Pomodoro Sampler, which included French toast, smoked salmon with tomato and onion, fresh fruit and a poached egg on an English muffin (eggs benedict).
Everything that I tasted from her plate was pretty good. I actually went with the Pomodoro Burger, which was a cheddar cheeseburger topped with a fried egg, bacon and grilled red onions.
This thing was pretty great! I was pleasantly surprised. I’m typically not a cheddar guy when it comes to burgers. I prefer a hard, aged cheddar for eating, but for a burger I want something that melts really well. As such, that kind of cheddar isn’t the right fit for what I want from a burger. The particular cheddar used here was mild and nicely melted across the whole patty, though, so it worked. It was served on a great toasted bun that held up nicely to biting and squeezing. The bacon was crisp and just the right thickness, too.
This fuck came with a side of truffle oil and herb French fries too, which were cooked perfectly and really had a nice truffle aroma.
It was a hot fucking day outside too, so I cooled off with a beer, and my wife had a lychee and St. Germain bellini.
Oh, and I sucked down a bloody too.
We’re looking forward to another meal here!
POMODORO ROSSO
229 Columbus Ave
New York, NY 10023
My wife picked up a Gilt City deal for Le Rivage, with which we shared a 62-day dry aged, bone-in Creekstone Farms/Pat LaFrieda New York strip steak, two sides, a bottle of wine and a dessert for about $100. Pretty great deal, especially if you can use a discount when buying the flash deal.
Anyway, Le Rivage is a cozy French joint in the theater district on 46th Street between 8th and 9th Avenues.
They gave us some nice table bread with whipped butter to start:
And the wine was an 80% Merlot 20% Cabernet blend that was actually pretty good.
The long, 62-day dry aging process imparted a bit of nuttiness and funk to the flavor of the beef. This baby was masterfully prepared. It definitely can hang tough with some of the best steakhouse cuts in the city. Get your ass over here and try it, if it is still available on special. I give it a 9/10. Why not the full 10? I felt like it needed just a hint more salt, maybe just some finishing salt even, but not much.
The steak came with two sauces, so dipping into these added some of that saltiness that I was looking for from the seasoning. The sauces were a wine reduction and a peppercorn:
Our sides were actually very abundant. We ordered broccolini and fries, but they brought out two dishes of fries, one dish of broccolini and one dish of carrots. We had lots to bring home.
I’m a big fan of broccolini, and I cook a mean broccolini at home quite often. I was impressed with it here. It was simply treated with seasoning, garlic and oil. The carrots were buttered and slightly sweet-glazed, and the fries were nice and crisp.
For dessert, we went with the chef’s recommendation, which was a Jacques Torres chocolate chip cookie and a sweetened, spiked milk.
So simple, yet so tasty. After chatting with the chef for a bit, we learned that he is best friends with Pat LaFrieda, and that Jaques Torres is his godfather! That’s a serious pedigree, and it shows in Chef Paul’s abilities. He did a great job on the steak, especially.
I definitely recommend giving this place a shot, especially if you like to take advantage of Gilt City deals (not sure if this one is still available), or even just their regular three course price fix specials, which are offered daily for between $25 and $40. Very reasonable.
UPDATE – 6/30/16
I went back to Le Rivage to try Chef Denamiel’s award winning French Onion Soup Burger today. Holy fuck, people. This thing is absolutely amazing. It’s not a surprise that he won the “Judge’s Choice” award in New York City Wine & Food Festival’s 2013 “Burger Bash” with this baby, beating out the likes of burger master Chef Capon in the process.
His patty grind is usually between 60/40 and 70/30 lean/fat, and the beef also comes from Pat LaFrieda, just like the steak I reviewed up above. He seasons the patty with salt, pepper, drawn butter and brown sugar before it hits the grill. After the first flip, he puts on a slice of a Swiss gruyere type cheese called Emmenthal, which melts around the patty to seal in the medium rare juices. This then gets placed onto a butter-toasted sandwich-sized English muffin, and then topped with cognac-reduced confit onions, and then a bechamel cheese sauce for good measure. The top bun is placed on top, and then the French flag toothpick with roasted cocktail onion and gherkin gets popped on. Viola – perfection.
This is definitely one of my new favorite burgers; it really is unique. I walked out with a full belly, but I was still craving another one. Pretty sure I will be back again very soon, especially because the place is close to both work and home.
UPDATE 12/8/16
Burger still on point:
Even my maniac food photographer homies agree:
Croque Madame is stellar!
Quiche is the best I’ve ever had in my life:
You can even buy it frozen, to go, to fire up at home!
And the escargot is executed with perfection:
Garlic bacon frisee salad: amazing. Tangy and delicious.
Beef Bourguignon: hearty and soul-warming.
Grilled Salmon:
Flan:
Peach Melba:
DECKLE FOR FOUR
This is probably the greatest thing you can eat. The deckle for four is the spinalis part of the rib eye, wrapped and rolled into a pinwheel. It gets quickly seared for crust on the outside, and then finished low and slow like a roast. Call two days ahead for this to reserve it.
My wife paid a little under $50 for a Gilt City flash deal that got us two drinks each, an app to share, two entrees and a side to share at The Ainsworth. Pretty great deal if you ask me.
We started with these crab tacos. These are $21 regular price, so I thought that was a bit high considering that these are small and the plate comes with four pieces. Do these look like they’re worth $5.25 each (before tax and tip)? I don’t think so.
They were tasty – good crunch on the shell, though I wasn’t sure if the crab meat was actual lump crab or some kind of crab substitute. Either way, I wouldn’t pay that kind of money for them.
For a nominal upcharge ($12), I went with the 20oz bone-in, 28-day dry-aged rib eye.
This was spectacular. The aged flavor really popped for just a 28-day stint in the aging box. I could taste the nutty and funky qualities with ease. While it was grilled instead of seared, didn’t have much of a spinalis (fat cap), and there was a bit of hard gristle in the meat, the cook temperature was a perfect medium rare and the flavor in the eye was excellent. 8/10.
As you can see, the steak was topped with some crispy fried shallots. Nice touch!
At $42, this is a great deal, especially considering that the flavors of this thing can easily rival some of the best steakhouses in town. I guess it was just a bummer that I got a cut with little fat cap and a few bites of gristle.
My wife went with the famous mac and cheese burger.
That’s a fried mac and cheese patty on the bottom, a cheeseburger patty on top of that, and then mac and cheese on top of the burger.
While that is all totally unnecessary and probably only done for Instagram fodder, it was indeed a fun item to eat. Here’s a little animated image for you to ogle:
It didn’t taste that special to me, but it sure did make for some handsome photos.
French fries came with that burger, as if there wasn’t enough to fill you up with the burger itself.
These could use some work. Some were a little bit un-crisped and heavy, but otherwise decent.
On the side, we shared the asparagus with a fried egg on top. Both the asparagus and the egg were cooked perfectly and had good flavor. Look – it was either this or more fries, so give me a break.
This place slings a decent fast food style burger, but the bacon was rubbery on both my and my wife’s burgers, and the fries were soggy and dense. Stick to the basics here and you should be fine. Don’t waste money on the extras. And it’s still not on the level with places like Smashburger, Shake Shack or Lucky’s Famous.
The good thing is that my wife paid about $10 for $30 worth of food and drink here through a flash deal. So all in, this was not too bad.
NEW YORK BURGER CO
678 Ave of the Americas
New York, NY 10010
