Category Archives: CUISINE

Burgers, California, Latin/Mexican & Caribbean, Restaurant Reviews

San Diego

November 6, 2024 Johnny Prime Leave a comment

My wife and I took a short trip to San Diego to celebrate a friend’s retirement from the Navy, so we spent a bunch of time walking around, eating and drinking our way through the city.

Here’s what we tried:

Donut Bar

This spot was pretty good. We liked the lemon pistachio better than the raspberry cheesecake.

Tacos El Gordo

Great spot for tacos, and reasonably priced considering that this place gets a lot of hype and crowds. The al pastor tacos was the winner for us, but we also tried cabeza (face), lengua (tongue) and tripe.

Mike Hess Brewery

The barrel aged Vietnamese coffee stout was our favorite.

San Diego Burger Co.

This wasn’t that good. Skip this joint. I had high hopes, but the patty was a little under seasoned and the bun was dry and crumbled.

Dinner at Greystone Prime Steakhouse is detailed HERE.

Senor Taquero

This spot was probably my favorite place to eat of the entire trip. I wish we had some regular tacos here too. They were so cheap (3 for $7.99)! The rolled chicken tacos and adobado burrito were killer. The churro had a nice vanilla pudding type of filling inside.

Ballast Point Brewery

We had a short pit stop here while we were waiting for Swagyu to open. Speedboat was like a corona with a lime in it. Refreshing.

Swagyu

This was great but pricey at $23. I’d much rather have gone back to Senor Taquero to try the tacos.

The World Famous I-Bar

This is where the retirement party was held. The bar was the inspiration for the scenes in the movie Maverick that take place in the Air Force bar on base. Very cool spot.

Not bad for a weekend trip! We hit a lot of spots.

American, Diner, Lower East Side/Chinatown, Restaurant Reviews

Betty

November 4, 2024 Johnny Prime Leave a comment

First, check out my Ride & Review HERE:

This spot is pretty good. I might go back for the fried chicken bites and perhaps to try the burger, which looked good when it came out to another person’s table.

BETTY
193 Henry St.
New York, NY 10002

American, Chinese, Lower East Side/Chinatown, Restaurant Reviews

Pecking House Chicken

October 24, 2024 Johnny Prime Leave a comment

First, check out my Ride & Review HERE:

This spot recently opened down by Two Bridges, and I’ve been psyched to try it out.

We got five items; three mains and two sides.

1. The Blackened Chicken Sandwich

This was probably my favorite of all the items. It has a distinctly earthy Mexican flavor to it from the Oaxaca cheese and pickled jalapeños. Absolute banger.

2. Chili Quarter Chicken

I expected this to be wetter, spicier and saltier based on what I’ve seen on Instagram to date, but it was still goo. A bit expensive at $9 without a side, but I’d definitely get it again (perhaps the extra hot version though).

3. Salted Egg Wings

These were delicious. No dipping sauce needed! The batter from the salted yolk comes in nice and crisp, and with the wings being slightly smaller than your typical bar room Buffalo wings, you get a perfect ratio or meat to crisp with every bite.

4. Chicken Salt Fries

These could have used a bit more crisp on them, but they were tasty. Also – not too salty! Nicely seasoned, as a matter of fact.

5. Charred Cukes w/Ginger

These were unique! Charring the cucumber softens them a bit and adds a different flavor profile to them that I’ve never experienced before. The ginger sauce isn’t too pungent, so you still get all that fresh cucumber flavor to cool off from the spicy food between bites.

PECKING HOUSE CHICKEN
83 Henry Street
Shop 1
New York, NY 10002

Non-Steakhouse Steaks, Porterhouse, Pub Food, Restaurant Reviews, Rib Eye, West Village

Commerce Inn

October 13, 2024 Johnny Prime Leave a comment

First, check out my Ride & Review HERE:

I’ve been meaning to eat here for so long. After seeing the menu during a short visit with The Cake Dealer for a drink, I was even more convinced. So we finally made it happen.

We started with the lamb loin chops (two t-bones) and the beans.

The lamb was perfectly cooked to medium rare, and came as a composed dish with grilled escarole. I loved this. No game flavor, just really simply grilled with salt and pepper.

Next, we had the rabbit pot pie, which was on special. It was beautifully presented, but here’s a shot of the pie after we cracked it open.

…I should call her…

Anyway, lots of nicely cooked rabbit – which I love – totally under utilized protein – as well as assorted mushrooms, celery, carrots, and onions.

We also did a side of artichokes, which also came with onions, carrots and celery, served as a cold dish with a hint of curry flavor.

And finally, the rib eye.

This 18oz boneless cut was dry aged and grilled to perfection. The aged flavor was mild, but it was all so tender and delicious. Very nicely seasoned, and the fried onions and garlic that come with it are heavenly. 9/10. The only down side to this steak is that it cost $86. Crazy!

I can’t wait to come back here – already booked my next reservation.

I came back for the porterhouse! It was a solid 8/10. The rib eye is clearly the winner here.

COMMERCE INN
50 Commerce St.
New York, NY 10014

Japanese, Lower East Side/Chinatown, Restaurant Reviews

Shhh

October 5, 2024 Johnny Prime Leave a comment

First, check out my Ride & Review video HERE:

This secretive omakase joint in the back of an ice cream shop serves up 14 or 18 course omakase meals with unlimited sake for just $96 or $126, respectively.

My favorite pieces were the snappers, scallop and tuna. But the real stars of the show were the appetizers: cod sperm sack and chawanmushi with uni and crab meat!

Snappers:

Scallop:

Tuna:

I can’t believe I ate cum. And I’ll definitely be back for more, especially the soft serve ice cream (not made from cum).

Here are some of the other items:

The cum was torched:

SHHH
113 Division St.
New York, NY 10002

African/Middle Eastern, Burgers, Lower East Side/Chinatown, Mediterranean, Parms, Restaurant Reviews

Eastwood

September 28, 2024 Johnny Prime Leave a comment

My wife and I came here twice. The first visit was just for a snack and a drink, so I never wrote it up. But now that we’ve had a full meal here, I figured I would put together a review from both experiences.

On the first visit, we had drinks, an Israeli scotch egg, and some cake. They have a nice selection of beer and wine. Saison Dupont is my favorite of all time.

The Israeli scotch egg is surrounded by falafel, which was unique and delicious.

On the second visit we did some entrees. My wife had the lamb burger, which comes with crunchy slaw and a harissa mayo. She added Gruyere cheese at the owner’s suggestion. It was absolutely delicious. Easily a top three lamb burger.

I had the chicken schnitzel plate, which came with fries and a salad. The schnitzel was unique in that it was breaded with a sesame seed batter!

I really liked it.

The cake we had on our first visit was a flourless chocolate birthday cake, which, I think, may have even been vegan. I liked it more than my wife did.

We will definitely be back to try more items from Eastwood. Super friendly staff, great prices, and great food!

EASTWOOD
200 Clinton St.
New York, NY 10002

Latin/Mexican & Caribbean, Lower East Side/Chinatown, Restaurant Reviews

Son Del North

September 23, 2024 Johnny Prime Leave a comment

First, check out my Ride & Review video HERE:

This small burrito joint just opened up on Orchard Street in the lower east side. I had heard great things about it before learning that Golden Packing supplies their beef and chicken! Once I heard that, I was all in! I tried three different burritos: shrimp, chicken and beef.

Check out the grill marks!

The shimp burrito is the owner’s favorite, so I had to give it a try. It’s chock full of perfectly cooked, big, juicy shrimp. There’s a nice sauce in there too, along with the guacamole, beans and onions.

That’s right – NO RICE in these burritos. All substance. No filler.

The carne asada beef/steak burrito is made with high end middle meats and strip steak from Golden Packing, most of it being prime grade. The caramelized onions give you a steak sandwich vibe. Delicious.

My favorite, though, was the chicken burrito. They use thigh meat, which is the ultimate for retaining juiciness and flavor.

This place is absolutely incredible. Don’t be intimidated by the crowds in front. Most of them are just waiting for their order as opposed to lining up.

SON DEL NORTH
177 Orchard St.
New York, NY 10002

Downtown, Italian, Pizza, Restaurant Reviews

Best Sicily Bottega

September 13, 2024 Johnny Prime Leave a comment

First, check out my Ride & Review video HERE:

This little Sicilian shop has some pretty tasty shit! My friend and I tried their potato pizza, their tomato garlic and anchovy pizza, their meat arancini, and their orange olive oil cake.

Everything was awesome. For me, the favorite was probably the potato pizza with the tomato slice close behind. These were in the Roman style for pizza, which I love to see done right like this.

They also sell some nice looking sandwiches, and great, difficult to find groceries like Castelvetrano olive spread and pistachio cream.

BEST SICILY BOTTEGA
87 Beaver St.
New York, NY 10005

Chinese, Lower East Side/Chinatown, Restaurant Reviews

Chinatown Food Crawl

September 6, 2024 Johnny Prime Leave a comment

First, check out my episode of Around the Hood in 8 Minutes HERE:

We hit a bunch of places, so let me just get down to business!

Sun Hing Lung

First was Sun Hing Lung, which I already covered in a previous Ride & Review HERE, so check that out!

This time I added an egg to the Chinese sausage and mixed veggies roll. It was divine! Noodles here are always a bit mushy, but you really can’t beat it for the price. Adding all of the sauces is the right move (peanut, soy, hoisin and hot sauce).

Chang Lai Fishballs Noodles

They ran out of rice rolls by time we arrived here, but the curry fish balls mixed with pork skin was the best bite of the day, by far. Make sure you try that!

Yin Ji Chang Fen

This is where we really got our rice roll fix. We tried five or six different rice rolls, but the clear favorites were the truffle and mushroom, the fried dough, and the special dried shrimp and scallion rolls.

New Kam Hing Coffee Shop

The sponge cake here is famous, so we had to give it a try. I have to say it was really unique and tasty. Not really my thing, in general, but I can see the appeal.

Dumpling Story

This new spot was really nice inside. We tried four different dumpling items: truffle pork soup dumplings, spicy crab meat with pork soup dumplings, chicken pot stickers and fried pork soup dumplings. Of those, the crab and fried pork were probably tied for the best. The fried beef udon noodles were excellent! Great texture and flavor.

SUN HING LUNG
58 Henry St.
New York, NY 10002

CHANG LAI FISHBALLS NOODLES
55 Bayard St.
Store B
New York, NY 10013

YIN JI CHANG FEN
91 Bayard St.
New York, NY 10013

NEW KAM HING COFFEE SHOP
118 Baxter St.
New York, NY 10013

DUMPLING STORY
250 Grand St.
New York, NY 10002

Latin/Mexican & Caribbean, Queens, Restaurant Reviews

Queens Taco Crawl

September 4, 2024 Johnny Prime Leave a comment

First, check out my episode of Around the Hood in 8 Minutes HERE:

We hit six or seven spots on this awesome food crawl through Queens. Let me hit them one by one.

Taqueria Santa Fe

This first spot ended up being my favorite. The al pastor taco stood out. Crispy, yet juicy. Well seasoned, great toppings. The only thing to make it better would be a more toasted tortilla, like Mr. Burrito had.

Mr. Burrito Loco

The carnitas taco here took third place, but the tortilla shells were the best of the day. Great spot! I want to try the crispy fish tacos next, and, of course, a burrito!

El Sabor Del Rancho

The carnitas taco here took second place. All it needed was a little hit of salt and it would have been a contender for first place!

Al Chile Cafe

The al pastor here was a bit more saucy than other spots, so that made for a juicier and more flavorful bite, generally. The only down side was that there were a few bites with rubbery/chewy sinew that I had to spit out. Bonus here because they give you roasted onions and jalapenos on the side!

La Esquina Del Camaron Mexicano

This place was fun! Big portion for $17, mixed octopus and shrimp. Bring vodka with you to make a Bloody Mary with the leftover sauce/juice at the end. Or tequila for a Bloody Maria!