I’ve been meaning to try Paulie Gee’s in Greenpoint for a while, but I never got around to it. My wife and I were walking by their newish spot in the East Village so we stopped in to try a couple of slices.
We tried their Margherita slice, and their Freddy Pepperoni (L&B style, sauce on top, with roni cups).
The Margherita had too much flop, but the square slice was excellent. Great dough and crust. Nice bright sauce. I’d get that again, and possibly try some of the other interesting slices that they offer.
My wife and I tried this place recently, which features nice wines, sliced meats, good pastas, meat-focused entrees, and classic Italian desserts.
We sipped on some wine while eating a unique starter that tasted like the onions in a French onion soup, topped with mashed potatoes, and then sprinkled with crispy pancetta. delicious.
Next was pistachio dough tortelli with a mortadella stuffing. These were salty, but still very delicious.
For our main, we tried the veal cutlet, which was almost like a modified Milanese. It was breaded and fried, then topped with a melted cheese sauce and prosciutto.
This was very salty as well, mainly due to the cheese sauce. But there was also a funky flavor on the tail bits. Not sure what, but I didn’t love it.
Dessert was incredible: almond panna cotta. I could eat buckets of this.
Despite the over-salting and funky veal, I would definitely come back here to try more stuff.
This spot has swiftly become known for their stiff drinks and small bites. My wife and I tried a pair of their martinis: the pickle, and the clean dirty. Both were great.
We moved on to small bites, which included mini burgers, mini glizzies, and shoestring fries. These were all delicious. I was surprised to see the burgers cooked to a nice medium and still having decent thickness for the patties.
Although a bit expensive, I would definitely go back and try more stuff. Go give this place a shot!
I finally got over to Royale to try the burger that I’ve heard so much about. It was good! We ordered the Royale with cheese (not the smash burger).
This was probably about a 6oz patty, perfectly cooked to medium with nice cheese melt and cheese coverage.
Bun could use a little work, but it had a nice toast on it, and I appreciated the thinly sliced tomato, onion, lettuce and pickle on the side. Fries were good. Natural cut style, not too salty but good and crisp.
My wife and I were invited here by the restaurant’s PR company to help promote them on Instagram. They just opened a week ago, and upon arrival we learned that they were limiting us to what we could order (they chose the entire menu, basically, with the exception of our first cocktail), so proceed with that in mind.
Flavor: 7
We had a small porterhouse. The flavor was decent, and it was tender and properly cooked, but they advertise dry-aged cuts and I did not get any aged flavor. They start the cook over live fire, which gives the meat a nice smoky flavor, but I think they pull the steaks off too soon because there was not a great char on the outside.
Choice of Cuts & Quality Available: 7
There’s a good selection of cuts here. If I had been able to order as I wanted, I would have gone with the large strip and large rib eye. Since I didn’t get any aged flavor on the steak, I had to decrease the score here a bit.
Portion Size & Plating: 7
The portions seem to be on par with other steakhouses, and plating was in the traditional “sizzling butter on a burnt plate” style of Lugers and others (which I don’t love).
Price: 8
The prices are fair here, with $90 being the cost of a small porterhouse. Other prices seem to fall in line with midtown.
Bar: 8
The bar here is beautiful, and I would definitely enjoy having a drink on those nice fancy tiles. My martini was good, but my wife was a bit let down with her Le Souk (I like the nod to the old tenant here though). I took a sip, and, to me, it tasted harsh and watered down at the same time. Strange.
Specials and Other Meats: 6
There were no specials. As far as other meats go, the standard chicken and lamb were there – one as an app, the other as an entree. I respect the commitment to beef though, so the lower score here isn’t a big ding in my eyes.
Apps, Sides & Desserts: 7
I would not have ordered either of the starters we were given, but I did like the cumin-flavored croquettes. The endive salad was slightly over dressed but nice and fresh regardless.
We didn’t get to try any greens, but the fries were nice. No truffle flavor as advertised, but I didn’t mind at all. Lots of times that truffle shit is overkill anyway. I feel like they should have given us some creamed spinach though. That’s a steakhouse standard.
The cheesecake was okay, just a bit too sweet. Interestingly it was served in a ramekin.
Seafood Selection: 7
They offer lobster and salmon as entrees, and crab cakes and shrimp for starters. Since we didn’t try anything, I am leaving this score at my default of 7.
Service: 8
Service was good, but since they just opened, I know they still have some kinks to work out. The waiter asked what we wanted for dessert (the creme brulee), but then proceeded to bring out cheesecake anyway. That was strange. I don’t think he was fully aware of the influencer menu situation, so no knock to him – just bad communication between PR people, back of the house, and front of the house.
Ambiance: 9
The space is beautiful. There’s an ice skylight and you can watch the live fire cooking as it happens. The space has a red glow and sexy dim lighting. It reminds me of Strip House in that respect.
ANDREW STEAK SOCIETY
51 Avenue B
New York, NY 10009
This joint recently opened in the old Kissaki space on Bowery and serves up a nice omakase. Here’s what we had:
Favorite bites were the uni and the daily specials: shrimp with uni, and crab with ikura. We will definitely go back, especially if they offer another $89 special (15 courses). They also offer some nice cocktails. I had a nice martini at the sun-drenched bar before dinner.
SOZO SIP BAR + OMAKASE
319 Bowery
New York, NY 10003
This new Vietnamese joint specializes in hot pot, but their regular menu items are pretty great too.
We tried the pork jowls, the baby clams, and the beef pho. All were awesome, and I think the pho here is my favorite of all time. Also huge props to the wagyu betel leaf wraps. I really loved those as well.
The hot pot we ordered was a mix of seafood and beef. I felt the broth was a bit too sweet, but over all it was very good.
I didn’t take any photos of this place, but you can watch my Ride & Review HERE:
This is by far my favorite cheesesteak: The Long Hot. It has steak, crumbled sausage, long hot peppers, cooper sharp, and fried red onions. Perfect. And all on a fresh made sesame seed bun.
You can’t beat it. I’m so happy this place is in my neighborhood. They have great deals on Uber Eats, and awesome happy hour specials.
