Category Archives: Midtown West

Filet Mignon, Full Points for Flavor, Midtown West, Rib Eye, Steakhouse Reviews

Strip House (midtown)

December 8, 2012 Johnny Prime 4 Comments

Strip House (midtown) overall score: 95

I was really psyched to hear that Strip House just opened up a new location in midtown. Let me tell you… I had one of the best steak dinners in my life at this place. Not only did Strip House Midtown provide me with one of the best rib eyes I’ve ever sunk my teeth into, but the waiter Scott recognized my “name” on the business card I gave him while we were paying the check. He alerted the general manager, Eric Hammer. Then Eric knew who I was, and he alerted the executive chef Michael Vignola! He helped open several Strip House locations all over the place – we got to meet him, and take a quick tour of the kitchen (which was absolutely beautiful, clean, and state-of-the-art, by the way). Check Michael out, in all his expediting glory:

It turns out that Michael knew who I was too, and they all follow this website! I was totally stoked that I was recognized as a meat man! Anyway… After we settled up the bill, me and my buddy Paul were treated to a private tour of the kitchen. Eric and Michael truly represent the future of meat and steak at Strip House, and in NYC in general. They are young, passionate, extremely skilled, and fucking spot on. Expect a long line of excellence to come from their “loins” in the future. The meat biz is looking spectacular to me right now. These guys have taken the concept of “pinnacle” to a whole other level of greatness. But the best part of this kitchen tour was that we also got to meet the REAL man behind the meat. RAPHAEL SANCHEZ. He is the guy who fired up all the steaks to perfection. Check him out – notice all the tickets dangling – it was fucking JAMMED in this place!!! Great for business!!!:

A second trip proved to be just as awesome and then some. I went with a group of 7. Michael and Eric once again did an amazing job, and this time I got to meet a great operations manager named Bill Varcoe. The personnel here are just incredible. I really can’t speak enough praise about them. They even threw in some freebies for us; a gazpacho amuse, a tuna tartare dish, and several desserts! Huge delicious cheese cake, massive layered chocolate cake, profiteroles, and baked Alaska! Check out the updates in italics below.

Flavor: 10

I’ve been to the other Strip House downtown several times, and I’ve pretty much tried everything on the menu at this point. With any new place, though, I always have to go back to the standard order for a review: the dry aged bone-in rib eye. It was fucking insane. Nice and savory, juicy as all fuck, and perfectly cooked from end to end. There was not one speck of gristle or fat left on my plate. I ate every glorious bite. Look – I went at it so fast that I only managed to remember to take a pic of it at the last minute, when I had one slice left. Note the perfection of color and the juicy reflection in the flash. My buddy had the filet, ordered medium rare. It, too, was perfectly cooked, though mine packed a hell of a lot more flavor (we both agreed).

I managed to remember to take a picture of my cote de beouff special (for steakhouse month). It was 34oz of glorious rib eye, and I ate every last scrap. I must say though – the standard rib eye had better flavor.

Choice of Cuts & Quality Available: 9

The selection here is pretty much exactly the same as the other location, with the exception of a “Kosher Rib Eye” that I noticed was added, so no change in scoring here. And every cut is awesome. You can’t go wrong, regardless of what you choose to eat. Here, you can even be a pussy and order a petite filet and still pass muster in the judgmental eyes of Johnny Prime.

Portion Size & Plating: 10

The sizes are all the same here as the other location. Steaks are filling, sides are large enough for two or more, and apps are generous. Eat up, assholes. Eat until you pop, or poop.

Price: 9

Prices here are the same as downtown, which surprised me because I expected higher rents and overhead at this location to drive up the cost to diners. Strip House is always always always an absolute great buy for the money. This is the best steakhouse business/chain in Manhattan, so fucking go for it.

The bill from my second outing is below. Really fucked up problem here – my buddy who did the math on the tip messed up and we under-tipped at around 15% when we meant to give more like 25%. I vow to make it up to Chris, our waiter, who did a freaking fantastic job at our table. I think we were about $60 short of what we meant to give. Hilarious part about this: we had an accountant at the table.

Bar: 9

The bar here is nice. It’s large, and good for hanging after work. Definitely a place I could see myself hanging at. The martini was made perfectly to boot. Belle, the bartender, was great, and it turns out she is a friend of a friend whose wedding I shot as a photographer.

Specials and Other Meats: 9

They had some great steak specials here, and for alternative meats they had veal and lamb. A nice rounded selection of meat for all carnivorous tastes. I was set on the rib eye, so I didn’t pay much attention to what else they had. Fuck that shit. I had my order decided before lunch time.

Apps, Sides & Desserts: 10

The midtown locale has basically the same choices as the downtown restaurant. We tried the clams on the half shell (really nice and crisp, briney, creamy, and mild), the lump crab meat (nice and lumpy, generous size bowl of meat), the slab bacon (fucking MINT), and the pancetta creamed corn (always a favorite). You can’t really go wrong with ANY side here, but I think the creamed corn and bacon might be the best of the best at any place I’ve been in the last 5 years when it comes to apps. Our clams were fucking incredible though. When clams are this good, and clean, I actually prefer them over oysters (BLASPHEMY!). I had some dessert on round two. I must say the portion sizes are tremendous. I only tried the cheese cake of the four items they brought out to us, but it was damn delicious!

Seafood Selection: 10

For seafood you have lobster, sea bass, and salmon. They also serve gigantic U6 shrimp, and have an incredible array of shellfish and cold/raw items on the appetizer menu.

Service: 9

The service is unreal. Our waiter, Scott, was absolutely perfect, and referred to me as “Mr. Prime” a few times after I passed him my card at bill-paying time. HA! He even saw me drop a fork and he quickly swooped in to replace it. I would’ve just wiped the fucker off and used it anyway. At first we were seated at a high table near the bar and entrance area, but I asked for a switch and a guy named Derrek helped us out. I made the reservations over a month ago, so I was a little upset that we had a junky seat. When they switched us, we were still in a tight area – tight like a virgin’s puss… crowded, close quarters, a little bloody, shy, scared, etc. But, we really enjoyed out meal, so I can’t complain too much. The bread was warm (the pretzel bread was delicious), and the butter was soft and spreadable (like a whore’s puss). Very nice way to start out the meal. Another cool thing was that they gave us a freebie amuse between the apps and main courses – a shot of smoked potato soup with parsley oil. It was tasty!

Ambiance: 10

Strip House is a brand; so they have a certain style and image that they keep constant among their restaurants: old timey naked pics of chicks, aka broads, aka birds, aka hoo-uhs. The joint has a speakeasy feel; dim lighting, and lots of deep reds in the color scheme. It’s great. The midtown location delivers on that just as well as the downtown location, but with higher ceilings and a second level. Great bathrooms too; single user jammies, really clean and nice. I’d feel totally comfortable dropping a deuce in those fuckers if I had to.

PS – you might have taken a look at the bill and wondered: where the fuck is the booze? Well… Paul and I put back a bunch of booze beforehand at a workplace cocktail party. It saved us some cash. Notice the addition of quality meat consumed by me before we even got to the restaurant. If I see meat, then I must eat… And yes – that was two different kinds of prosciutto, with a glass of fucking scotch (I had three glasses of scotch before dinner, and about six slices of prosciutto).

Just a quickie here: this is Michael Vignola giving a quick recipe demo on how to cook a filet:

STRIP HOUSE
15 W. 44th St.
New York, NY 10036

Full Points for Flavor, Midtown West, NY Strip, Rib Eye, Steakhouse Reviews

Delmonico’s Kitchen

November 30, 2012 Johnny Prime 2 Comments

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

Filet Mignon, Midtown West, Rib Eye, Steakhouse Reviews

The Palm (west side)

October 18, 2012 Johnny Prime Leave a comment

The Palm overall score: 81

A last minute, game-time decision landed my wife and I in The Palm at west 50th street and 8th avenue for a quick meal. It was an interesting experience; a rather colorful fellow named Ray sat at the table next to us and took interest in this blog. He chatted with us for most of the meal, so it was almost like a 3-person dinner instead of just a date with my wife – a triple date. I’m sure he is reading this now; hey Ray! It was good “meating” with you. Enjoy the review!

Flavor: 8

The ribeye was juicy, it had a great char and crisp all around, and it was cooked just to my liking (an even medium throughout). The intramuscular fat, or marbling, was high quality and I could taste the goodness that melted into the meat with each bite. The only down side was that my particular cut had a fair amount of gristle that I couldn’t chew through. There was a slight amount of bleed out (needed another minute or two of rest), but totally not a big deal. My wife did a surf & turf special that came with a nice sized filet; it was cooked perfectly, and very tender, but it just lacked a slight amount of seasoning.

Choice of Cuts & Quality Available: 8

The selection is solid here. They have all 4 of the mandatory cuts, but they embellish on some of the better ones. For example they have two ribeyes; a boneless and a bone-in. They also had a strip that was cooked with cherry peppers on special – tempting, but I am a purist, especially on my first visit to a place.

Portion Size & Plating: 8

The sizes are good here, and everything seems to be prime caliber. The ribeye was 24oz on the bone, and 18oz off. The strip was 16oz. Filets are 9oz or 14oz, and as I mentioned above they don’t skimp out when you do the surf & turf deals. The creamed spinach was tremendous (see pic below) – unfortunately I only had two bites of it. The servers forgot to bring out the doggie bag to take that home (couldn’t finish). Oops. The plating was basic, and it’s really simple to achieve: cook meat, place meat on plate, serve. I’m cool with that. But that little bit of parsley?!?? Make it cilantro and I’ll eat it. Parsley is as useless as tits on a bull. I’m a fucking man for God’s sake. I don’t need a sprig of parsley on my plate or a tweel of balsamic infused chocolate sticking out of my potatoes for that matter (didn’t happen here, but it DOES happen). Dear chefs who do that: Go fuck yourselves. Sincerely, Johnny Prime. PS: What’s the difference between parsley and pussy? You don’t eat parsley…

IMG_20121018_104914 — massive creamed spinach side

Price: 8

Check out the bill below and make your own judgments. I thought it was a fair price for an above average meal. Normally our bills come to a much higher figure. The surf & turf deal for $50 is a nice bargain.

Bar: 8

I didn’t spend any time at the bar, but it is in a good location, near the street, and it gets hopping after work. The martini was made well – up, very dry, with olives, and a little dirty.

Specials and Other Meats: 9

The Palm had a bunch of specials. One thing that bugged me, though, was that oysters were a special and not a regular menu item. In addition to that they had a lobster cocktail special item, a strip steak with cherry peppers, some italian food items, and a pumpkin creme brulee. In addition to that stuff, they offer several kinds of surf & turf deals (3 courses for $50 – the menu is pictured below); some with shrimp, some with lobster, etc. As far as other meats go, they have lamb (under the chops menu), veal and chicken (under the italian menu). Perhaps a pork chop would make for a good addition to the menu.

Apps, Sides & Desserts: 7

My wife had a basic mixed greens salad that came with her surf & turf. I had the crab cake. It was excellent – lots of meat, but still had good crisp texture. It came with a chipotle sauce that was perfect for an occasional dunk, and beside it was a cherry pepper and mango salsa; very nice. On the side we had creamed spinach, as usual. It was a little heavy (too much of the “cream” and not enough of the “spinach”), but you could tell it was made with top quality cheeses. For dessert we shared a pumpkin creme brulee, which came with my wife’s surf & turf (see below). It was a little grainy due to the addition of pumpkin, but tasty nonetheless.

Seafood Selection: 8

My wife had a lobster tail in her surf & turf. The bite I had was nice; crispy edges, juicy inside, nicely cooked, but she said the remainder of her tail was a little overdone. A shame – anyway you can see the entree below. As I mentioned before, the crab cake was excellent, but the oysters should be a staple and not a special. From the looks of other tables, the lump crabmeat was a generous helping. The Palm offers lots by way of various lobster items, and they also offer salmon, sea bass, and swordfish.

Service: 9

The service here was excellent. Our waiter was Martin, and he was very observant and concerned about our dining experience, our seating location, and whether we needed anything. In particular he was concerned about whether Ray, at the table next to us, was a bother. Absolutely not! I enjoy yapping it up, and Ray was really interested in this blog, so I say bring it on. Our new buddy Ray thought his waitress was too attentive, but I thought Martin was just right for our table. He did a good job of explaining why the bone-in was better than the boneless ribeye, and I overheard other waiters giving the history of the Palm, and what the drawings on the wall were all about (see below). Our table bread was a nice mix of different items. The butter was cold, but whipped and nice; just a little hard. The bread could’ve used a little warmth; it was room temperature. Throw that shit in the microwave for ten seconds or some shit. The only down about service was that we asked for our creamed spinach to be wrapped up to take home, but it never came out to us (not Martin’s fault – it was taken by the bus boy). By the time the bill came out and we paid, we had forgotten about it. Oh well – that’s a little bit my fault too, so no big deal. I just hope they gave it to a bum or something and didn’t throw it out.

Ambiance: 8

The Palm has tons of drawn faces all over their walls. Apparently if you spend enough time and money there, they will immortalize you in cartoon form on the walls of their establishment. As you might expect, lots of famous people have their faces plastered on the walls in there. I had the privilege of looking at Jason Alexander and Mel Gibson throughout the meal, as they were depicted on the column nearest to our table. The story goes that young artists with no money used to create drawings of celebrities that dined there; in exchange they would receive a plate of spaghetti from the owner. That’s the lure and legend of how it all started. Cool. Other than that stuff, the ambiance is standard for steak joints: dim lighting, dark wood, and it smells fantastic. The tables were a little close together where we sat. It’s a good thing my wife and I are friendly people, otherwise the triple date with our new friend Ray would have been awkward. The bathrooms could use an upgrade: they were like any bar bathroom in Manhattan. There was an attendant one time I went in, but not the second time. I don’t think one is needed (ever – unless they have everything I need to shave my entire face).

PALM WEST
250 W. 50th St.
New York, NY 10019

Midtown West, Restaurant Week, Rib Eye, Steakhouse Reviews

Shula’s

August 25, 2012 Johnny Prime 3 Comments

Shula’s overall score: 67

NOTE: SHULA’S IS NOW CLOSED!!!

My wife and I decided to give Shula’s a try for their restaurant week menu, and to also take advantage of the 15% off discount for reserving via Savored. As it turned out they wouldn’t let us do both, so we had to ditch the restaurant week option (which seemed lame to me anyway), and my wife had to change her order completely (I was ordering from the regular menu). Check out the review, d-bags.

Flavor: 7

I went with the cowboy ribeye, and my wife had a shellfish trio (see below). The ribeye was okay. It was cooked to the right done-ness, but it lacked a crisp outer coating, and was a little short on seasoning. Long story short, you can pull this place from your list of “go to” restaurants unless you are looking to cash in on a deal.

Choice of Cuts & Quality Available: 9

There’s a lot of beef on the menu here, and it’s all “premium black angus,” according to the menu. Under the Shula cuts they have two sizes of filet, two strips (NY and Kansas City – or boneless and bone-in), two sized of porterhouse, and the ribeye. All the bases are covered well, but they also offer some beefy entrees too, like prime rib, Filet Oscar (with crab meat and hollandaise), and Steak Mary Anne (two small filets with peppercorn sauce). There’s a surf & turf too. I took a point because the preparation hindered the quality, in my opinion.

Portion Size & Plating: 8

The Shula steak cuts are solid: 8 and 12oz filets; 16 and 20oz strips; 24 and 48oz porterhouses; and a 22oz ribeye. For the price, these are above average sizes. Well played. However, the appetizer portions seemed to be on the small and overpriced side. On the other hand, the sides and desserts were properly portioned.

Price: 8

Check out the bill below; not too bad. All the steaks are under $50 (except the 48oz porterhouse), but the ribeye wasn’t top notch, so make your own assessment on value here. They offer sauces for the steaks at $2 a pop, but I wasn’t really interested in trying any… except maybe the red pepper chimichurri. The appetizers were a little pricey and on the small side, as I mentioned above. $17 for two scallops? Fuck that.

Bar: 5

The bar here was small and unimpressive – certainly not the kind of place to hang out in. The martini was good, but one of the olives had a half of a pit still in it. I almost busted a tooth.

Specials and Other Meats: 6

On special, Shula’s had nada, zip, zero. For non-beef meat, they only had two chicken preparations (one skinless, the other not), and a lamb porterhouse. Perhaps one or two other dishes would round this category out a little better. The restaurant week special, which we didn’t order from, is pictured below. Who the fuck wants a 5oz filet? Pussies and broads? This is a FOOTBALL restaurant for Christ’s sake. Get rid of the motherfucking 5oz scraps and keep it real.

IMG_20120824_193236 — restaurant week 2012 menu: $35

Apps, Sides & Desserts: 5

We started with the oysters. They were good, and came with a nice cocktail sauce, but there was no horseradish served with them; instead I got a large hair on my plate, and some of the oysters were still connected to the shell. We also had the blackened scallops. They were overpriced but cooked well. However they were accompanied by a mediocre-at-best mango salsa that reminded us of something we’d have at Applebees. Bastards. My wife had the shellfish trio app for her entree (half of a small lobster tail, two shrimp, and some lump crab meat). It was decent, but I thought a little skimpy for $29. The lobster tail was certainly not the Maine varietal based on its “extra jumbo shrimp” sizing. For sides we had creamed spinach, which tasted like frozen chopped spinach to me, with a touch of cream and some shaved Parmesan on top. Bland. We also tried the crab meat mac and cheese. This was better, but would have been great if the crab meat was mixed into the dish instead of just put on top, if they put more bread crumbs on top, and if they added salt or a bit more cheese to it. In other words, it too was somewhat of a disappointment. For dessert we had key lime pie. No complaints there; it was pretty good.

Seafood Selection: 7

A good amount of seafood graces the menu here. For apps they have lobster bisque, blackened scallops, shrimp cocktail, BBQ shrimp, seared tuna, lump crab meat, fried calamari, a shellfish trio, and oysters. A solid showing. On the entree menu they offer a fish of the day (prepared one of several ways), seared scallops, crab cakes, and lobster tails. Point off for not having a full lobster on the menu, and two points off for the lackluster performance on the shellfish trio app (pictured below).

Service: 6

The service here was odd. We made a reservation for 5:30. The restaurant was pretty much empty, yet we were seated way in the back on a very small table for two. We were also approached twice regarding what kind of water we wanted. The table cloth on my side of the table was either stained or dirty, as I mentioned my oyster plate had hair instead of horseradish, and there was just way too much shit on the ridiculously small table when we were seated. Here’s a list: Four empty wine glasses (two for water, two for wine), my wife’s wine glass from the bar, my martini glass, the Shula football (which has the signature steaks listed on one portion of the pigskin – see pic below – an interesting touch but not needed), salt & pepper shakers, two menus, two restaurant week menus (which my wife was not permitted to order from since we were using a 15% off coupon via Savored), a book of wines by the bottle, a candle, silverware, napkins, and the flatware. All of this remained with us until the waiter took our order, and even after that we had to move the two extra wine glasses to a nearby empty table ourselves. I was barely able to see my wife’s face for 15 minutes after being seated. Just a reminder: the table was SMALL – REALLY FUCKIN’ SMALL. I’m talking 7 sq. ft. at maximum: seats for two at McDonald’s are bigger than this shit. Other than that the bread was good: a pre-sliced loaf of warm, crispy, fresh sourdough.

Ambiance: 6

Shula’s is part of the Westin hotel in NYC. It’s located on the mezzanine floor of the building, overlooking NOTHING… There are no windows in the restaurant. It has dark wood walls, dim lights, and football images all over the place (Don Shula is a hall of fame coach, and former corner back), but it is elegantly decorated. The building sits just on top of the A,C,E subway lines at the 42nd street stop, so you can feel the room shake when one passes by underneath. The bathroom was completely out of the way… no… completely out of the restaurant. I had to go up a flight of stairs, out into the elevator bank, past the hotel bar, and into the lobby to use the bathroom. On the bright side, it was large, clean, and all marble.

SHULA’S
The Westin New York at Times Square
270 W. 43rd St.
New York, NY 10036

Midtown West, Rib Eye, Steakhouse Reviews

Bobby Van’s (50th St.)

June 30, 2012 Johnny Prime 1 Comment

Bobby Van’s Overall Score: 78

Tonight Johnny Prime gave the old “in-out, in-out” to Bobby Vans’ west 50th St. location. Not a bad meal overall, but not stellar by any means. I think I enjoyed the Bridgehampton location better, even though those douche bags didn’t offer a ribeye when I went. Check out the breakdown, assholes:

Flavor: 7

As usual, I had the ribeye (because I have a dick and balls between my legs, not a vadge). It was nice looking, bone-in, probably around 22oz., but it was a little overcooked from the medium that I ordered it. Also, it bled out a slight bit underneath the meat. It wasn’t too hot or anything, but I think it wasn’t dry or crusted enough on the outside to lock in all the liquids. I was going to give it an 8 here, but with so much stiff competition in the area, I had to go with a 7. I’d eat here again, don’t get me wrong, but perhaps if I was shopping for a spot in this particular area, I’d just wander a few feet over to Tad’s (just kidding… I mean Del Frisco’s). By the way the steak sauce that came in the little tub alongside the steak here was pretty good too – a little boozy actually. I like that.

IMAG1074 — …or did I really mean Tad’s???

Choice of Cuts & Quality Available: 8

They have the basics here: two sizes of filet, “sirloin,” porterhouse for sharing, and ribeyes. They also offer a gorgonzola steak, but I am not sure what sort of cut it is. On special they had an additional beef item – a cowboy steak with shitake mushrooms. The cuts cover all the essential bases and the quality was good (just not exceptional).

Portion Size & Plating: 8

As mentioned above, I think my ribeye was about 22oz. This is on the good and generous side in terms of size. They did some fancy plating with my scallop appetizer, though there were only two pieces per order.

Price: 6

Everything seemed a little overpriced here. At $50 a pop, the steaks aren’t that great of a deal when you figure in the quality level. Sure, I’ve had better for the same price, but I also realize that not every place is going to have the best steak in town, and chefs have their good days and bad days. As you see below, everything is expensive. In particular, $22 for two bacon wrapped scallops sitting on a bed of sliced mushrooms and cabbage, to me, is ridiculous… and I’ve eaten at some of the most explensive places in NYC, and at over 40 steakhouses in the area. OH – I almost forgot to mention the $18 martini (see the bar section below for the breakdown).

Bar: 8

My martini was made perfectly dirty; just the right amount of olive juice in there. But at $16.88 after tax ($15.50 on the bill), it came to $18 with the tip. This is by far one of the most expensive standard issue drinks I have ever had (obviously this doesn’t include a nice scotch at dessert, or a glass of expensive port wine). There are free fried bits of chicken at the bar, but does that make up for the cost of booze? They were great, crispy, and juicy (the ones I had anyway – my wife said her piece was dry). There is a big marble-topped bar, and it’s long (like Lex Steele). There was also a good crowd festering around for a hot summertime Friday; I guess everyone wanted to cool off with expensive drinks before getting on the expensive train to head out to the expensive beach towns for an expensive weekend.

Specials & Other Meats: 9

They offered a bunch of specials when we sat down: three different soups, two fish items, a shellfish app, and a beef item. We tried two of them (see below for the verdict). They also had a pasta item on special. You will notice a huge pasta, regular type entrée, and pizza selection on the menu here. WHY? What are they trying to be a fucking diner? Anyway… Aside from beef they have lamb and veal on the chops section of the menu as well, and chicken and pork chops in the entrée section. You can go ahead and order those if you are an asshole. I would drop a 10 here if I was completely satisfied with the special items we had, but there was just a bit lacking there, so I took a point.

Apps, Sides & Desserts: 7

We tried the cold cucumber and melon soup and the bacon wrapped scallops to start. The soup was cool and refreshing, and it was poured over a cream of some sort that you picked up with each spoonful. It was nice. The scallop dish was a little on the pricey side. In addition, it was a little heavy on the rosemary flavor, though it did have a good char on the outside. The bacon was nice and crispy, but at the cost of a slightly overcooked scallop underneath. Lots of times this happens when you (stupidly) wrap shit with bacon. Bacon is fine on its own. There is absolutely no need to go wrapping it around shit, especially if that shit can be overcooked and ruined. But listen up assbags; when you try cook both at the same time you lose. In order to properly cook the bacon without ruining the scallop, you need to halfway cook the bacon, catch some of the fat, then wrap the bacon around the scallop (while still rubbery and flexible) and baste the fat over the scallop as it finishes to impart the bacony smoke flavor into the scallop. In any case it was also a little too hot when served; I had to be careful not to burn myself. The plating was nice though, but instead of a bed of mushrooms and cabbage, I would have rather had another scallop or more bacon. On the side we had some creamed spinach. It was light but not lacking flavor. No complaints, but no accolades either; it was exceptionally average. Also at $12 for a dish it was pricey (though certainly enough for two to share). We passed on dessert this time.

Seafood Selection: 8

This would have been a 10, but they had NO OYSTERS and NO CLAMS. Other than that they did have lots to choose from. The specials were halibut and swordfish, and they were in addition to the standard menu items like lobster, seabass, tuna, crab cakes, and salmon. My wife had the lobster. It was a bit overcooked and chewy in parts, but it did have lots of the brains, guts and roe, which she likes. It was also chock full of meat, and the waiter pried most of it out of the shell for us tableside. OH – and the lobster came with a bowl of fresh corn as well. I can’t wait to see it polka-dotting my shit later.

Service: 9

Service wasn’t bad here, but our waiter kinda disappeared halfway through the meal. As a result, we didn’t get the birthday dessert thingy that they were going to bring over to us (probably a slice of cake or something). The host asked us if they did as we were walking out. Oh well; not such a big deal considering we were stuffed. Otherwise service was okay aside from the absentee waiter. He nicely de-shelled the lobster tableside, which is always fun to watch. If you are wondering, I tend to celebrate my birthday for a month or two in either direction of the actual date, because I am that awesome.

Ambiance: 8

It’s nice inside, but it doesn’t seem genuine, if that makes sense. Gallagher’s felt genuine, Lugers, etc. Sure: Bobby Van’s isn’t old style like them, but I even get a genuine sense out of the more modern joints like Del Frisco’s, Quality Meats, or Primehouse. I suppose it has something to do with being in a tourist and corporate zone (and serving up too much pizza and pasta), because the Bridgehampton location felt WAY more “real steakhouse” as opposed to “restaurant.” Anyway, it rocks some nice dark hardwoods, high ceilings, a big beautiful bar… but slightly small tables, and a somewhat cramped dining space (despite having huge, empty private dining rooms right there in plain view). An interesting thing I noticed was that the waiters all had similar style jackets to the one’s worn by the guys at Ben Benson’s; almost like a fancy, outdoor sport jacket, tan in color.

BOBBY VAN’S
135 W. 50th St.
New York, NY 10020

Filet Mignon, Midtown West, Press Reviews, Rib Eye, Steakhouse Reviews

Frankie & Johnnie’s (37th St.)

May 24, 2012 Johnny Prime 2 Comments

Frankie & Johnnie’s overall score: 79

In a last minute, game time decision to grab some steaks, I took my wife and the super awesome guy who built this website out to dinner as a thank you gesture for all the work put into getting this page into legitimacy. It turned out to be a really fucking good meal.

Flavor: 9 (updated to 8)

We got the peppercorn crusted ribeye for two that was on special here. It was beautifully cooked to right between medium and medium rare, like we asked. If I had to guess I’d say it was maybe 36-40oz, but it had no waste on it. It came pre-sliced, but not in the shitty style of how most places serve the “porterhouse for two.” You know the drill and how it is at those shit boxes; it comes out on a screeming hot bowl-plate, and the bleed-out liquid pools underneath the carcass. It’s like a culinary horror movie where the star of the film gets killed at the end instead of living happily ever after. Then the meat becomes dry unless you destroy the soft tissue in your mouth and eat it right away, while it is still 17 million degrees. No – Frankie & Johnnie’s respects the meat! They let it rest and cool down, and there was absolutely no run-off under the sliced meat. NONE. It held all its juices, and the deliciousness was locked in tight. It has a great char on the edges, and the peppercorn crusting added interesting flavor, though I thought the peppercorn was not really necessary. Even the blubber was smooth and edible on this fucker – like you could smear it on bread instead of using butter, kinda like roasted bone marrow but less gamey. It was served with a gravy boat of sauce – likely a catching of flavorful drippings and juices from the cooking process, clarified, and reduced just a bit for cohesion. It was fucking drinkable. Bravo to this place.

Choice of Cuts & Quality Available: 9 (updated to 8)

The menu online is very different from what they have on site, so I was pleasantly surprised to see more variety than I expected. They had the basics in the following form: filet with a mushroom cap (in two sizes), ground filet mignon (think elevated “chopped steak”), “sirloin steak” (which I assume is a lesser version of a strip cut, but aged nicely), a ribeye, a t-bone (a “lesser” porterhouse, but for one), and porterhouses for two or three. In addition, and on special, they had the ribeye for two that I described above. All the beef is dry aged and prime quality, and on top of the good beef selection they also have a great selection of alternameats (see the other section below). All that was missing was, say, a flank or a skirt cut.

Portion Size & Plating: 8

Sizes here are good but not off the charts. As I mentioned the ribeye for two was certainly enough given the fact that there was no waste. It was in the 36-40oz range, and while I have had ribeye for one at 39oz, the quality here surpassed nearly all other large portioned cuts that I’ve had. The filet comes in 8oz flavor, or 12oz flavor. You see the trend? Not too massive, but all good. So you get bang for your buck.

Price: 9

The prices here are actually really great for NYC. Nothing breaks $50 for a singular cut of meat, and most items from the beef side of things come in around mid $40s. The ribeye for two was $90. For a special cold seafood tower, an order of oysters, a bacon app, a special ribeye for two, two sides, a dessert, and four drinks the bill only came to $281 after tax. Not bad at all for a thoroughly enjoyed meal. I only took a point off because they mistakenly charged me for and served me a scotch that cost $4 more than the one I actually ordered.

Bar: 7

Frankie & Johnnie’s is set up a bit odd, but they make good use of the space. When you walk in, you are in a small entry hall with the greeter. There is a stairway up to the main dining room, and a short stairway down into the bar area, which extends backward on the ground floor level. It is dim, but lively. It has one flat screen tv, and across are a bunch of tables for bar dining. The martini was made perfectly, though a bit on the pricey side at $13-$14. Since it isn’t adjacent to the windows, it lacks a certain feel that I’ve come to want at restaurant bars. Contrast with Del Frisco’s bar, which is big, open, and right along the windows. See a picture of the bar and seating area below:

Specials and Other Meats: 8

On special was the ribeye for two, a hot seafood platter app, a cold seafood platter app, and an apple smoked thick cut bacon app. I would have liked to see a marinated flank or skirt to round out the beef selection, but otherwise it was a decent showing, especially considering we ordered three of the four items on special. As for other meats, they offered a great and unique selection; double loin lamb chops, pork chops, veal porterhouse, calves liver, and chicken (for pussies and broads).

Apps, Sides & Desserts: 7 (updated to 6)

We started with a plate of Pine Island oysters and the apple bacon app. The bacon was nice and thick, though one piece I had was a bit stringy since it was the end of the belly. The apples added a nice sweetness and acidity to contrast the fat. The oysters were creamy, crisp, cold, clean, and packed a lot of flavor. My wife had the cold seafood platter. It’s meant to serve two people, but I thought it was a little small for that (and pricey at $54). It had two oysters, two clams, two shrimp, some lump crab meat, and a half lobster (likely a small 1lb jammy). It was all very tasty though, so size was the only issue. The creamed spinach is a staple at any steak meal. Here it was average – yummy but not stellar. It was creamy, but a bit too loose. I’ve had better at Wolfgang’s. The mushrooms and onions were sweet and earthy. They did a good sautee job on them – not too salty, oily or buttery. For dessert we tried the coconut sorbet; it was airy, natural tasting, and creamy, yet did it not feel or taste like dairy. I guess that’s why it’s called sorbet and not ice cream, but it had the consistancy of ice cream.

Seafood Selection: 9 (updated to 8)

They offer Maine and African lobster, broiled salmon, shrimp scampi, Chilean seabass, and pan seared tuna for seafood entrees (along with a quiffy surf & turf). There’s also lots of the standard stuff on the app side of the menu, like the raw bar, crab cakes and all manner of cocktails.

Service: 9

The waiter was great – he gave us enough space but he was always there when we needed him. He was cheerful and happy, but not in the fake “TGI Friday’s” kind of way. He was genuine. All the servers were dressed with formal attire (vests and ties), and the staff was mixed male and female. The bread assortment consisted of some onion bread, garlic bread, flat bread, and other dinner rolls. The bread was warm but the butter was cold.

Ambiance: 8

Despite a slight lacking in the bar area, Frankie & Johnnie’s main dining room has elegant decor, lofty ceilings, and plenty of space. It is classy but not stuffy. In the rear there is a huge fireplace with lots of dark wood trim surrounds. Very nice. One down side is the lack of a bathroom on the dining floor. You have to go down to the back of the bar area, and that shitter isn’t that nice to begin with. Mediocre at best.

UPDATE: 1/18/18

After a re-visit many years later, I had to drop the score down a few points. The rib eye was flavorful but lots of the fat was inedible. The filet had more flavor, despite having less character.

Rib Eye: 7/10

Filet Mignon: 8/10

Steak Sauce

The seafood appetizer special for two, I thought, was going to be a chilled seafood platter. It turned out to be crab cakes, baked clams, and shrimp scampi. It wasn’t bad, in fact i liked the crab cake’s potato crust. It was just a little bit skimpy for a dish “for two.”

Mixed Seafood Grill

The bacon was a bit too fatty. I enjoy eating fat bacon, but perhaps this needed to be cooked for a longer amount of time at a lower temperature, to ensure that all the chewy bits became soft.

Bacon

The potatoes were cut into chunks as opposed to sliced thin. The result inside was a thin, soupy consistency that wasn’t too good.

Potatoes Au Gratin

The broccoli was great. Simple garlic and oil preparation, crisped and sautéed nicely.

Broccoli

Both the bread pudding and the chocolate lava cake lacked flavor. Particularly the lava cake. The outside was rubbery and flavorless.

Bread Pudding

FRANKIE & JOHNIE’S
32 W. 37th St.
New York, NY 10018

Midtown West, Rib Eye, Steakhouse Reviews

Ben Benson’s

April 28, 2012 Johnny Prime Leave a comment

Ben Benson’s overall score: 83

UPDATE: BEN BENSON’S IS NOW CLOSED!

Ben Benson’s opened in 1982 and has been known in the steak industry ever since. Nestled in the heart of midtown’s active workplace environs, and close enough to the theater district, it has become just as wildly popular as any other steakhouse in this highly competitive area of beefery. After eating here I heard some disappointing news that Benson’s is closing for good. From Johnny Prime: It is sad to see you go! I guess that makes this review somewhat obsolete and unnecessary.

Flavor: 7

I had the ribeye. Surprised about that? Nope. All you assholes should know my ordering habits by now if you are keeping up with this blog. The steak was perfectly and evenly cooked to medium, and it had a great crust on the outside, but the meat was under seasoned. This was the first time I ever had to use the salt and pepper shakers at a steakhouse. Damn! But once seasoned, it was good. I noticed a general lack of salt in a few other dishes actually (sides in particular), though the lobster was just right. I guess not enough salt is better than too much salt though. In any event, despite an overall satisfying meal, I took some points off for that basic cooking 101 blunder.

Choice of Cuts & Quality Available: 10

Ben Benson’s has a wide variety of cuts available. They have strip, filet and porterhouse – all three cuts available for both one or two – as well as a roasted prime rib (for pussies) AND a ribeye (for real men). They have several preparations of filet, “steak a la stone,” a skirt steak, a chopped steak, and lots of alternameats (see below). They even had a cajun ribeye and a bison ribeye. All the beef is aged prime, so you are good to go. To top it off, they also offer smaller portions of most cuts listed here. NOTE: if you go with bison, know that there is less marbling in the meat, as it is leaner. That means less flavor, and more toughness. The bison is also not aged or prime like the beef is. It is also a smaller cut. In short: stick with the beef cuts and give a hearty “fuck you, but thanks anyway” to the bison.

Portion Size & Plating: 8

Sizes here are good for the beef. They don’t list the ounces on the menu, but I was told the ribeye is about 22oz (bone-in), and the buffalo ribeye (which I was considering) was about 14 or 15oz. The sides are a bit small for the price of $11.50.

Price: 8

The price is average to a bit on the high end here. However they do offer a steak dinner for two, 7-days a week, for only $95. You choose between a filet with shrimp, or chateaubriand. It comes with soup, salad, and two sides. That is a fantastic deal. Our total bill for two apps, two entrees, two sides, a dessert, a lemonade, coffee, tea, and a martini came to $276 (tax and tip included). The 3lb lobster rang in at a whopping $73.50. KABOOM! As noted above, sides were $11.50. Martini was $15. Steak was $52.50.

Bar: 7

The bar is a little disjointed. When you walk in it is on the right, and it wraps around making a squared off U-shape, but the bottom part of the U is essentially a narrow hallway type thing to the other side. There is also an unsightly entrance into the corporate office building lobby on that side, but no big deal. The $15 martini was made well, though could have been made colder. They also serve some cool homemade french fries/potato chips at the bar, which were interesting. The bar also attracts some after work people from midtown, so it IS lively for socializing, mingling, finger-banging, and all that other bullshit.

Specials and Other Meats: 10

The $95 steak for two special is available every day. In addition they had a bone-in strip steak, salmon, mahi mahi, soft shell crab, shrimp bisque, and broccoli rabe on special. For other meats, they had veal, pork and chicken – each served a few different ways – as well as “winter wild game,” which I assume were the bison ribeyes. A really great and diverse mix. This place really has a big selection.

Apps, Sides & Desserts: 7

We had the house cured gravlax and the soft shell crab for starters. Both were good, though I think the lox could have been cut a little thinner and chilled a bit more, perhaps topped with some capers (though it did come with garlic toast). The crab was a little bit heavy (meaning buttery like a belly bomb), but the portion size was good (one 5in crab I would guess, point to point across the top of its shell – that’d be blue claw, assholes). As such it wasn’t overwhelming to the gut. On the side we had creamed spinach and broccoli rabe. The broccoli rabe was a simple saute in garlic and oil. It was light and not too potent or bitter. The greens were barely wilted, so it had a crunch. The creamed spinach was similar; also very light – lightest creamed spinach ever actually – and not salty. For dessert we had key lime pie. I’d say all of it was average. Nothing really shined or stood out as exceptional, but also nothing was disappointing. I’ve been to a lot of places, and not every meal is going to blow your mind. It is terrible when you pay that much and they completely ruin shit. But here, nothing gets ruined. On the other hand nothing is mind-blowingly jerkworthy either. The sides did seem a bit small for the price, however (not like we could finish them all anyway).

Seafood Selection: 9

Ben Benson’s is the first place where I have seen crab on the menu as an entree. This made me very excited. Crab, I feel, is one of the only things you are allowed to order if you aren’t getting a steak at a steakhouse. And when I say crab as an entree, I don’t mean crab cakes, or lump crab meat (which they have as well) – I am talking REAL crab. Stone crab. I was down when we were told it was currently not in season/unavailable. They did have soft shell crab though (both as an app, and as an entree). I may have to come back just to try the stone crab someday… oh wait… can’t because they’re closing. They also had several preparations of shrimp, some scallops, filet of sole, fish of the day (plural – they were salmon and mahi mahi), 3-7lb Maine lobsters (holy shit 7lb is HUGE), and a variety of typical shellfish (calamari, Blue Point oysters, smoked salmon, salmon tartare) on the app menu. The only thing missing was a “seafood plateau” or sampler, which is what my wife likes to get. Point off for that. BUT – the lobster was incredible, and it was a nice touch for them to crack it table side.

Service: 10

The host upgraded us from a small table in a central area to a booth up on one of the elevated dining areas once he realized we were there for our “anniversary” reservation. The waiters are all male, and they all had ties on with some kind of beige jacket on their shoulders. It almost looked like outerwear. Our waiter was great. He cracked my wife’s lobster at the table and pulled out the meat for her (that sounds awesomely perverse). Later, he and another waiter sang a happy anniversary song for us, and more importantly, they knew their steak. Our waiter spoke with me about the difference in quality and marbling between the buffalo ribeye (on special) and the beef ribeye. He was attentive and friendly. In terms of bread, which I always mention in some way, it was not warm and the butter was not cold. It was somewhere in the average area. A crispy ciabatta type bread was in there, a raisin walnut, and bread sticks. Their steak sauce tasted like dark red cocktail sauce – I generally don’t dig steak sauces so I just tried it with the bread.

Ambiance: 7

This place is somewhere in between a new steakhouse and an old steakhouse. The decor says it is trying to be the older type, the classic chop house, but the location and environs says the opposite. Contrast this with a place like Del Frisco’s, which embraces its corporateness and blows it out the water in terms of ambiance. It works there. I guess it didn’t help that the entire front of the building was covered up by the scaffolding on 52nd street, which, by the way, never seemed to go away until I learned of their closing. The bathroom was basic – nothing fancy. Thick paper towels though. You know I like that shit.

Midtown West, Rib Eye, Steakhouse Reviews

Empire Steakhouse

March 30, 2012 Johnny Prime 4 Comments

Empire Steakhouse overall score: 77

UPDATE: THIS LOCATION HAS CLOSED

On a whim my wife and I decided to give this place a try since it was right near work. Empire is run by former Luger’s and Ben & Jack’s staff, so you know there is clout behind what they do.

Flavor: 7

I had the ribeye, as usual. It was pretty tasty, but there were some quality issues that caused a slight decrease in flavor. See below for full details on that. As for flavor, it had a nice smoky, charred taste, which was enjoyable. It was nicely seasoned too, and cooked/rested correctly. They have a proprietary steak sauce on the table, but I didn’t dig it. It tasted like ketchup and horseradish (cocktail sauce).

Choice of Cuts & Quality Available: 7

Empire covers the basics in a plentiful way. They offer porterhouse for two, three, or four; ribeye; filet; strip; and even prime rib. To top it off there are veal and lamb chops too. The issue is that my particular cut was sub par. There was a good deal of inedible gristle and fat on it that didn’t melt away, and some spots were chewy. I’d guess about 3-4oz. worth was inedible. Also, the bone on it was rather big. Normally I don’t mind that one bit, but this time it took up a good amount of the ounce-age of the steak, so the edible portion size (taking bone and gristle into consideration) ended up on the small size even though it probably clocked in at around 20oz total weight. Maybe I was able to eat 12oz of it?

Portion Size & Plating: 7

For the steak, part of this relates back to the above comments: “There was a good deal of inedible gristle and fat on it that didn’t melt away. I’d guess about 3-4oz worth was inedible. Also, the bone on it was rather big. Normally I don’t mind that one bit, but this time it took up a good amount of the ounce-age of the steak, so the edible portion size (taking bone and gristle into consideration) ended up on the small size even though it probably clocked in at around 20oz total weight. Maybe I was able to eat 12oz of it?” The steak for multiples comes out pre-sliced on a sizzling platter, just like the assholes at Luger’s do, and just like the dunces at Mark Joseph do. I personally HATE this method of serving, because the meat bleeds out and becomes dry, and often it isn’t cooked properly. Anyone who is into steak knows that a steak should be rested before it is cut, not sizzling on a God-damned hot plate like a fucking steak fajita at TGI Fridays (by the way – fajita meats steak in Spanish… so steak fajita is the equivalent of saying “steak steak”). I understand the presentation is fun this way, but guys… come on… you are fucking up the meat! The creamed spinach, bacon slabs and creme brulee were the right sizes, but the oyster app was $14 for six pieces (see price section below), and the chilled seafood platter only had two shrimp, a fist full of lump crab meat, and a small lobster. To top it off, the shrimp and lobster on the seafood platter were utterly flavorless. The crab meat on it, however, was great.

Price: 7

The price wasn’t too bad considering we had a full meal in a NYC steakhouse. The total bill with tax and tip included came to about $175. The ribeye was $43, the seafood platter was $27, bacon by the slice was $4, and martinis were $13. As I mentioned above, however, the oysters were a little pricey, the steak was not the best cut, and the seafood platter was a bit lacking; so you pay a little less because you are getting a little less I suppose.

Bar: 7

The bar is small but neat, modern and clean. The martini was a little heavier on the vermouth than I normally like, but they did have raspberry caipirinhas for the wifey to sip on. The best part about the bar was the free home made potato chips that tasted like steak meat.

Specials and Other Meats: 8

Empire has a prime rib for people who are too puss-cake for the ribeye. They also have lamb and veal chops to round out their selection of carnivorous delights. On special there was… nothing! Oh well. Not that big of a deal.

Apps, Sides & Desserts: 8

My wife had the seafood platter for her entree, and that was flavorless in the two shrimp and small lobster section, but great for the lump crab meat portion. The oysters were creamy, crisp, cold and fresh, but they were over priced. We also had the bacon slabs, which were “Canadian” style and tasted a bit more like ham than real bacon, but it was still yummy. On the side, we had creamed spinach, which was really great – almost exactly the same as Wolfgang’s, which are my favorite (retained the spinach flavor, not too salty, not heavy, yet still creamy). For dessert we had creme brulee, which was basic and standard… and good! I love me some creme brulee!

Seafood Selection: 9

Empire has a really fantastic selection for seafood. For entrees they have sea bass, salmon, tuna, sole, lobster, crab cakes, and shrimp dishes. For apps they have the usual lump crab meat, crab cakes, lobster cocktail, shrimp cocktail, clams, oysters, baked clams, fried calamari, and a seafood platter. Excellent. From what we tried, however, we were only half pleased (loved the oysters and crab meat, didn’t like the shrimp and lobster so much), so I took a point for that.

Service: 9

Our waiter was a little aloof and quiet, but I don’t mind that so much. One of the other waiters actually had the courtesy to apologize to my wife when the group he was seating bumped into her twice, HARD, without even acknowledging the mishap. That was nice of him. The waiters all have red vests with bow ties on top of white tux shirts, all male. The bread basket was the same exact basket from Wolfgang’s: fennel and salt loaf, nice rigid french bread, and some poppy and onion rolls. Unfortunately one of the waiters knocked the french bread out of the basket when he was setting up our oysters. My wife likes French bread, so that was more her loss than mine.

Ambiance: 8

As mentioned above, the waiters all have red vests with bow ties on top of white tux shirts, and they’re all male. The decor is elegant and modern, but not over the top. Everything is neat and clean, including the bathroom, which had nice off-white marble tiles all over. It was a single person toilet with thick paper towels set upon the marble counter tops.

EMPIRE STEAKHOUSE
36 W. 52nd St.
New York, NY 10019

Filet Mignon, Midtown West, NY Strip, Rib Eye, Steakhouse Reviews

Nick & Stef’s

March 3, 2012 Johnny Prime 2 Comments

Nick & Stef’s Steakhouse overall score: 86

This was my second time eating at Nick & Stef’s. The first time was a few years back, before I started reviewing. My wife and I went for an anniversary and the chef came out to ask how our meal was. I remember the steak was good that time (I had the strip). This time my wife had a coupon for $50 off the bill for her bday (sign up for their newsletters), so that was a recipe for return. Unfortunately this place is going to be closing for several months while MSG is renovated, so go while you can. Renovations may even stretch on into 2013 if certain things pan out.

NOTE: Nick & Stef’s is finally back! My wife and I went for a third visit on 02/25/14 and there were some improvements. See the below bolded items.

Flavor: 9

I almost want to give this place a 10, but there was just a slight lack of flavor as I got toward the bone side of my ribeye. This is kind of splitting hairs, I realize… It was juicy and cooked properly, just lacked a little seasoning in that deep tissue. Otherwise it was fantastic. The ribeye had a nice thick and delicious fat cap, and it was butchered well. There was a nice sear on the outside and the meat was cooked perfectly even all the way through. However I didn’t taste any characteristic gaminess that I would have expected with aged and certified angus. I might have liked a bit of that.

nick & stef meat — oops. took the pic a little late

This time I remembered to take a photo. Since I had the rib eye and the strip already, I went with the filet. It was definitely still a solid 9 for flavor, despite much of it being nearly a step overcooked. Bravo for consistency of flavor!

They serve this little mound of joy with your choice of sauce. I had the horseradish cream, which is thankfully presented on the side, though it was great with the french fries (which came with the roasted chicken):

Choice of Cuts & Quality Available: 9

Nick & Stef’s offers dry-aged, certified black angus steaks. This official certification is meant to guarantee consistent, high quality beef with superior taste. They have a sirloin (meant to be the strip), a T-bone (similar to a porterhouse for one but with a much smaller filet side), a porterhouse for two, and a ribeye that fall under this certification. They also offer two sizes of the filet (pussy and pussier). In addition they have a hanger steak, braised short ribs, and some alternative chops like lamb and veal on the menu as well.

Portion Size & Plating: 8

Portion sizes are listed as follows: 14oz. for the sirloin/strip; 20oz. T-bone; 42oz. porterhouse; 24oz. ribeye (bone-in); and 8 or 12oz. filets. These are good sizes, but the sirloin is a bit on the smaller side (though it is boneless).

Price: 10

The steaks are an average price for NYC. This place is close to MSG, so I was thinking it might even be more expensive than it actually was. The steaks range from $36 (small filet) to $47 (per person charge for the porterhouse). Our bill was under $200 after tax, tip and all deductions. The martini at the bar cost just under $16 (I threw down a $20 since Lawrence knows a friend and fellow meat man, Carlos), so that ups it a bit. Overall a fair price.

I bumped the price score to a full 10. Again we were able to use a $50 birthday promo, since my wife’s birthday was in January. On top of that, the prices haven’t moved too much in the 2 years since our last visit. Awesome.

Bar: 8

The bar is cool. It has a unique wavy zig zag shape to it, creating a very conversational environment. Located adjacent to Penn Station and MSG, it can get pretty lively with the after work and pre-event crowds. It can be quite fun if that is what you are going for.

They make a nice gin martini – the Beefeater they use is the special 24 kind, so the flavor is much nicer than the standard. Fresh.

On the third trip I tried the “Bloody Bull” – essentially a Bloody Mary with steak sauce mixed in, and beef flavor. My wife had a Manhattan that was on the cocktail menu, and it was mixed nicely. Easy to slurp.

Specials and Other Meats: 8

As mentioned above, Nick & Stef’s has veal chops and lamb chops. They also have a roasted chicken to round out the basics for non-beef. On the beef front, outside of the normal four chops they have a braised short rib and a hanger cut. On special were oysters, butternut squash soup, surf & turf (lobster + filet), a sweet potato fries side, and a striped bass entree served over a broth with butter beans.

Here’s a shot of the roasted chicken that my wife had, which comes with Parmesan and rosemary french fries. It was pretty good – though the breast meat was a little on the dry side:

Apps, Sides & Desserts: 8

We had a few items: first, I had a half order each of both east and west coast oysters. The west coast were a bit more potent, while the east were nice and crisp. They were served with a really awesome mustard horseradish old bay infused cream that was incredible on everything. Top notch condiment. They should bottle that shit and sell the fuck out of it. The tuna tartare was just okay. It had a little bit of stringy texture to it, like the tissue between flakes of body meat were too over worked. We’ve had better elsewhere, though it did have a nice flavor overall with the capers, calamata olives and green peppers chopped up inside. We shared an order of creamed spinach, which cut the savory flavors nicely with a light veggie flavor. The green beans were good too – they were seasoned just right to bring out all the nice natural flavors, while still retaining a good snap and firmness in texture. My wife ordered the seafood plateau app for her meal, and it was pretty fantastic: mussels, clams, oysters, shrimp cocktail, lobster cocktail, lump crab meat, boiled crawfish, and salmon tartare were all included for under $40. The dressing on the salmon was basically the cocktail sauce (unimpressive – basically ketchup), but otherwise it was a really great item to order. For dessert we had the apple cobbler, which is served warm with a scoop of vanilla ice cream on top. I was not that impressed by it, but I was also pretty fucking stuffed from eating every ounce of meat on my steak.

On trip number three, we had sauteed spinach, which was just right – not too salty or overly garlicky.

We also had the steak tartare. It was okay – I’ve had better, but it certainly did the trick.

We also shared a key lime pie. Not nearly as good as Gallagher’s. It had a slight bitterness which often accompanies the center portion of key lime pie, but we still ate it all.

Seafood Selection: 9

This place offers a good amount of fish. Aside from onion soup, there is ONLY seafood in the apps section of the menu. Shrimp, crab meat and lobster cocktail dishes, raw clams and oysters, and a seafood platter that even has crawfish and ceviche. In addition to the cold stuff they have lobster bisque, crab cakes, tuna tartare, fried calamari and baked clams. Solid. On the entree side they offer a mixed seafood grill, crab cakes, salmon, grilled whole branzino, yellowfin tuna and shrimp scampi. They also had a special striped bass item that wasn’t on the menu. It sounded delicious.

Service: 9

The waiter reminded me of a more cheerful, upbeat version of Andy Dufresne from Shawshank Redemption. He was great and friendly. The waitstaff are mixed male and female, but all wear traditional white shirt/black tie combos as a nod to tradition. The table breads were nice and crispy: a roll, a log, a bun, and some flats with a spreadable butter. Basics.

Ambiance: 8

It doesn’t help that there is scaffolding all over the front of the restaurant, but anyone familiar with NYC doesn’t care about that, since at any moment at least 1/4 of NYC is covered by the blight of restoration/maintenance/repair. The interior is in need of an upgrade. It is semi-sleek and modern, dimly lit, nice, but not trying too hard. The ceilings feel a bit low, since the awkward ceiling levels have been covered over with a strange angled architecture that was meant to look cool, but instead looks more like a bad wooden version of Superman’s fortress of solitude. The music selection was great: Sinatra and the crooners, mixed with some 40s and tin pan alley. The bathroom had stacks of nice thick paper towels, but the door was positioned oddly such that they had to hang curtains to block the view from outside to give some privacy to those taking a piss at the urinal.

FINALLY – the fucking scaffolding is GONE.

But that interior… Man – I don’t like it.

NICK & STEF’S
9 Pennsylvania Plaza
New York, NY 10001

Flash Deals, Full Points for Flavor, Midtown West, Rib Eye, Steakhouse Reviews

E&E Grill House

February 18, 2012 Johnny Prime Leave a comment

E&E Grill House overall score: 89

NOTE: This place is now CLOSED!

My wife discovered E&E Grill House through one of those coupon deal websites (Living Social). It seemed like an interesting quasi-steakhouse kind of place, so we gave it a shot. I think the deal we purchased was something like $40 gets you $90 worth of menu items. Not bad! As it turns out, E&E happened to BLOW AWAY many of the so called top steakhouses in NYC. I was pleasantly surprised at the quality, flavor and choices available here, and most impressed with the extremely friendly staff.

Flavor: 10

Everything here tasted exceptional – apps, sides, entrees, and dessert. Here I will focus only on the steak entree. I ordered the ribeye, as I always do to test the mettle of a steakhouse. The meat was perfectly cooked to medium, it was allowed to rest properly to keep those juices locked in, and the flavor had a slight gaminess to it (it was aged prime beef) that added character. Perfectly seasoned – not too salty or overly crusted with seasoning. Just right. These guys know how to handle their slabs of meat. The central portion had nice marbling because the meat stayed soft and tender, it chewed easily, and was packed with goodness. The fat cap was a bit smaller than I had hoped, but it was so freaking delicious. I picked the bone clean. What a welcome meal after last night’s misery at Gallagher’s. That’s right – I ate fucking ribeye two nights in a row, and this place STILL scored top marks. The meat man is impressed.

Choice of Cuts & Quality Available: 9

E&E offers two filets: 8oz (for pussies and women) and 14oz (a bone-in conundrum for people with more than a few inches of penis dangling between their legs). They have a hanger, a skirt, a strip and a ribeye as well. They don’t have a porterhouse on their standard menu (I took a point for that), but they still offer both strip and filet, so you can create your own porterhouse if you really feel the need to. Porterhouse isn’t really my thing anyway. But they make up for the lack of a porterhouse with the alternative selections (hanger and skirt), which were nice to see on the menu.

Portion Size & Plating: 8

Portion sizes are a bit on the smaller side. I think they are good for the money though. The filets are 8oz and 14oz (these are actually right in the average zone). The strip is a bit small at 12oz (lunch size at Ruth’s Chris). The 9oz hanger, and the 8oz skirt are a bit small as well, though deceiving if you see the size of the hanger on the plate. The ribeye gets close to normal at 18oz (bone-in). The plus here is that you get a great meal for your buck; every ounce is delicious.

Price: 9

The steaks range from $23 (hanger – nice sized portion by the way – bigger than you expect) to $58 (ribeye), so they are about right for the size, perhaps bordering on slightly expensive if you don’t have a Living Social coupon. The bonus here is that they regularly offer deals through Living Social and those kinds of websites, so you can basically get $50 of your meal for free if you keep an eye out for those deals before you go. Our bill, after all deal deductions, tax and tip, came to about $150 – sweet!

Bar: 8

The bar is so-so. It isn’t bad by any means at all. It is neat, clean, chic – not the traditional steakhouse type of bar. It is a bit small, so not sure if I could see myself hanging out there other than while waiting for a table. The place is adjacent to a nice hotel so there is likely some traffic from there, which is good for E&E since people will likely eat and enjoy the place after having a drink, or before going to a show. The bartender was really friendly, and made a great martini just how I like it (very dry). The best part about the bar is that they have a really awesome selection of specialty cocktails with bold new ideas and ingredients (such as elderflower, cucumber water, and other fresh taste bud popping flavors) in conjunction with rich, old-timey classic favorites. We tried the Violet Beauregarde (great name) and the Hendrick’s 49. Both were fantastic.

Specials and Other Meats: 9

This place has pork chops, lamb chops and chicken by way of alternameats. They have tofu on the menu. Come on, man. Really? WTF!!??!? I had to take a point off for that, just because. I guess it is nice that they are thinking of vegan losers too, but maybe I am just an old fashioned carnivore (with an appreciation for the societal good inherent in bullying). If it were up to me, vegans would be shaved, sterilized and destroyed! In addition to a good selection of other meats, they also had some specials on the menu. Three to be exact; first was an appetizer special of west coast oysters + caviar. Second was Onaga fish (similar to red snapper, hailing from Hawaii). Third was duck l’orange (breast and thigh/leg). We had two of these – read on for the verdict.

Apps, Sides & Desserts: 10

AMAZING! EVERYTHING WE ORDERED WAS AMAZING! First, we started with a trio of appetizers; the special oysters, the grilled bacon, and the buffalo steak tartare. The oysters were really fresh, and the caviar on top made the flavor pop. Instead of Tabasco they offered Sri Racha to kick the spice level up. YES! Sri Racha is awesome on anything. Put it on cardboard and I will eat it. The grilled bacon was the ultimate; nice thick slabs of perfectly cooked goodness with a creamy, zingy sauce on the side to dip into. I could eat that shit all day. The buffalo steak tartare was delicious too – very lean, and served with a cooling bone marrow mayo that added just the right amount of fat back into the meat. What an amazing flavor that marrow mayo had to it. It was like a refreshing, cool fat-foam, and served beautifully inside a hollowed out length of bone (where the marrow would normally be). The entrees each come with a sauce and a side item, which is rare in the steakhouse world. Usually sides are a la carte, over priced, and over sized, and sauces are an upcharge. These sides were just right. We had creamed spinach and grilled broccolini. Broccolini is my favorite veggie on earth, so I was psyched to see it on the menu. It was nicely grilled and packed a lot of flavor. The heads had a beautiful char on them that added a crispy texture to the normal snap of a nicely cooked veggie. The creamed spinach was very nice and creamy; not too rich but it still had a lot of flavor to it. Before I move to dessert I need to mention the sauces. If you are getting a steak, order the sauce ON THE SIDE. The steaks are so well prepared that you really shouldn’t cover them with anything except for the saliva that dangles from your mouth as you drool and wait to dig in. The sauces are good, but probably better for going into on occasion rather than with every bite. That is my opinion anyway. I had the “blue butter” which was essentially a blue cheese flavored butter. It was really delicious, but I couldn’t do every bite of my steak with that on top. I was glad I ordered it on the side. My wife had the tomato shallot white wine sauce, which went perfectly as a bedding underneath her fish entree. For dessert we shared a slice of key lime pie. Our waiter (Chris, who was awesome – see below) informed us that it is made fresh on site every morning. It had a great tartness to it without being too sweet, or “cloying,” as assholes on Food Network like to say all the time. Add to that the nice airy meringue and you have a perfectly balanced dessert. The table breads were interesting too; warm homemade biscuits with a smooth whipped honey butter. Nice touch!

Seafood Selection: 8

They only have a salmon dish and a scallop dish on their entree menu in terms of fish. But their apps feature smoked salmon, crab fritters, and mussels. Add to that the specials of oysters (app) and the Onaga (entree), and you are ALMOST at a top-notch seafood level. I think they should scrap the tofu entree if it’s not a big seller, and replace it with a nice seared sushi-grade tuna dish, like a tataki preparation or something. Sure – it is a little expected, but I think it goes with the chic and clean decor style. The Onaga was really great. The meat was succulent and fell off the cut in pieces that resembled lump crab meat. This Hawaiian fish is similar to red snapper, but a little more robust and meaty. A nice fit for a steakhouse, I think. It had a great crispy crust to boot.

Service: 10

I was greeted with warm smiles and a friendly attitude when I walked in. At the bar, I met a gentleman who was genuinely interested in his customers, and very amicable; he asked about growing beards, as I had a nice full one at the time. He mixed a great drink as well! Our waiter Chris could not have done a better job. He was extremely helpful with suggestions on dishes, sauce combinations, etc. He did an amazing job explaining how certain dishes were prepared, and was very thorough in describing the specials and answering our questions. His personal opinions on which dishes he liked best were helpful too, and our dining experience was heightened by his exceptional service and attention to detail. Overall the staff here is just on another level. E&E should be proud of them, and I look forward to returning for another fantastic meal.

Ambiance: 8

E&E is more of a modern steakhouse/restaurant. So temper your expectations with that knowledge up front. I typically prefer the old-school steakhouse feel, but I am not opposed to the modern style if done right. For example, Primehouse is one of my top rated steak joints and it is a modern joint rather than the old style of Keens (also a favorite). In other words, I don’t discriminate. E&E did a really wonderful job with the space here. It is modern, but not pretentious and overly trendy. It is just right. I particularly liked the paintings/photographs on the wall that were screened onto floor tiles and mounted together. Very nice! Everything is clean too – bathrooms included (small, personal, one-at-a-time deals).

E&E GRILL HOUSE
233 W. 49th St.
New York, NY 10019

Strip House (midtown) overall score: 95

SHARE THIS SHIT HERE:

Delmonico’s Kitchen overall score: 91

SHARE THIS SHIT HERE:

The Palm overall score: 81

SHARE THIS SHIT HERE:

Shula’s overall score: 67

SHARE THIS SHIT HERE:

Bobby Van’s Overall Score: 78

SHARE THIS SHIT HERE:

Frankie & Johnnie’s overall score: 79

SHARE THIS SHIT HERE:

Ben Benson’s overall score: 83

SHARE THIS SHIT HERE:

Empire Steakhouse overall score: 77

SHARE THIS SHIT HERE:

Nick & Stef’s Steakhouse overall score: 86

SHARE THIS SHIT HERE:

E&E Grill House overall score: 89

SHARE THIS SHIT HERE:

carnivore connoisseur