Category Archives: Other Cuts

Filet Mignon, Midtown East, Midtown West, Other Cuts, Steakhouse Reviews

Tallow Steakhouse

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Tallow Steakhouse overall score: 85

Tallow Steakhouse just opened in midtown, and is connected to the Shaver Hall food hall, boasting it’s own private dining room with a streamlined, simple menu. Check out the Ride & Review below:

 

Flavor: 8

We tried all three steaks here; the picanha, the hanger and the filet/tenderloin. We liked them in that order, with the picanha and hanger each scoring a solid 8/10, and the filet coming in the back at 7/10. I felt like the filet was a  bit over-salted, but still super tender and enjoyable. The other cuts were just more interesting. We tried each of the three sauces available (salsa verde/chimi; “Tallow” steak sauce, and au poivre). We liked the Tallow sauce the best. Both the filet and the picanha initially came out to our table overcooked. We didn’t even have to say anything though. As soon as the waiter saw what the server brought out, he sent them back. Good man!

Picanha (8/10):

Hanger (8/10):

Tenderloin (7/10):

Choice of Cuts & Quality Available: 7

The selection here is limited to just three boneless cuts; tenderloin/filet mignon, picanha (aka coulotte or top sirloin cap), and hanger. While that means fewer points for this category, it also means that the kitchen has a much better focus on preparing them correctly. Don’t skip this place due to an artificially low score. The nature of my review categories harms this place rather than helps it. I respect this place’s dedication to attempting to execute just three cuts to perfection. All the cuts are prime grade, from what I understand, so the quality is there. Nothing is aged, but their butcher shop next door in shaver hall seems to offer some aged cuts. I’m keeping a 7/10 score here as a placeholder so that the total score doesn’t drop artificially low as a result of my flawed rating system.

Portion Size & Plating: 9

This place offers 7oz, 8oz or 9oz portions (with each steak having it’s own size). Plating is nicely done with each steak being in its own cast iron skillet, which then sits on a plate that is filled with fries. Nice and simple.

Price: 10

This place is a steal. The price is fixed at $49 for each cut, and your meal comes with a delicious salad and lots of really nicely cooked fries. You’d be hard-pressed to find a better deal for a 7-9oz cut of prime beef with all of that.

Bar: 9

The bar here really nice, with views of 5th Avenue. They mix up some nice steakhouse-themed drinks. My wife got a bresaola old fashioned, and I had a filthy martini.

They also offer half priced Happy Hour drinks at the bar from 5-6pm, along with a special bar-only burger that I need to try.

Specials and Other Meats: 7

There are no specials on the menu and no other meats offered (like chicken or lamb). This place is strictly bread, salad, French fries, steak, bone marrow and dessert. On my next trip I’ll try the focaccia bread, the marrow, and the other dessert (sourdough brownie / chocolate mousse). Again, I’m keeping a 7/10 score here as a placeholder so that the total score doesn’t drop artificially low as a result of my flawed rating system.

Apps, Sides & Desserts: 10

Everything else that came with our steaks was perfect. The salad was nicely dressed and came with some really delicious croutons.

The French fries were well-seasoned and perfectly crisp. I forgot to ask them if they actually use tallow for frying.

We tried two of the three desserts: their chocolate chip cookie and a tart raspberry posset, which was sort of like a pudding. We loved both of these, especially when eaten together.

And, yeah, the cookie looks like the losing end of a fraternity hazing ritual in which the last guy to nut on a cookie has to eat it. But it was super delicious – it tasted like melted vanilla ice cream.

Seafood Selection: 7

There is no seafood on the menu here. Nut up. I’m keeping a 7/10 score here as a placeholder so that the total score doesn’t drop artificially low as a result of my flawed rating system.

Service: 10

Service was excellent here. Re-read my note from the flavor section about out waiter – he was super knowledgeable about all the cuts, by the way. Top notch.

Ambiance: 8

This place is really nice inside. I’m not sure what I was expecting coming here, but this exceeded whatever I had in my mind. Perhaps the idea of it being connected with Shaver food hall next door made me think this was going to be too casual. I would definitely go back again, and very much plan to.

TALLOW STEAKHOUSE
436 5th Avenue
New York, NY 10018

Brooklyn, Full Points for Flavor, NY Strip, Other Cuts, Steakhouse Reviews

Gage & Tollner

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Gage & Tollner overall score: 93*

My wife took me here for my birthday. I’ve been wanting to try this spot for a while. It was a great meal, so let me get right into it.

Flavor: 10

We started with the strip steak (as a shared appetizer course) and finished with the beef Wellington (as a shared entree). The strip was dry-aged at least 30 days, served with roasted garlic, herb butter and charred lemon, and was cooked to a perfect medium rare. Absolute perfection.

10/10. I haven’t awarded full points for flavor in years.

The Wellington was also perfectly cooked. Easily the best one I’ve had since TAK Room (RIP).

Another 10/10.

Choice of Cuts & Quality Available: 10

There are great selections here for two people, three people, and even solo steaks – both baller style and for those on a budget. They even have off-cuts like bavette. I was impressed.

Portion Size & Plating: 8

Portions are a bit on the smaller side here, in terms of solo steaks (strip was like 11oz), but the quality makes up for it. Each plate was done up nicely – not the standard slice of beef sitting on a white plate with nothing else.

Price: 8

Beef prices are super high right now, but we didn’t feel like we got hosed. They also offer happy hour deals at the table if you eat early like we did.

Bar: 10

The bar here is beautiful and big. Warm and inviting. Elegant. Happy hour “tiny martinis” are still a good size – larger than many full sized martinis at other places. They offer a large variety of martinis, and they’re good.

Specials and Other Meats: 9

I don’t recall there being any other specials read to us, aside from some highlighted new items that the waiter spoke about. They offer chicken, pork and lamb in terms of alternative meats. Good showing.

Apps, Sides & Desserts: 9

We ordered the fried hen of the woods mushrooms, an appetizer, as a side to go with out Wellington. We also had the asparagus salad (more like a composed side) as a side with the strip steak (which was also an appetizer for us). Both excellent. The mushrooms came with a house made sri racha sauce that was incredible. We asked for more and put it on everything.

The pistachio rhubarb cheesecake was pretty good to boot.

Seafood Selection: 9

We ordered the happy hour special clams and oysters to start ($1.50-$2.00 range each), and both were great. Based on this, I would feel confident ordered a seafood entree if I spontaneously grew a vagina and wanted to avoid meat.

Service: 10

Service was outstanding. They rememebered that my wife had booked the reservation to celebrate a birthday, and they went the extra mile with a candle and some chocolate words on the plate. They also were great with letting us know about menu offerings, they knew the meats in and out, and they were great with getting us extra sri racha and roasted garlic.

Ambiance: 10

The space is old and beautiful. I think it has been around since the mid-1800s – recently revamped in like 2021, but looks the same for the most part, from what I’ve seen in old photos. Wonderful meal, elegant/fancy space, yet casual and fun. I would go back in a heartbeat.

GAGE & TOLLNER
372 Fulton Street
Brooklyn, NY 11201

Burgers, Midtown West, NY Strip, Other Cuts, Steakhouse Reviews

Carversteak

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Carversteak overall score: 83

Carversteak just opened up here in NYC. The restaurant originally hails from Vegas. We gave it a good wallop. Watch this first, and then read on:

Flavor: 8

We had the Kansas City Strip. This was a 14oz piece of bone in meat that was dry-aged for 28 days. It was very slightly overcooked (medium instead of medium rare), but the flavor packed a good aged punch. I think we got a slightly sinewy end steak, and it could have used a little bit of salt.

Choice of Cuts & Quality Available: 9

There’s a good selection of cuts here, showcasing everything from USDA prime, aged, domestic and Aussie wagyu cross breeds, and Japanese wagyu. The only down side here is that they had just two aged selections.

Portion Size & Plating: 8

The portions here match up nicely with most NYC steakhouses, with individual cuts being between 10-20oz, and shared steaks being around 40oz. Plating was basic and clean for the steak itself, but ither items were gussied up a bit.

Price: 7

I took some points here, because I thought that $89 for a 14oz steak was a bit over the top. Especially if it wasn’t a 10/10 for flavor. Other items that were expensive: the martinis and old fashioneds. See below.

Bar: 8

The bar here is a bit small and facing the back, where it splits the restaurant essentially in half, which isn’t ideal for entering, popping a squat, and enjoying a drink while people-watching. That said, the bartenders are excellent and so are the martinis and old fashioneds. The sheer number of selections is overwhelming. The price of $25ea is also a bit high.

Specials and Other Meats: 8

There were no real specials read to us, but we did get the French onion short rib and the wagyu burger. Both needed a touch of salt, just like the steak. The burger also suffers from two downfalls: the bottom of the bun was too hard, and the combo os shredded lettuce, mayo and tomato on top turns into a sort of coleslaw that you just want to scrape off (keeping just the cheese and the grilled onion). Otherwise very nice. Great crispy and well-seasoned fries came with the $32 burger.

Apps, Sides & Desserts: 8

We started with the uni shrimp toast and the steak tartare. Once again, the beef item (tartare) needed salt. Not sure what’s going on here. We both loved the uni toast though, we just wished there was more uni on each one.

The broccolini was nicely prepared, but several pieces were woody at the stem area and needed to be spit out, but the mac and cheese was absolutely perfect in every way (see the video linked above for an images of the broccolini and mac).

For dessert, we tried the lemon tart and a trio of sorbets and ice cream (yuzu, strawberry and vanilla bean). All great.

Seafood Selection: 8

There’s standard steakhouse seafood fare here. We didn’t try any outside of the uni and shrimp toast, but that was one of our favorite items of the meal so it bodes well.

Service: 10

Service was excellent, from the bar (William) to the table (Sean), and the old fashioned cart in between. Management checked on us a few times throughout the meal, and everyone seemed to know their stuff inside and out. Table bread was a pair of very nice pretzel bread sticks with a delicious and soft flavored butter (see the video linked above for an image of the bread).

Ambiance: 9

This place is really nice inside. Behind the bar is an elevator bank and a beautiful, broad spiral staircase that takes you up to a rooftop bar. There is a more intimately lit dining room back behind the bar, and beautiful bathrooms downstairs. I would definitely go back to try more.

CARVERSTEAK
305 W 48th Street
New York, NY 10036

NY Strip, Other Cuts, Steakhouse Reviews, West Village

Golden Steer

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Golden Steer overall score: 90

Golden Steer just opened up in NYC, originally a Las Vegas native. They’re located down by Washington Square Park in the beautiful One Fifth Avenue location. My wife took me here for a Valentine’s Day dinner, so we went big.

Flavor: 9

We had the shorthorn, their boneless 16oz NY strip, as well as their “Diamond Lil” 20oz roasted prime rib on the bone.

Neither of these are significantly dry-aged, but they were cooked nicely and both tasty. We both preferred the prime rib to the strip, as the strip had a bit more chew. The prime rib was super tender. I’d give the strip a 7/10 and the prime rib a 9/10.

On a second trip, we tried the filet mignon and the rib eye (as well as a repeat of the prime rib). Both were excellent, 9/10.

On a third trip, I had the KC strip they had on special. 8/10.

Choice of Cuts & Quality Available: 9

The menu is full of options. They offer a tomahawk and porterhouse for larger format sharing, and both their rib eye and porterhouse are dry-aged. They also offer two sizes of prime rib (the “English Cut” is smaller), and two sizes of filet mignon.

Portion Size & Plating: 9

Portion sizes are good here. The veggies/sides are enough for two people to share, and the steaks come in on the larger size: 8oz and 12oz filets; 24oz rib eye; 14oz and 20oz prime rib; 45oz tomahawk; 50oz porterhouse; and 16oz NY strip. The plating was great. Definitely a bit elevated from the standard steakhouse experience. Our steaks came out on a cutting board, and each appetizer and side had its own deliverable.

Price: 8

The prices here are fair given the tremendous and, I presume, extremely expensive, commercial space. The only thing that I thought was hefty was my Monkey 47 martini, which clocked in at a whopping $40.

Bar: 10

The bar is stunning. Make sure you give yourself some time to take it in before you go to your table. Or, better yet, eat at the bar or in the bar room. They mix a nice martini, and the cocktail list is great. We liked their old fashioned.

Specials and Other Meats: 8

I don’t recall any specials being read to us before ordering, but, to be fair, we kinda already knew what we wanted. They offer lamb chops, a special chicken dish, and veal saltimbocca as far as non-steak meats go. Next time I will try one of those.

On a second trip, the lamb chops were bangers. These make for a great shared app.

Apps, Sides & Desserts: 8

We started with the braised Spanish octopus, and filet mignon steak tartare. The octopus stole the show here. It was incredibly tender inside with a nice charred exterior, and served with tasty shishito peppers and chorizo.

The tartare was really nice with fried capers on top. The dish, overall, had a slight vinegar flavor, so having this with our third starter, the bone marrow, was a killer move to create balance.

Here’s that impressive marrow dish. The green sauce that came with it was incredible (Italian salsa verde).

On the side, we had roasted Brussels sprouts with honey crisp apple and bacon, as well as their “French cuff” fries. The Brussels ate a bit sweet when hot, but as cold leftovers at home they were dynamite.

The fries could have used a touch more crisp to them when I first tried them, but they were still really tasty and well seasoned. On a second visit they were absolutely perfect.

I also enjoyed their wedge salad.

For dessert we did the coffee and chocolate souffle, which was decadent without being too rich and sweet. The mascarpone ice cream and biscotti that came with were both so awesome.

On a second trip, we tried the meatballs, which were nicely composed on a bed of polenta.

The escargots are unique. They come with some puff pastry baked on top like a cap.

The bananas foster is decadent and delicious, served table side with a show.

Seafood Selection: 9

We each had a “Bloody Bull” oyster shooter to start, which was great, but otherwise the quality of the octopus really stood out. On my next trip here I expect to try the bone-in halibut.

The shrimp, octopus and oysters here are all excellent, namely the Rockefeller style. These might be the best oysters rock I ever had.

Service: 10

Service here was best in class. Attentive and helpful without being too involved, very knowledgable and super warm/nice. Table bread is a warm bun with extra soft butter.

Ambiance: 10

The decor is incredible, and probably one of my favorite dining spaces for a steakhouse. The attention to detail in designing this place is mind boggling. Please take a look at my video below to see some of it.

GOLDEN STEER
1 Fifth Avenue
New York, NY 10003

NY Strip, Other Cuts, Porterhouse, Rib Eye, Steakhouse Reviews, West Village

The Eighty Six

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THE EIGHTY SIX overall score: 96

The Eighty Six is a new intimate steakhouse that opened up in the former Chumley’s speakeasy space on Bedford & Barrow in the west village.

The name derives from the address 86 Bedford, which is the birthplace of the phrase “86’d” (when a restaurant has run out of an item). I’m going off of memory here, but the space historically had two entrances: One on Barrow, which used to be the main entrance; and one on Bedford (number 86), which was used as a secret exit for speakeasy patrons in the prohibition era. The proprietor would yell out “86” and patrons would know to leave out the secret door. As such, it became synonymous with “running out” of items at an establishment.

Chef Michael Vignola, the head honcho for many of Tilman Fertitta’s meaty restaurant ventures (Catch Steak, The Corner Store, Strip House, etc.), was there cooking up our feast. We had a lot to eat, so let me get into it.

First, make sure you watch this short video, because some of the items we had are only featured here in the video (I had some light trouble in the beginning of the meal, so I didn’t take photos of everything).

Second Visit:

Flavor: 8

We had the aged 32oz porterhouse for two, hailing from Nielsen’s Family Farm in South Dakota.

This was nicely cooked to medium rare (a hair overdone and more toward the medium side, but no matter).

The fat on the strip side was perfectly rendered out, so that you could eat every bit of it. Nice crust, good char.

Most of the aged flavor rested in the tenderloin, and the steak was heavily coated with cracked black peppercorn, so be prepared.

On a second visit I tried three steaks: the aged Delmonico rib eye, the rib cap steak, and the aged bone in strip. Of these, we liked the strip the best, but they were all close to perfection.

Delmonico Rib Eye: 8

Rib Cap: 8

Aged Bone-In NY Strip: 9

Choice of Cuts & Quality Available: 10

The menu here, like Chef Vignola’s other steak-focused restaurants, is packed with variety and unique cuts. They offer a rip cap steak, Vaca Vieja (old dairy cow – popular in Spain), and every type of steakhouse staple cut you can imagine, along with daily specials like a citrus fed wagyu.

Portion Size & Plating: 10

The plating here is astonishing for every item, from the martinis to the meats. I was also really impressed with the portion sizes. They really embraced the concept of a steakhouse from the roaring 20s, where everything was big and bold.

Price: 10

My instant reaction was that all of the prices were very fair, given how beef prices are insane, rent is insane, overhead is insane, etc. The porterhouse for two was $150 and the duck, which can easily feed four, was $195. They also went over the top for our special occasion (my wife’s birthday), and threw in a bunch of desserts on the house!

Bar: 10

This is a beautiful bar. There is seating for eight, but it can get pretty tight if you’re eating a large meal like we did. The bartenders here are the best in the business. Not only are they making cocktails for the whole restaurant, but they are also your servers and waiters, and at the same time making polite and enjoyable conversation with the whole bar as you eat your meal.

The cocktails here are also incredible. The smoked olive martini comes with a show, and it was probably one of the most unique flavored martinis I’ve ever had. Creamy/buttery, smoky, and it came with a trio of stuffed olives (caviar, blue cheese, anchovy).

Specials and Other Meats: 10

There are a ton of specials up and down the menu, from starters like the langoustines, to mains like the citrus wagyu, and mid courses like the caviar and truffle pasta dishes. We had the duck as one of our mains, and this was served with a confit salad as well as a foie gras sausage stuffed into the neck – it was insane! This stole the show for us. We both liked it better than the steak!

The pasta special that we tried was a butter and caviar based sauce, served with a really unique cocks comb pasta. We also tried the langoustines which were a seafood starter special. Both were really great. I liked that the bartender thought we should have some bread with the langoustine sauce, which was sort of like a buttery and spicy ragout.

On a second visit we had the cheesesteak, which is such a banger. I recommend getting this to share as a starter.

Apps, Sides & Desserts: 10

We started with the east coast oysters and langoustine special, followed by the potato croquette with caviar, and Spanish artichokes with tarragon emulsion.

I tried mini-Ripper hot dogs on a second visit. So good. And if they have something on special from the local farmers market, like the tomato carpaccio, you should get it for sure. Everything here is great, even the Caesar salad.

For sides, we had the french fries, the brulee corn pot pie, and the truffle and leek creamed spinach. The creamed spinach really stood out as the winner here, but we brought the brulee corn home and it was even better cold from the fridge than it was at the restaurant. It firmed up into a pudding of sorts, and it was incredible!

Don’t sleep on the mushrooms either. Amazing side dish.

Dessert was a blowout. First was a nice palate cleanser of lemon sorbet, followed by some Szechuan peppercorn and lemongrass dusted pineapple – a nice nod to Ernest Hemmingway, who used to hang out at Chumley’s and brought a pineapple there for the staff to try after returning from his travels (it was a foreign item to them). We also had the cheesecake, which was so good. I almost never enjoy cheesecake at restaurants, because none of the hold a candle to my sister’s. But this one was a killer. We also had a nice graham cracker, bananas foster and cream dessert, as well as mini ice cream sandwiches. Check the video above to see these.

Seafood Selection: 8

The items we tried were great (oysters and langoustines), but I’d like to go back and try more before I give a full review on this category. I’m holding this at an eight in the hope to expand on it further with some main course items.

On a second visit we had the pastrami hamachi which was so tasty and unique.

Service: 10

I need to refer back to the end of the specials section and the entire bar section here, because the bartenders really impressed me. I saw how they remembered returning guests, took notes for improving on special request cocktails, and just overall exhibited the utmost care and professionalism.

Table bread is swapped out for some really nice pickles – a low carb treat! One with wasabi and horseradish, the other with chives.

Ambiance: 10

This is an incredible dining space. As I mentioned above, they really embraced the concept of a roaring 20s steakhouse, made intimate with the railcar aesthetic and actual art deco design elements. Bravo.

I know this place is tough to get into right now, but they just expanded their hours to accommodate walk ins. If you go there at 4pm you can put your name down, and you’ll likely get seated. Go do it!

THE EIGHTY SIX
86 Bedford Street
New York, NY 10014

Chinese, Fusion, Japanese, Korean, Midtown West, Non-Steakhouse Steaks, Other Cuts, Restaurant Reviews, Thai, Vietnamese

SEA by Jungsik

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This place is a sister restaurant to the Michelin-starred Jungsik restaurant. We went big here, so I’m going to make it quick. Check this out:

First off, the oysters here are probably the best I’ve ever had. I think that has to do with the jalapeno and cilantro granita (ice), and their version of a mignonette.

I also really enjoyed their steak tartare.

The prawn rolls, sticky rice sausage, and fried eggs were great too, but my focus on a re-visit might be on the other stuff above.

The stars of the show were the short rib special and the crispy pork belly.

I would get these every time I visit. The pork belly was the best version of this dish I’ve ever had. The fat was completely rendered and soft, the meat extremely tender (no stringy bits), and the skin was nice and crisp without being too hard and hurting your teeth/mouth.

The crab fried rice was a bit fishy, but beautiful nonetheless. It went nicely with the curry, actually.

The soft serve dessert sundae was a great way to end the meal.

I will definitely be back here again. I highly recommend it.

SEA BY JUNGSIK
151 W 30th Street
New York, NY 10001

American, Lower East Side/Chinatown, Non-Steakhouse Steaks, Other Cuts, Restaurant Reviews

Bufon

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Bufon is a new meat and seafood focused joint in the lower east side. My wife and I tried five items from a menu that we really wanted to ravage. We definitely plan to go back to try more items.

Sunchoke

This was fantastic. Really nice, fresh and mildly starchy.

Halibut

The sauce on this was crack. It was some sort of buerre blanc with bottarga.

Pork Chop

Delicious. Served with butter beans and chopped up Chinese sausage. Super unique.

Picanha

Roasted to perfection. The fat was delicious as well. Scored and rendered to become a beef gelatin of sorts. Skip the vinegar based Creole salsa and get the au poivre for a more classic Sunday roast feel. 9/10.

Crispy Confit Potato

I didn’t expect a fancy hash brown, but it was really good.

No dessert was offered yet. They literally just opened. Interior decor still a work in progress, and the windows still needed to be cleaned!

BUFON
78 Rivington Street
New York NY 10002

New Orleans, Other Cuts, Porterhouse, Rib Eye, Steakhouse Reviews

Chophouse New Orleans

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Chophouse New Orleans overall score: 85

My buddies from law school and I were on a “mancation” and needed to hit a steakhouse during our visit. I had been eyeballing this place for a while, so it was time to go big.

Flavor: 8

We had the porterhouse, the tomahawk, and the chopped steak. All were great, but I think we were all surprised by how good the chopped steak was. A pleasant surprise for sure.

Choice of Cuts & Quality Available: 8

There’s a good selection of cuts here, as well as some nice alternatives like the chopped steak for those on a budget. All steaks were listed as prime, and some were dry-aged. They offered an abundance of solo cuts as well as large format cuts for two or more people.

Portion Size & Plating: 8

Portions are big, and plating is simple here, which is what one would expect from a steakhouse. Nothing too fancy.

Price: 9

Coming from the insane menu prices in NYC, this bill felt refreshing. A huge blowout steak meal for five came to just $728. Great deal.

Bar: 10

The bar here is awesome. There’s a piano right there with stools around it, so you can sit and watch the piano player, make requests, etc. They also mix a great martini.

Specials and Other Meats: 7

I don’t think there were any specials read to us, but I didn’t expect much from a focused-menu steakhouse. As far as other meats go, there was nothing; only beef. I respect the shit out of that. But that means a few points will come off the score in this category.

Apps, Sides & Desserts: 8

We started with a chopped wedge salad, which was great.

Then, some bacon. This was nice but I wish I had gotten a photo before they cut it up and served it.

The carpaccio was beautiful and delicious. I could have had this as a main course.

The garlic spinach was nice, and gave us some much needed greenery.

We also had some steak fries as well. I was hesitant when the guys wanted these, because I usually dislike them. But they were excellent!

Dessert was excellent as well. we went with the gigantic chocolate cake and the key lime pie. I liked the pie better.

Seafood Selection: 8

There’s standard steakhouse seafood fare here, plus a few local favorites with NOLA-inspired preparation styles. We had the baked shrimp entree and it was great. Unfortunately the only photo I got was the single shrimp that was served to me on my plate (we shared this dish along with the appetizers). Based on this, I think the other seafood items would be pretty good as well. Next time.

Service: 10

Service was great here, and the phrase “southern hospitality” comes to mind. Our waitress was excellent and knew everything when asked about the various cuts and menu items.

Ambiance: 9

The real win here for ambiance relates to the bar. Being able to sit face to face with the piano player and request songs was so cool. The dining place was beautiful as well. I would definitely go back.

CHOPHOUSE NEW ORLEANS
322 Magazine St.
New Orleans, LA 70130

Lower East Side/Chinatown, Non-Steakhouse Steaks, Other Cuts, Restaurant Reviews, Spanish

Bar Oliver

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First, check out my Ride & Review video HERE:

Bar Oliver is a small Spanish style tapas and pintxos joint at the intersection of Oliver, St. James, East Broadway, Bowery and Worth downtown.

My wife and I stopped in for drinks when they first opened, but now that the menu is fully built out, we wanted to go in and try some food.

We started with the Montauk red shrimp pintxos. These were tasty little bites. Expensive at $18 for two, but that’s the way of live here now I guess.

Next up, the mushrooms. These come with a beautiful egg yolk on top to break and mix in. Loved this dish.

We also tried the skate cheeks. These were served in a nice bright tomato sauce and ate more like a soup than I had expected. There were three to four good sized fish cheeks in there.

We contemplated getting a larger format rib eye, but instead we went with the wagyu hanger steak, which comes with fries and is served atop a really nice piquillo pepper sauce.

The steak was perfectly cooked, but it was a bit small for my liking. I’d say around 6oz. But at $39 it isn’t a bad deal. I give this a, 9/10. Perfectly cooked, nicely seasoned, great flavor and texture.

For dessert we did the Spanish cheesecake. To me, it ate more like a standard cheesecake. Still good though.

I would definitely go back to try more items. Especially the larger steaks. They had a good selection of local beef and domestic wagyu cross breed, all dry aged.

BAR OLIVER
1 Oliver St
New York, NY 10038

Full Points for Flavor, NY Strip, Other Cuts, Steakhouse Reviews

Gui Steakhouse

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Gui Steakhouse overall score: 84

First, check out my Ride & Review video HERE:

Flavor: 9

First, we went big on the king size prime rib.

This had a  kombu crust that made for a totally unique flavor. This was a 10, for sure. Perfectly cooked with some mild dry-aging on it.

We had the 48-day dry-aged bone-in strip steak that was on special for the day. The flavor was great, but there was definitely a good amount of chew to the meat. Due to that, the score is a 7. It was really beautiful though. Sadly, that drops the overall flavor score average to 8.5, which I have rounded up to 9.

Choice of Cuts & Quality Available: 9

There’s a great selection of cuts here, showcasing everything from A5 grade Wagyu, US dry-aged prime, cuts for two, cuts for one, and even some off-cuts like Denver steak and top round. I only took a point due to the quality issue on the strip steak that we had (a bit “toothsome”).

Portion Size & Plating: 8

The portions are good here, especially for the steaks. The sides are certainly shareable, but the desserts seem to be made for one. Plating is simple and rustic, using cast iron platters, ramekins and things like that.

Price: 9

The price is high here in midtown, with a whopping $145 for the king cut prime rib (16oz). Some of the larger aged steaks are about $6/oz, which can get pricy if you go big. The good thing here is that the food is worth the price, and they have some very reasonable options for smaller appetites. They even participate in restaurant week.

Bar: 8

The bar downstairs (Bar 92) is a small  but beautiful art deco stretch. They make great cocktails, and the martini cart is fun. It’s dim and lively. I can see myself having a drink here before a meal, for sure.

Specials and Other Meats: 7

The only non-beef meat protein on the entree menu is chicken. I respect the clarity and focus, but I was surprised there wasn’t a nice big pork option. Perhaps they run it as a special some days, as they did read off some beef specials to us.

Apps, Sides & Desserts: 7

We started with four items. First, the brioche. The butter is delicious but I would skip this. It’s a bit pricey and slightly underwhelming.

The “double cut bacon” is nice though. Thick cut bacon with a gochujang type sauce.

I would skip the dumplings. They needed a bit more salt on the filling inside, and just didn’t hit the mark for us.

The shrimp were delicious. Four per order, head on, and with a nice szechuan chili oil sauce (could have used a bit more kick to it, but enjoyable nonetheless).

On the side, we had three items. First was the creamy, cheesy corn. This was nice.

I would skip the carrots. I bit into a forkful of them and there was some woody texture that I had to spit out. Perhaps stems were left on for visual appeal and I didn’t realize?

The mixed mushrooms were excellent, but could have used a bit more of the truffle flavor.

He had four desserts. My favorite was the coconut milk panna cotta.

The earl grey ice cream was nice too, but they need to put the crumble on top instead of at the bottom of the dish.

Their Korean spin on the Paris Brest (Jeju Brest) was nice. It wasn’t as crunchy as I expected, but it sort of ate like a jelly donut crepe. Very tasty.

Lastly, the black and white mousse cake was incredible. Rich, flavorful, well-balanced, and a really good portion size if you want to share a dessert. If I was more of a chocolate lover, this would have been my favorite dessert.

Seafood Selection: 8

There’s a bunch of nice looking seafood selections here. We only ate the shrimp, but based on how well the other stuff came out, I can confidently say that the seafood here will be good. Next time.

Service: 10

Amazing. One of my friends has an egg yolk allergy, and the staff was really considerate, knowledgeable and friendly when we were trying to navigate the menu and ask about special preparations. They were also really attentive, they knew their meats and cuts, and they were super generous, giving us a few items on the house as compliments of the chef. The only negative was they forgot a potato item that we ordered. We had plenty to eat, though, and didn’t even realize it until after we left.

Ambiance: 9

Despite being upstairs in the Times Square area, this place really transports you. It’s a mix of art deco, mid century modern and dark/dim classy. I really like the space, and I’ll definitely be back for more.

GUI STEAKHOUSE
776 8th Ave
New York, NY 10036