Category Archives: Press Reviews

Maroni Hot Pots

UPDATE: THIS PLACE IS CLOSED!

There’s a very interesting little concept restaurant on the upper east side called Maroni Hot Pots. The joint is mainly aimed at providing delivery service, but there’s still a handful of tables set up inside the beautiful little space. So what makes this concept unique? The pot.

Many of their dishes are served (and delivered!) in really nice keepsake metal pots. Yes – you get to keep them.

I’m not sure how useful they’d be on your stove top, but they’re definitely not cheap, crappy items by any means. At the very least you can use them as planters.

Okay, but enough about the pots. We tried a lot of different items.

First up, pizza bread. This is more like a garlic bread with cheese and sauce topping as opposed to your standard NYC style pizza. A more puffy, doughy pie.

It’s served in a nice glass dish and it’s seasoned generously, topped with herbs as well. Essentially, it’s like a Sicilian pizza.

I should say now that the cheeses here are all incredible. They don’t harden after a few minutes – they stay nice and stretchy. I shot this probably 15 minutes after the pizza came out:

The fresh mozz caprese salad also exhibits stellar quality cheese, and the diced tomato, dresed with a nice balsamic, was a nice change of pace from an ordinary caprese salad.

Throw that on top of a lightly breaded chicken cutlet with some arugula, and you have their delicious chicken milanese dish.

But one starter they have become known for is their million dollar potato chip. A thick cut, fried potato crisp, topped with fresh cream and caviar. Very tasty.

And it’s not often that you see baked clam dishes use high quality little necks or cockles like they do here. Most baked clam dishes use giant bait clams, with minced up meat inside. No thanks. These were whole clams, nicely breaded and stuffed, and then baked to perfection.

Okay now for the pasta dishes. We tried a bunch. I’ll start with my favorite, the penne a la vodka.

What I liked about this sauce was that it was more buttery than typical vodka sauces I’ve had in the past. The pasta was cooked perfectly in this dish too.

Their cacio e pepe is nice, but having just come back from a trip to Italy, I was a bit too spoiled to truly appreciate the dish. Cacio e pepe in Rome is just insane. Nothing quite comes close. I did, however, get a bunch of nice pics. As you can see, they used a penne pasta here as well.

One specialty they’re known for here is their cognac sauce. They hit their tomato sauce with some cognac, burn it off, and simmer it down. What they’re left with is a nicely sweetened sauce. They serve that with rigatoni and a generous glob of ricotta for mixing into the sauce. Amazing. This dish has even been featured on local news stations. I highly recommend it.

Last pasta dish: spaghetti and meatballs. This classic tasted great.

And while nothing beats mom’s homemade meatballs, these were pretty tasty. We had an order sans spaghetti as well.

Like any Italian meal, there’s always more. We also tried their chicken parm and gagootz (zucchini) parm. The last time I heard that word was probably when my grandfather was featured in the news for growing the biggest one in Long Island history out of his backyard garden, which, at one point, was more like a small farm.

Here’s a shot of my grandfather’s massive gagootz (not the actual prize winning squash, however; that one was like 15ft, and we are still trying to locate the photo).

FYI, the word “gagootz” is a dialected, faster way of saying the word “cucuzza” in Italian, which is a kind of squash. The word “gagootz” is typically used by Italians to refer to all types of squash, though, including zucchini, as is done here at Maroni Hot Pots.

In any case, both parms were excellent, and both essentially looked the same, so I’m just using one picture to showcase them. Can you guess which one this is?

The beatles are all over this joint, by the way, and the music is a great mix of classic rock. Anyway, I really enjoyed the gagootz parm. I’m not an eggplant fan, so swapping that out for zucchini is a great idea. The skin is much more pleasing, and the texture of the vegetable’s flesh itself is firmer and more snappy.

I was so full at that point that I put my camera away, thinking we were done… but Italians… Bless our hearts, and stomachs…

So dessert came out. Chocolate mousse with a toasted marshmallow topper, cannoli and tiramisu. All excellent. Here’s a nice shot of them, taken by my wife:

A photo posted by Katherine (@thecakedealer) on

The Maroni family also owns a high-end, multi-course “tasting menu” style restaurant in Northport, Long Island. I’ve heard amazing things about this place, and, from what I understand, a reservation has to be made a month in advance because it is so well received. I plan to visit soon with my cousins. Stay alert for updates!

MARONI HOT POTS
307 E. 77TH St
New York, NY 10075

Momofuku Ssam Bar Brisket & Let’s Dutch

The head honcho over at Let’s Dutch reached out to me to introduce himself and his service. Essentially it’s a place where people can host and organize group activities, and one of the things they facilitate is large format dining. That’s right up my alley, given my creation of Carcass Club, in which I and some friends try to get together to take on the various whole beast feasts that are peppered throughout this fine city.

Naturally, I was interested. The service is great for both city newbies, who are looking to meet new people with similar interests, and old fogies like me and my wife, who are just looking for seats at the feast when it’s becoming increasingly difficult to peg down a date and time among all of our friends that might be interested.

I was especially pumped when Vincent (the aforementioned head honcho) informed me that they’d be doing the new brisket feast for 10 people at Momofuku Ssam Bar. Fuck yeah.

So the meal is pretty simple. You get a massive hunk of delicious, tender, slow cooked brisket, along with lettuce for making wraps, and various sauces and kimchi items for toppings.

I highly recommend this meal to anyone who loves brisket or BBQ, as it is quasi-BBQ in nature. They even created a secret seven-spice blend for this baby. I absolutely loved it.

You may already know that I’ve been to Momofuku for their large format feasts in the past: duck and rib eye. This brisket feast is the best of the three I’ve tried, and I think they’ve also added a fourth, pork shoulder (bo ssam). I’ll have to try that one soon.

MOMOFUKU SSAM BAR
207 2nd Ave.
New York, NY 10003

North End Grill Bistro du Nord

The Union Square Hospitality Group is hosting a pop-up French restaurant called “Bistro du Nord” in the North End Grill space throughout January. This is the group of restaurants headed up by chef Danny Meyer, who recently went “no tip” and “service included” in the menu pricing of all his joints. Even the coat check is included! But the prices… for a tip-included place, they were amazing. I was expecting some inflated numbers, but to me, they all looked like what you’d see at any other restaurant.

I was invited in by the group to sample some of the delicious items that chef Eric Korsh is featuring on this limited run menu (though some items may still be available after the pop-up is finished). He’s the chef there at North End Grill, even when there is no pop-up going on, so you can expect the same level of execution and awesomeness if you happen to miss the pop-up.

So let me get down to it, because we tried a lot of good stuff.

Duck egg en meurette.

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If you’re like me, and have no idea what some French culinary terms mean, then I will explain. “En meurette” basically means that the duck egg is served in a red wine reduction, like a bourguignon or meat gravy type sauce. The egg here was nicely poached and served with mushrooms and black truffles.

Roasted oysters with spinach and bacon.

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I believe some cheese was involved as well. These were beautiful and fantastic.

Escargot with garlic and parsley butter.

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Really nice in the little skillet, and already plucked from the shell, so no work is involved.

Tarte flambe.

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This was essentially a nice, light, airy flatbread – almost like zaatar, but less aggressive with the spice.

French onion soup with bone marrow.

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Beautiful. This one was topped with a piece of toast and melty gruyere, but that bone marrow in the middle was just absolutely awesome.

Now for the entrees.

Steamed trout.

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I was a little skeptical of a steamed fish item, but this was so tasty. I even remarked that it reminded me of something Scandinavian, perhaps because of the presence of dill and a thickened broth sauce.

Crispy skate wing – my apologies for not getting a picture. This fish was so light yet flavorful that it threw me off guard. The crisp on the outside of the fish was so awesome.

Roast chicken.

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Super crispy outside skin and perfect tenderness within. The cabbage wrap was filled with more succulent, tender meat as well as some fois gras and parsley root. Very elegant.

Cassoulet.

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What a refreshing improvement from the last cassoulet my wife and I had at The House. This one had the meat on full display: pork belly and a duck leg. With trotter and white beans in the dish, this was a nice and hearty dish, but it didn’t seem heavy at all.

NY strip steak au poivre.

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I had the kitchen slice this for us so it was easier to share. This was perfectly cooked to medium rare, and the peppery sauce really complimented the prime beef. The chef trimmed off any gristle from the sides, and the quality of the cut was top notch. It was lean but very flavorful, and the texture was incredibly tender. 9/10.

On the side we had some wood grilled fennel, which was really nice and helped us digest. We also had some fries, as they came with the steak. They had a perfect crisp and were nicely seasoned.

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There’s always room for dessert.

Apple and huckleberry galette.

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This was right up my alley. Sweetness with a little bit of tartness, and then warm mixed with cold ice cream. Perfection.

Chocolate souffle.

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Perfect execution on this, and the chocolate was rich and decadent without being overpowering or overly sweet.

Paris-brest.

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I loved this. The one here was apple and hazelnut cream flavored. It was light and airy, soft yet crisp. I could easily inhale a few of these.

I think that about does it. Get your asses down here and try some of this delicious French fare while the pop-up lasts!

NORTH END GRILL
104 North End Ave
New York, NY 10282

Bedford & Co.

My friend Jean invited me to Bedford & Co. for an Instagram infleuncer dinner, since she and a few others were going to be digging into a nice large format rib eye for two (along with other tasty items) and tasting a variety of wines for the restaurant’s “Wine Wednesday” pairings with their somm, Sarah.

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This 28-day dry-aged 40oz bone in rib eye from Master Purveyors is a “for two” steak, which comes with lardo, watercress and roasted garlic for $125. We were five, so we pigged out on other shit too.

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The prices of beef have certainly gone way up lately. I remember when I was chomping on 36-40oz steaks for one at half the price just a few years back. But hey, this one was free! Not gonna complain.

We were able to sneak into the kitchen to watch Chef Justin Neubeck and his team flame this baby up for us.

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But while we were waiting for that to finish cooking and then properly rest, we sparked up some scallops with pumpkin puree, kafir lime and roasted pumpkin seeds.

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This was a really interesting flavor combo, and I really liked it. The round sweetness of the pumpkin contrasted nicely with the acidic pop from the lime.

The entrees rolled out all at once, and the five of us Instagrammers went bonkers taking photos of everything.

The first thing I tried was the Long Island duck breast.

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Garnished with a scallion ginger oil, glazed with honey, and accompanied by a cranberry purée, this was easily one of the better duck breast dishes I’ve had in quite a while.

Berkshire pork chop was next.

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I’m hard to please when it comes to pork chops. My mom used to cook them in a glass covered electric skillet so that they were somehow juicy on the inside but crisp on the outside, and with onions, potatoes and cherry peppers. Very Italian, as I later discovered. With all that said, this was a pretty good version. It had a sour orange glaze and was served with pink winter squash and marinated radicchio.

The main event was that steak, though.

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A cut this thick is difficult to cook properly. Lots of times you’ll end up with some spots that are too rare, while the outside is overcooked. I have to hand it to these guys; they did a pretty solid job with this monster.

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As you might have noticed from the raw shot above, there wasn’t much of a fat cap on this baby, but what scraps were there after trimming was used to make the lardo, which was really nice. Also I feel like the 28-day dry aging was done masterfully (by Master Purveyors, no less). They really packed a ton of funk and earthiness for the minimal end of the aging process. 8/10.

Since this was essentially a carnivore party, we had to try the burger at this place. It has been getting a fair amount of attention on social media lately, and for good reason. Look at it, for fuck’s sake.

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This beauty is topped with bloomsday cheddar, caramelized onion and thick cut braised pork belly. So juicy. Get it when you come here, even if you have to split it with a group of people, like we did.

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And of course the fries are excellent as well, which are cooked with herbs right in the fryer oil.

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We did a pair of sides as well. Brussels with bacon and apple cider, and roasted wild mushrooms. These were dynamite! The roast on those sprouts was fantastic. Great texture and crisp. And the mushrooms were the perfect pairing with the earthy steak.

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Just when you thought we were full, the desserts came out. Chef Canty makes all the stuff in house. We got to try the carrot cake (my favorite of the three – so rich and delicious), cheesecake in a jar, and apple crostada.

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Definitely one of the best carrot cake renditions I’ve had in the city, right up there with Bob’s Steak & Chop House and Ocean Prime.

I definitely recommend this place to anyone who generally likes any of the shit that I got to try. All high quality, deftly executed shit.

UPDATE 5/6/17

I came back for brunch with another group of food influencers. I tried much of the menu, but most importantly the hanger steak. This was a very small portion that came with two eggs, potatoes and some greens. The steak had a great char on the outside and a perfect medium rare temp inside. Great seasoning and flavor. I just wish it was bigger! 8/10

The porchetta was delicious as well. It had a great crisp on the outside with juicy, fatty, savory near inside (bacon wheel was additional, and arranged by my wife).

Also nice was the chicken and waffles entree.

And they’re now offering unlimited prosecco mimosas with uniquely flavored mixer juices for brunch.

And of course, what brunch is complete without pastries?

BEDFORD & CO.
The Renwick
118 E 40th St
New York, NY 10016

Caliente Cab

Caliente Cab has been around since I first moved to the city in 2000. In fact, I think it opened up about 30 years ago. It’s become a regular spot for people on the prowl for warm-weather drinks and reasonably priced Mexican eats. I was invited in to take pics of some menu items for Instagram fodder. Take a look below:

Frozen “Miami Vice” (strawberry daiquiri mixed with pina colada):

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Fresh corn tortillas for the table, nicely wrapped:

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Guacamole (my favorite part of the meal, along with a trio of salsas):

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Sampler combo platter, consisting of a short rib taco, a chicken burrito, a steak enchilada, rice and beans:

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And a burger topped with pepper jack cheese and chipotle aioli:

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The burger was dry due to being overcooked (well done instead of medium), with a semi-hard bun – let the jokes commence… But the guacamole was nice, as was the salsa trio (not pictured). The sampler combo platter was actually decent and nicely priced, though I did develop some heartburn afterwards. But the drinks are really where this place shines. They serve up some really nice flavored margaritas (salted watermelon, in particular, sounded very good). I’d definitely go back for those, along with a nice big bowl of guac and chips.

CALIENTE CAB
61 7th Ave S # 1
New York, NY 10014

The Bedford

My friend Nina from The Food Joy set up an event here at The Bedford as a way to gather up all the crazy Instagram influencers in one place for a post-holiday holiday party, and to provide some well-deserved promotion for this awesome Williamsburg gastro-pub.

I only sampled a few of the many items that came out, but everything I tasted was excellent.

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Let me get right down to business:

The Bedford Plank Burger is a grass-fed, custom blend patty, topped with grilled onions, garlic aioli, chili-ketchup and American cheese.

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Very simple construction with top level execution.

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This baby was so tasty. I will definitely be back for another one of these. It comes with an amazing side of crispy battered fries as well. This is an excellent buy at just $14.

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I also tried this open faced kielbasa sausage and egg sandwich.

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The sausage is split and grilled, then set on a bed of wilted spinach atop a slice of sourdough, with a smear of grain beer mustard on the plate for dipping. Great for breakfast!

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I also tried the ricotta gnocchi with roasted cherry tomatoes and chorizo. The sauce was creamy and tangy – very nice.

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Last but not least, beer braised pork shank!

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This was super tender, as you might expect. The outside had a good crisp as well. Great quality meat from the Niman ranch.

I also tried the mint julep creme brulee, which was very creamy and interesting (I didn’t shoot it). However I did shoot these two items, which I did not try: flatbread and dandelion salad.

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I definitely recommend this place. Not only is the food good, but the cocktail and beer menu is very nice too.

THE BEDFORD
110 Bedford Ave
Brooklyn, NY 11249

Bonnie’s Grill

Demetri Kontakos, the owner of Bonnie’s Grill for the last two years, recently invited me into his establishment for a press review. Bonnie’s has been a Brooklyn staple for about 15 years and running. I had heard great things about Bonnie’s wings, so I was excited to hoof it out into Brooklyn and give them a shot.

I love a simple countertop style joint. No fuss, no glitz and glamour: just really good fucking food. Bonnie’s is exactly that kind of place.

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Some people get excited about a fancy joint with buttoned up waiters, candle light and white tablecloths. Not me. I get excited when I can see people working on my ticket right in front of me.

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And somehow I was a big Bills fan when I was a kid. Probably because they had an awesome looking bovine as their logo. And Bonnie’s is a proud Buffalo style establishment.

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Speaking of Buffalo: the wings. They get fried up to a really nice crisp here – none of that rubbery skin bullshit that you get from other places. And the sauce is really flavorful: you can get mild, medium, hot or hotter. I can take a lot of heat; in fact I enjoy it. So next time I will be trying the hotter wings. This time we went with hot, and it didn’t have us tearing up and sucking down water.

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We did suck down a cream ale, though.

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These are a great bargain at just $3.50, but if canned beer isn’t your thing, every weekday from 4pm-7pm is happy hour, where drafts are just $4, and they run three or four pretty good handles.

But back to all things Buffalo… Check out this gem: beef on weck!

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I love regional food quirks. Beef on weck is one of those quirks that hails from Buffalo, or western New York, generally. Essentially, what you have here is sliced roast beef with horseradish and some meat juice on a kimmelweck roll (kaiser style, with caraway seeds and coarse grain salt on top).

Anyway this fucker was pure and simple. You can mess with it a little if you want, and add jalapeños and cheddar, but then you’re screwing with the integrity of a traditional sandwich.

And speaking of traditional, by now most of you know how I like my burgers: simple, nothing fancy. The classic American cheeseburger reigns supreme. So that’s what I got here.

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The patty is 80/20 lean/fat, so the masters at Bonnie’s develop a really great crisp on the outside of the burger. The cheese melts down so nicely and surrounds the patty with even more crisp.

There’s a ton of free toppings you can go with. I went with lettuce, tomato, red onion, pickles and jalapeños. By the way: cheese is even a free topping here. But the kicker for me was that these guys kinda read my mind when it comes to the toppings. Notice how thin the tomato and onion slices are? I hate when the toppings end up making a burger eight inches tall. This was perfect.

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And speaking of perfect… the fries!

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Golden and crisp, and deftly seasoned with salt. And the chipotle mayo is a great way to enjoy them.

Another side I tried was the soup of the day, which was lentil and sweet corn. Very hearty and soulful.

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I can’t say enough positive things about this place. I just wish it was closer to my apartment! I’m near Central Park and this is near Prospect Park. But I highly recommend this place. So freaking good, and the staff are all really nice – ask for Alex and Rick when you go.

BONNIE’S KITCHEN
278 5th Ave
Brooklyn, NY 11215

The Black Derby

I came here with a group of food influencers for a Woodford Reserve promotional event hosted by Gotham Burger Social Club.

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At first, I thought I was just going to taste some cocktails made with Woodford, but it turned out to be a nice sit-down meal. As a result, I am offering my sincere apologies for these shitty photos that I had to snap with my phone.

The joint is classy inside, and the walls are lined with derby hats as lights. Of course, I wore my derby hat to fit the scene.

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The food here is top notch, and the manager, Nick, is a great guy. In the future he may do some large format “beast feasts” on the menu. I’m really looking forward to that. But let me get down to what we sampled.

Spicy steak tartare. This stuff is good! But the chilies will knock you on your ass if you aren’t equipped to handle the heat like a real man. I loved this dish.

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Crispy calamari. Amazing crunch on these, so perfectly cooked.

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Double cut bacon. Very nice braised texture. Really awesome.

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Loved the side addition of pickles on the plate as well.

Now on to the entrees. We tried their burger, which is nicely customizable in terms of cheeses and toppings. The patty is nice and thick, but the burger doesn’t feel too tall or large. It eats neat too, and the flavors are dynamite.

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Chicken parm with bolognese sauce. Wow! Beef and chicken living in harmony together.

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Nick sources his beef from DeBragga and LaFrieda, so whatever he is offering will be excellent quality. He even offers a culotte on occasion. On this night, there were two different cuts of steak frites offerings. The first of two steak frites: the hanger with chimichurri sauce.

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This baby was cooked so perfectly. Nice and tender inside, pink all the way, with a nice charred crisp on the outside.

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The strip steak frites was deceivingly great. I thought for sure I was going to like the hanger better, but the sauce on this was perfect.

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These pics don’t do it justice, but the cook temp on the strip was proper. It looks like medium but it was really somewhere between medium and medium rare.

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Both of these come in at a strong 8/10, but if you want a 9 or 10 point experience, you should order the hanger steak frites with the au poivre sauce rather than the chimichurri. That combination is fucking incredible.

Dessert is on point too. We tried creme brûlée, apple pie and cookies. No idea how I had room for dessert, but somehow I managed. Probably because this shit was delicious.

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I highly recommend this place. It just opened a few weeks ago or a month or two ago, and the menu changes up from time to time depending on whats good and fresh. The prices are very affordable and the quality is excellent.

THE BLACK DERBY
310 West 4th Street
New York, NY 10014

The Anthony

NOTE: THIS PLACE IS CLOSED

I was invited to newly opened The Anthony by my buddy Mike from Gotham Burger Social Club for a special tasting dinner with some other influencers and Instagrammers. We sampled a massive portion of the menu, and everything was pretty much fantastic. Let me get right into it for you hungry savages…

First, the cocktail menu is excellent. I tried this “Matador” drink, made with mezcal, lime, cilantro and spicy habanero honey – it was dynamite.

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To start, we had a cheese and meat board, with my favorite olives: Castelvetranos!

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Then some French onion fondue. This was really unique and flavorful.

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We also did some fried oysters, which were breaded to a perfect crisp and served in refreshing lettuce cups.

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But the star of the apps, though, were these mini char siu pork belly and liver mousse banh mi sandwiches. Holy shit! I could eat a dozen (two minis per order).

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While this item is listed as a starter, it can probably be consumed as a main if you order the banh mi to start. Duck confit and waffles.

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Fuck what you think you know about chicken and waffles. This is the way to do it.

On the side we did some cacao e pepe fries, which were really nicely cooked and golden brown.

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Some lobster mac and cheese, which was really nice as it was made with thick cavatappi / fusilli rigate (ridged).

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And some Asian style sautéed greens (broccolini / Chinese broccoli).

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Okay now let me get into the meat of the review. I’ll tackle the burgers first. We tried two: an off menu “Tavern Burger,” and the “Tony Prime.” Nice name, right? Maybe he iso a long lost brother of mine or something. He must be, because he is made of aged beef and a special house made creamed spinach cheese. Say whaaat?!??!

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Yup. That’s right – they make it in house by combining creamed spinach with cheese, spreading it out flat and thin, cooling it down to let it congeal, and then slicing it out  into individual cheese sliced for this incredible burger.

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This has to be one of my new favorite burgers in town. It’s so unique and special. It actually tastes like steak! Amazing. And so does the Tavern Burger, which is topped with a nice melty gruyere and arugula.

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We also tried the brick chicken. This had a great crispy top from the cooking process. I think it just suffered a bit and got too dry. I honestly don’t mind dry chicken from time to time, as long as there is a sauce to go with. Otherwise it was excellent.

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We also hit this pork chop pretty hard. Really nice spice and herb mix going on here, and a very tasty glaze.

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Underneath this 12oz Berkshire chop is a bacon and apple potato cake, and on top are caramelized onions.

And now for the champion. The 28-day dry aged 40oz tomahawk rib eye.

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This was truly a sight to behold.

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I got more funk and flavor from this 28-day steak than I have from 60-day chops. It was absolutely wonderful.

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It seemed a bit small for 40oz (and $140), but then again the bone was pretty big, as was the flavor. I was hoping for a bit more cap, but what I did taste was great. It was nicely cooked, well rested with no bleed-out, and it sported a nice outer crisp. 8/10.

I didn’t think any of us had room for dessert, but apparently humans are equipped with a second stomach that’s just for dessert.

First, this berry mousse. Very light and flavorful.

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Next, an apple pie style tart. Great hits of cinnamon and brown sugar here. Cold ice cream and hot pie – perfect combo.

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And chocolate cake, because why the fuck not.

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This was really a great meal. The biggest standouts for me, for which I will definitely go back, are the burgers, the banh mi and the duck waffles. I recommend you do the same.

THE ANTHONY
183 Bleecker St
New York, NY 10012

Piece of Velvet

My wife was invited to this little joint as an influencer to help promote their business.

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We were able to sample four different slices of “Piece of Velvet” cake, and in the future, there will be ice cream and waffles offered on the menu as well.

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Some cakes even have booze infused in them, like rum, bourbon, vodka and whiskey.

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Red Velvet: this is their signature cake. It was rich and flavorful.

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Pina Colada: This was my favorite of the four we tried. The pineapple and coconut flavors were very natural and tasty.

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Ciroc Coconut: They’ve soaked real coconut shavings in “Ciroc” vodka for three days.

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Blueberry Vanilla Bourbon: Self explanatory, and really delicious.

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Here’s a shot of my two favorites side by side:

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PIECE OF VELVET
101 MacDougal St
New York, NY 10012