Commentary, Full Points for Flavor, Japanese, Midtown West, Non-Steakhouse Steaks, NY Strip, Press Reviews, Product Reviews, Restaurant Reviews

Kow Cattle Company & Nobu 57

May 22, 2019 Johnny Prime Leave a comment

I’ve been holding off on talking about Kow Cattle Company for a bit, hoping to visit the farm and facilities out in Iowa first, but I’ve been privileged to eat so much of it in the past year that I just couldn’t hold back anymore – especially after the beef binge I just had with their product at Nobu 57.

Kow Cattle Company is a small producer of highly marbled, domestically raised wagyu full blood and purebred animals in Iowa. They’re consistently raising cattle that grade out at super high prime, with BMS scores of 8 or higher.

They made a big splash in the NYC meat scene and made some great connections both in the restaurant world and in the influencer world.

Some noteworthy folks who are featuring their product fairly regularly: BLT Steak, Delmonico’s, The Grill, The James Beard House, The Gotham Burger Social Club, Bistrot Leo, Boucherie, and, of course Nobu 57 (and more as well).

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Supply isn’t always high at Kow, so if you see some on a menu, grab it while you can.

My first run-in with this delicious stuff was at Bistrot Leo. I tried a burger, some tenderloin tartare, filet skewers and a tomahawk rib eye that night. As you might imagine, the shit was delicious.

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One of the owners of the company, Jon Urbana, who has since become a good friend of mine, sent me home with a beautiful strip steak to cook up:

Later, I banged out a tomahawk at home as well. Absolutely stunning.

The high quality, and more importantly the consistency of that quality, is pretty much untouched by any domestic producer of wagyu beef here in the states. I’d love to get some of it into my shop, but they’re currently only shipping direct from their site. Believe me, a LOT of distributors are trying to get their paws on this stuff right now. I’m not alone.

In any case, seeing that Nobu 57 is one of Kow’s purveyors here in NYC, Jon brought me there to try some of the new lot of striploin that they have.

What occurred was nothing less than a Kow Cattle Company strip loin omakase for the ages.

COURSE 1

This preparation is thinly sliced, torched and sauced with ponzu and some sesame, rare to raw. Simple and delicious.

COURSE 2

Beef nigiri sushi. This had a quick sear on the edges, rare to raw.

COURSE 3

Tataki. One of my favorites. Thin sliced after being seared on the edges, rare to raw, and then lightly dressed and garnished with some ginger and shiso.

COURSE 4

This was my favorite. This was seared on the edges as well, rare to raw, but sliced a bit thicker and garnished with a black garlic sauce and some micro sprouts. Incredible.

COURSE 5

This was similar to sukiyaki, a saucy stew with onions and greens. Really tasty, and it demonstrates that even when cooked through, this stuff is tender and savory.

COURSE 6

Classic steakhouse fare here: seared and sliced, rare to medium rare, served with a garlic miso butter on a bed of grilled asparagus. Perfection.

COURSE 7

Foie gras and wagyu beef potsticker dumplings. So decadent, and they ate almost like soup dumplings with that burst of liquified foie and wagyu renderings.

I think that covers it. When you go to Nobu 57, you’ll find Kow on the “washu” side of the menu. Ask about some of the preparations you saw here, because they’re not always on the menu. If you know about them, they may accomodate you if they have the ability. Some stuff is limited availablility, so go early and go often.

NOBU 57
40 West 57th Street
New York, NY 10019

Burgers, Diner, Restaurant Reviews, West Village

Hudson & Charles Dinette

May 17, 2019 Johnny Prime Leave a comment

Hudson & Charles Dinette serves up some nice burgers with thick cut tallow fries! I tried three. In order:

1) Double “Smash” (9/10) – A classic American double with shredded lettuce and pickle.

2) Catalina Stack (8/10) – A double with catalina sauce, lettuce and pickle.

3) Foxy Burger (8/10) – A thick Korean single, with kimchi and spices.

All burgers come with thick cut tallow fries, and the prices range from $14-$23.

The first was near perfect, with a great crispy char and nice toppings. I only dinged it because it really wasn’t a smash, but this is definitely my preferred style of burger.

The other two were great but a bit aggressive on salt levels. The same goes for the fries, but I didn’t mind so much on those. I’ll definitely be back for the double, and also to try some steaks and pies.

I also tried their Korean fried chicken & waffles entree. The sauce is a mildly spicy gochujang base, heavily sprinkled with scallions. The waffle is more like a muffin or biscuit, with sesame and scallions. There was a mix of breast and thigh meat with a great crunchy breading, three pieces per order.

HUDSON & CHARLES DINETTE
522 Hudson Street
New York, NY 10014

East Village, Japanese, Press Reviews, Restaurant Reviews, Spanish

Nai Tapas Bar – Revisited

May 3, 2019 Johnny Prime Leave a comment

I recently revisited one of my favorite tapas and wine bars: Nai Tapas Bar. They’ve expanded into a two floor location, now on 2nd Ave at 5th Street (they moved from their old location on 1st Ave near 11th Street).

They offer an $89 chef’s tasting menu, which only jumps to $110 with their generous, high quality wine pairing pours for each course (and then some).

Not only is this a great deal, but it’s one of the best tasting menus I’ve had in years. Here’s how it went down.

We were met with a heaping goblet of white sangria…

Followed by a pour of the first white wine…

Which paired with the following bites:

This is truffle mushroom basmati rice with manchego cheese, beets and a perfectly poached egg.

These clams are gently broiled open and then dressed with cilantro, citrus zest and yuzu.

Next up was a pour of another white wine to go with this torched salmon and saffron nigiri and glazed Chilean sea bass (wrapped in crispy fried bread and topped with Serrano ham and asparagus).

After this, another glass of white (Gewürztraminer) came out with my favorite dish of the night (and a possible best of 2019 contender): portobello mushroom carpaccio. The Manchego cheese and crushed marcona almonds really made this pop, and the mushrooms are marinated in truffle oil.

There was a nice sangria-marinated cube of watermelon with mint served at this point, to get us ready for the next round.

After that, a red was poured…

To go along with these three meat courses:

Chicken: what a presentation. Broiled sweet mustard marinated thighs with tobiko, seaweed and champagne picked shallots. There were three kinds of sauces too.

Pork: braised marinated baby back rib.

Beef: prime rib eye katsu sando with Hokkaido milk bread and aioli, over shishito peppers.

After that, a palate cleansing cava came out, and then a glass of dessert white…

To go with this lemon tart and chocolate-stuffed churro.

What an amazing meal! There are so many more dishes I want to try on the menu. I’ll be back here again soon for sure, and I highly recommend you go as well. The price is low, the food is great, and there’s even live flamenco music.

NAI TAPAS BAR
85 Second Avenue
New York, NY 10003

Press Reviews, Product Reviews

Cangshan Cutlery

April 28, 2019 Johnny Prime Leave a comment

I really like this new carving knife set that Cangshan Cutlery sent me to test out. Here’s a quick unboxing video:

I used it today to slice up a small porterhouse. The set was clearly overpowered for this job, so next week I’ll cut up something bigger.

I really love the knife set. As I mentioned in the video, it’s sharp and ready to rock, right out of the box. It sports a sleek, beautiful design, and it’s well made. It feels natural in your hands with the correct weight balance as well. Can’t wait to use it again.

CLICK HERE for 15% off your order!

American, Burgers, Midtown West, Non-Steakhouse Steaks, Other Cuts, Press Reviews, Restaurant Reviews

Rainbow Room Macallan Dinner Pairing

April 28, 2019 Johnny Prime Leave a comment

My wife and I went to the Rainbow Room/Bar Sixty Five as guests of our friend who was hosting a special Macallan scotch cocktail pairing dinner.

The meal started with this “Breakfast for Dinner” cocktail that had some bubbles, blueberry and, of course, Macallan scotch. The garnish was actually blueberries and pancakes. Kinda cool.

This was paired with the two appetizers that my wife and I shared, scallops and peekytoe crab toast.

Next up was this vanilla, ginger beer and scotch cocktail that was garnished with a fresh sprig of rosemary. This tasted like cream soda.

Naturally, this paired nicely with the burger and steak entrees.

The hanger was great. 9/10. Super tender and flavorful despite being grass finished.

The burger was a monster. It was unwieldy to eat as a whole, so I pretty much ate each component separately.

To start off the dessert items, we had this really special drink called The Sixth Borough:

This delicious smoked cocktail is made with rare cask Macallan, 50-60 year old amaro and bitters, charcoal and rosemary. It’s stir-chilled with an ice sphere and then dropped into an ornate gold filigree glass from a chandelier platform that’s a replica of the iconic Rainbow Room. What a special treat!

That paired nicely with the Baked Alaska that I had. My wife had the cheesecake with apple sorbet. I obviously had a taste, and it was delicious as well.

RAINBOW ROOM / BAR SIXTY FIVE
30 Rockefeller Plaza
65th Floor
New York, NY 10112

American, Midtown West, Restaurant Reviews

The Modern

April 19, 2019 Johnny Prime Leave a comment

My wife and I came here for our 10th wedding anniversary.

We did the six course chef’s tasting menu. But first we started with some nice cocktails.

We did the groundskeeper and the terracotta navy. Here’s what’s in them:

The first thing to come out was this interesting tartlet amuse that had some sort of cheese and mushrooms inside a tiny pie crust.

The bread service consisted of a nice rosemary focaccia and small buns of pretzel bread.

The first of the six courses was their egg on egg on egg. Custard, yolk and caviar with a toasted brioche stick. Really delicious and easily a top dish for the year.

Next was this snapper crudo/tartare preparation.

Another top dish for the year goes to this foie gras tart with strawberries. Both white/green strawberries (tart) and red (sweet). A perfect dish in every way, with some meringue and tart strawberry salsa on top. Really nicely balanced between savory and sweet.

Next up was the first of the main proteins; the sea bass with mushroom in minestrone broth. Really light and flavorful, and it came with a pasta made from noodle-ized celtuse root.

This five-spiced, dry-aged Long Island duck was the winner for the mains though. Beautifully tender with lots of flavorful punch from the Thai basil puree and leaves.

Along with our complimentary anniversary cupcake (pictured above), they brought us a dessert amuse of mango fruit leather and ice cream, made to look like dim sum.

And finally, our dessert was this nice pistachio cake with lemon ice cream, white chocolate, balsamic reduction and some crumble.

We really enjoyed this meal. It was hefty in price, but we truly loved every dish. Also this is a no-tipping restaurant. Here’s the William:

THE MODERN
9 W 53rd St
New York, NY 10019

Midtown West, Press Reviews, Ramen

Ichiran

April 17, 2019 Johnny Prime Leave a comment

I finally got around to trying the Japanese import ramen shop Ichiran. This place allows you to completely customize your bowl, where you choose the strength of the broth, the firmness of the noodle, and all of the toppings. Here’s how I ordered:

The ramen was awesome.

Deliciously rich, velvety pork broth. Perfectly cooked, firm noodles. Fork tender slices of pork loin and chashu.

The matcha pudding is really nice too, and I usually don’t like matcha very much.

So glad that this shop opened up so close to home on 49th.

ICHIRAN
152 W 49th St
New York, NY 10019

Italian, Midtown East, Parms, Restaurant Reviews, Upper East Side

Isle of Capri

April 14, 2019 Johnny Prime Leave a comment

In my quest for all things parm, I came across Isle of Capri. With prices under $30 for these entrees, I just had to grab both the veal and the chicken parm.

At $27.25 this might be one of the best high end chicken parm deals you can find. I’ve had better at higher price points elsewhere, but this is very good for the money.

The same goes for the veal:

I was kinda hoping for a nice beautiful bone-in chop, but again just $28? I can’t complain.

I’d like to come back and try some pasta dishes soon. Everything looks good.

ISLE OF CAPRI
1028 3rd Ave
New York, NY 10065

Commentary

Johnny’s NYC Prime Rib Scheduler

April 8, 2019 Johnny Prime Leave a comment

Who makes your favorite prime rib? In NYC, lots of steak joints offer them, but sometimes only on specific days of the week. Keeping track of them all can be a chore, so I’ve published this handy prime rib weekly scheduler for you to use as a guide.

There are some ambitious places that offer prime rib on the menu every day that they’re open – just make sure you check their business hours, as some joints may be closed on Sundays or Mondays, or they only offer the prime rib for dinner as opposed to lunch, etc. Here are some of the acclaimed ones:

1) TAK Room
2) The Grill
3) 4 Charles Prime Rib (good luck trying to get a table)
4) Keens Steakhouse
5) Gallagher’s Steakhouse
6) The Ribbon
7) Hillstone
8) Smith & Wollensky
9) Don Angie (double prime rib braciole – again good luck getting a table)
10) Carne Mare

Just a heads up: I’m probably missing some here that always offer prime rib. But the point of this post is really to organize the days of the week as I’ve done for you down below.

In addition to those that have an always-on-the-menu prime rib, there are places like Holy Ground which simply need a four hour heads up for you to reserve one, any day of the week that they’re open. I would also be remiss not to mention the seared and roasted spinalis dorsi pinwheel from Le Rivage at this point. You’ll need to call ahead for that at least two days in advance though, but the plus side is that you can customize how big you want it for how many people you need to feed. Talk to Chef Paul DeNamiel for that.

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Okay so now on to the more knit-picky scheduling.

Monday: Since Mondays are typically the slow day for many NYC restaurants, I did not have much luck finding any joints that dedicate this as their prime rib day. In that case, I refer you to the above joints that always have prime rib available on the menu, or the ones that just need an advance heads up before you go in.

Tuesday: Peter Luger offers prime rib from Tuesday through Thursday. I haven’t had it yet, but I promise I’ll get to it ASAP and update the review.

Wednesday: Tuscany Steakhouse just started offering prime rib on Wednesdays. There are only seven to eight orders available at the moment, so you’ll want to get there early. I’m told that they may soon offer prime rib on Fridays as well. Can’t get there? Then you can also hit Porterhouse Bar & Grill, Burger & Barrel, or Peter Luger.

Thursday: Porter House Bar & Grill offers prime rib on both Wednesdays and Thursdays, as well as a special extra dry-aged prime rib that’s available by calling ahead and setting up a special dinner. You may need a few days advance notice on that one. You can also hit Peter Luger on Thursdays as well.

Friday: Del Frisco’s Grille in Rockefeller Center has a nice bone-in prime rib that’s available on both Fridays and Saturdays.

Saturday: Burger & Barrel offers a very reasonably priced all-inclusive prime rib dinner on both Wednesday and Saturday. You get salads, apps, sides and dessert with it. If memory serves me correctly, you may be able to order this one in advance for a party of four or more people on any day, so long as they have sufficient notice and a deposit. That’s how I did it the three times I went, but they may have switched over to purely Wednesdays and Saturdays at this point. Call and check. You could also hit Del Frisco’s Grille on a Saturday.

Sunday: Beatrice Inn used to have a nice Sunday rib roast with all the expected twigs and berries that typically accompany Angie Mar’s beef cuts. However it seems now that she closes the restaurant on Sundays. But wait – here’s a good one for you: Boston Market just started serving rotisserie prime rib from Wednesday through Saturday after 5pm, and on Sundays after 12pm (while supplies last and at participating locations). Call me crazy, but at $16.99 I kinda liked this. I found it to be better than many expensive prime ribs at the big steak joints, several of which just never get this dish correct.

If that doesn’t float your boat, or if it’s too low brow for your standards, then I refer you back up to the top of this article for the always-on-the-menu options.

I hope this helps you bastards out a little bit. Enjoy the prime rib!

American, Non-Steakhouse Steaks, Other Cuts, Restaurant Reviews, Upper West Side

The Ribbon

April 8, 2019 Johnny Prime Leave a comment

The Ribbon is a neighborhood bar and restaurant that serves up an impressive list of chops and roasts. The place is very popular with families, and you’ll see a ton of parents with their kids in there on weekends during the day. In fact I think my table was the only one in the back of the restaurant that didn’t have a child at it (aside from my immature ass, of course).

My wife and I started with cocktails. I enjoyed this Ol’ Thyme Gin, which had pear, thyme infused gin, amaro and lemon.

The Mr. Pimm was light and refreshing, pairing gin with cucumber, lemon, mint syrup and elderflower.

We started the steamed clams and a trio of pate, all of which were excellent. I was just hoping for a little heat with the clams since I saw “peppers” in the ingredient list. Probably just minced bells. The chorizo in there was nice though.

For our mains, we had the two prime ribs on the menu; pork and beef.

The pork was a little bit dry, but the apricot jam was a great way to get the juices flowing.

The 16oz king cut prime rib was great.

Nicely roasted to medium rare. I’m sick of ordering this dish and having it come to me raw and difficult to chew. They do it correctly here. It’s served with a nice jus and a light horseradish cream sauce. At $61 this may seem steep, but there’s no waste on it. Even the jiggly fat bits are edible. 8/10.

On the side we had some sauteed broccolini, which was a nice way to cut the fat.

And for dessert we shared the chocolate chip bread pudding (it comes with a scoop of vanilla ice cream). This had a nice brulee crunch to it on the edges, which made for a good mix of textures.