Fresco by Scotto is a family style Italian restaurant that is owned/operated by Rosanna Scotto, host of Good Day NY and long time news anchor for Fox 5! We were so grateful to be able to meet her there too. She was a great host and super sweet.
My wife and I tried a ton of stuff when we came here. Check it out:
Slideshow here:
We started with the potato and zucchini chips with gorgonzola, and the giant “Mama Scotto’s Meatball,” which weighed about a pound! Both were amazing.
Next up was this smoked hamachi crudo, which was one of our favorite items:
We tried two pasta dishes, both gigantic and enough food for two. The rigatoni Bolognese is partially made with chicken to help keep it lighter than most other Bolognese sauces. It still packed a ton of flavor, while allowing you to really go hard and eat a lot of it.
The pasta is all made in house, and this tagliolini was one of the best I’ve had. Porcini cream sauce with truffles. Perfect.
For mains, we had the veal chop with potato gratin, and the branzino.
We actually both liked the branzino more. It was so perfectly crisp and really nicely seasoned. It was plated with zucchini, spinach and a parsnip puree.
For dessert, we tried the banana pudding, the Italian ice cream sandwiches, and the chocolate mousse cake. I think the banana pudding was my favorite here.
Service was incredible, fast, and fun. My martini came to the table in about 1 minute and 48 seconds!
The table is set with a bunch of really nice marinated olives and peppery bread sticks.
We loved our meal here. It felt like we were at home for a big Italian family holiday meal. I can’t wait to go back and try their cavatelli and porterhouse for two.
FRESCO BY SCOTTO
34 E 52nd Street
New York, NY 10022
Sushi Hayashi is one of the “all you can eat” sushi/omakase spots that are trending now in the city. This spot is a pretty good deal. The pieces are all decent, and you get a solid amount of sushi for $98 in the omakase (14 courses). The salmon, shima aji and shrimp were our favorite pieces from the omakase. The wagyu fell short, and there was no uni, but over all this was a worth-while omakase.
Once you’re finished with the 14-course omakase, you get two rounds of “all you can eat” sushi ordering, which is limited to a selection of eel, scallop, lean tuna or fatty tuna. The toppings and garnishes are done away with during this time (just a brush of sauce, and some torching for the fatty tuna), and you’ll be charged $6 per piece for any nigiri that you order but don’t finish. The record is 72 pieces eaten. Insane.
I went with nine extra pieces total during this “all you can eat” portion of the meal; three each of the lean tuna, fatty tuna and scallop.
They really have the system down pat, and they operate like a well-oiled machine.
They’ve created the first fast food style omakase! Highly American! What follows below is a photo dump of all the courses.
Two appetizers:
Ten nigiri pieces:
The roll portion of the omakase:
Round 1 AYCE:
Round 2 AYCE:
Dessert: matcha ice cream.
SUSHI HAYASHI
355 E 50th Street
New York, NY 10022
The rib eye with bone marrow and fried chives packs a ton of flavor. I’m not sure if there’s a lot of aged flavor happening, but we both enjoyed this steak.
Choice of Cuts & Quality Available: 8
There are a few large format steaks and a few single portion steaks available on the menu here. I’m not really sure this place can be called a full blown steakhouse, but there is enough beef on the menu to justify the categorization.
Portion Size & Plating: 8
Portions are great here. The rib eye is 16oz, off the bone, which is pretty good. The only drawback is that the steak is skinny, and you run the risk of overcooking if you want a really good char on the outside. There was some gristle that I didn’t eat, but over all the fat was nice and tasty too.
Price: 7
The pricing here is scary. $85 for the 16oz rib eye seemd crazy to me. However, there are other places around the menu that are more budget friendly, and since this place is in the heart of midtown, you sort of have to expect crazy pricing.
Bar: 8
This place has a gorgeous bar at the entrance, and they mix up some great cocktails.
Specials and Other Meats: 7
The move here for “other meats” is to go with the tacos. We tried the carnitas, because we saw that there were two in the order; one for each of us.
The braised pork shank was good, but the sauce was slightly bland. I was expected a deeper, more earthy punch with heat.
Apps, Sides & Desserts: 9
We loved the roasted truffle cauliflower app. It packed a ton of flavor and was huge. This could be a meal if you’re going veg.
I already mentioned the tacos above, which we had an an appetizer; and below in the seafood section I will touch on the octopus chicharrones.
The grilled mango dessert was unique and light, just what we wanted to close out the meal.
Seafood Selection: 8
There’s a nice selection of fish here. We tried the octopus chicharrones with our appetizers, and the meat was tender inside and crisp outside. Very nicely cooked.
Service: 10
Service was excellent here, as is expected when considering the location and the price. The chips and sauces that come to the table here on the house are fantastic.
Since we were celebrating a special occasion, they even gave us each a little passionfruit frozen martini on the house. Awesome!
Ambiance: 9
This place is absolutely gorgeous inside. It’s big, it smells good, and it isn’t too loud either. I would definitely go back to try more of the menu – especially the steak tacos.
Albert’s is a fancy bar that just opened up near Grand Central that features some really nice cocktails and a killer menu. I highly recommend the Salt & Pepper Martini, which is made with celery salt and sun dried tomato -infused vodka.
This joint is brought to you by the folks behind the great upper east side spot The Penrose, so I didn’t expect any slack!
I stopped by one Friday after work to meet my wife for a drink, but we ended up ordering their jojo fries, and their t-bone for two, which is a dry-aged 35oz beast that also comes with two sides for $150. What a deal!
We went with the lemon and walnut crispy Brussels and the spatzl “mac” and cheese. Both were incredible!
The steak itself was an easy 8/10. It had mild aged flavor, but it ws cooked to a perfect medium rare with a great, deep golden brown crust all over.
I’ll definitely be back to try the tartare, the strip steak frites, and the burger.
Taking over the old Maloney & Porcelli space is Monterey, a gorgeous mid-century modern decor and cuisine inspired restaurant.
The cocktails are fun here, especially the martini cart, where you choose between three gins or three vodkas, then you choose your vermouth as well as bitters and garnish. While a bit small and not so strong for the high price point ($26), it was a great presentation and idea.
They have a nice big gin and tonic.
For starters we tried the special pork trotter with sweetbreads and coddled egg.
This was richly delicious.
To balance that, we cut it with some crisp fried artichoke that came with a bright citrus aioli.
On a second visit, we tried the steak tartare, the sweetbreads and the foie gras. Of these, the foie was the best.
For my main, I ordered the prime rib, which comes to you on a classic table side cart.
While mine was a bit diagonally mis-cut, it was a perfect chuck side beauty. Check out the pronounced spinalis and complexus.
Very nice medium rare temp and with a great crispy seasoned coating on the edges. 9/10.
The prime rib comes with a generous sized cup of buttery, whipped mashed potatoes. We added the red pepper broccolini to go with it.
On a second visit I had the porterhouse. 8/10.
My wife had the crab and uni spaghetti with lime butter sauce. Really nice! The sauce tasted almost like a roux.
On our second visit, she had this really awesome Iberico pork chop that came on a bed of corn and with garnishes of mushrooms and bacon. This was the winner that night.
On the side we had Cy Eats’ Romano Beans with her chili oil.
For dessert, we had the dark chocolate tart and the ricotta beignets. Both good, but we preferred the donuts!
On a second visit, the cloud cake dessert really hit the spot. Light and airy like a strawberry shortcake almost.
We were both very happy with this meal, and I definitely want to come back to try more of their offerings – especially the pork chop! Here’s the damage – not sure why the header says “Book and Fox.”
A buddy of mine helped open this joint over by Bryant Park, so I had to go check it out. The food here is excellent! Check out how perfect this burger looks:
That’s a handsome fella. And it was as delicious as it looks. Certified Angus Beef smash patties, shredded lettuce, sharp American cheese, and tomato on a brioche bun. The crust on those patties was perfect!
The chicken sandwich was great as well. Great spice to it.
As a tribute to Rutt’s Hut over in NJ, they also offer this ripper hot dog. It really hit the spot with a crispy snap.
And to top it off, the fries and tots were both golden and crunchy.
I highly recommend this place. The food is better than most other joints out there slinging smash patties now.
HANDCRAFT BURGERS & BREW
110 West 40th Street
New York, NY 10018
NY Pizza Suprema is one of midtown Manhattan’s best pizza joints.
Patrons will grab slices and scarf them down at the counter before hitting MSG, just across the avenue, for a game, concert, or whatever. Well, they used to, before public events were put on lockdown. I stopped in after a wonderful visit to the DMV, and ate my slice while walking to the subway.
This is a great slice. Thin, crisp and flavorful. A great representation of the classic NYC style. At $4, though, it’s a hefty price for a slice. It is, however, extremely convenient to Penn Station, so if you’re in the area and in need of a great slice, this is the place to go.
Quality Bistro opened back in January, if I recall, right when I started a hellish new job with insane demands on my time. Then, of course, the entire city went into lockdown from Covid-19. Somehow my work-life balance got even worse. I’m only just now finally beginning to break away from the +60 hours/week grip of this gig, to get back out there and review restaurants for you savage bastards.
Anyway, the point of that bullshit preface is really just to say that I’m excited to finally write about a new(ish) joint that I’ve tried, especially one that’s serving some awesome food.
Here’s my quick video run down of those spots, if you haven’t seen it:
First of all, this new place, Quality Bistro, is totally decked out. This is easily the most gorgeously decorated space in the entire Quality Branded suite of restaurants. High ceilings, beautiful booths, decor and tables – really on another level. They spared no expense. So when you go here, make sure you request a table inside. I recommend the booths in the room on the left when you walk in. The bar is sick too (hopefully some day soon we will be allowed to sit at one again).
The menu is decidedly French, which makes sense given the “bistro” restaurant name. But like all their other restaurants, they are aggressively beef-forward. I wouldn’t call them a steakhouse, per se, but they get very close to it. They offered five steak cuts when I was there: a filet mignon, a strip, a bavette, a tomahawk and a “cote de boeuf” rib eye for two. We went with the tomahawk, but let me run through the other stuff we tried.
We started with the escargots and the crab cake. The escargots are probably some of the best I’ve had in the city, rivaling Paul Denamiel’s at Le Rivage. Very close competition! And they’re in the shell too, which I love. Order these, and get a dozen because you save $10 when you jump from a half ($19) to a full dozen ($29).
The crab cake is massive. It’s about the size of an 8oz burger patty, thick too. Super crisp, great sauce. I think this would be amazing as a lunch sandwich with pickled green tomato on a brioche bun or a croissant, with a bit more green on top. Absolutely delicious.
Our mid course was the prime tomahawk. This comes slathered with Rogue Creamery smokey blue cheese – a TON of it!
The smell coming off of this thing was so amazing. It filled the massive dining room with funk.
The cook temp was a perfect medium rare. So juicy, so tender, and so packed with flavor. This is an easy 9/10. I stripped the fucker clean!
We chased that with the corn custard brûlée. I had high hopes for this, but it fell short for two reasons: (1) The inside was less custard and more clumpy scrambled egg. This is usually a turn off for me, but the flavor was really good, so I still devoured it. And (2), a bit heavy on the caramelized sugar on top. Too thick for my liking. The flake salt, however, really made the flavors on this pop. I can see this side being a star with a bit more fine tuning.
*SEE UPDATED REVIEW NOTES BELOW!*
Our third course was the Moroccan fried chicken. They serve a whole bird for two in a beautiful tagine with fresh cilantro, Moroccan pancakes and a trio of dipping sauces (spicy honey, Moroccan cilantro chimichurri and citrus yogurt).
The breading is really nicely spiced, with great middle eastern earthiness and aromas.
Absolutely jerkworthy. I’d get this again in a heartbeat. In fact, I’m glad we ordered big, because we took more than half of it home. I’m about to eat the left overs right now, and I’m psyched!
Last, we had the apple tart sundae with cinnamon ice cream. This was really good, and big enough to share with your date at just $12. The cinnamon ice cream tasted like Cinnamon Toast Crunch, my absolute favorite cereal of all time!
I guess that about does it for now. I plan to go back and try some of the other cuts, particularly the bavette frites, since that’s a little less common on menus. Definitely give this place a shot. Gaetano, Scott and Roger will treat you right. They provide amazing, clean service here, and you’ll feel safely spaced apart and very comfortable. Can’t believe I have to even mention such things right now…
UPDATE 10/24/2020
My wife and I went back for round two, and tried a bunch more stuff.
For apps, we tried the taste flame, which is the joint’s take on Detroit style pizza + bread service. This was incredible!
Probably my favorite app here so far though, is this tuna carpaccio. Spicy, fresh, and deliciously refreshing.
These jambon beurre bites are pretty damn tasty as well.
This time, my wife went with the branzino. This was perfectly cooked and very flavorful. It comes with a choice of either salad or fries.
I went with the bavette, and also went with the French fries option.
They developed a great char on the outside…
While maintaining a perfect cook temp on the inside…
This was a solid 8/10. Really nicely executed.
On the side, we gave the corn brûlée another spin, and MAN were we glad that we did. As I expected, with the improvements I outlined above, this dish was a star. Much nicer texture inside (real custard-like), and lighter on the sugar top. PERFECT!
So that’s two steaks down, three to go: filet, strip, and rib eye for two. I’LL BE BACK!
UPDATE 7/16/21
Strip steak has a mild aged flavor, but a really nice peppercorn crust. Perfectly cooked throughout. 8/10.
Rib eye for two is great – a solid 8/10.
Lemon chicken is a sleeper here. Amazing dish!
Also really loved the glass for the French Bird cocktail. They should sell them!
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:
