Category Archives: Other

Italian, Non-Steakhouse Steaks, Other, Parms, Press Reviews, Restaurant Reviews, Rib Eye

Noi Due Carne

August 10, 2018 Johnny Prime 5 Comments

I’m always excited to discover a good new Italian place. Noi Due Carne really hits the high mark. Let me get right into it, before I reveal a surprise that I’m meaning to save until the end.

Fried baby artichokes:

I haven’t seen these since Rome, and they were every bit as good here as they were there. Perfectly golden crisp, expertly seasoned, and garnished with a bright citrusy sauce. I could eat this by the bucket.

Grilled marinated sweetbreads:

By far the best sweetbreads I have ever had. They were tender yet firm at the same time, not mushy and watery like other sweetbreads I’ve had. No sinew. All flavor. Amazing.

Spiced lamb flatbread:

You can pass on this. The dough or bread portion is just not up to par.

Beef carpaccio:

This was nicely drizzled with balsamic and had great texture from the crispy sweet potato.

Artichoke ravioli with a lemon and white wine sauce:

These were incredible. I get excited about anything artichoke-related, but my excitement is usually tempered by shitty execution. This place nails both artichoke dishes.

Cavatelli with short rib ragu:

Cavatelli is my favorite pasta. The beef was nicely prepared, and had a pop of interesting flavor from the pomegranate. I liked this.

This baby was made for going viral.

That may look like just an ordinary large meatball, but look inside:

That’s right. Spaghetti INSIDE your meatball!

Not really my cup of tea. Both components end up being a bit off when they’re cooked this way, and I feel like the dish is really only designed for the shock value of the presentation. The meatball itself was nice and spicy though, and the sauce on the plate was well prepared. This is probably something that’s fun to order for the kids though, since kids can sometimes be really picky eaters. Adults should pass on this. Especially men.

Half chicken al Mattone:

This had a great crispy skin on it. The chicken itself was a bit dry in parts, and I wasn’t the biggest fan of the sweet potato puree underneath. But overall this dish was delicious.

Veal Milanese:

This was perfect. Pounded thin and flat, lightly breaded, and fried to a beautiful golden crisp.

26oz rib eye for two:

This is pricey at nearly $130, but there was no waste on it and no bone to beef up the weight numbers.

This was a 9/10 too. The simple olive oil and sea salt preparation really allowed the quality of the beef (USDA prime) to shine. It even tasted dry aged to me.

On the side we had some veggies and fries. Both just okay.

Dessert consisted of some kind of stacked, light, airy pastry with some sort of whipped topping and fruit…

A chocolate mousse cake of come kind, with some kind of frozen treat on top – like an ice cream…

And fondue with frozen banana, ginger snap cookies, marshmallows and strawberries:

The reason I’m cryptic about the pastry and the cake/ice cream is because, well, this place is Kosher, and I really have no idea how they pulled off pastry, whipped cream, cake and ice cream without using dairy. My wife would know, but I haven’t the slightest. Everything was really good.

But yes, that’s right: This place is Kosher. That’s the surprise I hinted about up top. This was the best Kosher meal I’ve ever had in the city, and I think I’ve had three or four? I would definitely eat here again. The fried artichoke, the sweetbreads, the artichoke ravioli and the steak were all top notch amazing dishes. Don’t PASS OVER (KNEE SLAP!) this place just because it’s Kosher and Kosher joints have a reputation for bad food.

NOI DUE CARNE
143 W 69th St
New York, NY 10023

French, Other, Press Reviews, Restaurant Reviews, Union Square/Flatiron

Le Coq Rico

March 11, 2018 Johnny Prime Leave a comment

Le Coq Rico is essentially a steakhouse for fowl. They serve whole, half and quarter birds – everything from chicken to duck to guinea hens. The menu is quite impressive.

My wife and I went in with a photographer who shoots food photos and runs social media accounts as a side business, so we got to try a bunch of things.

First off, they make great cocktails. We tried their old fashioned, and it was excellent.

Since we went in for brunch, we also got to try a pair of their fresh juices. The orange one is called Sirocco Breath, and it’s made with celery, carrot, apple, turmeric and nutmeg. Pop a shot of vodka in this and it is an amazing cocktail as well. So tasty and fresh.

The reddish purple drink is called the Root Twist: beet, ginger and orange. Very nice.

To start, we had the Caesar salad with chicken croquettes. This was a great salad.

The foie gras terrine en croute was so amazingly flavorful. This has won competitions all over the world. A definite must order.

Okay now on to the main feature. This is a 120-day old Brune Landaise pastured chicken, poached and roasted to perfection.

After slicing:

Some plating:

I really enjoyed this. All the dark meat was juicy, succulent and flavorful, and even the breast meat was incredible – especially when you drizzle some jus on it.

We snacked on this with some fries and a mixed greens salad with vinaigrette.

Now, I know the chicken is the main star, but you NEED to save room for dessert. I’m serious. These are some of the best desserts I’ve had. Every one of them was incredible. Perfectly executed French classics.

Mille Feuille:

100% Chocolate Profiteroles:

L’Ile Flottante:

Chef Westerman’s Vacherin, Ice cream side:

And Sorbet side:

I highly recommend this place. Share a fowl for the table, and go ballistic on desserts. You won’t be disappointed!

LE COQ RICO
30 E 20th St
New York, NY 10003

New Orleans, Other, Restaurant Reviews

Lafitte’s Blacksmith Shop Bar

January 6, 2018 Johnny Prime Leave a comment

I love this spot. It barely has electric, as it is one of the oldest structures in the country, built in the 1700’s and used as a blacksmith shop before it became a piano bar.

I love old shit, especially old timey bars and restaurants. Hence Tux-Con. Drop into this place for a drink, or even just to walk through and take a look around, if you’re ever in New Orleans.

LAFITTE’S BLACKSMITH SHOP BAR
941 Bourbon St
New Orleans, LA 70116

New Orleans, Other, Restaurant Reviews

Pirate’s Alley Cafe

January 6, 2018 Johnny Prime Leave a comment

Pirate Alley is an awesome little alley behind the church at Jackson Square in New Orleans’ French Quarter. We discovered the cafe there back in 2009, and it’s the reason we love absinthe.

I don’t really write bar reviews, but this is a great place to have a drink. That’s all I got!

PIRATE’S ALLEY CAFE
622 Pirate Alley
New Orleans, LA 70116

New Orleans, Other, Restaurant Reviews

Cafe Beignet

January 6, 2018 Johnny Prime Leave a comment

This little courtyard spot on Bourbon Street is a great place to sit outside with a coffee, a beignet, a yard of frozen hurricane, or whatever else the fuck you want. It’s also a good place to watch the barrage of drunks stumble by on Bourbon Street, while listening to some free music. This was the perfect place to wait for our table to be ready next door for dinner. I smoked my pipe, and my wife and I sipped on some drinks.

CAFE BEIGNET
311 Bourbon St
New Orleans, LA 70130

New Orleans, Other, Restaurant Reviews

Cafe Du Monde

January 6, 2018 Johnny Prime 2 Comments

A must-do thing in New Orleans is to have a beignet (or three) at Cafe Du Monde. There’s always a massive line, so go later at night, after dinner (make this your dessert), and you should have no trouble seating yourself. Order three, have a chicory coffee and dig in. But don’t spill any of that sugar cocaine on your pants!

So delicious. Basically, these are French zeppole.

CAFE DU MONDE
800 Decatur St
New Orleans, LA 70116

Other, Press Reviews, Restaurant Reviews

Seed + Mill

September 9, 2017 Johnny Prime Leave a comment

When I was a kid, I used to eat halva like it was my job. It’s probably my absolute favorite sweet thing to eat aside from soft serve vanilla ice cream. Seed + Mill sells halva cakes, but they also have goat’s milk vanilla soft serve ice cream. That’s double whammy for me in the dessert world. So when my buddy Jay from The Dishelin Guide set up a little influencer gig there, I was all over it.

I started with some of that soft serve goat’s milk ice cream in a blue corn tortilla cone, topped with shredded halva and freshly made tahini (they make it right there on site, in front of you). Amazing! This stuff is going to get big. It’s rich and creamy, but not as overbearingly sweet as regular ice cream. The tahini and halva bring in just the right amount of sweetness as a topping.

Next up, the halva cakes. They’re all purely halva – nothing baked or anything like that – but the quality and available flavors are like nothing I’ve ever experienced.

White chocolate and raspberries:

Mixed chocolate:

70% dark chocolate swirl:

And, while I didn’t shoot them, also worth mentioning here are the lemon and white chocolate, peanut butter, pistachio and rose water varieties. I love this place, and can’t wait to go back for more.

SEED + MILL
Chelsea Market
409 W 15th St
New York, NY 10011

Midtown West, Other, Restaurant Reviews

Grace Street

August 1, 2017 Johnny Prime Leave a comment

My and some fools stopped in this place after a night of KBBQ nearby. We tried some mochi, waffles with caramel and ice cream, and “shaved snow.”

Everything was great here, though admittedly a bit pricey. Luckily my buddy paid. Maybe that’s why he’s giving me the finger above.

GRACE STREET
17 W 32nd St
New York, NY 10001

American, French, Other, Other, Restaurant Reviews

Cafe Le Perche

July 11, 2017 Johnny Prime Leave a comment

Breakfast at this bakery-slash-restaurant joint was pretty fantastic.

I had an amazing lobster BLT sandwich that must have had a pound of good lobster claw meat on it.

My wife’s “little breakfast” was just $9 and had a ton of food on the plate.

The only downer was the side order of truffle fries. They were more like roasted potato wedges, not too crisp, and I think they were simply hit with some truffle oil to give it an aroma.