Category Archives: West Village

Non-Steakhouse Steaks, Porterhouse, Pub Food, Restaurant Reviews, Rib Eye, West Village

Commerce Inn

October 13, 2024 Johnny Prime Leave a comment

First, check out my Ride & Review HERE:

I’ve been meaning to eat here for so long. After seeing the menu during a short visit with The Cake Dealer for a drink, I was even more convinced. So we finally made it happen.

We started with the lamb loin chops (two t-bones) and the beans.

The lamb was perfectly cooked to medium rare, and came as a composed dish with grilled escarole. I loved this. No game flavor, just really simply grilled with salt and pepper.

Next, we had the rabbit pot pie, which was on special. It was beautifully presented, but here’s a shot of the pie after we cracked it open.

…I should call her…

Anyway, lots of nicely cooked rabbit – which I love – totally under utilized protein – as well as assorted mushrooms, celery, carrots, and onions.

We also did a side of artichokes, which also came with onions, carrots and celery, served as a cold dish with a hint of curry flavor.

And finally, the rib eye.

This 18oz boneless cut was dry aged and grilled to perfection. The aged flavor was mild, but it was all so tender and delicious. Very nicely seasoned, and the fried onions and garlic that come with it are heavenly. 9/10. The only down side to this steak is that it cost $86. Crazy!

I can’t wait to come back here – already booked my next reservation.

I came back for the porterhouse! It was a solid 8/10. The rib eye is clearly the winner here.

COMMERCE INN
50 Commerce St.
New York, NY 10014

American, Latin/Mexican & Caribbean, Lower East Side/Chinatown, Restaurant Reviews, West Village

Red Lion & El Cabron Taqueria

August 20, 2024 Johnny Prime Leave a comment

Red Lion is a Bleecker Street bar that’s been around forever. They started offering 50-cent wings on Wednesdays, so me and some buddies took our Zooz bikes out for a ride to check them out.

The wings were pretty good! The best flavor was hot – way better than mild, garlic parm or bbq.

The tacos joint was great. Nice budget friendly tacos at under $5 each, and on Tuesdays they are even cheaper for “Taco Tuesday.”

Here’s a video of the food:

At the end, you can see us grabbing some boilermakers at 169 Bar. $6 beer and a shot!

RED LION
151 Bleecker St.
New York, NY 10012

EL CABRON TAQUERIA
26 Essex St.
New York, NY 10002

Burgers, Nolita/Soho, West Village

Hamburger America

March 12, 2024 Johnny Prime Leave a comment

First, watch this episode of Around the Hood HERE:

I finally got over to Hamburger America to try out George Motz’s take on the historic Oklahoma style onion smash burger.

He keeps it really simple: A meatball goes onto the flat top, it gets seasoned, and then it gets smushed into a flat burger patty with thin sliced onions. The two become one, and they’re topped with a slice of yellow American cheese – one per patty. A swirl of mustard and a few slices of pickle is all that garnishes this bite of American nostalgia – which gets sandwiched inside a soft, pillowy, butter-toasted potato bun.

There’s less crispy texture here than with other smash burgers, due to the steaming onion aspect, but the simple, unconfused flavors make me want to keep coming back for more. It’s a great burger! Simple and delicious.

And the shoestring fries are perfectly crisped and seasoned as well.

Make sure you try a slice of pie and an egg cream, too. There’s nothing better while sitting at a diner counter.

HAMBURGER AMERICA
51 MacDougal St.
New York, NY 10012

Japanese, Restaurant Reviews, West Village

Kinzan

January 22, 2024 Johnny Prime Leave a comment

First, check out my Ride & Review video HERE:

Kinzan is an omakase joint in the west village that offers a $100 meal, and, currently, a 15% discount is you pay in cash.

While this doesn’t quite break the top five for low cost/high value omakase joints, there were definitely some highlights, like the albacore with chili garlic crisp…

Tuna with caviar…

And their Instagram claim to fame, the smoked martini course.

Definitely worth a shot! Great service and reasonable prices.

KINZAN
259 6th Ave.
New York, NY 10014

Greek, Non-Steakhouse Steaks, Press Reviews, Restaurant Reviews, Rib Eye, West Village

Pappas Taverna

July 23, 2023 Johnny Prime Leave a comment

First, check out my Ride & Review video HERE:

This joint is beautiful inside.

It’s part of the Dream Hospitality group (Dream hotels, etc), so they really went all out. It’s huge, and at night there are belly dancers, fire shows, a DJ… It becomes a nightlife spot.

Nice cocktails to start, all Greek flavor inspired and named, like the Hera Spritz.

We started with the Pappas Chips, which are thin slices of eggplant and zucchini, fried and served with yogurt sauce.

I expected these to be a bit more crispy, but they were still tasty.

The grilled octopus was incredible. Probably one of the best I’ve had. Super tender.

The boneless rib eye was cooked perfectly and had a nice Greek flavor profile of spices and herbs. 8/10.

This lamb shank was the winning dish, though.

There had to be a pound or more of orzo in that pot, and the meat just fell off the bone. So tender, juicy and flavorful.

For dessert, we tried the baklava and the orange custard. Both really great, not too sweet, and large enough to share.

I would definitely go back!

PAPPAS TAVERNA
105 MacDougal St
New York, NY 10012

Italian, Restaurant Reviews, West Village

Via Carota

July 12, 2023 Johnny Prime Leave a comment

First, check out this badass Ride & Review video HERE:

My wife wanted to check this place out for their pork and pasta dishes, and I was interested in their artichoke and rabbit dishes. We tried all of it. Here’s how it started:

Two lovely cocktails, a classic negroni and a martinez, for me.

Vitello Tonnato was on special, carpaccio style. I had to try. It was great!

We also had their grilled artichokes, which were amazing. I don’t think I’ve ever had them grilled before, but I’m a huge fan.

This stracci pesto pasta was like a pile of lasagna noodles.

Fucking fantastic! I absolutely loved it.

This pork dish was belly, roasted and then grilled, with a tangy plum BBQ sauce, of sorts. Very unique.

The fried rabbit was incredible. Perfectly seasoned, and it came with a big hunk of fried sourdough. This could easily replace chicken and waffles if served with some whipped ricotta and a spicy Calabrian chili honey.

For dessert, a perfectly executed tiramisu.

We will definitely be going back for the fried calamari/fritto misto and fried zucchini. The plates coming out looked nuts!

VIA CAROTA
51 Grove St
New York, NY 10014

American, Burgers, Restaurant Reviews, West Village

Cecchi’s

July 11, 2023 Johnny Prime Leave a comment

First, check out my kickass Ride & Review video HERE:

We started with some cocktails. My wife got the walnut whiskey sour, and I got a classic martini. Both were excellent.

Next we shared some apps. The fried shrimp were head-on, which was nice, but they needed a little salt.

The burger was delicious. Aside from the lack of adequate cheese melt, I really enjoyed. The pickled green tomato is a great way to introduce both pickle and tomato into the burger’s flavor profile without using ketchup (garbage, but it is nostalgic).

It was cooked to a nice medium rare. Right on the money. One other negative here was that the fries were a little too salty. I didn’t mind much, since that sort of balanced with the shrimp.

For our mains we had the Iberico pork “Secreto,” which is a shoulder cut if I’m not mistaken, as well as the lamb rack. We both liked the lamb better.

The pork was still good, I think it just needed a chimi sauce or something. Also maybe another minute on the grill. I like this pork medium rare, but this was straight rare so it ended up being a little chewy at times unless you cut it up small. Broccolini was charred with lemon, just how we like it.

The strawberry shortcake dessert was fantastic. I highly recommend it.

One other negative to note here: there was some sort of eyelash or eyebrow hair in my wife’s amaro. We didn’t say anything, but the level of service here was incredible so I’m sure they would have gotten us a new pour if we asked. It was late, and we were tired, full and otherwise very happy. The staff definitely pays attention to the notes you put on your reservation. A few different people made conversation with us a few times about it being our anniversary. Great staff! I will be back for the steak options.

CECCHI’S
105 W 13th St
New York, NY 10011

Italian, Parms, Restaurant Reviews, West Village

Dante

July 4, 2023 Johnny Prime Leave a comment

First, check out my badass Ride & Review video HERE:

We started with the mortadella, stracciatella and pistachio flatbread. This was incredible!

Next up was chicken parm. They use a huge amount of extra funky cheese on this. BOLD!

Their Frutti di Mare pasta was perfect. Shrimp, mussels, clams and calamari, all cooked just right in a beautiful sauce.

The panna cotta was just right! Very nice texture.

We will definitely be back to try more, especially from the massively extensive cocktail menu!

DANTE
79-81 MacDougal St
New York, NY 10012

Italian, Non-Steakhouse Steaks, Parms, Porterhouse, Restaurant Reviews, West Village

Da Toscano

June 5, 2023 Johnny Prime Leave a comment

First, check out my kickass Ride & Review video HERE:

My wife and I finally made it over to Da Toscano with my buddy and his girlfriend, who are huge fans of the place. We went big, so I’ll get right down to business.

For starters, we had the broiled oysters, which were bathed in crab fat butter. Absolutely delicious.

Then we ate five pasta dishes. Yes, five. My favorites were the lamb neck agnolotti and the orecchiette with sausage and broccoli rabe sauce.

Insane. So much flavor coming through in that orecchiette from the pickled cherry peppers. And the agnolotti were like little buttery packages of meaty deliciousness.

The squid ink spaghetti with crab and Calabrian chili was delicious as well. Perfectly executed.