Tag Archives: ben & jacks

Upscale Flavored Steaks

June 16, 2018 Johnny Prime Leave a comment

The idea of a marinated steak is nothing new. Throw some soy sauce and garlic in a tupperware container, plop your steak in there, and a few hours later you’ve completely transformed the flavor, texture and character of your beef.

Lots of small, usually budget-friendly, run-of-the-mill restaurants that serve steaks will do this to punch up the quality and flavor of their beef. But a true steakhouse, it is often believed, won’t fuck with a quality cut of steak. Just salt and pepper is all you need.

Yet some of the best places in NYC are offering “flavored” steaks. And you will almost always see something like a coffee rubbed filet on a steakhouse menu from time to time. But let this be your guide to some of the good ones out there.

Probably the most commonly seen flavored steak is the “Cajun” steak. Typically this involves some onion, garlic, black pepper and often times something potent like cumin, paprika or cayenne pepper. These spices, when combined, can really make a steak pop and excite the taste buds.

My favorite Cajun steak is at Greenwich Steakhouse. This one comes with a little pool of oils and spiced sauce on the bottom, which I like to drag my steak though for extra pop. They’ll even throw the flavoring onto other cuts if you’d like, but the rib eyes are marinated in the stuff, so I think they might have a bit more deeply penetrating flavors.

For something less “wet” when served, go to Tuscany Steakhouse. This one is only on their lunch menu, but if you ask nice they might hook it up. Especially if you tell them I sent you. It’s excellent.

Ben & Jack’s Steakhouse also does a really nice job on their Cajun rib eye, which is a happy middle ground between Greenwich and Tuscany in terms of preparation and presentation; a little of the oil on the bottom, but still mostly a dry presentation. The great thing about this one is that the dry-aged flavor still comes though nicely.

Smith & Wollensky is thought to be the originator of the Cajun rib eye up here in NYC. In fact, Chef Victor at Greenwich Steakhouse is the one who developed the recipe at Smith & Wollensky before he struck out on his own (Greenwich Steakhouse). Greenwich is much better, in my opinion, but the two are very similar in overall style.

Harry’s offers a Cajun rib eye too, but it tastes completely different from the others up above, which all tend to have the same flavor profile. Harry’s is more earthy and peppery than the exotic spice flavors on the above cuts. Still great, just entirely different.

Another great flavored steak is the chili-rubbed rib eye. You can occasionally find this at Delmonico’s if they’re doing a tribute menu, but the man they pay homage to is Chef LoMonaco of Porter House Bar & Grill. He became well known for creating this spicy and delicious flavored rib eye.

If you’re like me, when it comes to spice, you prefer something aggressive like chili. But not so harsh that is fucks up your entire palate for the rest of the meal. I happen to love Szechuan peppercorn; that numbing heat with a slight burn. There’s just something about it.

I even tried to make a steak with those flavors a while back. But my attempt paled in comparison to the Szechuan tomahawk rib eye from The Lobster Club. This thing is aggressive, for sure, and richly flavorful. It’s tingly, it’s spicy, and it’s perfectly cooked. And when you go, bring the oily sauce home and fry up some leftover white rice with it, and top it with a fried egg or two. You won’t be disappointed.

Another big success is the pastrami rib eye from American Cut.

This baby packs a ton of flavor, so I’d probably split this as an appetizer and then focus on something more traditional as a main course. That peppery pastrami crust is absolutely bonkers, but I prefer it in small doses.

There are lots of others out there that I didn’t try yet, like the chili wagyu sirloin at Char House, or the whiskey dry-aged rib eye and lavender-rubbed porterhouse at The Beatrice Inn. I may need to win the lottery first though to afford those. I’ve heard great things, but I think the whiskey steak starts at about $1000. At least it feeds three people.

Burgers, Midtown East, Other Cuts, Porterhouse, Press Reviews, Rib Eye, Steakhouse Reviews

Ben & Jacks Steakhouse (44th Street)

April 20, 2018 Johnny Prime Leave a comment

Ben & Jacks (44th Street) overall score: 90

I’ve been a big fan of Ben & Jack’s for a few years now, after several delicious visits to the location down in the Flatiron area. They recently re-opened their East 44th Street location, so I went in to give it a try with another food blogger pal of mine. Chef Admir wouldn’t let us order for two. Instead he fed us enough food for five. Check it out below:

Flavor: 8

Porterhouse: 7

This baby was cooked perfectly. It had a great char on one side, and it was cooked to a nice pink throughout.

Cajun Rib Eye: 9

What a great crust on this baby. And I could really taste the dry-aged flavor coming through. The cajun spice treatment didn’t overwhelm it at all.

Prime Rib: 9

This prime rib was definitely roasted to perfection, and since it was dry-aged, the flavor was extra intense and delicious.

As you can see, however, it almost looks as if the meat hit a hot surface to get an additional sear or cook on the cut.

Perhaps it was sliced on a hot surface, or it was a cut that was exposed on one side while roasting. Either way, it was delicious and worthy of your attention.

Choice of Cuts & Quality Available: 9

This place uses Master Purveyors to supply the beef, and Chef Admir dry-aged everything in-house in a custom aging room. Everything is prime, and really friggin’ good. There’s a huge variety of cuts here, running the gamut on all the standard cuts and then some.

Portion Size & Plating: 9

Portions here are good here. The plating is basic yet rustic and elegant on the steak and sides, but with the apps you will get some very beautiful looking platess.

Price: 10

This place charges average to below average prices, which is great given the midtown location and the fact that the steaks are delicious.

Bar: 9

Great big marble bar with lots of light coming in from the nearby wall of windows. They mix a nice martini too. I’d definitely hang out here and chow down on a burger or something before ordering a steak.

Specials and Other Meats: 9

I didn’t poke around too much into the specials and other meats sections of the menu, but there is good representation here. One thing I will mention is their happy hour burger special. For just $13.95 you get an 8oz dry-aged wagyu burger with fries. Awesome.

It just needs a potato bun and a sauce. Then it’s perfect.

Apps, Sides & Desserts: 8

Great creamless creamed spinach, just like at the other location. Really unique mac and cheese, made with shallots and butter in the mix for a bomb of flavorful decadence. Great crispy hash brown potatoes, sliced thin and cooked with onions. Also some really awesome thick cut steakhouse bacon.

Seafood Selection: 10

I didn’t try any here yet, but I know the other location was great, and the same kind of variety in menu items is present here as well, so I’m piggy-backing the 10 score over here.

Service: 10

Top notch. Always. These guys are great and will make you feel like royalty.

Ambiance: 8

This is a brand new restaurant with really nice space and elegance. There’s even an outdoor area in the back for when the nice weather finally gets here.

BEN & JACK’S STEAKHOUSE
219 East 44th Street
New York, NY 10017

NY Strip, Porterhouse, Press Reviews, Rib Eye, Steakhouse Reviews, Union Square/Flatiron

Ben & Jack’s

October 2, 2015 Johnny Prime Leave a comment

Ben & Jack’s overall score: 92

NOTE: THIS PLACE IS CLOSED

When you’ve been to as many steakhouses as me, the whole experience can start to get a little bit stale (hence my reviews of almost everything else out there lately). As you can imagine, there’s not much variance in the menu or methods of preparation. There are certain things that are just tried and true. But chef Admir of Ben & Jack’s is constantly innovating, pushing himself to experiment with new flavors, and actually competing in top level food events all over the country (and winning them, to boot). With a background in science, Admir understands exactly how the beef aging process works, how much humidity is needed during the process to avoid drying too quickly, and precisely when to cut off the process and get the meat ready for cooking. His knowledge goes beyond beef though, and it shows in his end product. Although my wife and I didn’t get to try too many of his most creative innovations, the basics that are on the menu here are executed with exceptional precision. Let’s get into it.

Flavor: 9
I initially received an email from Ben & Jack’s inviting me to come in for a porterhouse. As you meat minions probably know, my preferred cut is a rib eye. I asked Admir if there was anything to the porterhouse that set it apart from the other cuts, or whether the rib eye was a good gauge of his best abilities. He suggested the rib eye and a strip, so that’s what my wife and I ordered.

I scored the rib eye at an eight, but the strip at a ten. Crazy, right? I usually am not a huge fan of strip, because it occasionally has a bit of chew to it – a bit tough. But the strip here was incredibly tender, juicy and soft. It was perfectly cooked to medium and beautifully presented pre-sliced on a hot plate.

You guys all know that I’m not a fan of the hot plate presentation (I worry about residual heat causing the slices to continue cooking the steak beyond medium rare), but the owners of Ben & Jack’s hail from a Peter Luger pedigree (some were there for nine and ten years before they struck out on their own). At Ben & Jack’s, they’ve preserved the traditions of great old standard bearers like Luger, but they have elevated and improved everything. The hot plate thing? It was fine here. Nothing got overcooked or continued cooking on the plate, and the lower edge of the strip, which tends to get a little overcooked because it is furthest from the bone, was still tender and delicious even though it went up to about a medium or medium well at the very tip.

Just so you know, the “they” that I am talking about are owners Jack (center), Harry (right), Ben and Russ (not pictured). And last but certainly not least, that’s Admir on the left.

Cousins, brothers, nephews, uncles, co-workers/co-owners, and all around great guys, they left Peter Luger and opened up the first Ben & Jack’s (44th street between 2nd & 3rd, currently being re-modeled) back in 2005.

Okay so back to flavor… As for the rib eye, the cap was delicious. The fat was entirely edible and tasted like meat bubblegum with a little charred crisp to it. The cut was a partial bone-in, meaning there was a small shard on one end, and a bit of bone across on the other side as well, but not connected completely.

This resulted in having some really nice fatty meat connecting the two bits of bone – like a good beef spare rib. The eye meat was tender and uniformly cooked the entire way through. This is what I’m talking about when I mean precision:

Choice of Cuts & Quality Available: 9
You’ve got all the basics represented here, with a prime rib to boot. Everything is prime and aged in house. I can confidently report that Admir knows what he’s doing in the kitchen, and I’m looking forward to coming back for a tour of the aging room and the kitchen.

Portion Size & Plating: 9
Portions are good here. If I had to guess, I’d say my rib eye was about 18oz and the strip was maybe 16oz. The plating is basic yet rustic and elegant on the steak and sides, but with the apps you will get some very beautiful looking plates.

Price: 10
The prices here were very fair as far as NYC steakhouses go, and you get a lot for your money – especially since the steaks are all great.

Bar: 10
Excellent bar. The place was filled up even on a rainy Thursday at 7pm. It wasn’t too loud, and everyone was having a good time. The bar is long and wide, stretching back from the front of the house with high tops and plenty of elbow room to move around.

I’d definitely hang out here, especially because they make a killer martini as well.

We also tried a nice cabernet with the steaks, served in their “B&J” wine glasses:

One or two of Admir’s innovative ideas actually came in the form of cocktails inspired by their versatile steak sauce, which hits stores like Whole Foods in about two weeks. The commercial sauce is on the left, and the in-house sauce is on the right.

This stuff was great. As I say, I like a good steak sauce on everything BUT steaks. This stuff can be used on shrimp, chicken, in Bloody Mary drinks or other cocktails, etc. And it will only retail for about $6! The addition of sweet items like molasses and orange juice in the ingredient list makes this round out very nicely.

Specials and Other Meats: 8
You’ve got lamb, veal and chicken by way of alternative meats. When I come back, I’d like to give the porterhouse or just the filet a try, but I’m also curious about the lamb as well. If Admir can knock the strip out of the park, then I can only imagine what he’d do with lamb.

Apps, Sides & Desserts: 8
We tried two apps, three sides, and a sampling of desserts. Let me dive in with the apps first.

This sesame crusted seared tuna was awesome. It was meaty and substantial, unlike other dainty tuna preparations.

The sesame crust gave it a really nice flavor and crunch to pair with the rare/raw sushi-grade interior. On the plate was a nice, lightly dressed mixed greens salad, and some pickled ginger. The black and white sauces you see are a soy reduction and a wasabi cream, both of which were very addictive. After the tuna was gone I was wiping my bread across those sauces!

We of course also had some thick cut bacon.

That’s only half of one slab (my wife and I shared one slice). This was nice and crisp, meaty, not too salty, and it went really well with the steak sauce. Admir explained that he also does a bacon where he marinates the slabs in steak sauce, bourbon and brown sugar before cooking. When it cooks, it caramelizes from the sweetness and takes on a great new flavor profile.

For sides, our first choice was a creamless creamed spinach. I had no idea there was no cream in it until the meal was over! This is probably the best “creamed” spinach dish I’ve ever had at a steakhouse.

It was thick but not heavy, it tasted very creamy and not too salty, it had good aromatics and it was SPINACH – not like some places where it is mainly cheese and cream soup with some bits of spinach floating around. Well done!

Next was mac and cheese. It comes served in a skillet with some crispy breadcrumbs and baked cheese on top.

Inside was a good mix of cheeses that held the pasta together with ooey gooey goodness. This was a big hit with my wife and me.

Our third side was the German potato dish. The potatoes are boiled, then sliced, and then fried with onions and dressed with a little bit of vinegar.

To be honest, I didn’t taste much vinegar (which is fine with me), but the potatoes themselves were a little overcooked and burnt. I didn’t see too many onions either. Overall the dish was more like hash browns or home fries (is there a difference between HBs and HFs?) than what I initially expected. This was our only miss on the apps and sides though. Everything else was top level excellence.

For dessert, Admir brought us a sampling of several menu selections, with some schlag in the middle.

First was their famous New York cheesecake.

It was dense, yet not heavy. It had good flavor as well – probably one of the better cheesecakes I’ve had at a restaurant, though I have to be honest in saying that I don’t often order cheesecake at dinner, because I’m spoiled by my sister’s cheesecake. Whatever she does, that shit is untouchable. Not sure if that is a fair critique for this slice at Ben & Jack’s, but that’s what I’m working with. Haha! Kind of like ordering meatballs when you’ve got grandma’s unbelievable Sunday pasta and meatballs dinner at home, you know? Unfortunately I’ve also got that with my mother’s pizza and my wife’s baking too, so I am a tough cookie when it comes to some stuff.

Next was chocolate mousse with oreo crust. I liked this a lot. It was rich and tasty, and not too overwhelming with sweet.

Then came the tira misu. This was on par with most other versions I’ve had recently. You won’t be disappointed, but you also won’t be too wow’d either. It is done correctly.

This carrot cake was my wife’s favorite. Since she is a semi-professional baker, you can probably bank on her word.

The addition of raisins into the cake was a really smart touch, as it adds a pop of sweetness and moisture to the occasional bite. This was probably my favorite of the dessert sampler as well, but as I mentioned above, I have some favorites from my wife that really can’t be topped. One of them happens to be her carrot cake.

Last was key lime pie.

This is a solid order to go with. It’s done properly. It’s refreshing, not overly creamy or tart with bitterness. It is smooth and has a great classic graham cracker crust.

I should also mention here that Admir came up with some pretty unique steak sauce cake pops for dessert during restaurant week. He mixed steak sauce into the chocolate, along with some other spices, to create a dynamic and unique coating for the pops. This once again showcased the diversity of their steak sauce in the realm of dessert and not just meats and drinks. I wish we had made it in for that. My wife was definitely interested in trying something new and different for dessert.

Seafood Selection: 10
There’s a TON of nice looking seafood on the entree menu: Seabass, salmon, sole, scallops, tuna, crab, shrimp and lobster. Based on the way the sesame crusted tuna was prepared, I can confidently say that you are in good hands if you happen to be a pussy who needs to eat seafood instead of steak here.

Service: 10
Thank God these guys didn’t bring the Luger service over with them. Luger’s service is famous for sucking, in case you aren’t aware. It’s almost a point of pride for those bastards. But here, you will be treated like royalty without it feeling awkward. Everyone is friendly. The owners are around and will come talk to you, the chef is mixing with customers and making sure everything is okay, and the waiters are professional, courteous and fast. Fantastic.

Let’s see… What else? Oh! Table breads could use a little warmth, but otherwise they’re good. Italian bread and onion loaf.

Ambiance: 9
This place was beautifully designed by Harry himself. I especially liked the front of the house and the bar. There is an elegant coat check, and a great upstairs dining area and bar too, with private rooms to boot.