My wife and I were in Philly for the weekend to see family and take in some sights. After a long day of walking around, we hit Butcher & Singer for a late evening carnivorous meal.
Flavor: 9
We ordered their Pat LaFrieda 50oz tomahawk rib eye. This thing was monstrous.
But, as you can tell, it was cooked to a perfect medium rare.
Let’s get right in there:
Gorgeous. And they did a fine job on this thing, especially considering there was no aging done to the cut. That bone adds a lot of flavor into the meat though. It was perfectly seasoned with a good crust on the outside, and the flavor penetrated deep into the muscle tissue for a nice even bite. I just missed that aged funk a bit.
Choice of Cuts & Quality Available: 9
A strip, two filets, two rib eyes, and multiple sized porterhouses are available here. Not too shabby, but also nothing over and above. In addition, there are no dry-aged selections. They do a great job cooking these fuckers though, so that’s a plus. And all the meats are LaFrieda, so you know you’re getting top notch quality here.
Portion Size & Plating: 9
Portions are all nicely sized here, with the exception of the bacon. I felt there could have been two strips for $12. Plating is simple and basic – nothing fancy.
Price: 9
I mentioned the bacon above. In addition, I felt that the tomahawk was a bit pricey for a non-aged cut at $125. Their porterhouse seemed to be a better deal for two diners. In any event, it was still well worth the shell-out, and they ended up comping our dessert, which was very nice of them.
Bar: 9
I wish this bar was bigger, because I would definitely give it a 10 based on the quality of the cocktails alone. There was some lounge seating as well, which was nice, but ultimately this bar was a bit small for such an immensely high-ceilinged joint.
In any event they mixed a perfect martini.
And they sported an awesome cocktail menu, with an entire page dedicated to Manhattans.
Definitely a cool place to hang out, even if you’re not eating.
Specials and Other Meats: 8
There are pork chop and lamb chop selections here, as well as a girly chicken entree. Not bad, but I’ve seen better.
Apps, Sides & Desserts: 8
We started with the thick cut maple bacon, which was awesomely sweet and savory at the same time.
Yes, that bacon is smiling at you.
I wish there was one more slice for that price of $12. Oh well.
For sides we went with a half portion of creamed spinach, which was generous for just $6. This was just okay. It did the job.
The stuffed hash browns were excellent. This was basically a latke of shredded potatoes with chunks of diced potato and sour cream inside. Fried to a crisp. Excellent for leftovers with fried eggs on top.
For dessert we went with the ice box lemon cake, which was similar to a key lime pie, only frozen. I liked this very much.
Seafood Selection: 9
There’s a great deal of nice looking seafood on the menu. Branzino, swordfish, shrimp, lobster and salmon. We also got a peek at the seafood tower app from across the restaurant and it looked marvelous. Not to mention they also had some east and west coast oyster varieties that were being offered on special.
Service: 10
Our waitress was awesome. She knew her meats in and out, and she was quick with answers to my questions about the beef itself, where it came from, whether it was aged, etc. Also, the bread was good. It was served with a soft, whipped butter, and it was warm and fresh.
Ambiance: 10
Fantastic. I am guessing this was an old bank that was converted into a steakhouse due to the incredibly high ceilings.
And they’ve got a nice bull head in the rear.
They play fancy 1920’s music, which is a nice change up from the typical trendy bullshit I’m hearing in NYC these days. Bravo.
BUTCHER & SINGER
1500 Walnut St
Philadelphia, PA 19102
Wolfgang Puck just opened up a new location of his steakhouse “Cut” in downtown Manhattan. Of course I had to check it out. A buddy and I came here with our ladies to get down on some steak.
Flavor: 8
We were able to sample three different cuts: rib eye, sirloin and tenderloin. All three hailed from Creekstone Farms, and all three were bone-in.
The rib eye here is a solid 8/10. It felt a bit small for 20oz, but as you can see it had a great outer crust.
Inside was perfectly cooked. Check out the cut:
Where it fell short, for me, was the cap. There wasn’t much to it, unfortunately. The eye was delicious though, and I think it was the most flavorful cut of the night. I didn’t get pics of the other two.
I’m giving the tenderloin a 9/10. It had that same great sear and same great cook temp. The flavor was excellent for a tenderloin, too.
The sirloin was not marketed as a NY strip or strip loin, so I am considering it to be an “other cut” for categorization purposes. In all likelihood, it was probably a strip, but one can never be certain without actually doing the butchering oneself. This was an 8/10. Again, same great crisp and cook, and the flavor was nice for a lean cut, though I did prefer the rib eye and tenderloin over the sirloin.
As for the sauces, well, each steak comes with a free sauce on the side. There are about six to eight to choose from. We tried a bunch: house steak sauce, bernaise, creamy horseradish, and yuzu. While I prefer my steak naked, the best of the lot was the horseradish. Their house steak sauce was a bit aggressive on the tarragon (I think that’s what it was in there – not rosemary).
Choice of Cuts & Quality Available: 10
This place is truly amazing in terms of available cuts and quality. A quick scan of their menu reveals that they not only offer all of the main steakhouse cuts in various sizes, but you can also choose by farm. They offer stuff from Kansas (Creekstone), Illinois (corn-finished), Ithaca New York (grass-finished), and Snake River (American Wagyu). On top of that, they feature legit Miyazaki beef from Japan as well. You can even order a tasting that will give you 4oz from various farms, that way you can actually taste the difference between them. Currently, they only do this with the sirloin – not the rib eye. Honestly I don’t think any other steakhouse has this extensive of a selection.
As if the cuts of beef for steaks aren’t enough variety, they also feature wagyu beef short rib and wagyu beef sashimi. Amazing.
Oh, and they bring the shit out to show you, too.
Portion Size & Plating: 7
Portions could be a bit larger here for the pricing. I understand the cost of high-end beef, but at $88 for 9oz of American wagyu rib eye, you are getting ripped off. If that’s what I am going for, I will happily just head the fuck over to Del Frisco’s to get 23oz more wagyu beef for an additional $7 (32oz, $95). And that fucker is a clear 10/10 score on flavor – one of the best steaks I’ve ever eaten.
Price: 5
See my rant on portion size above for some weight here as well. But in addition to that issue, I felt that some of the items were way overpriced for what we were getting. In particular, the marrow app, the tortolloni, and the mac and cheese.
Bar: 8
The bar is pretty cool, and there are some great cocktails and booze selections available. However the prices are a bit too high (a non-alcoholic “mocktail” was fucking $14), and I was hoping for a more street side experience. The bar is just off the lobby of the apartment building / hotel with no view of the downtown streets, so the vibe is slightly off a bit.
Specials and Other Meats: 9
There are no off-menu specials, with the exception of an addition that was not yet printed – another offering of steak. But there’s chicken, pork and lamb for alternative meat selections, if for some reason you are avoiding all the tasty beef on the menu. The app selections also feature veal tongue, suckling pig, and bone marrow flan. Really interesting.
Apps, Sides & Desserts: 9
We tried a bunch of stuff. Let’s get right down to business.
The mac and cheese was really tasty, but insanely overpriced at $16. Apologies for not getting a photo of it.
The suckling pig and pork belly was excellent. Not as salty as I was expecting, but really nicely plated. Also overpriced at $25 for six cubes that were the size of large Las Vegas gambling dice.
Bone marrow flan was very nice, but overpriced and small in size. It was similar to the creme brûlée from Beatrice Inn, only savory.
Broccolini was fantastic. I highly recommend this item. Topped with shaved cheese and adorned with roasted tomatoes, one cannot possibly go wrong.
Tortolloni was overpriced for seven small dumplings. They were nice and mild though, which is exactly what my wife wanted.
Doughnuts dessert came with about six doughnut holes, all the same flavor (granulated sugar coated). Some of the purees that came with it weren’t that good (sweet potato), but the ice cream was nice.
Seafood Selection: 8
There’s lobster, “loup de mer” (branzino), cod and sole on the seafood menu here. Scallop preparations, hamachi, a crab and lobster cocktail and a tuna tartare can be found on the app menu. Not too shabby, though I didn’t notice any oysters or clams.
Service: 9
One thing worth noting here is that you can add a variety of nice items to your order (for a fee, of course). But you can add a fried egg, white truffles, blue cheese, mushrooms, garlic, bone marrow, etc. to the steaks you order.
Bread is on point. The table receives a basket of mini pop-overs (we got a second basket) and five different style dinner rolls/breads to choose from with a nice whipped butter. All are delicious. My advice is to fill up on bread and share a really good, high end steak.
Ambiance: 7
This place suffers from a bit of an identity crisis. There are two huge panels on one wall that show a kind of cheese-bag conversation between a chef and a woman. We surmised that this had something to do with how Wolfgang Puck met his wife, and it turned out we were right (our waitress overheard us talking and confirmed it when we asked).
The dining room was vast and dark; a bit too sexy for my liking. And the random neon lighting at the bar felt a bit too “Miami Vice.”
CUT
The Four Seasons Hotel
99 Church St or 27 Barclay St
New York, NY 10007
My buddy Jeff from @foodmento organized a nice influencer meal here and invited me to tag along. Bob’s is a chain steak house that hails from Texas. They just recently opened shop at the Omni Berkshire Place hotel on 52nd and Madison. Since Texas knows beef, I was really excited to try this out. Here’s how it went down:
Flavor: 8
We had two beef items and lamb. I’ll focus on the beef here and discuss the lamb later.
The 22oz cote de boeuf rib eye was the better of the two steaks we had. It was cooked perfectly to medium rare, with a nice crust on the outside that was packed with good, simple seasoning. 9/10.
The 28oz porterhouse had a slightly different flavor profile to it that I wasn’t really feeling. It was still good – don’t get me wrong – but going back and forth with the rib eye created a stark and noticeable difference. 7/10.
Choice of Cuts & Quality Available: 9
There’s a lot of variety here. Three different sized rib eyes, filets and strips, and a t-bone as well as a porterhouse. Excellent showing. All the cuts are wet-aged for 28 days, so the flavor is a bit different than the standard dry aged cuts at many NYC joints.
Portion Size & Plating: 8
Portions here run slightly small for the steaks in relation to the pricing. The cuts themselves are good sizes, though, and so are teh other items like sides and apps.
Price: 7
My meal was comped, as I was here for an influencer gig to promote the restaurant. The prices, however, are a bit high for the sizes, with a 22oz “cote de boeuf” being $62 and prime porterhouse being $75. Luckily the quality is pretty much on point.
Bar: 9
The bar is great. It’s a big rectangle with a bunch of high top tables situated along the windows that look out onto 52nd Street. Definitely a spot you can hang at for a bit. They also mix a good martini with blue cheese stuffed olives. Hendricks is $16, which is very fair in my opinion.
Specials and Other Meats: 10
This joint has a solid variety of other non-beef meats. They offer lamb, duck, pork, and veal (the other white beef). Fuck chicken. We tried both the lamb and the duck, and both really stood out as exemplary menu items that are totally worth trying. These would even be great as appetizers to share with the table.
Apps, Sides & Desserts: 9
We tried a lot of shit, and if I go deep into each with descriptions, this will be a long fucking review. So let me just rattle them off and highlight a little here and there.
Bacon: (thick cut slabs of Neuskes – outstanding):
Crab cake (great honey mustard sauce):
Potatoes (these were incredible – you can see them on the bottom right side of the steak here, sliced like thick potato chips, baked to a crisp, and covered with cheese sauce and onions):
Onion rings (amazing stack and perfectly cooked):
Mushrooms:
Roasted Brussels (because you need a little green sometimes):
Creamed Corn: I didn’t get a pic but it was excellent.
Creamed Spinach:
Fried Calamari (great crispy batter):
Smoked Salmon (the prosciutto of the fish genre – excellent):
Baked Potato & Carrot: See pics of the composed dishes above. The thick, long, and obviously phallic carrot is prominently placed on each plate, it seems, like the raging boner that hides within Donald Trump’s pants. You can just imagine the jokes that went around the table with that.
Carrot Cake (very moist and tasty):
Creme Brûlée (perfect execution):
Key Lime Pie:
Bread Pudding:
Chocolate Brownie Cake:
Seafood Selection: 9
There’s salmon, shrimp (scampi or fried jumbos), crab cakes (entree portion), lobster tails and fresh fish of the day available. Not a whole lot, but it certainly will get the job done for the assholes who aren’t ordering meat. In fact, we ordered the shrimp scampi with black pepper pasta, and it was fantastic.
I kept going back in for more and more, bite after bite.
Service: 10
Impeccable. Everyone here is amazing and attentive. They know their menu well, and make excellent suggestions. Worth mentioning here is the amazing jar of pickles and peppers that comes out to every table. Careful or you might fill up on this instead of steak!
The table bread was warm and flakey, like a large dinner roll.
Ambiance: 9
I like the large, open feel to this place. Finally, you can stretch out in Manhattan and not hit the back of someone’s head. Also the decor is beautiful with warm grey paneled walls and beautiful table settings.
BOB’s STEAK & CHOP HOUSE
21 East 52nd St
New York, NY 10022
My wife and I came here for a special preview dinner that was hosted for friends, family and influencers on the night before the official opening. I really enjoyed the meal, and I plan on coming back again soon to try more of their steak selections.
Flavor: 9
My wife and I split the cote de boeuf for two.
This massive tomahawk rib eye is 36oz and comes with some nice roasted marrow bones and a bordelaise sauce.
The steak comes out pre-sliced and ready to rock, served in a beautiful pan, atop a bed of roasted veggies.
The steak was cooked to a perfect medium rare, it was well-rested before slicing, and it had a good crust on the outside.
Okay I took a shitload of photos of this thing… My wife said she ate a few slices that had a grainy texture. I didn’t notice it, so I pretty much enjoyed it immensely. Even the fat was really soft and edible. Like a beefy Jell-O. We also carved off the awesome crispy meat that sits along the rib, which was spectacular.
On a second visit, however, this wasn’t quite as good. The meat lacked seasoning (as did several items that night – maybe they ran out of salt or something), and when tasted side-by-side with the other meat items we tried, it just didn’t hold up. 7/10.
The strip steak frites, however, was absolutely delicious.
This one was seasoned well, in fact it was almost too salty, but I didn’t mind.
No waste, all pink, great sauce and peppercorn flavor. 9/10.
Their bone in strip was slightly overcooked and dry when I tried, but it still had great flavor. 7/10.
The filet mignon was also a nice 9/10. It would have been a 10 if they didn’t go slightly over on one end, but ver all it was really juicy and nicely seasoned.
Choice of Cuts & Quality Available: 9
Most of the cuts here are dry-aged, but there is no indication on the menu about how long they are aged.
It could be that they age them in house, continuously, as there seemed to be a good amount of space and massive stainless steel appliances.
There are two types of strip, a filet mignon, a chateaubriand for two, a hanger steak and a cote de boeuf rib eye for two on the menu. They lack a proper porterhouse, but this is a fun menu because there are plenty of other meats to choose from as well.
Portion Size & Plating: 10
Portions here are massive. I suspect the sizes of some of these items may come down a bit after they get on track in the kitchen, but every dish we tried was large. As for plating, you can see how beautiful the pan of steak looked above.
Price: 10
The menu prices are pretty normal here, and given that the portion sizes are all generous, I had to conclude that you get a good value for your money here. As such, I will leave this scored at 10/10 until I visit again for a better perspective on the pricing.
Bar: 10
The bar is a beautiful and impressive stretch along the side wall, adorned with absinthe drinking tools and proper glasses for enjoying the spirit.
They offered just a pair of signature cocktails, which I imagine will change often since one was overly summer-themed, for some reason, and both were made with absinthe. But the bartenders definitely know what they’re doing. They mix a mean old fashioned.
Specials and Other Meats: 10
The non-beef selection is pretty great here. Well, there’s veal too, which is baby beef: veal porterhouse, if that’s your thing. And there’s tripe too; alterna-beef! There’s also a rack of venison, which was amazing.
They first coat it in honey, and then crust it with mustard, breadcrumbs and garlic before searing.
And finally, there’s duck, chicken, and even some rabbit in a pasta dish. This lacked seasoning but the meat was tasty and tender. Also the pasta was cooked perfectly.
I also tried the lamb shank with cous cous, which was a new addition to the menu from my last visit. This, too, needed a hit of salt, but the meat was spectacular.
Apps, Sides & Desserts: 9
We only tried apps and sides on the first visit. Since the place was pretty slammed with their friends and family extravaganza, we figured we would clear out before dessert so that some other people could get a seat to eat. Here’s what we tried:
Blood Sausage – not everyone’s cup of tea, I acknowledge that. But this was one of the best versions I’ve had. There was no grainy, mealy texture to it, and no overly iron-flavored bites involved. A few spots contained some chew, but nothing repulsive.
The serving size was massive, and it was plated with roasted apples and a potato puree. If you split a salad with your dinner-mate, this could easily be ordered as an entree.
Steak Tartare – I love meat, so the idea was to try as many meat items as possible before ordering a meat entree. This tartare was great, and also a very big serving size. In fact, it was so big that it really could have used three quail eggs, if not a full chicken egg.
The texture was smooth without being too fine, and it had a good pop of flavor from the capers and herbs within.
Our sides unfortunately came AFTER our entree, but to be honest we didn’t mind. The table would have been a bit crowded with everything on it, and my wife and I actually felt a little bad for how slammed the staff was for such a massive preview night with so many guests piling into the dining room all at once.
Fries – Hands down the best French fries I’ve ever eaten. Unreal. I mean, crispy outside, and like mashed potatoes inside. Perfectly seasoned as well. They just needed a mayo or something for dipping.
Creamed Spinach – Full, sauteed leaf spinach that’s really just served with a cream sauce at the bottom, to be mixed up with the spinach. Not bad. I’ve had better, but this was certainly not a bad item.
We tried a few other sides on a second visit. Frisee salad with egg and bacon. Very French and very good.
French onion soup:
Mussels with bacon. A very nice creamy sauce was going on here too. Great with bread.
Fois gras pate. Incredibly smooth.
Ratatouille:
Escargot. These are not served in the shell, but each divot on the plate has two snails within, so looks are deceiving on this:
Tuna Tartare:
Profiteroles:
Chocolate mousse cup:
Crepes Suzette:
Seafood Selection: 8
You are dining at a place where the name, in French, means Butcher. Why would you even consider seafood as a possibility? If, for some fucking retarded reason, you’re considering eating something from the sea here as an entree, they offer halibut, trout and salmon. Since I didn’t try any, I can’t really comment.
Service: 10
Since this was a preview event that was incredibly swamped, you shouldn’t rely on the numbers here. We experienced a few missteps, but nothing that we didn’t expect given how packed it was. We had very slow service, and sides coming out after the entree. Some people, however, had some horrendous issues, like never getting their food. I’ll give this place a chance to officially open and sort itself out for a few weeks before I come back and give it an official score. For now I’ll stick with a general 7/10 as a place holder.
Oh yeah… the table bread comes with both meat and veggies; that’s pretty amazing. A slice of country ham with artichoke heart, pickled eggplant and bread:
On my third visit, these things didn’t make it out to the table. Service had improved a bit, but there were still a few minor missteps, like not bringing a spoon out for the soup, or not bringing condiments out for the burger and fries. Not a big deal though.
Ambiance: 10
What an amazing space. Wow. I mean, my photos didn’t do it justice, so I passed on sharing them here. But the place is located at the old Garage Bar spot, where you have 20ft wood-beamed ceilings overhead and a skylight. Also, the decor they went with is astoundingly gorgeous.
BURGER REVIEW
They offer a Pat LaFrieda dry-aged burger that’s topped with melted gruyere cheese, caramelized onions, lettuce and tomato. At $29 it’s a bit pricey, but the patty is thick and tasty.
It comes with fries, so that’s a plus. The only negative was that my bottom bun sort of sogged up and fell apart. Maybe a slick of mayo on there would help create a vapor barrier on the bun.
LAFRIEDA PARTNERSHIP
Boucherie partnered with LaFrieda to offer special “cut of the week” steaks that will change up bi-weekly. I was invited in to try them out and shoot photos. Since there aren’t sticking on the menu for good, I’m not including them in my official cuts pages. I am, however, going to score them out of 10 points for you based on flavor.
Round 1: Snake River farms 12oz wagyu sirloin. 9/10
Round 2: 120 day dry-aged bone in strip steak. 9/10
Every once in a while I score a Groupon deal for a steakhouse. This particular deal came out to be about $28 for $60 worth of food at this relatively new steak joint in Brooklyn. Check out the verdict:
Flavor: 7
While this had the trimmings of an 8/10, I took a point away for two reasons: (1) relatively little amount of spinalis (fat cap), and (2) some pretty thick grey banding.
The meat itself was dry aged for 28-days, so it just started to develop that nice funky and earthy flavor.
At 38oz on the bone, this was enough for two. It had a buttery flavor with a good crust on the outside.
Despite the grey banding, it still retained a good amount of juiciness and my wife and I finished it all.
Choice of Cuts & Quality Available: 9
All cuts served here are prime, Certified Angus Beef quality, with most being dry aged for 28 days. They offer two types of hanger, three versions of a filet, a rib eye for two (pictured above), a porterhouse for two, and two sizes of strip loin. I was bummed that they didn’t have a single cut rib eye on the menu, for one, but they did have a wagyu rib eye on special this particular night.
Portion Size & Plating: 8
Portions here are good. Plating is rustic yet pretty, as you can tell by the skillet and wood serving platter for the steak.
Price: 8
While the porterhouse is a bit pricey at nearly $70/pp, it is a big 42oz hunk of meat. The rib eye for two was a bit closer to normal at $104 for 38oz. However the pricing comes in very close to the midtown Manhattan range, so make sure you pick up that Groupon deal to offset this a bit. All in, this was about $168 after the $60 credit was applied, including tax and tip.
Bar: 8
This joint offers a nice variety of cocktails featuring fun and unique throwback spirits. They also have a nice wine selection both by the glass and by the bottle, and you can even get the finer wines served by the glass through a Coravin type method of pulling a glass of wine out of a still-corked bottle through a needle.
The bar itself is oriented perpendicular to the street, but it is a nice area for sitting and hanging out.
Specials and Other Meats: 9
In addition to the 12oz wagyu rib eye that was on special, they also offered lamb and veal dishes. The regular menu boasts pork chops and chicken as well. This is a fairly strong showing.
Apps, Sides & Desserts: 8
For starters, we tried two items. First, this grilled pork belly wrapped in cotton candy.
This was pretty fun, and the hunk of pork inside was substantial for just $3. Next up was the Spanish charred octopus, as recommended by our waitress.
I’d say this was about one large tentacle’s worth of meat, with some roasted, halved fingerings and bacon. It was tasty! Good call.
For our side, we went with the creamed spinach.
This was sort of a flop. It wasn’t very creamy, and the texture of the spinach wasn’t leafy. It seemed like a high quality frozen spinach.
For dessert, we went with both the waitress’ and host’s recommendation: the fried oreos.
This was absolutely fantastic. It came with three battered and deep fried oreos and a scoop of vanilla ice cream. Then some chocolate sauce was drizzled on top. Despite being full from our meal, we devoured every bite of this shit.
Seafood Selection: 8
Sea bass, salmon, lobster risotto and seafood paella grace the menu here in terms of seafood. Not bad, but maybe one more item like a whole roasted fish would do the trick. Then again, you’re coming here for beef, right? You should be.
Service: 10
The service here is impeccable. Wait staff, bussers, host and bartenders are all working at top notch levels. And since I always do it here, let’s talk about the table bread:
The bread itself was a bit hard and dry, but the garlic and herb whipped butter was super smooth and tasty.
Ambiance: 8
This place is really nicely decorated. It has a more modern touch, and it’s dim (they even have menus with built in lights so you can easily read them in the dark). The seats are spacious, and there’s even a backyard and downstairs area.
Overall Summary: This is a great score for a small mom and pop joint out in Brooklyn. This is a welcome addition to the steakscape, and Brooklyn is definitely in need of more options the further you go out. I would definitely eat here again, and certainly recommend picking up a Groupon if they’re still available.
Beatrice Inn is a cozy West Village chophouse that’s headed up by Chef Angie Mar, who made her bones under April Bloomfield and other big time chefs before striking out with her own meat-centric restaurant. Actually, you may recall an earlier experience I had with her food at Meatopia last year. She was roasting wild boar that day, and it was delicious.
Just thinking about the fucking awesomeness of that day again gives me a chubby… If you haven’t seen it, jump out to that link above and scroll through some of the pics. It was a meat eater’s heaven.
Anyway I’ve decided to treat this review as a kind of “sneak peak,” since I know with a high degree of certainty that I will be back again in the near future to try other items, and also to make sure my wife tries what I consider to be one of the best dishes in the city (I hope the suspense is killing you).
Another caveat I will mention here: I was struggling with whether to categorize this as a steakhouse or just a standard restaurant that happens to be very meat-centric. You’d think that after rating over 100 steakhouses and 60 steaks at non-steakhouses, I’d have a better grip on this shit. But Beatrice Inn is a different kind of joint, and it threw me for a loop because it’s not just about the beef; it showcases a shitload of variety in terms of animal proteins. It may not matter to avid readers who actually pay attention to my words over the numbers, but squeezing this review into my ranking system yields an artificially low score due to the constraints of my imperfect ranking system. Another reason I decided to treat this as a steakhouse is because what Chef Angie is doing is pretty unique, and she’s kicking some serious ass in a world that’s heavily dominated by male chefs. Now, you know me: I’m not one to get all “women’s lib” when talking about female chefs, but aside from Ruth Fertel (founder of Ruth’s Chris), she’s really the only other woman that comes to mind who owns/operates a restaurant that is almost 100% meat, steak, animal carcass, etc.
Last caveat: I was dining with a large group of people when I came here, most of whom I did not know very well, so I would have felt awkward taking my time shooting photos of everything the way I normally do. No one wants to eat cold food! Next time I will make sure the photos are more numerous and better quality.
So let’s (finally) get down to business…
Flavor: 9
This flavor score is an average score between ONLY the two cuts of beef that we tried; the 60-day dry aged cote de boeuf, and the 20-day dry aged wagyu hanger steak. It does not include the other items we tried, like the duck and pork shoulder, which I discuss below in the “other meats” section. Once I return to try more beef items, this score is likely to shift upward, since I saved one item that I really want to sink my teeth into for when I return with my wife (the 127-day whisky dry aged tomahawk rib eye, as seen on The Meat Show).
But anyway, back to the delicious shit we actually did try.
First the cote de boeuf:
This was served with roasted garlic, marrow, blistered blackberries, charred prawn butter and thyme. It had a really unique woody, smoky, charred flavor to it that grew on me as I continued eating. I had never really tasting anything like it before. It was well-rested and cooked to a beautiful medium rare with minimal grey-banding and hardly any myoglobin “bleed out.”
Since we shared this with a table of seven, we asked the kitchen to slice it up, which they gladly did for us.
While there wasn’t much spinalis dorsi (fat cap) on this cut, I didn’t really expect it due to the long dry-aging time. Remember: dry-aging beef causes it to lose nearly 30% of its weight, and then you have to trim the bark off, which, unfortunately, sometimes happens at the sacrifice of some cap meat.
The real star of our beef entrees was this 20-day dry aged wagyu hanger steak. It seems that this was the table favorite for the beef.
Dedicating less time to aging this cut is smart, since the hanger itself isn’t very big to begin with; any longer and you may risk having to trim off too much bark. Also, with a cut like hanger, which is normally pretty well-marbled to begin with, you are really doubling down on the intensification of flavor that you get from the dry aging process. The result for this cut is amazing. It’s one of the best hanger steaks I’ve had. It was super tender and juicy, and perfectly cooked. The beef flavor really stands out here as well, since it was wisely prepared in a more simple manner, with shallot butter and thyme. After all, they don’t call this cut the “butcher’s steak” without good reason!
Choice of Cuts & Quality Available: 7
Take this number with a grain of salt, as it skews low due to the limitations of my review categories. Beatrice doesn’t necessarily fit perfectly into the “steakhouse” genre, but since they offer so many wonderful animal proteins, I had to include it as one. While Beatrice only offers one traditional steakhouse cut (rib eye, in two forms) and one “other cut” (hanger steak), they really knock the shit out of the “quality” aspect to this section as well as the “other meats” category below. Most of the beef, from what I understand, comes from Pat LaFrieda, who is a standard bearer for high quality beef, especially in the Northeast. No filet. No strip. No porterhouse. I probably wouldn’t order those anyway, given all the other goodies that grace the menu here.
Portion Size & Plating: 10
Portions are generous and plating is beautiful without getting into the pretense of tweezers and excessive plate-wiping. It’s exactly what you want from a nice meal of this type.
Price: 9
I think our table enjoyed a bit of a discount since one of the people we were with is best friends with the chef. In any case, given the pricey location of the restaurant and the high quality of the menu items, it’s only natural that this place can be expensive. Luckily there are lots of “for two” or “for the table” items available that can be shared to defray costs. And the hands-down best item I tried (see “other meats” below) is a mere $27 entree. So there’s really something for every budget here. Even the high rollers can enjoy truffle- and duck egg-topped burgers for $90, or a whisky dry-aged steak that’s about $600 for a 50oz tomahawk.
Bar: 10
This joint was jumping even as we were leaving after 11pm on a Wednesday. The bar is ground floor level and feels like a speakeasy. There are some seats in a lounge type spot by the windows, and a warm fireplace at the end of the bar. In fact there are fireplaces all over this joint! I love it. The cocktail menu is really special too, with lots of unique takes on old classics.
I recommend the smoked Manhattan, which fills the room with a really woody aroma every time someone orders it. If you want something more refreshing and crisp, try the Big Poppa, made with truffled gin, citrus and egg whites.
Specials and Other Meats: 10
There aren’t enough points available to award here. Only 10? Here’s a list of the other meats on the menu: applewood smoked rabbit for two, milk braised pork shoulder, lamb wellington for two, chicken for two to four people, roast duck flambe for two to four people, beef cheek, braised oxtail, and whatever other specials the chef is working on in the kitchen that day or week. It’s fucking amazing.
We tried the roast duck flambe. Here’s how it comes to the table:
It had a really nice smoked flavor and is served with cherry jus, fingerlings and lyonnaise.
Once the presentation is made with the flames, they take it away and chop it up for easy consuming.
The absolute best item we tried, and what I submit to be one of the best pork dishes I’ve ever had, is the milk braised pork shoulder with jasmine rice soubise, hen of the woods mushrooms and sage.
Chef Angie has been making this dish since she was 15yrs old, so by now it has been perfected to perfection, or whatever status is even more perfect than perfect. It was bright, savory, juicy and soul-satisfying. You really need to get it when you come here, and I’m really fucking sorry that I didn’t shoot it.
We also tried the game pie, which contains wild boar, lamb, venison, pearl onions and fingerlings inside. But the suet crust is something I’ve never experienced before. It’s essentially a pie crust made with rendered beef fat, so it’s crispy and meaty, harder than a normal pie crust and a shitload more satisfying to eat. It should also be noted that the entire pie is formed around a marrow bone for good measure. Because why the fuck not? I didn’t snap a pic of this but a friend of mine who went there recently got a great shot. My description begs for an image, so I’m sharing her pic here:
Apps, Sides & Desserts: 10
I apologize for only shooting the fries and tartare, but I’ll get on it next time. Everything we tried was amazing. We started with the chicken liver pate.
It was smooth and creamy, served with a blackberry sauce and whole grain mustard that were the perfect pairing for the pate when spread onto delicious toasty bread.
The lamb tartare was really nicely executed. It was mild and had none of that gamey flavor that you might expect. Dotted with blueberries, it had just the right amount of acidic pop to it.
The truffle fries were cooked to a perfect golden crisp, and went well with our aged beef selections.
For dessert we shared an apple “croissant” (for lack of knowing the exact term) that was topped with vanilla ice cream and a foie gras caramel.
It was really amazing. The croissant was crispy but soft, warm and delicately “appled.” I was really tempted to get their famous bone marrow creme brulee as well. Next time!
Seafood Selection: 8
Beatrice Inn offers halibut and branzino by way of the sea, which we didn’t try on the first trip (see update below). But we did start with some west coast oysters that were crisp, creamy and fresh. They came with a really interesting horseradish sauce that had a kick of spice to it, perhaps the same kind of smoked spice flavors you get in something like nduja or chorizo. It was wild. Anyway, while that was technically an appetizer, I figured I would talk about it here since I didn’t try any seafood entrees.
Service: 10
Top notch, really great service here. Everyone is dressed in classy, old-fashioned attire, like you’d expect at a legit steakhouse. Water glasses are filled promptly, the food comes out at the right pace and temperature, and waiters/waitresses are attentive and know their shit forwards and backwards.
Ambiance: 10
I described the bar area up above, but the rest of the joint is just as impressive. There are two rooms off the bar. One is a large dining room and one is a semi-private elevated area with a massive fireplace and a skylight. You feel like you’re in an inn or old fashioned town home, but laid back and comfortable as opposed to stuffy.
I highly recommend trying this place ASAP. It’s been a hot, trendy spot for a while now, but I can certify that it’s with good reason. It’s not pretentious like other places that trend hard in the food scene, and the food is “fuck you” delicious – every damn bite of it.
UPDATE 12/27/16
I went back twice since the review above. One the first visit, we kept it simple and got a burger. It was great, but I think it needed a crunch element to make it really pop. The 45-day dry aging process really does impart a great flavor to the meat, and the use of a mild brie for the cheese is genius.
On the third visit (yes, I like this place a lot), we tried a nice variety of new shit. To start, we went with these deep-fried dates that were stuffed with cured ham. Really fun and delicious.
We shared a few entrees as well. First, the branzino en croute. So nicely cooked. For one diner, this was the favorite item of the meal.
Yes, its a fish cooked inside a bread crust. So good.
Next was this braised rabbit for two. This was enough for three or four, for sure. The meat is so plentiful on this, which surprised the shit out of me.
We also went with the 30-day dry aged rib eye, since I wasn’t super stoked about the 60-day last time. This was perfect.
I only took a point off because it was a bit on the thin side. But the texture, flavor and cook temp were all remarkable.
We also had this roasted squash on the side. It had a sweet flavor profile, so I was wishing we added a scoop of ice cream to this and ate it for dessert.
We did enjoy the bone marrow creme brûlée for dessert, however, it was a bit light in terms of the portion size. I’d say that you get about two or three tablespoons worth of custard inside the marrow. I wanted at least double or triple that amount for the price we paid.
In the end, I took a point back for price (dropping from 10 to 9), and gave a point back for flavor (rising from 8 to 9).
A food buddy of mine, Jared from Food & City, set up a nice small press dinner at this joint since we recently got to know the person who runs social media and PR for this joint and a few others in the area. Check out the run-down:
Flavor: 8
While some parts were over-seasoned, some were also under-seasoned on this porterhouse for two. However, the cook temperature was a perfect medium rare, there was an awesome crust on the outside, and the meat was well rested and juicy. 8/10.
We shared among five people because there were other entrees to eat as well, like this sous vide and smoked beef rib.
This baby sits in a temperature controlled bath for 48hrs and is also smoked like BBQ brisket. The result is a really top notch entree that rivals the best smoke houses in town. I think it just needed more sauce. 8/10 (and also mentioned in the “other meats” section).
The rib eye, which I had on a second visit: 7/10
A special strip, topped with onions, sauce and bacon wrapped shrimp: 8/10 – would have been higher if not for the sauce and onions.
Regular strip high 8/10.
Filet also 8/10. Solid and perfectly cooked.
Choice of Cuts & Quality Available: 9 Master Purveyors supplies all the meat for Christo’s, so we are dealing with excellent quality. You can see in the images above that the porterhouse has excellent marbling throughout the cut. Really good quality fat. Everything is aged in house for 21-days, and all the major cuts are covered with some large format options and alternative cuts as well (hanger, skirt, beef rib).
Portion Size & Plating: 8
Portions here are big. We were actually able to get a peek into the kitchen to see the steak cooking and plating process in action.
But these two videos really bring it to life, and in the second one you can see just how huge the portions are.
Keep watching…
Another thing to mention in the plating section is the lobster mashed potatoes. They serve the potatoes directly in the lobster shell. Pretty awesome.
Price: 10
You get a lot of bang for your buck here, with steaks that still pack a ton of flavor but run a lot cheaper than the midtown boys. The quality is the same; it really is. I see the Master Purveyors trucks making deliveries all the time at the places in midtown. Yet, while we weren’t charged for the meal, I think everything only came to about $500. This is insane considering the amount of food, and the same bill in midtown would be $750. I’d definitely come back here.
Bar: 7
This joint has a nice cozy bar and lounge area off to the side when you walk in. I think it makes for a great neighborhood spot to meet up for a drink even if you’re not dining. And bartender Jeff mixes a good martini.
Specials and Other Meats: 8
Since we were guests of the restaurant, the management and staff brought out everything they wanted us to try. That said, there were no specials read to us. In terms of other meats, aside from that awesome smoked beef rib, Christo’s offers lamb, pork chops and chicken, as well as hanger steak and skirt steak.
Apps, Sides & Desserts: 8
We tried a shitload of stuff in this category. I’m just going to drop the photos in and talk briefly.
Classic trio of Greek spreads. Keep in mind, we are in Astoria here, so this is a steakhouse with clear Greek influence.
Lamb gyro tacos:
Crab cakes:
Lightly breaded and fried firm Greek cheese:
Bacon. Delightful.
Why, yes, more bacon please…
Veal meatballs:
Hanger steak egg rolls:
Lobster mashed potatoes – awesome but pricey at $48:
Parmesan and chive fries:
Grilled asparagus:
Steak tartare:
Tri-color cauliflower and blue cheese & bacon mashed:
Trio of apps – bacon, grilled oyster, balsamic figs:
The Calamari and Pepperoncinato Baked Clams were great.
Cheese cake and chocolate lava cake:
The banana crumble martini was killer!
My favorites were the bacon, all the Greek items and the crab cakes. Stick to those and you’re in great hands.
Seafood Selection: 8
Scallops, shrimp, salmon and whole branzino are on the menu here for entrees, and I assume lobster as well due to the presence of a tank in the entry area. We tried the branzino. It was very simply prepared: roasted and de-boned.
Service: 10
The service here is top notch. Everyone is attentive, courteous and pleasant, from the bar to the back of the restaurant. And here comes the usual shot of table bread to boot. I always do it. Don’t know why.
Ambiance: 7
They really do a great job with the space here. It’s cozy, warm, comfortable and has a classic steakhouse vibe. Since this place is situated in the residential neighborhood of Astoria on the first floor of an apartment building, they are somewhat limited in what they can do. While this place is no Keen’s in terms of grandeur and decor, they certainly deliver everything you want from the traditional steakhouse experience.
CHRISTO’S STEAK HOUSE
4108 23rd Ave
Astoria, NY 11105
My wife and I came here to use a Groupon that we purchased, which gave us a five-course steak dinner for two for just $99.
Flavor: 7
We had the options to choose a filet and a strip as our entrees, so that’s how we rolled. Both came in at 7/10 for flavor. They were cooked properly to medium rare, they had a good crust and sear on the outside, and they were seasoned properly.
Filet:
Strip:
I think they just lacked flavor due to the fact that they were such lean cuts. As a steak man, I tend to always go with a rib eye, which generally has more marbling, more fat, and therefore more flavor. For this reason, when cooking cuts like tenderloin and strip loin, many steakhouses will be quite liberal in their use of butter. Butter adds fat flavor back into the beef, and it triggers all sorts of cum-inducing sensations that start at your taste buds and end at the tip of your rock-hard cock. I didn’t taste too much butter at all, so my dick remained pretty flaccid throughout the meal. I did taste soy, which was nice, but ultimately it competed with the steaks natural earthy and aged flavor qualities. As a result, the steaks were just a little flat, and lacked flavor depth. Most of the score here is for good execution on the cook temperature and sear.
Choice of Cuts & Quality Available: 10
Uncle Jack’s has a really great selection of USDA Prime and dry-aged beef. Top notch stuff. There’s an elephant’s shitload of variety in terms of sizing, bones, cuts and even some specialty stuff like wagyu and kobe. An elephant shits large loads. That’s why I used that analogy there.
Portion Size & Plating: 10
The filet comes in three styles: puss-bag 8oz, 12oz, or manly 20oz bone-in tenderloin. I must say, ordering the big tenderloin here is not a pussy move. A little kid had one next to us and I felt like a rimmed out gaping asshole for sharing two steaks between me and my wife that, when combined in weight, added up to his one cut. That kid is going to grow up to crush so much pussy that he will STILL be crushing pussy while he rests between bouts of crushing pussy. The ribeye is 24oz (bone-in), the strips are 12oz or 16oz boneless, and the porterhouses start at 44oz (22oz pp). They also offer a cote de boeuf 44oz rib eye for two. Everything is pretty much on the large side here, which is good, and similar to Lex Steele’s penis. They even offer some wagyu and kobe selections as well. TONS of variety.
Price: 9
Since we had that great Groupon, this was a bargain. While it wasn’t the best steak we’ve had, I still feel that we got a good bang for our buck here.
Bar: 8
The bar is perpendicular to the windows on the right as you walk in, but there are a few high tops along the windows for people watching. The location, 9th avenue and 34th/35th street, is not the best for hanging out, as it is close to what I call “the armpit of the city” (the Penn Station and Port Authority areas), but the bar does mix up some nice cocktails. Although the waiter or bartender got my martini order wrong (see service section below), it still tasted great.
Specials and Other Meats: 8
There were no specials read to us that I can recall (probably because they knew we were eating from the Groupon menu), but they do offer pork, lamb and chicken for people who have too much estrogen in their bodies to properly enjoy beef like real men with dicks between their legs.
Apps, Sides & Desserts: 8
We had baked clams and a crab cake to start.
I like that they give you eight clams per order (they split the clams up between us when they served them). The spicy butter and lemon breadcrumb stuffing was good, and the clams were whole, quality Little Necks, not chopped up cherrystones or bait clams that were then re-inserted into a clam shell that wasn’t its own. As for the crab cake, we loved the sauce in which it was served. It was like a reduced crab bisque soup mixed with vodka sauce. Very flavorful, and the top of the cake had a great crispy crust.
Our salads were next. My wife went with the farmers mixed greens. Some of the greens were soggy, wilted and probably rotten, so that was a bummer. Otherwise the salad had great flavor from the cranberries and pine nuts, and it was well dressed, so that’s a plus. My caesar was pretty standard.
On the side we had creamed spinach and mashed potatoes.
That pic is just a combined plate that I was eating from, not the full size portions. These were both pretty good, but nothing too stand out. I liked the potatoes better, which is reverse from my usual preference when it comes to these sides.
Seafood Selection: 8
There’s tuna, salmon, “day boat fresh catch” and surf & turf (lobster tail, shrimp or crab oscar with either a filet or strip). That’s a decent amount of shit in addition to the standard shellfish on the app menu. But if you’re ordering seafood for your main course at a steakhouse, you better have tits and a vagina, otherwise you are pretty much an asshole. Go home.
Service: 7
Unfortunately we had some slow service here. The staff was all nice, pleasant and courteous, but we found ourselves waiting a while to get drinks and order food. It picked up a bit after that, but it was slow to start. This was a little odd since the place wasn’t too crowded when we went at 6pm. A few other things I found to be odd or a bit off: (1) The steak sauce doesn’t come out to the table with the steak. You have to ask for it. We didn’t get sauce (not a problem, but I always like to taste it), and I overheard another table asking for it since they didn’t get it either. (2) Also there was no bread basket. Finally, (3) this time I ordered my martini on the rocks instead of up. They made it up instead. Not that big of a deal, but figured I’d mention it. I didn’t send it back, and it still tasted great.
Ambiance: 8
This joint is old school, where waiters wear bow ties, tables are covered in white cloth, and the decor consists of wood paneling, large mirrors, exposed brick, ornate chandeliers and a patterned tin ceiling. It’s a warm and inviting atmosphere, yet classy and elegant, without being pretentious. It’s a classic steakhouse look and feel.
UNCLE JACK’S (WEST SIDE)
440 9th Ave
New York, NY 10001
My wife and I came here for a $29 restaurant week lunch. It happens to be one of the better deals for restaurant week, so we had to give it a try.
Flavor: 5 (updated to 7)
Unfortunately we were not that happy with the skirt steak on the price fix menu. While it was cooked to a perfect medium rare, it had an odd, rubbery texture and was under-seasoned (needed salt). I don’t mean rubbery like chewy. It was definitely tender, but it was an odd sort of tender that reminded me of some of the fake-tasting cuts my wife and I have had in Mexico while on vacation, which kind of grossed us out. Perhaps it was over tenderized? I’m not sure. I honestly don’t know what it is, but we know it when we taste it. On top of that, the chimichurri sauce added almost no flavor to the dish. It just tasted like “green” from the parsley. I didn’t get any salt content or even any garlic flavor from it. I was bummed. I didn’t even really want to finish it or continue eating, both because of the lack of flavor and the odd texture.
I recommend sticking to the standard cuts and regular menu for steak here. If they are anything like the downtown American Cut location, then you’re in VERY good hands.
Choice of Cuts & Quality Available: 9 (updated to 10)
I took a point off here because the steak that I did try was sub-par, but I do know that the other cuts here should be okay, in theory. I hope to get back again soon and try a proper cut to get a better sense of both this category and the flavor category.
Portion Size & Plating: 8
Portions vary here. For the steak, they are pretty good. All are large sized cuts for a fair price, and even though we didn’t like the skirt, there certainly was a lot of it. I thought the beef tartare was a bit small in terms of the amount of actual beef on the plate, but the salad that came with it, and the marrow as well, make up for that (see below). The tots and shrimp cocktail items we got with the restaurant week menu were a bit skimpy (three medium-sized shrimp and about 15 tots). There’s a strong possibility, however, that these items are cut back a bit in size simply because they are included with a discounted lunch promo like restaurant week. American Cut also runs a regular $28 lunch price fix menu. I’m not sure how that differs from the restaurant week menu that we tried for $29.
Price: 7 (updated to 9)
Our bill came to about $75 after tax and tip for one $29 restaurant week lunch with a glass of wine and an order of beef tartare. Not bad, but not awesome considering we weren’t too happy with the skirt steak. Even though the place is pricey, the best value you get is when you order steaks from the full dinner menu and stick to that. My sense is that this score will increase after a second trip with a better steak-eating experience.
Bar: 8 (updated to 9)
The bar here is great. It’s spacious, nicely art-deco in style, and seems like a really great place to hang out after work. I’m guessing that this isn’t the greatest place to be on weekends, but that doesn’t mean the bar isn’t gorgeous. The only down side is that the space is ground floor level, so no windows or natural light.
Specials and Other Meats: 10
Short rib, lamb, veal, chicken, and wagyu beef selections grace the menu here. I didn’t notice any pork, unfortunately. Perhaps the pig face from Marc Forgione could pop on as a special every so often, or a slab of pork belly served like a steak. That would be something worth adding to the menu. At the very least, I think an Italian style pork chop with cherry peppers and onions would work.
Apps, Sides & Desserts: 9
Shrimp Cocktail: This was a bit small (three medium-sized shrimp), and there was something slightly bitter about the taste of the shrimp. They were nicely cooked, however, and I liked the fact that they were pre-dressed with a horseradish-based cocktail sauce. Presentation was interesting too.
Steak Tartare: This was great. While I think the plate could have had some more actual meat on it, the addition of marrow and a salad beneath was very good, and made up for the smaller portion. The salad was dressed just right, and included celery leaf, which added a great freshness to the dish. The grilled bread was soft inside yet crunchy on the outer edges.
Tots: These were pretty good, and had a good spice level to them, but they were lacking a touch of salt. The inside was soft like a mashed potato, and the outside was perfectly golden crisp.
Cookies To Go: These were tasty, and had a little bit of flake salt on top to make the chocolate flavors pop. They were soft and delicious.
Seafood Selection: 9
Similar to the downtown spot, there’s a lot of nice seafood to choose from here. Sole, halibut, tuna and salmon are on the entree menu, along with surf and turf lobster-based shit as well. And you can always hit the appetizer section for your cold shellfish, or the crabcakes, octopus, etc.
Service: 9
Service here is great, just like downtown. We did feel a bit rushed, however, which was odd because the restaurant had plenty of room for other diners to come in. It’s not like they needed the table to clear out. In any event, the people are friendly, and the table bread, as usual, is the delicious everything biscuit with herb butter.
Ambiance: 9
This place is gorgeous, large and spacious despite being a ground floor level joint. The only negative is that there are no windows, so it can feel a bit cavernous despite being grand and airy inside. The decor is awesome and it is similar in style to the downtown spot, very art deco.
UPDATE: 2/2/18
My wife picked up a flash deal from Blackboard Eats, which scored us 20% off our bill as well as two free cocktails. We started off at the bar for their $10 smoked old fashioned cocktails for happy hour.
Then, when we sat, we got our two free cocktails.
And of course those incredible everything biscuits with veggie and herb butter.
We shared the foie for our app. It was nice and soft. Not too rich, which I like. Just right.
We shared a porterhouse next, and I noticed that they revamped their menu with a lot more interesting and widely varying beef cut selections. Dry-aged, wet-aged, domestic wagyu and Miyazaki wagyu all grace the menu here. I was impressed.
This was their wet-aged for 28-days and then flambéed table side with marrow butter and some other deliciousness prior to slicing. 8/10.
We cleaned it off.
On the side we had their sun choke spinach, which I really loved. This might be my favorite version of creamed spinach.
For dessert we had the banana and Jameson donuts with chocolate chip ice cream. Very nice.
All in, we saved about $75 with the Blackboards Eats deal.
BURGERS
The “Big Mark” and the standard burger here are good, but as far as steakhouse burgers go, you can do better elsewhere for the same price point.
My wife and I grabbed a quick lunch here for NYC restaurant week, summer 2016. The menu was pretty good for three courses at $29. Here were the selections:
Flavor: 7 (now 8)
I went with the strip steak for $10 additional.
It had a nice peppery crust, but was missing something in the flavor department. I’d guess this was likely a prime cut, or at the very least high choice, but definitely not aged. It was cooked nicely to medium rare from end to end, and it was juicy as well.
The corn salsa that came with it was a bit too heavily dressed with red wine vinegar or something. I wasn’t a fan.
Choice of Cuts & Quality Available: 8
They offer all four main cuts here. They also offer several selections with a bone, and without a bone. It would be good to see some aged selections, but they at least have some large format items. All of the beef is either prime or high choice, as far as I can tell.
Portion Size & Plating: 8
Portions are good here. My steak was probably around the 14oz mark, boneless. So this is a good amount of food for the money. Plating is basic, with a touch of elegance. Not too much, though, as the tables are all covered in white paper. It’s not overboard.
Price: 8
We did the restaurant week lunch special, which I thought was a good deal. However, the regular prices here are pretty fair as well. If the cuts served on the standard menu are superior, this might have a better score, as everything is under $50 per person, per cut.
Bar: 8
The bar seemed to be split away from the dining area. As this joint is situated in Grand Central, they are constrained by where they can set up and what they can do. But since this spot is across from Cipriani Dolci, it is definitely a nice place to drink.
Specials and Other Meats: 7
Chicken and veal are your only non-beef, non-fish options here, as far as I can tell. Our waiter didn’t read any special cuts for us.
Apps, Sides & Desserts: 7 (now 8)
We were limited here for what we could try on the restaurant week menu, but here’s a breakdown of what we had:
Caesar Salad: Nothing too amazing, and nothing bad. There was a generous amount of shredded cheese on this, which I liked.
Tomato & Mozzarella Salad: A bit skimpy on the mozzarella, but the balsamic on the tomatoes was excellent. I liked the addition of cucumbers to this salad, and the onions weren’t too potent in their raw form.
Cheesecake: Unfortunately, the strawberry shortcake listed on the menu above was replaced with cheesecake. However, the cheesecake wasn’t bad at all. It was creamy, without being overly sweet. It had a pop of lemon brightness to it as well.
Raspberry Sorbet: This was tasty and tart. I actually enjoyed it better when combined with a sliver of the cheesecake.
Seafood Selection: 7 (now 9)
There’s branzino, lobster, tuna, salmon and swordfish here. That’s a good showing. My wife picked the salmon from the restaurant week menu. She ordered it medium, but it came back more like medium well. It had a nice char-grilled flavor to it, but it was otherwise a bit dry. The flavor was nice, it just needed some moisture.
Service: 8 (now 10)
Our waiter spoke pretty fast and it was tough to hear him at times, but luckily it was formality kind of speak that we were missing out on. Waters were filled up often, and service wasn’t slow or poor in any way. The table breads were nice little miniature loaves that were warm, and went nicely with the flake salt and butter.
Ambiance: 10
Dining while overlooking the hustle and bustle of Grand Central is definitely an amazing experience. You’d be hard-pressed to find a place in NYC with a better view that is so readily accessible to people of all means, whether you’re out for a nice steak meal for a special occasion, or power-lunching with the bankers of midtown.
UPDATE 6/26/17
I had the porterhouse on my second visit. Very nice, and one of their only cuts that is actually dry-aged as opposed to wet-aged (the other is their prime rib). 8/10; this was good enough to move the flavor score up a point from the earlier review.
Good to the last bite.
Service was much better this time around as well. Full points, moving up to a 10/10. And I love the basket of fried onions that comes with every steak.
The apps, sides and desserts score has improved by a point as well (8/10). In that lunch review I was pretty limited. This visit, I had the seafood tower, which is jammed with great quality stuff for $85. A whole lobster, a few king crab legs, six oysters, four shrimp, lump crab meat, and tuna tartare were on this baby. This also ended up bumping the seafood score to a 9/10 as well.
The bacon was okay. I’ve had better, but I thought it was cool that it came out with grilled Romaine, grape tomatoes and dressing. Essentially this is a salad.
Truffle cream spinach? Really flavorful. A bit heavy on the cream but I don’t mind.
Mac and cheese was delicious. Can’t wait to eat the leftovers for lunch in an hour.
Desserts were on point too. The chocolate fudge brownie with ice cream was slightly more cake-textured than brownie-textured, but the baked Alaska was awesome with the pecan and chocolate ice cream inside, with pistachios as garnish.
UPDATE 8/10/17 – PRIME RIB
I came back again once I learned that this joint serves roasted, dry-aged prime rib every Wednesday and Thursday. It’s limited quantity, so you really need to get there early and order quickly. I ate at 6pm, and by 7pm they were out.
Although it’s not quite on par with Burger & Barrel or Keens, it is a delicious meal. Bone in versions are thicker, for $52, while boneless versions are a little more slim, at $42.
Clearly I went with the big boy. 7/10.
MICHAEL JORDAN’S “THE STEAK HOUSE” NYC
Grand Central Terminal
23 Vanderbilt Ave
New York, NY 10017
