Tag Archives: fries

American, Lower East Side/Chinatown, Non-Steakhouse Steaks, Other Cuts, Restaurant Reviews

Funny Bar

March 13, 2025 Johnny Prime 0 Comments

First, check out my Ride & Review HERE:

Funny Bar just opened up nearby. The Cake Dealer and I recently wandered in here and had a few drinks, and we knew we wanted to come back.

It’s a live jazz bar with no cover charge, and a really sleek, streamlined menu of STEAK!

Literally, there are like four items on the menu: steak for one, steak for two, french fries, and a wedge salad. Oh and they surprised us each with a free small chocolate brownie sundae at the end of the meal, but it wasn’t on the menu.

We started with the wedge salad, which is simple but delicious.

The steak for one is a petite filet, or shoulder tender/teres major. I love this cut.

It has all the flavor of the chuck, from where it hails, and all the tenderness of a filet mignon. At $29 for about an 8oz steak that comes with fries, this is a great deal. 9/10.

The steak for two is a larger cut. The server told me it was a flatiron, and the host told me it was a strip steak. I don’t think either is correct.

At first I thought maybe it was a tri-tip based on the shape, but the muscle striations seem to go the wrong direction for that. Based on the muscle fibers, I think this is in the sirloin family. Perhaps top butt/sirloin, or top sirloin. Either way it was perfectly cooked, had a great crust, and was artfully topped with a maitre’d butter and herbs. At $69 this is also a great deal for people to try the best of what can be on an otherwise under-utilized cut. 8/10.

Although it might be better to get two of the steaks for one instead of one of the steaks for two, satisfaction will be guaranteed. The fries are perfectly cooked as well. This is the large plate that comes with the steak for two:

They even brought us a free dessert on the house afterwards – miniature brownie sundaes!

I will be back for sure.

FUNNY BAR
133 Essex St.
New York, NY 10002

Burgers, East Village

Highlife Burger

March 6, 2025 Johnny Prime 0 Comments

First, check out my Ride & Review video HERE:

The folks behind Mister Paradise, one of my favorite burgers of all time, just opened up Highlife Burger a street or two up from Mister Paradise. The cake dealer and I went in to try it out, and we were very happy with the food!

The burgers are reminiscent of “In n Out,” a California staple. They’re much better, though.

The hot dog is pretty great too. It comes covered in melty cheese sauce and potato chips.

The fries are great too, though I didn’t get a photo. They’re sort of like a batter-fried McDonalds style.

I will definitely be back here for more. $7.50 for a single and $10.50 for a double are great prices!

HIGHLIFE BURGER
135 1st Avenue
New York, NY 10003

American, Lower East Side/Chinatown, Restaurant Reviews

Cactus Wren

February 28, 2025 Johnny Prime 0 Comments

First, check out my Ride & Review video HERE:

The Cake Dealer and I decided to give this new joint a shot. We really liked everything we tried, so let me get right into it.

First, the cocktails were excellent. We tried three, and they were all delicious.

The shellfish platter is a bit expensive as $38 for six pieces, but each and every item was a masterpiece. I think my favorites were the hot items on the pebbles (oyster cooked with beef fat and topped with horseradish, and the clam with garlic chips.

The shrimp toast was so delicious. Buttery, crispy, and with lump shrimp meat instead of the paste-like texture that you might see at Chinese spots. The tarter-like sauce was definitely not needed here.

The mortadella tartine was really tasty. I could eat about 30 of these.

We also did their caviar service which was a generous heap of high quality caviar, cream, whipped bean puree, onion, chives, avocado and potato chips with a large bowl of fresh tortillas. This was really nice. I would definitely get this again.

For our mains, we did the fries and fish, which is a medium sized bowl of french fries and fried anchovies.

The anchovies were fresh, plump, light and crisp – not very fishy at all, and really tasty white meat.

We also did the Peekytoe crab omelette on rice, which I really loved.

This, the shellfish and the shrimp toast were probably my favorite items of the night. One thing I wish the omelette had was a crunch texture somewhere. Maybe some crispy fried shallots on top would do the trick. But I did appreciate the texture pops from the salmon roe on top. So good!

Finally, we finished off with their cinnamon toast sundae. The ice cream tasted like the cereal Cinnamon Toast Crunch, and the crunch element came from the tiny fried bombolini doughnuts on top. Absolute crack!

We can’t wait to go back to try more of the menu. The service was really great here too, as they gave us complimentary glasses of Lambrusco since we were celebrating our anniversary.

CACTUS WREN
98 Rivington St.
New York, NY 10002

American, Burgers, East Village, Pub Food, Restaurant Reviews

The Lions

April 9, 2024 Johnny Prime 0 Comments

First, check out my Ride & Review video HERE:

This place has been popping up all over Instagram, and once I saw the images of their burger and mortadella sandwich, I knew I had to get in ASAP to try.

We went right when they opened at 5pm on a Saturday, and the place was jammed by 5:30. Apparently everyone had the same idea!

We started with the fried mozzarella and Lions baked potato (with sour cream and an egg yolk).

The baked potato was a game changer. It was so freaking flavorful. We both loved it. As for the mozzarella…

Perfect temperature for stretching! And surprisingly light. Very flavorful.

The burger was 100% perfection. A nice thick aged patty, topped with two slices of American cheese, atop a slice of grilled onion, which helps to protect the beautiful sesame seed bottom bun. Four slices of pickle came on the plate as well. We obviously put them on top.

My pictures sucked, but the interior was a perfect medium rare / medium, which is ideal for this ind of “steakhouse” style burger. This was a killer. On par with Luger or Red Hook Tavern for just $18. For $4 you can get fries with it, and the fries were excellent. Nice and crispy, not too salty. The only down was that they charged us for the side order of fries ($8) rather than the “accompanying” fried ($4). I was wondering why this was such a huge order.

The mortadella sandwich was excellent too. While it ate a bit salty due to the Calabrian chili tapenade, the flavor was out of this world. The pistachio studded mortadella had a ton of porky character, and the blue cheese on this was more like a spread than a crumble or a saucy mess. It worked, though I questioned whether it would when I saw it on the menu.

As you can see, this came with chips. So we had three types of potato with this meal: chips, fries and a baked potato.

Side note: They also make a great martini.

This place is also going to be offering a steak night on Wednesdays for something like $35, and monthly “Beefsteak” meals which will be an all-inclusive price that covers drinks, starters, steak and dessert. I really can’t want to try those!

THE LIONS
132 1st Ave.
New York, NY 10009

Burgers, East Village

Crazy Burger

February 15, 2024 Johnny Prime 0 Comments

First, check out my Ride & Review HERE:

Crazy Burger is a brand new smash burger joint on Avenue C at 12th Street. Their double cheeseburger is just $9.50 and it tastes like a cross between a White Castle slider and a Big Mac.

The fries are the batter-fried style, with that great crisp on the outside of each log.

Great food at a great price. I will definitely be back.

CRAZY BURGER
193 Avenue C
New York, NY 10009

East Village, Fusion, Japanese, Korean, Other, Restaurant Reviews, Thai, Vietnamese

Ama Raw Bar

December 11, 2023 Johnny Prime 0 Comments

First, check out my awesome Ride & Review video for this joint HERE:

Ama Raw Bar has two locations. I met my wife here for happy hour at the alphabet city location to try some of their cocktails and discounted bites. Everything was good. We started with oysters ($1.25ea).

Then we moved on to this nice batter-fried shrimp.

This rice paper chicken quesadilla was unique, but I think it would be excellent if they fried the rice paper wrapper.

The cod cake was nice, a different sort of take on a crab cake using salt cod.

The Szechuan dry rub wings needed a hit of salt and some of that mala numbing spice to really make them perfect. Otherwise, good cook and crunch on them.

“Luscious Mussels” come with a broiled lobster tail and nori fries. These were probably our favorite dish of the night.

Definitely would go back to try the lobster ramen, and also perhaps to try their other west village location.

AMA RAW BAR
190 Avenue B
New York, NY 10009

East Village, Lower East Side/Chinatown, Pub Food, Restaurant Reviews

The Hairy Lemon

July 25, 2023 Johnny Prime 0 Comments

First, check out my Ride & Review video HERE:

My wife and I went on a little food and bar crawl this past weekend, and The Hairy Lemon was our first stop for a bite. We tried two flavors of wings: spicy orange and ginger sauce, and mango habanero. We liked the mango habanero better, but neither were particularly as spicy as we had hoped.

We also tried their tots. These were nice, but just needed a hint of salt. A nice dipping sauce came with them.

I’d definitely go back to try the burger, and to hang for some UFC fights. It’s a big sports bar with tons of TVs, a pool table, a giant Connect Four game, etc.

THE HAIRY LEMON
28 Avenue B
New York, NY 10009

Burgers, East Village

Burgers on B

July 24, 2023 Johnny Prime 0 Comments

First, check out my Ride & Review video HERE:

This newly opened smash burger joint offers up a nice variety of smash style burgers (regular, Oklahoma, etc) at really great prices ($6 for a single).

My wife and I tried a regular double smash and some fries.

The fries were a little soggy, but the burger was somewhere between good and great. I would definitely go back and try some more stuff, especially their shakes.

BURGERS ON B
168 Avenue B
New York, NY 10009

Burgers, East Village, Lower East Side/Chinatown

Le Burger

May 15, 2023 Johnny Prime 0 Comments

First, check out my Ride & Review video of this place HERE:

This place used to be the original location of Black Iron Burger, I think.

My wife and I stopped in on a mini food crawl and gave it a shot. It was good!

The 6oz patty was cooked properly, with a nice crust from the flat top. The toppings were well portioned, and the bun held up, for the most part.

Fries could have used a bit of salt, but the onion rings were perfect.

I would definitely go back. I really like the cross between a luncheonette and a pub vibe that they have going here, and the staff was delightful. Next time I’ll try their signature burger that has brie and caramelized onions.

LE BURGER
540 E 5th St
New York, NY 10009

American, French, Lower East Side/Chinatown, Non-Steakhouse Steaks, Restaurant Reviews, Rib Eye

Corner Bar

August 22, 2022 Johnny Prime 1 Comment

This joint opened recently and is connected to the 9 Orchard hotel. There’s a lot I want to try here, but on this first trip my wife and I just stopped in for a couple of cocktails and some snacks.

The cocktails are great. I had a Gibson that used basil syrup in the mix. Very herbal and unique.

I also tried their amari-based old fashioned, which was really strong at first. But as the ice mellowed it out, it was perfect.

We had the Oysters Rockefeller, which were quite expensive at $24 for four. They were delicious, however, and reminded us of the flavor profile of escargots.

We also had an order of their perfectly cooked fries, which come with ketchup, mayo, and dijon. I love that they give you dijon automatically. It’s my favorite condiment.

Based on this trip, we will definitely be back to try more of the menu. Stay tuned for updates!

UPDATE 10-15-2022

On a second trip, after a LOT of hype in the food media world, I noticed a decline here.

First off, the nice ice cube in the old fashioned is gone now, and they replaced it with a bunch of small regular ice cubes. Bad move!

We started with the steak tartare, which was fairly good although it was very heavy on the onion and vinegar. The parm crisp on top was nice though.

The burger is no longer on the menu. I was excited to try it but they had a steak on special, so I went with that.

$185! Get the fuck outta here for 32oz!

It was just okay. Cooked perfectly, nice crust. But the meat itself was pretty dense and tough in places, and a good amount of connective tissue that was inedible. The best parts were along the bone, and edges, where some aged flavor managed to creep in. 6/10.