First, check out my Ride & Review video HERE:
This was easily one of the best Szechaun means I’ve ever had. I think my favorites were the thrice cooked bacon, lamb ribs, beef cheek, wings and the dry pot pastrami, but the mapo tofu was one for the ages. Wait… was that everything? I can’t wait to go back!
MISSION CHINESE
43 Mott St
New York, NY 10013
NOTE: THIS PLACE IS CLOSED!
Karvouna Mezze is the new Greek tapas (“mezze”) joint and meat house that just opened on the Bowery, headed up by the former chef from Merakia, Giuseppe Scalco.
I came in with a group of Instagramming bastards to try out some dishes and to feature our favorites on our profiles. Here’s what we tried:
Peinirli (Greek Pizza Boat)
I like the idea of this, I just wasn’t a fan of the flakey, dry dough. The fillings (bacon, herbs and cheese) were all great though.
Octopus
This was nice. As a mezze portion, this is actually pretty sizable.
Baked Eggplant
Generally I’m not a big fan of eggplant, but this was great. I really liked the presentation in a scooped-out and halved eggplant. You can even still see the stem on the top end. Great Mediterranean flavors on this; semi-Italian and semi-Middle Eastern.
Greek Salad
This was simple and delicious. A must order. Perfect and fresh.
Pork Belly
This was tender and flavorful, but I found myself going after the stewed greens underneath more than the actual pork belly. The ouzo and honey marinade was interesting though.
Lamb Ribs
These are amazing. I loved them at Merakia, and I love them here. They’re perfect as a mezze snack with three to four ribs per order. Great spice on them, expertly cooked, nice fat and tenderness levels.
Kleftiko
This was a bit of a let down. I really enjoyed the Kleftiko at Merakia, which was served like a stew in a bread bowl. Here, there was just too much bread and not enough of that stewed sauciness. It came off a bit dry, unfortunately, and the bits of lamb inside just weren’t tender enough to recall the stew format of the traditional dish.
Short Rib
This was awesome. So tender and flavorful, and sitting on a bed of braised greens and lentils. I could eat this every day.
Mixed Grill For Two
This was a lot of fun. I really enjoyed the pork and sausage. It comes out on an actual grill, though you aren’t really cooking anything since it isn’t hot enough. It’s more of a show piece and meat warmer.
This is great for a group meal to share. Even the veggies on there were tasty, and it comes with some nice lemon potatoes too.
Red Velvet Halva
This was my favorite of the three desserts we tried. But don’t expect the texture and flavor of halva just because halva is in the name of the dessert. This tasted more like a gelatin or stiff mousse. Really delicious.
Baklava
A beautiful and tasty take on the classic dessert. A nice balance of sweet and savory, and it comes with a slab of rose jelly, which looks invisible in the pic above.
Chocolate Covered Digestive Cookies
This was like a chocolate covered biscotti. Interesting, but not something I would get again. I just didn’t love the flavor combination. A nice thing to have with coffee though, for those of you who are into it.
I would definitely go back here for the eggplant, ribs, mixed grill and short rib. Go give it a shot! I should also note that when we were there, the health inspector gave a surprise visit and fucked up the entire flow of the kitchen for a good hour or hour and a half. This place is brand new and the chef is very talented, so I have no problem recommending this place to others.
KARVOUNA MEZZE
241 Bowery
New York, NY 10002
SOLD OUT!
I’m really excited to be working with Mosner Family Brands to bring you all this rare and delicious protein.
These are LAMB RIBS, you meat maniacs!!!
You don’t see them too often, but they’re really special.
Smoke ’em if you got ’em, as they say… and, well, I got ’em… And now you can get some too. You don’t want to miss out on these – especially you game meat and BBQ fanatics out there. These are pure heaven.
This is a throwback review that I’ve been meaning to write for a while. I haven’t been here in a few years, but the meat products are fantastic and worthy of my blog. Now that summer is here again, I figured it was a good time to post it.
Harvest is located out in Montauk, and has a great outdoor dining area that overlooks a picturesque lake with a dock.
First, I’ll talk about the lamb ribs. This is probably one of the few places you’ll ever see them offered. They are grilled up to a nice charcoal black and served with a delicious sauce. These things were the star of the show when I ate here. I think we even got a second order because they were so good, and the orders are very large to begin with.
Next, we had a porterhouse. The meat was thick and tasty, and served with a fresh peppercorn sauce and rosemary. Absolutely awesome, especially with the roasted onions that come with it.
We tried some skirt steak too, which came on a bed of nicely dressed mixed greens.
This place is awesome because is has a really big meat selection for a non-steakhouse. I definitely recommend giving it a shot if you’re out in Montauk this summer. Be sure to try the garlic and herb fries too.
UPDATE JULY 2016
Okay so I came back to re-test the waters on all these delicious family style items. As I recalled, I am still extremely impressed with this place.
Lamb Ribs:
The flatter, less meaty ones are actually better, because the bark to meat ratio offers some really amazing texture and flavor. All around great though.
Garlic Fries:
Great herb and garlic flavor, crispy shoestring fast food style, which is just my cup of tea.
Seafood Bruscetta:
Don’t let the name fool you. This is a heaping bowl of shellfish (clams, mussels, shrimp and scallops) served in a delicious wine and garlic broth with grilled country bread. Amazing.
Skirt Steak:
Perfectly medium rare, this is 16oz of greatness. While the meat itself is not very salted, it comes with a spicy butter that is meant to be spread across each slice. 9/10.
Porterhouse:
filet side:
strip side:
Both the filet and strip sides of this baby were cooked to a perfect medium rare. The fresh green peppercorns add a great pop of spice and herbaceous flavor to this masterpiece. 9/10.
Lobster and Truffle Fettuccine with Vodka Sauce:
Although the truffles were not particularly flavorful, and they were a bit shy with the lobster for a $52 entree, the pasta itself was cooked very nicely and the sauce was delicious.
Frozen Key Lime Pie:
Tart, sweet and slightly bitter, this delivers everything you expect from a good key lime pie, but in a sorbet or ice cream forma. It even has the graham cracker crust underneath. Very nice.
Ice Cream Sandwich:
This thing is massive, even for two. Although I didn’t taste it, I am told it is amazing.
Cream Puffs:
Huge cream puffs are filled with ice cream and topped with whipped cream and chocolate. Simple and delicious.
Honorable Mention: Appetite Killing Table Bread.
Careful! This stuff will get you full. It is so delicious, and comes with olive oil and grated cheese.
THE HARVEST ON FORT POND
11 S. Emery St.
Montauk, NY 11954
UPDATE – This joint is now CLOSED.
Resto is a small Belgian joint that recently became known for having a really good burger, in addition to their kickass beer menu. I apologize for the obnoxious watermarks on these photos, but I’ve been having way too many issues with people jacking my photos and using them for their various social media pages and websites without giving me the photo credit.
My two buddies and I started with lamb ribs and steak tartare.
The ribs were awesome. They were tasty and fatty, and the honey and pear sauce was delicious. It came dressed with some dried figs and fresh pear as well.
The tartare, however, was a little lacking. I feel it needed less pickled flavors and more pepper and egg. The meat quality was good, but it had an odd meat flavored gelatin mixed in as well.
The burger is a pork and beef blend. As such it gets cooked through. I thought this would be a problem, since I like a burger to be medium, but the meat retained good juiciness. Topped with red onion, pickles and gruyere, this baby is a very nice addition to the NYC burger scene. They chose the right bun too. A simple potato roll.
The steak style fries were good too – nicely fried and seasoned.
For dessert we had this ice cream and waffle sunday. It was drizzled with caramel and topped with shaved almonds. The crispy pieces of warm waffles were the perfect contrast to the ice cream.
RESTO
111 E 29th St
New York, NY 10016
