Last night I checked out the new joint from Mercer Street Hospitality Group (Lure Fishbar, Bowery Meat Company, etc.), Hancock Street. Everything was awesome, so let me get right into it.
APPS:
The sea urchin on crispy potato was a great bite to start the meal.
Uni has been replaced with tuna on a different potato.
We followed this with an absolutely delicious steak tartare.
Loved the pigs in a blanket with everything spice. Great dijon mustard and cherry BBQ sauce dips.
PASTA:
Adult kids pasta/mac & cheese is really fun.
The squid ink linguine with calamari, crispy garlic, and sea beans was really unique and beautiful.
New version is better:
But the duck bolognese mafaldine was the better of the two.
The radiatore were the best though.
SIDES:
Excellent fries!
I was even impressed with the veggies. Both the cauliflower and the carrots are worth your time. If I had to choose just one, I’d go with the cauliflower.
MAINS:
Great burger.
The short rib felt more like a grill or broil, or a very fast braise. I expected a more tender, pull-apart preparation. It was still tasty as hell though. 7/10.
The veal schnitzel was the best dish of the night. Amazing flavor profile with the capers and onions underneath, and a beautiful light and airy crisp on the breading. 10/10.
They overcooked the first steak that came out, but they made it right with a second one. It was really delicious, well seasoned, and came as a composed dish with a side of mushrooms. 8/10.
Second visit was better.
ENHANCE!
Chicken was nice too.
DESSERT:
The rhubarb crumble was a great finish to this great meal!
Mini yuzu jelly donuts! Get them. I didn’t take a photo, but here is a nice martini.
I would definitely go here again, and I recommend you go as well!
NY Pizza Suprema is one of midtown Manhattan’s best pizza joints.
Patrons will grab slices and scarf them down at the counter before hitting MSG, just across the avenue, for a game, concert, or whatever. Well, they used to, before public events were put on lockdown. I stopped in after a wonderful visit to the DMV, and ate my slice while walking to the subway.
This is a great slice. Thin, crisp and flavorful. A great representation of the classic NYC style. At $4, though, it’s a hefty price for a slice. It is, however, extremely convenient to Penn Station, so if you’re in the area and in need of a great slice, this is the place to go.
My wife and I popped in here for brunch and the place was PACKED!
We had a quick, meaty meal.
“The Hangover Burger” is a thick 8oz patty that’s topped with caramelized bourbon onions, blue cheese, pickles and a fried egg.
They cooked this fucker just right.
We also tried their grilled hanger steak and eggs dish, which came with a chimichurri sauce, a mixed greens salad and some roasted potatoes.
Not bad! I’d come back to try some of their dinner menu selections, and I’d probably try one or two of the sweeter brunch items (like the cast iron blueberry pancakes or the French toast).
Who makes your favorite prime rib? In NYC, lots of steak joints offer them, but sometimes only on specific days of the week. Keeping track of them all can be a chore, so I’ve published this handy prime rib weekly scheduler for you to use as a guide.
There are some ambitious places that offer prime rib on the menu every day that they’re open – just make sure you check their business hours, as some joints may be closed on Sundays or Mondays, or they only offer the prime rib for dinner as opposed to lunch, etc. Here are some of the acclaimed ones:
Just a heads up: I’m probably missing some here that always offer prime rib. But the point of this post is really to organize the days of the week as I’ve done for you down below.
In addition to those that have an always-on-the-menu prime rib, there are places like Holy Ground which simply need a four hour heads up for you to reserve one, any day of the week that they’re open. I would also be remiss not to mention the seared and roasted spinalis dorsi pinwheel from Le Rivage at this point. You’ll need to call ahead for that at least two days in advance though, but the plus side is that you can customize how big you want it for how many people you need to feed. Talk to Chef Paul DeNamiel for that.
Monday: Since Mondays are typically the slow day for many NYC restaurants, I did not have much luck finding any joints that dedicate this as their prime rib day. In that case, I refer you to the above joints that always have prime rib available on the menu, or the ones that just need an advance heads up before you go in.
Tuesday: Peter Luger offers prime rib from Tuesday through Thursday. I haven’t had it yet, but I promise I’ll get to it ASAP and update the review.
Wednesday: Tuscany Steakhouse just started offering prime rib on Wednesdays. There are only seven to eight orders available at the moment, so you’ll want to get there early. I’m told that they may soon offer prime rib on Fridays as well. Can’t get there? Then you can also hit Porterhouse Bar & Grill, Burger & Barrel, or Peter Luger.
Thursday: Porter House Bar & Grill offers prime rib on both Wednesdays and Thursdays, as well as a special extra dry-aged prime rib that’s available by calling ahead and setting up a special dinner. You may need a few days advance notice on that one. You can also hit Peter Luger on Thursdays as well.
Friday: Del Frisco’s Grille in Rockefeller Center has a nice bone-in prime rib that’s available on both Fridays and Saturdays.
Saturday: Burger & Barrel offers a very reasonably priced all-inclusive prime rib dinner on both Wednesday and Saturday. You get salads, apps, sides and dessert with it. If memory serves me correctly, you may be able to order this one in advance for a party of four or more people on any day, so long as they have sufficient notice and a deposit. That’s how I did it the three times I went, but they may have switched over to purely Wednesdays and Saturdays at this point. Call and check. You could also hit Del Frisco’s Grille on a Saturday.
Sunday: Beatrice Inn used to have a nice Sunday rib roast with all the expected twigs and berries that typically accompany Angie Mar’s beef cuts. However it seems now that she closes the restaurant on Sundays. But wait – here’s a good one for you: Boston Market just started serving rotisserie prime rib from Wednesday through Saturday after 5pm, and on Sundays after 12pm (while supplies last and at participating locations). Call me crazy, but at $16.99 I kinda liked this. I found it to be better than many expensive prime ribs at the big steak joints, several of which just never get this dish correct.
If that doesn’t float your boat, or if it’s too low brow for your standards, then I refer you back up to the top of this article for the always-on-the-menu options.
I hope this helps you bastards out a little bit. Enjoy the prime rib!
When my wife and I were in Italy, we went bonkers for Bonci Pizzarium near the Vatican, and we’ve been craving it ever since. A brand new pizza joint on the upper east side, PQR, brought me right back there.
I have to say this is one of my new favorite spots in the city. Roman style pizza just works on so many levels. If you’ve never had it before, this is an exemplary representation. The dough/crust is perfectly crisp yet puffy and airy, and they’re generous with their high quality toppings.
Get the spicy soppressata with grape tomato and the sliced potato with truffle sauce. You’ll thank me later.
A little break from steak
to give you my take
on the best joints that make
taters: fried, mashed or baked.
Actually I’m going to nix mashed. You see, my mom makes the ultimate mashed potatoes. Insanely creamy and smooth, buttery, and riddled with melted mozzarella. Nothing I’ve ever had in the mashed potato realm even comes remotely close to that shit.
But I do have five favorite potato dishes from steak joints to share with you. These aren’t in any particular order, so don’t go reading into shit.
Boucherie’s French Fries
These fucking things are simply perfect. They’re hands down the best French fries I’ve ever had. There’s some sort of crispy and mildly spicy batter on the outside that gives them an extra crunch, while retaining a soft and smooth inside. Amazing.
Le Rivage’s Potatoes Au Gratin
Okay this isn’t a steak joint, but since Chef Paul is basically extended family to Pat LaFrieda, the meats you get here are immaculate (especially the French Onion Soup Burger). As such this is an honorary steak joint in my eyes. The potatoes? Insanity. I’ve had a lot of great gratins in my day, but this shit is next level. Go get it.
Apologies for the buffoonery in this photo. I didn’t get a shot of the taters myself, but my friend Mike from Gotham Burger Social Club managed to capture them in the foreground of this photo a little bit before we ruined it.
WAIT! Found one. Thanks Chef Paul!
Michael Jordan’s Hasselback Potatoes
This baby is not advertised on the regular menu, so you have to ask for it. It’s pre-sliced, fried, baked, covered with melted cheese, topped with sour cream, bacon, chives… I mean… It’s like a roid-raging unicorn baked potato streaking through the quad while on acid and cocaine at the same time. It’s fucking awesome.
Keen’s Prime Rib Hash Browns
This is one of the biggest portions of potato and meat you can get. The meat is their amazing prime rib, chopped up and worked into a hash brown that will leave you craving more every day of your life. They’re only offered on the brunch or bar menu, but if you ask nicely the waitresses/waiters will hook you up in the main dining room.
Pro Tip: order a few of these to take home with you and throw in the freezer. They heat up nice for future indulging.
“Rocco’s Fries”
I’m a sucker for a good potato chip. Sometimes I will even hand cut potatoes to about 3mm thick and roast in the oven with herbs, spices and oils to make a thick chip at home, but very rarely do I see anything similar at a restaurant. Rocco’s comes pretty damn close to it, and I really have to sing their praises for being so bold as to put something as simple and delicious as potato chips on their menu. These are their “Rocco’s Fries:”
I even used them as a vehicle for eating their creamless creamed spinach, which was excellent (top five creamed spinach post coming soon, no doubt).
That about does it. Starch it up, you fuckers! And while you’re at it, you should add Bistrot Leo’s mille feuille style fried potatoes to your list, as well as the pommes dauphines from Ai Fiori that come with their delicious White Label burger. Insanity!
