Tag Archives: upper west side

Banh Mi, Restaurant Reviews, Upper West Side, Vietnamese

Saiguette

April 15, 2017 Johnny Prime Leave a comment

This little take-out joint slings a pretty decent banh mi. I haven’t tried their Vietnamese food yet, but I can at least give a run down of their “classic” sub. I put the word “classic” in quotes, because there really isn’t much pate, head cheese or other items that would make this a classic viet sandwich. Perhaps they gave me the roast pork shoulder by mistake? Not sure. It could just be that they’re using different ingredients from the other shops.

SAIGUETTE
935 Columbus Ave
New York, NY 10025

American, Burgers, Non-Steakhouse Steaks, Press Reviews, Ramen, Restaurant Reviews, Rib Eye, Upper West Side

The Fat Monk

April 15, 2017 Johnny Prime 2 Comments

NOTE: THIS PLACE IS NOW CLOSED

The Fat Monk has one of the most incredibly ambitious and delicious looking menus I’ve ever seen. Just about every item sounds unique and awesome, and I pretty much got to try them all.

Chef Rob McCue, who has been honing his art for 25 years, elevates American comfort food by using only the finest ingredients sourced via his close relationships with local artisans. He achieves the unexpected through molecular gastronomy, a style of cooking that you don’t often associate with American comfort cuisine.

And the unexpected delights are not limited to the food here, either. The cocktails are equally as exciting. Cory Goldstein, founder of Muddling Memories, put together an amazing cocktail menu.

We tried a whole bunch, but the standouts for me were the “Emma Stone’s a Ginger” (bourbon, peach, Lapsang Souchong tea, molasses, ginger beer, cookie “snack back”), “Say a Dirty Word” (barrel aged gin, vodka, house dirty brine, white pepper, chili oil, Boursin cheese stuffed olives), and “Paul Bunyan’s Flask” (rye, pine infused maple, Oloroso sherry, Bergamot bitters, apple wood smoke) cocktails. In fact, that’s the order in which I would recommend drinking them, the Emma to start the meal, the Dirty with your main course, and the Flask – which is a treat to see being served – with dessert.

Their PR person contacted me, and we arranged to bring in a crew of savage meat eating wackos to get down on all the tasty shit and post some pics of their joint on Instagram. So here’s what we had:

STARTERS

Oyster Escargot: Yeah – I know. Making you think a little, right? Oysters served with a parsley and pernod crust. Lovely.

Kale Caesar: Ours was more arugula and mixed greens than kale, which I was actually happy about. Kale is a bit woody for my liking. All that said, I didn’t even eat any salad. I had my sights set on tons of other delicious stuff.

Crispy Duck Wings: Crisp on the outside, super tender and fall-off-the-bone on the inside. Really amazing Thai/Viet flavor combo too from the sweet and tangy fish sauce glaze and scallions.

Double Cut Slab Bacon: This delicious shit tasted like spiral ham, but more bacony, if that makes any sense.

Deviled Eggs: That’s a “chicken-fried” oyster on top. The balance of textures here is what really sets this deviled egg apart from all the rest. It was a nice crisp against a velvety smooth egg.

Dungeness Crab Tater Tots: If these were around when I was a kid, I may have never found French fries. They’re like part carb cake, part tot. Really genius.

Shells & Cheese: Really nicely executed adult mac and cheese right here. Smoked bacon and fontina cheese make it decadent, but it’s not too rich to the point where you don’t want to touch your main courses after.

Scotch Egg: Perfection. Just really nicely done. Crispy outside, perfect slightly yolky egg inside. Again, great texture contrast.

Foie Gras Bratwurst: The ultimate mash-up of cheap eats and decadent eats, this is a bratwurst served in a hot dog style potato bun with foie gras, crispy onions and truffle mustard on top. Why hasn’t anyone thought of this before? Delicious.

ENTREES

Schweinshaxe: Good luck trying to pronounce that shit, but I think it kinda sounds like you’re saying “swine shank” with your hand in your mouth, which makes sense considering what this is. Successfully speaking the name of this item is one thing, but I know you’ll succeed wildly at eating it. It’s a pork shank with a crispy-as-fuck skin on the outside and juicy-as-fuck meat on the inside. It’s served with spaetzle and cabbage.

Not a Ramen: This is an American fusion version of ramen. The broth is a beef bone consomme, and it’s served with a soft duck egg, a hunk of tender short rib, marrow and egg noodles. Obscenely good.

Duck Burger: This is actually quite lean, so if you’re trying to be mindful of fat intake, this might be the way to go for you. It still had a robust duck essence without being overly gamey. It’s topped with melted Emmenthaler cheese and shallot confit, and served with house cut fries.

Monk Burger: This was my favorite between the two burgers; a house blend patty topped with cheddar, lettuce, tomato, shaved red onion and house pickles, served with smoked ketchup and fries.

Fried Chicken Sandwich: I actually didn’t get to try this, but take a look at that amazing batter on the chicken! The chicken itself is breast meat, but it has been pickle-brined. Very inventive!

Bone In Rib Eye: Here we go! This baby was cooked to a perfect medium rare through both the eye and the cap. It also had a pretty decent char-crust on the outside. It was seasoned nicely with flake salt and pepper, and served with roasted tomatoes, roasted garlic and seared exotic mushrooms (my guess is Hen of the Woods). 8/10.

SIDES

Brussels Sprouts with Bacon: The bacon in this was thick cut style, and the smokey, sweet, meat flavor really permeated into the sprouts. Nice execution.

Seared Exotic Mushrooms: These also came with the steak, and were absolutely delicious. Earthy and savory.

House Cut Fries: The fries are pretty great! Usually I see thick fries like this and I’m immediately turned off. These were perfectly fried to a beautiful golden crisp, however, and nicely seasoned.

Also worth mentioning here is the homemade Irish Soda Bread that comes to the table at the beginning of the meal. Really good stuff.

You see how much shit I tried here?!?!? Well, I actually want to go back and try even more stuff. As I said, the menu is bonkers. Give this place a try. You won’t be disappointed.

THE FAT MONK
949 Columbus Ave
New York, NY 10025

Italian, Pizza, Press Reviews, Restaurant Reviews, Upper West Side

Bella Luna

March 31, 2017 Johnny Prime Leave a comment

My wife and I were recently invited into Bella Luna, and upper west side Italian joint, for a complimentary meal in exchange for an honest review of the food. The menu looked pretty great, so I was excited to get in here.

The restaurant was jumping on a Thursday night. I don’t think there was an empty table in the joint. It makes sense, given the attractively priced pasta dishes ($12 for their long list of classics) set in a beautiful dining room.

We started with an order of mussels. These babies are cooked in a garlic, white wine and tomato sauce.

The sauce was awesome. In fact, we kept asking for extra bread to soak up the goodness. I was happy there was a spoon on the table, because I was eating the sauce like soup.

Next up was one of their special pasta dishes: lamb pappardelle.

Pappardelle is one of my favorite styles of pasta: long, wide ribbons. This stuff was fresh made, and the lamb ragu was great. The meat sauce also contained some diced carrots, onions and peppers. It reminded me of the Sunday meat sauces (aka “gravy,” in some circles) that my grandmother used to make when my family would visit each week. It was boldly flavored, yet not too heavy where you feel bloated after. This was definitely my favorite dish of the night.

Then we shared a pizza.

We ordered the “Bella Luna” pizza, which is topped with wild mushrooms, truffle oil, onions and fontina cheese.

As you can see, we added some prosciutto and olives to the party.

This was a really great pizza! The dough was puffy and light, but still had a good crunch with an airy, doughy bite. They’re working some magic back there in the brick oven!

Dessert was impressive, as they were offering slices of a special praline ice cream cake from the bake shop that used to be located next store (Grossinger’s; a neighborhood classic for many decades).

This was so rich and decadent. Such awesome flavors going on, and I even thought I tasted some halva in the mix, which I love. I highly recommend a slice of this if they have any left when you go.

My wife’s choice was tiramisu, her favorite, but with a scoop of their toasted pistachio gelato on top.

A genius idea, if I may say so. The tiramisu was soft, and nicely coffee flavored. The lady fingers weren’t soaked in too much booze, and it was overall very creamy and tasty.

I definitely recommend this place. It’s a great neighborhood joint with extremely reasonable prices, set up with gorgeous exposed brick and rustic wood decor.

BELLA LUNA
574 Columbus Ave
New York, NY 10024

Filet Mignon, Japanese, Non-Steakhouse Steaks, Press Reviews, Restaurant Reviews, Upper West Side

Flame

March 13, 2017 Johnny Prime Leave a comment

Flame is a pretty large hibachi joint on the upper west side. I was recently invited in for a hibachi meal with a bunch of lunatic foodies.

They put on a great show here, I must say.

We started off with a pair of shrimp.

Then some fried rice and veggies.

And then the steaks came out!

Very simply prepared, and nicely cooked.

As far as hibachi goes, this is one of the best I’ve experienced. But that’s not where the action stops. They also serve a variety of nice dumplings, sushi and other seafood.

Everything was great; especially that miso octopus tentacle. I highly recommend this joint. There’s a lot of space, really beautiful tables and decor, and even some really nice mixed cocktails.

FLAME
100 W 82nd St
New York, NY 10024

Italian, Press Reviews, Restaurant Reviews, Upper West Side

Bettola

December 16, 2016 Johnny Prime Leave a comment

Bettola’s story is very unique. Giga Leszay, the long-time manager, was in need of a chef. Chef Vlado Kolenic, the rockstar that left Czechoslavakia for the US in 1979, discovered a love for global cuisine while touring around the world with his band TAKTICI. Giga and Vlado met on a ski trip when one of Giga’s friends recognized Vlado from the band. The two became friends and took ownership of Bettola in May 2016.

Vlado incorporates the influences and techniques he cultivated on his travels as a musician to create the progressive dishes at Bettola.

Vlado’s love of music and food comes together on Sundays with a Beatles Brunch, during which music by The Beatles plays, and dishes are named after band members and songs. Bettola also offers a late-night happy hour, nightly, from 10 p.m.-11 p.m. Occasionally there is even live music by Chef Vlado himself at the piano. And starting soon, you can experience their movie nights, where pizza is just $10 and drinks are just $5, and you get to watch a movie for free on their TV.

It’s a really fun joint. The restaurant features a beautiful and rustic wood-burning oven that’s used for signature pizzas and some special dishes. The interior is cozy yet spacious, with a majority of seating being four-tops.

We sat down to enjoy our meal with two glasses of wine; a Malbec and a Montepulciano. Bettola has a sommelier who comes in twice per week, so the selection is curated by a professional.

We tried two apps. First was the oven roasted eggplant Napoleon.

The cheese blistered up to a nice crisp in that gorgeous wood oven, and the tomatoes shriveled to a soft and juicy compliment. The best bits of the eggplant were the slices that had developed a really great char in the oven.

The meatballs were very tasty.

The sauce really popped here, and with a portion size of three you can almost just grab a salad first and get this as an entree.

Just ask for extra bread for sopping up that yummy sauce.

I was intrigued by the Fantastico entree. It’s sliced filet mignon, cooked with 17 spices, and served on a bed of fettuccine and mushrooms.

All pastas are made in house, and that fettuccine was the star of the show in this dish.

I’d definitely try some other pasta dishes here. In fact, there are daily specials that constantly change, so you can try something new and unique every time you dine.

Where Chef Vlado really shines, though, is when he is messing around with your taste buds. His global travels have exposed him to lots of interesting flavors and dishes, and he’s used that experience to develop a host of his own recipes. I suppose you can call a dish like Shrimp Prosecco an “Italian Fusion.”

With elements of middle eastern and Thai cuisine, this dish really pops. There’s a coconut milk and Prosecco base in the sauce that almost acts like a curry, and the Israeli cous cous is mixed with zucchini and carrots. The cook on the butterflied shrimp was perfect as well; so tender and flavorful.

For dessert, we had a bread pudding that happened to be made with focaccia bread! But that’s not where the fun ended. It was topped with sliced green apple, garnished with sliced dates, and dressed with a whisky cream sauce. Really unique.

Note: I was invited to dine as a guest of this establishment and received a complimentary meal. This was not in exchange for a positive review; all opinions expressed are my own.

BETTOLA
412 Amsterdam Ave
New York, NY 10024

Indian, Press Reviews, Restaurant Reviews, Upper West Side

Lala Sahab

November 10, 2016 Johnny Prime 1 Comment

Lala Sahab is an upper west side place for modern, creative and approachable Indian cuisine. The restaurant is named after Executive Chef/Owner Lala Sharma and the Hindi word for “Sir.”

Sharma began his career in his hometown of New Delhi at Bukhara, which is considered one of the 50 best restaurants in the world. In India, he trained with top chefs and learned the art of tandoor cooking.

The menu at Lala Sahab is divided into small plates, Mumbai bites, bhatti se (from the tandoor), choolah se (from the pan), larger traditional plates, biryanis and a “bread bar.”

The joint also has a newly installed full bar with cocktails, and a rotating line of draft beers and wines. In fact there’s a small bar in the front and a larger bar in the back, so there are two places to pull up for a refreshment.

I tried a 1947, which is an Indian imported beer that’s on par with a Bud or Coors. My wife tried a nice, thick and creamy mango lassi.

Every meal begins with a basket of papadum, which is a thin lentil flour cracker. It’s served with a delicious green mint and cilantro chutney, as well as a tamarind chutney. I can seriously drink this green stuff. So refreshing and tasty.

For those of you not familiar with this, the crackers are super thin and light, and you can taste the toasty lentil flavor. Way better than bread sticks or dinner rolls, guys!

The first app we tried was an order of tikka wale samosas.

This is essentially a samosa with chicken tikka inside, and a creamy tikka masala dipping sauce on the side.

These were packed with delicious, high quality meat and had a great crisp on the outside of the samosa. It’s no surprise that this dish is one of Lala Sahab’s best sellers and signature items.

Another really fun starter is the plate of chicken tikka sliders with cucumber and greens (three per order).

These are garnished with a nice paprika mayo, and come with a pair of thick cut masala steak fry wedges. Very unique, and a fun way to integrate Indian cuisine into the American “slider” culture trend. I love a good chicken sandwich, and these sliders are right on par with some of my favorites in the city like Fuku+ and Delaney. They’re just not fried or flavored in the same style as those joints; they are distinctly and refreshingly Indian.

Since I’m the meat guy, and beef is typically scarce at Indian joints, I jumped at these lamb chops for my entree.

There are four of them, served with tangy mushroom rice and lemon potatoes on the side.

The chops have decorative foil on the bone in case you want to grab it like a man and skip the fork and knife. They’re marinated in Indian spices, red wine and herbs. They’re cooked thru, but tenderized so beautifully with a great char from the tandoor oven.

And of course, what good would an Indian dining experience be without a taste of curry? My wife and I tried this really luscious coconut shrimp curry.

This comes with basmati rice, but we also got some garlic naan bread to dip. The shrimp were cooked perfectly, and to me that signals that they add them as the orders come, so they don’t get overcooked. Very smart. A mix of red peppers and onions are folded into the curry, but I bet this would really pop with some more heat from chili peppers. The menu advertises this as spicy, but I think they may have toned it down for the typical American palette. Give me the heat!

The garlic naan was great as well. It was topped with cilantro, and had good charring and bubble puffs throughout. Really yummy.

Dessert was simple and delicious.

Rice pudding topped with crushed pistachio, and floated with a fried rice flour doughnut that was flavored with honey and coconut. This may sound crazy, but this little bowl of simplicity was my favorite part of the meal! The texture was nice, and it was just the right amount of sweetness in each bite.

I haven’t been to a lot of good Indian joints in this area until now, so Lala Sahab is a really important find. Go and give it a shot!

Note: I was invited to dine as a guest of this establishment and received a complimentary meal. This was not in exchange for a positive review; all opinions expressed are my own.

LALA SAHAB
489 Columbus Ave
New York, NY 10024

Flash Deals, Italian, Non-Steakhouse Steaks, Other Cuts, Restaurant Reviews, Upper West Side

Vai

October 13, 2016 Johnny Prime Leave a comment

We scored a Gilt City deal for this place: $79 gets you two cocktails, two apps, two entrees and a shared dessert.

We started with the charred octopus and veal tartare. Both were well executed and tasty.

The octopus had a great snap to it, yet it was still very tender.

My wife picked the pork tenderloin for her entree. I thought it could have had a third medallion of pork, but since it came with some shank meat and belly meat, I guess it wasn’t a big deal.

I had the roasted skirt steak (Creekstone Farm), though I could swear it looked and tasted more like a hanger steak. It had a great outer crust from the roasting process, and it was cooked to a perfect medium rare inside. However, both this and the pork entree lacked salt. Luckily there was a small bowl of flake salt at the table for adding. 8/10.

For dessert we shared this chocolate mousse cake. Very nice.

As it turns out, the general manager remembered me from when she waited tables at Vic & Anthony’s. That earned us a complimentary glass of bubbly! So nice.

VAI
429 Amsterdam Ave
New York, NY 10024

Italian, Non-Steakhouse Steaks, Press Reviews, Restaurant Reviews, Rib Eye, Upper West Side

Machiavelli

October 13, 2016 Johnny Prime 2 Comments

NOTE: THIS PLACE IS CLOSED

What a fitting time, the peak of the political season in America, to dine at a place named after the author of The Prince, Niccolo Machiavelli. But unlike the politics of the book or the politicians of today, the dishes at Machiavelli are not deceitful, dishonest or evil. No; they’re real, honest and borderline divine. Actually… I take that back, as a few things about this place were indeed somewhat deceptive, but in a good way. I’ll get to that in a minute though…

I was invited here for a press meal through the restaurant’s PR group, Benvenuti. I went in with my food writer friend Jay, from The Dishelin Guide, to give this place a spin (but not a political spin). Here’s how it went down:

First, the place is really nicely set up. The large black and white checkerboard tile flooring and high ceilings give the illusion that this place is massive and palatial, like Italian architecture of old. But while Machiavelli boasts great elbow room and is set in a large corner property, it still has a cozy neighborhood vibe, especially with the enveloping, throne-like bar seating (great cocktail menu, by the way), antique light fixtures and live piano music. I suppose that counts as Machiavellian deception numero uno.

The meal begins with a basket of focaccia bread that’s served with a white bean paste, lightly drizzled with olive oil. Very nice.

We started with a shared app, the carpaccio. The meat quality was top notch; really soft and flavorful. I detected a hint of truffle, and the peppery arugula was deftly dressed with a bit of lemon vinaigrette that made the meat pop with each bite.

Next we tried two of their pasta dishes, all of which are made fresh, in-house, by the way. First was the tri-color gnocchi. These were light, airy and beautiful.

Before cheese:

After cheese:

The second pasta dish counts as Machiavellian deception numero due; cacio e mele ravioli (cheese and apple) with a sage butter and lamb tomato ragu. Say whaaaaat?!?! While there was no deception about the ingredients on the menu, the marriage of cheese, apple, lamb and tomato was incredibly surprising. I highly recommend this exciting dish. And to think I was somewhat apprehensive about the apple prior to ordering…

Now onward to the entrees. First, a grilled rib eye with rosemary. This comes to the table pre-sliced and boneless, topped with a lightly dressed arugula salad (similar to the carpaccio greens).

The beef was cooked to a nice medium rare, through and through. It was trimmed of most fat, and what remained was soft, mild and edible, like beef jelly.

It was tender and juicy, but just needed a quick hit of finishing salt to knock it out of the park. The best way to eat this was to take a bite of the beef simultaneously with the arugula salad, after brushing off some of the excess herbs that would otherwise leave a bit of bitterness on the palate. I love the smell and flavor of rosemary when used in cooking; I just try to avoid eating the actual greenery. It did provide a great aroma though.

Our second entree was Machiavellian deception numero tre: monkfish that’s cooked osso buco style, right on the bone. You certainly get that characteristically hearty flavor from the process. Totally unique and wild. The flesh is actually injected with fresh herbs too, so a variety of flavors permeate the meat.

For dessert we tried a mille foglie; layers of philo dough with pastry cream between…

…And a chocolate pyramid, which was essentially a ganache with cookie crumble and a rich chocolate sauce at the base.

Machiavelli also offers a large selection of teas as well. I tried a pomegranate oolong with my dessert.

Service here is fantastic. If you happen to meet Tara, she will take excellent care of you, and she really knows the menu forwards and backwards.

MACHIAVELLI
519 Columbus Ave
New York, NY 10024

Midtown West, Restaurant Reviews, Thai

Chai Thai Kitchen

September 5, 2016 Johnny Prime Leave a comment

My wife and I came in here for a quick meal after passing by for two years and wondering if it was any good. The quick verdict: it was!

We started with these sweet chicken and peanut dumplings.

I don’t mean “sweet” in the way a dude would say after waking up with an awesome tattoo after a drunk night out.

I mean “Sweet” in the actual flavor sensation. The peanuts had an almost honey roasted type of sweetness to them.

My wife nabbed this spicy coconut chicken curry noodle dish, which was topped with crispy fried “bird’s nest” noodles as well. Usually these dishes are way too “sweet” for me, but this was really good.

It came with rice (unless that was my dish that came with rice?), but might have benefitted from a hunk of French bread for dipping. But I think that’s more of a Vietnamese thing than a Thai thing.

I went with a dish that really jumped off the menu at me, because it reminded me of the fried whole fish we had in Vietnam that I loved so much.

The reason why is because of the sauce that comes with it. It’s fish sauce, spiced up with cilantro, peppers red onions and scallions.

The fish was fried to a perfect golden crisp, and the bones were pretty easy to maneuver for the most part.

The meat was tender, juicy and soft on the inside, and crispy on the outside – just how I like it.

Oh and one of the cool things about this joint is a nice pond up front that circulates water around and has little floating flowers.

CHAI THAI KITCHEN
930 8th Ave
New York, NY 10019

American, Burgers, Other, Press Reviews, Pub Food, Restaurant Reviews, Upper West Side

Burke & Wills

September 5, 2016 Johnny Prime Leave a comment

I’ve only ever been to two or three Australian joints in my day, so I jumped at the opportunity to check this place out with Jay from The Dishelin Guide. When he asked if I was interested in going with him for a press review, I was psyched. Aussie joints always offer the possibility of trying exotic meats, and, as you can imagine, the prospect of something like that gets my juices flowing.

In the case of Burke & Wills, you can find a kangaroo meat burger on their daily lunch and dinner menus. Since we came in for brunch on the weekend, however, we were in for a different treat involving ‘roo meat: a traditional meat pie.

Meat pies are pretty much street food and walking around food in Australia, but this version is served like a pot-pie, not hand food. It comes on a bed of English pea puree with mixed baby greens and a tomato jam. As for kangaroo meat, which is slightly gamey and very lean, it’s about as common on menus as venison here in the States.

Okay wait a second… before I get into more of the food I have to talk about the customizable Bloody Mary menu here.

Our waitress recommended the exact combination that I was thinking of ordering, so I took that as a sign. This ended up being one of the best bloodies I’ve ever had. Kaffir-lime salted rim, Citadel gin, far east mix (sri racha for the spice element) and the deluxe skewer.

Okay so where was I… Right; kangaroo meat. The brunch menu swaps out kangaroo in the burger for a standard beef burger, however there’s nothing else that’s standard about this particular burger other than the beef.

It comes topped with lettuce, tomato, bacon, cheese, onion, pineapple, pickled beets and a fried egg. It really is an amazing combination of flavors that I never expected to work well together. The meat is high quality, cooked nicely, and all the various toppings really make it a juicy and satisfying meal.

Aside from tasting good, this burger was really beautiful.

For the reasonable cost of $16, this stack of breakfast food and beef also comes with triple fried “chips,” which are what other people from across the various ponds call French fries. What we call chips, here, are called “crisps” over there. Hey, I’m not judging… just informing you ignorant bastards out there.

The fries (yes, I will continue to call them fries because I’m American and that’s what we do) are thick, almost like potato wedges. They’re blanched several times at various temperatures and then fried multiple times. The end result is a super crisp outside and a mashed-potato-esque interior. Really nice. And they come with a deliciously unique harissa-based dipping sauce to boot.

Another feature of the brunch menu is the ever present and highly trendy “elevated toast” offering. This particular one, however, was not some dainty piece of bread smeared with a little bit of avocado and then topped with a slice of tomato. No. This was a nice thick slice of toasty grilled bread as a base, with a generous amount of avocado as the next layer, to serve as a bed for what was essentially an entire salad of micro greens, tomato, frisee and pickled onions on top. And there was a LOT of awesome feta cheese on there. In fact, that was the bulk of it! I think I might have changed my mind about this toast food trend because of this dish. It was filling and satisfying, yet also light. Perfect for brunch on the weekend, especially with a bloody beside it.