11.26.10
Posted in American, Barbecue, New York City, New York City Reviews, rated 7 to 7.5, West Village at 02:07 by Dominique
178 W. Houston & 6th Ave., 212-741-7390
Great for: ribs, buffalo wings, takeout
I have no idea how I’ve never heard of this place when I’m such a huge barbecue fan. Apparently it’s been around for years. It is about the size of a postage stamp with a grand total of four tables, though. That’s probably why takeout is 10% off.
I shared a brisket and 1/4 rack combo platter with stuffing, potato salad and cornbread. The ribs were truly fall-off-the-bone delicious and I could definitely have had more. Could use some right now, in fact. They were balanced between sweet and savory just the way I like, decidedly on the savory side. The stuffing was very good – I found it a bit bready but that’s what stuffing is, so I didn’t really mind. The potato salad is creamy and liquid instead of with mayo, which is odd but still tastes good. I was somewhat disappointed in the tender but not fantastic brisket. It maybe needed more braising or marinating.
I loved the eight medium-size buffalo wings. They were very crisp despite dripping with sauce, which was spicy without destroying my taste buds. Definitely one of the better versions I’ve had. Damn, I just made myself hungry again.
It’s a cute, quaint little restaurant. The owner/chef is nice and you might get to know some strangers while you’re pressed up against them eating delicious meat. I may need to stop by soon for some more ribs and wings.
Rating: 7.5 / 10
Our cost: $35 (1 combo platter, 1 order wings, no drinks)
Noise level: noise is unavoidable in such a small space
Chance of walking in: not good. Takeout is definitely an acceptable option.
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10.25.10
Posted in Asian, Barbecue, Japanese, Lower East Side, New York City, New York City Reviews, rated 8 to 8.5 at 00:30 by Dominique
198 Orchard and Houston Sts. [already closed, sadly]
Great for: hibachi, of course
The dreaded NYC hibachi curse has struck again. I was so happy when I noticed this place opened up by my house, and devastated when I realized after several unanswered phone calls that they had closed in a few short months. I guess this is a bit of a useless review, but at least I can memorialize them. Cheap, delicious and nearby – I’m gutted they didn’t make it.
The then-Boyfriend and I liked the edamame, though $4 was a little much for it. The tempura appetizer with two giant shrimp and five large vegetable slices was crisp, light, wonderful and only $6.95. (Maybe that’s why they went out of business.) I am so tired of Japanese restaurants that charge an arm and a leg for maybe one shrimp, one sad little broccoli spear and a mushroom or slice of taro. This app was a big step in the right direction.
I was delighted with my hibachi entrée of filet mignon plus shrimp with fried rice and side of broccoli. The beef was not super tender but everything was very flavorful and I could tell they didn’t just drown it all in butter, which is usually why hibachi tastes so awesome. I was surprised to get four broccoli pieces for $4, especially considering the entire entrée was only $11.95. He got filet mignon plus teriyaki chicken, which was absolutely fantastic. I wish I’d been able to have it again so I could figure out how to make it myself. The mango ice cream was also great and enormous, to boot.
Not only did JC have mostly cheap, very tasty food, the décor was nice and restrained. Benihana could learn something from them. There was a sushi bar in front and they made the hibachi things in the kitchen. My impression, admittedly from just one visit, is that maybe they didn’t think through their pricing very well. Some things were oddly expensive, while others were strangely cheap. I am not sure I could buy filet mignon raw at Whole Foods for $11.95/pound, let alone cooked and with shrimp and fried rice. The location was good for foot traffic and random walk-ins, so I don’t think that was it. Anyway, I am very sad they closed. I really wanted to support them and it’s too bad I didn’t get the chance to do so more than once.
Rating: 8.5 / 10 (extra .5 for being super cheap and really good)
Our cost: $$45 (15% off)
Noise level: quiet
Chance of walking in: will never happen again. *sob*
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08.13.10
Posted in Asian, Barbecue, Midtown Central, New York City, New York City Reviews, rated 7 to 7.5 at 23:42 by Dominique
32 W.32nd St. & 5th/6th Aves., 212-947-8482
Great for: apps, good cheap Korean barbecue
There is lots of Korean bbq in New York. A great deal of it is mediocre and expensive, though, and especially in Koreatown, it’s hard to figure out which kind is which just by looking. I am here to tell you that Kom Tang hits the sweet spot in terms of being delicious and not breaking the bank. After years, I finally found the grail!
The man doo gui, fried beef dumplings, are terrific. The small hae mool pa jun, a seafood and vegetable pancake, is actually pretty big, and soft and scrumptious. There are a bunch of other appetizers and mains I would definitely go back for as well.
The meat comes in nice huge portions and the waiter cooks it for you. We tried the bul go gi sirloin and the kal bi sirloin tips, which were both delicious. The menu offers lots of other combinations that are also great deals. The tiny free plates are yummy as well. Next time you’re hammered after karaoke, any hour, any time, you know where to go.
Rating: 7.5 / 10
Our cost: $85 (2 beers, 2 apps, 2 plates meat)
Noise level: probably noisy when busy
Chance of walking in: pretty good. They’re open 24 hours.
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02.22.10
Posted in Asian, Barbecue, Midtown Central, New York City, New York City Reviews, rated 7 to 7.5 at 22:27 by Dominique
10 W.32nd St. & 5th/6th Aves., 212-594-4963
Great for: entrées, probably barbecue (everyone else had it)
This was a lucky spin of the Koreatown restaurant roulette wheel. We did not get barbecue this time, because I wasn’t sure the Boyfriend would like it – we’re slowly expanding his thoroughly American food horizons – but I would happily come back and try it.
There were lots of pickled vegetables in the small plates. The chawan mushi and tofu were the best. We enjoyed the giant pizza-roll-looking mandoo. They’re definitely a good value at that size.
His je yuk dubu kimchi, a boneless chicken breast in house sauce, was impressively tasty. It didn’t look like a whole breast’s worth of meat, and was a little odd, but we really liked it. The beef and seafood soondubu was also good. It was spicy and tasty and the tofu was silky, as proper soondubu should be. Much better than BCD Tofu House.
Rating: 7 / 10
Our cost: $55
Noise level: fairly quiet
Chance of walking in: good.
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11.18.09
Posted in American, Barbecue, Lower East Side, New York City, New York City Reviews, rated 8 to 8.5 at 13:06 by Dominique
192 Orchard & E. Houston Sts., 212-253-6280
Great for: fried chicken, ribs, everything really
I love food. (Obviously.) However, I also have to be thin for my careers. I try to use my obsessive love of food as motivation nowadays – so whenever I have a craving for something, I require myself to nail an audition, book a job, or perform well before I can have it. This cuts down on impulsive yummy fattening food, plus I burn some energy working hard to earn it. I think in this case I had a couple successful auditions and ribs and fried chicken were my treat.
I got the fried chicken dinner with French fries and potato salad (which they forgot). It is three big pieces of chicken with lovely crunchy spicy skin. I wished that much of the fat or thick skin had been taken off but it was very good. The fries were great too. Being a greedy little piglet, I also got a half rack of ribs that were literally fall-off-the-bone tender. There was lots of fat, and the ribs were well spiced with a wet and dry rub. They definitely gave me ideas for next time I make ribs at home! I wish Georgia’s weren’t so expensive so I could have more.
The restaurant itself is quite small, with seven deuces and four counter stools. I got takeout because I wanted to watch tv too. You cannot make substitutions and they only take cash. It’s cheap for NYC – I’m still in sticker shock over how much lunch at Hill Country was – but not very cheap compared to 4 dumplings for $1 a few blocks over. (Vanessa’s Dumplings ftw!) The employees are very friendly, notwithstanding the ancient shotgun hanging on one wall.
Rating: 8 / 10
My cost: $25 (I kind of ordered 2 dinners)
Noise level: fairly quiet
Chance of walking in: probably not very good on busy nights.
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04.09.09
Posted in American, Barbecue, Gramercy, New York City, New York City Reviews, rated 7 to 7.5 at 02:26 by Dominique
30 W.26th St. & 5th/6th Aves., 212-255-4544
Great for: brisket, mac & cheese, sausage, corn casserole
I was wandering in the area one day and meant to go home for lunch except I happened to see Hill Country first. And being the carnivore I am, I had to stop and see if it was worth all the fuss. It is, but the quality doesn’t come cheap. And I don’t know much about barbecue besides “this tastes good” so I won’t get into the whole authenticity debate.
I got three slices of the brisket, as I’d heard it’s a can’t-miss. I opted for lean, though; a girl’s gotta stay slender in New York. I think that’s why I found it tender but not as moist as could be desired. I liked how big the slices were, too. The two pork ribs matched them in size and had lots of fat and lovely black pepper outside. The meat was so soft it almost fell off the bone by itself, but I found the fat distracting. I tried not to overorder and got just one delicious jalapeño and cheese sausage in addition. I wanted to try the regular kind as well, until I saw they are fit for giants. They’re also fit for picky eaters, as I found hardly any filler stuff and they were bursting with juicy goodness.
I got to try three sides for the price of one large mac and cheese (it wasn’t busy, and I charmed one of the pitmasters). I can see why the mac and cheese is a favorite. The long pointy penne and creamy cheesiness are delightful and I actually devoured the little cup of it before the meat! Once I started I couldn’t stop. The green bean casserole was pretty good but I found the beans too crunchy and the mushrooms too large. I don’t think there was any ham in it either. I loved the corn casserole/pudding. The cornbread was not bland as so often happens, while the corn held its own, texturally.
I think the footpedal-operated sinks outside the bathrooms are a good idea. The waiters and all the guys behind the counters were very nice, although it was a rainy weekday midafternoon and they may just have been glad to see a customer. The meats are sold by the pound, while the sides are priced per big or little cup. It does add up quickly; the meats aren’t cheap. But I really liked the place and it was definitely enough food to keep me happy until dinnertime.
Rating: 7.5 / 10
My cost: $28
Noise level: raucous party at peak times I’m sure
Chance of walking in: it’s like an enormous barn, so you’re probably fairly safe to get a seat soon.
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11.15.07
Posted in Barbecue, Gramercy, New York City, New York City Reviews, rated 9 to 10 at 20:50 by Dominique
116 E. 27th and Lexington/Park, 212-447-7733
Great for: self-medicating with comfort food, impressing Southern friends, inducing meat coma, seeing how down-to-earth your date is
Blue Smoke is the restaurateur Danny Meyer’s homage to American food and pit barbecue. The Boyfriend and I have stupidly tried to walk in several times – we’re a bit impulsive – and invariably got a courteous “the wait will be 45 minutes.” This time we put our names down at 5:30, went back at 6:30 and only had to wait 10 minutes. The Boyfriend’s company had Blue Smoke cater their Christmas party, and he’s been making me drool with loving descriptions of their macaroni and cheese ever since, so our expectations were pretty high.
We started with a nice Illinois Porch Swing (Tanqueray 10, prosecco and lemon juice) for me and a Heineken for him as we dove into the menu. We pretty much wanted to get everything, but limited ourselves to an appetizer of Peel ‘n’ Eat Shrimp, Rhapsody in ‘Cue for him, lean brisket for me, and sides of creamed spinach and of course mac and cheese. Oh my god. The shrimp were our first clue that this was no ordinary bbq joint. They’re seasoned and spiced to a high degree of deliciousness, not just boiled – we were sorely tempted to get another order before our entrees arrived.
When we saw his platter of St. Louis ribs, pulled pork, chicken and sausage and mine of piping hot beef with mashed potatoes and onion sticks, we just looked at each other in glee. and when our waitress set down the sides, we could restrain ourselves no longer. I can say, without a doubt, that that was the most amazing creamed spinach I have ever tasted. I tore myself away after several bites to try the mac and cheese, which was fully as good as the Boyfriend had said, plus it didn’t taste as heavy as I worried it would. I don’t have brisket that often and once I tasted mine, I really wasn’t sure why. It was as moist and juicy as I could hope. So was everything on the Boyfriend’s plate. We didn’t talk until we’d finished, except for “Mmmm” and “Wow.” I highly suggest using the sides as sauce on your meat. We pretty much cleaned our plates in about 15 minutes.
We meant to stop there, but were persuaded to have dessert. I’d gotten a decent Coltrane’s Resolution (sparkling wine, Lillet, and blood orange juice) after the shrimp and decided to continue drinking with the new sundae on the menu, I think it was called Granddad. It’s basically a yummy bourbon ice cream float. The Boyfriend had some but he’s not into brown liquors. I’m usually not either, but the strong cocktails made me think I was. Just kidding, it was quite yummy. Finally we waddled home.
All the staff were very good. The friendly hostess advised us on when to come back to minimize our wait time, and our waitress was cheerful and helpful without being too familiar. Someone accidentally put a nearby table’s desserts on our bill, but she took care of that right away. It looked like the people around us were happy with their service, too. It’s a fun, casual atmosphere there, definitely a place you’d want to go with a big group of friends if you can get a reservation. In fact, they have some large tables that look permanently set up, so a big party might actually have better luck. I can’t wait to go back.
Rating: 9 / 10
Noise level: happy-noisy but the kind where you can talk quietly to each other
Our cost: $140 (several drinks)
Chance of walking in: very low, unless you want to eat at 5:30. Definitely make reservations a few days in advance.
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