06.09.08
Posted in Latin, Lower East Side, New York City Neighborhoods, New York City Reviews, Steak, rated 6 to 6.5 at 23:49 by Dominique
152 Stanton & Suffolk St., 646-602-2004
Great for: sizzling steak platters, undercover meetings, Argentinean wine, semi-al fresco dining
My best friend E and I decided to have dinner locally. This place seemed as good as any, and was pretty reasonably priced. It is basically all French windows so it’s great for sitting outside without really being outside. Be careful of the bugs though, E got bitten all over.
We just got one appetizer, the camaroncitos, which were sizzling Patagonian whole baby shrimps with olive oil, white wine and parsley. They were pretty large shrimp and tasty, though the seasoning was wasted on their shells. That always annoys me. You marinate the shrimp in some lovely seasoning and then peel all that sauce off anyway. I wish people would fry them up without shells.
The marinated, grilled and sliced prime sirloin (cortada) comes in a portion for two but they agreed to halve it for us. It is marinated for twenty-four hours with rosemary, thyme, sea salt, black pepper, olive oil and brandy and accompanied by mesclun and French fries. We found the meat flavorful, of a medium firmness and sometimes tender. The fries were thin and crunchy. I liked the chimichurri too. We also got the Tuesday and Wednesday special of oven-roasted suckling pig (cochinillo pampeano) with Argentine-style potato salad (rusa). I was pleased to see a nice big hunk of meat on the plate. The rusa was yummy, just the right level of sour, and nicely vegetable-intensive (carrots and onions). The hard-boiled egg white bits were a little tough though. The meat was just good, not great, with a big layer of fat. I did like the crispy outside. It kind of tasted like chicken the more we ate it. We were also puzzled by the large, inexplicable bone very like a wing, which made eating difficult.
We thought it would be fun to get a bottle of champagne. They only serve wine and beer here. The La Linda bottle for $35 was not too sweet, and kind of reminded me of soda water. I liked it but E wasn’t as enthusiastic.
Unfortunately, our service wasn’t even halfway ok. The waiters were inattentive and rude despite the restaurant not being busy. They had an annoyingly long debate about whether we could sit at a table for four (I paid attention – they didn’t need it the entire time we ate), and never asked us how things were. That was probably because they stayed far away from us after they put down the plates. They only warmed up when they were serving the check.
The restaurant itself is quite festive though, with tiny little Christmas lights that don’t do much to dispel the darkness. It’d be a great place for spies to meet. Especially since the waiters will leave you severely alone until it comes time for the bill. To be fair, the food is decent.
Rating: 6 / 10 – half point deducted for abysmal service
Our cost: $101 + $15 because they barely served us
Chance of walking in: good, although it gets busier around 8:30
Noise level: hubbub.
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05.16.08
Posted in American, Financial District, New York City Neighborhoods, New York City Reviews, Steak, rated 8 to 8.5 at 11:42 by Dominique
56 Beaver St. & S. William St., 212-509-1144
Great for: old-school dishes, very heavy dinners, Alienist fans, business dinners (not lunch unless you want to fall into food coma afterward)
The Boyfriend had some friends visiting from England, and we wanted to show them a classic New York experience. I’ve had a soft spot in my heart for Delmonico’s since I read Caleb Carr’s mouthwatering descriptions in the Alienist, so I was really happy B picked it.
The six of us figured we’d have more than enough food with just entrées and sides. Two of us got the classic Delmonico’s 20 ounce boneless ribeye with crispy onion rings. It was so good! Juicy and tasty. And yes, I finished mine, I’m a proud carnivore first and a small woman second. Two others got the bone-in aged New York strip while, I think, the other guy got the 24 ounce T-bone. They were all quite happy with theirs. Those of us who tried both the ribeye and the NY strip agreed that the ribeye was slightly better, though. B’s lobster Newburg (said to be created here) in brandy cream was excellent; creamy, with some spicy caviar on the claws. I can see why that dish caught on in other restaurants.
We got six side dishes as well that maintained the high quality of the meal. The perfect hash browns did not quite live up to their name, being only good, as was the parmesan creamed spinach. We liked better the crisp, delicious French fries and broccoli in (less as requested) garlic and oil. The best things were the garlic and chive mashed potatoes and truffled potato purée.
After all this food, some of us were still able to make a valiant attempt at dessert. Two of the guys split a wonderful molten chocolate cake. I had the Delmonico’s sunday [sic] with candied almond slices, hot fudge, caramel sauce, fresh whipped cream and a cherry on top, all ensconced in a chocolate-covered pastry nest. Instead of vanilla, strawberry and cinnamon scoops, I asked for only vanilla and strawberry because I hate cinnamon (I think I’m allergic). The waiter was rude about it but finally understood and accepted what I wanted. It was a terrific sundae, with fruit chunks in the strawberry ice cream. B ordered the baked Alaska with banana ice cream, vanilla sauce and apricot jam and we loved it. Delmonico’s claims to have created that too – they certainly made it well enough to convince anyone that’s true.
Unfortunately, I can’t praise the service as I did the food. Our waiter looked much too young for a hearing aid but nevertheless seemed to need one. And he did not once attend to me first. (Any high-end restaurant worth its salt trains its staff to serve ladies before men as a matter of polite policy.) I wouldn’t have minded, but he also ignored my empty drink glass for an hour. The boys got red wine, and I seem to recall that he didn’t lift their bottle again after pouring their initial glasses. To be fair, they were giant glasses and not all of them needed topping up.
The last straw was when he argued with me about my ice cream. Cinnamon and I don’t get along, so I politely requested only two scoops, partly to avoid the cinnamon and partly to make the sundae a little smaller. He insulted me by saying he’d still have to charge me the full price whether it was two scoops or three (did he really think a $7 dessert was my worry after a $41 steak? plus you just don’t say that to customers), and after I said “I can’t have cinnamon,” bullied me into having a replacement scoop of strawberry. He was a big dumb lug.
The décor was better. It looked like a traditional men’s club with mediocre art but lots of wood and burgundy paint. It felt very plushly masculine. Except for the annoying waiter, we had an excellent meal and I loved the old New York throwback feel.
Rating: 8.5 / 10
Our cost: $560 for 6 people (service included, 1 bottle red wine, 1 cocktail, 4 beers, 3 desserts, 4 coffees)
Noise level: low
Chance of walking in: medium.
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05.14.08
Posted in American, Midtown East, Murray Hill, New York City Neighborhoods, New York City Reviews, Steak, rated 9 to 10 at 17:35 by Dominique
155 E.42nd & Lexington/3rd Ave., 212-953-2000
Great for: business meals, wine, seafood, meat gluttony, padding yourself with fat
I’ve been hearing about this place for years and never managed to go. One random Wednesday we just decided to pay a visit. I’m so glad we did. It’s fantastic. I probably gained 5 pounds, but it was worth it.
We only had to wait about 15 minutes for a table, during which time I enjoyed a delicious Stoli Doly pineapple martini (not as girly as it sounds). They sat us close to the absolutely lovely glass atrium. The food certainly lived up to the beauty of the surroundings. My lobster and crab cakes were great, with huge chunks of lobster and hardly any filler, accompanied by lovely peppery corn salsa to counteract the near-sweetness of the seafood. The tangy horseradish sauce on the sauce rounded out the dish nicely. The Boyfriend’s shrimp cocktail was terrific too.
At our waiter’s suggestion, I got sirloin Oscar, which is steak covered in crab, asparagus and béarnaise sauce. (I’d had very little for lunch.) He had suggested the sirloin as a nice balance between the flavor of ribeye and the tenderness of filet mignon. It was juicy and fantastic. Everything else was incredibly well done, too; the crab was tender and the asparagus crispy without those nasty stringy bits I sometimes find. B’s porcini-rubbed Delmonico with 12-year-old balsamic vinaigrette was a perfectly cooked medium rare. It doesn’t actually have mushrooms in the final dish, and I couldn’t taste them anyway. It was just wonderful.
We tried not to go overboard with the sides, as is so easy to do at steakhouses – we got half portions of two things. The creamed spinach was great, not too creamy; Sam’s mashed potatoes was creamy but with lumps and skin so it still had the texture of potatoes. B said they were his favorite version ever, and he is a mashed potato fanatic.
Finally we couldn’t stuff any more food in, and had time to look around. There were lots of fat old white men and business clientele. Oddly enough, there were deer heads gracing the bar area. The rest of the decor was good though; very corporate but nice. I was impressed by the enormous wine cellar, and also liked the old-fashioned menus as giant as the restaurant. We had a great, attentive, knowledgeable waiter, too. I can’t wait to go back.
Rating: 9/10
Our cost: $168 (a cocktail each) + 40 (waiter was great)
Noise level: civilized hum
Chance of walking in: low.
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05.12.08
Posted in American, Midtown West, New York City Neighborhoods, New York City Reviews, Steak, rated 7 to 7.5 at 17:56 by Dominique
603 W.45th St. & 11th/12th, 212-245-0002
Great for: expensive debauchery, eating with strippers on your lap, tuna tartare, having fantasies in the flesh, getting rid of a lot of cash quickly
My friend G was in NYC for a short visit, so she, her boyfriend C, our two girl friends N and L, and the Boyfriend and I did a fun strip club visit. The boys like strippers almost as much as we girls do. It turned into a crazy night.
We got a bunch of appetizers to share. The crab cake was quickly demolished. We found the Kobe beef carpaccio delicious, but no different from regular carpaccio. I actually thought Robert’s salad with shrimp, crab, avocado and tomatoes, was pretty good, despite the detested presence of avocado and tomatoes. The best starter was the creamy, salty, umami tuna tartare with quail egg and sourdough toast – fortunately there was plenty of it to go around.
We were a bit less happy with the filet mignons than I thought we’d be from Frank Bruni’s review. I quite liked mine, although I felt it was better when I ate here maybe 4 years ago. Boyfriend and L, who got the same thing, agreed that the filets seemed slightly burned and dry, as though they had all been cooked a little more than requested. As in, the Boyfriend’s medium rare seemed more a medium. The complimentary sauces were a nice touch; although the béarnaise was a bit vinegary, the cocktail sauce was good. G & C shared a good, giant ribeye. N very much liked the special of halibut in champagne cream with yellow and black caviar and so did the rest of us, whenever we could snatch bites out from under her fork.
We shared four sides as well. (A bit overambitious of us.) The potato gratin with bacon, mashed potatoes and Brussels sprouts with cream and bacon were all great. I kept checking to see that my heart hadn’t stopped from the cholesterol overload. We didn’t like the creamed spinach as much, but who could complain with so much meat floating around. The bacon, incidentally, was more lardon-style, I guess because they thought we needed more fat in our meal. We also enjoyed the beauty on display. Three or four strippers came by to flirt with us, and it was fun watching them try to figure out our table’s story and whether the guys were free to buy time with them or not.
Towards the end of the meal, we started doing shots. First I demonstrated the proper way to do a Blow Job – you have to pick up the glass using only your mouth, and toss your head back quickly to swallow the shot. You can put the glass down with your fingers though. The girls needed a little practice, so we did one more round. Interspersed with those were tequila shots, which I hate, but the Patrón went down all right. Then C and Boyfriend bought all of us girls the shot where the pretty waitress sits in your lap, pours alcohol in your mouth, and tops it off with whipped cream. I think I had two of those. At this point we decided we could get into a lot more trouble downstairs (see end – extracurricular activities don’t count towards the restaurant rating).
We had very attentive and flattering service throughout the meal. The waiters made sure to keep our drinks topped up and our places fairly free of debris. The go-go dancers over the stage were easy on the eyes, too. I love strip clubs and it’s great that I can have a good meal here plus titties in my face all at the same time. A few weeks later when I came back, the steak was better, so I would say it might be a bit uneven in execution but is pretty decent, though expensive. Make sure you get cash outside, because inside they charge 10% or something ridiculous like that.
Rating: 7 / 10
Our cost: $1320 (we did at least 4 rounds of shots with 3 or more cocktails each – a filet mignon is about $50)
Noise level: raucous party
Chance of walking in: pretty good. If you’re just coming to the strip club, it’s $40 at the door.
So downstairs the Boyfriend and I bought each other lapdances and watched our friends getting them, and then we found a very lovely Filipino girl named Leslie who is my new favorite dancer. (Sadie and Erica are pretty awesome too.) We ended up in the champagne room and I won’t go into details but it was a fantastic night.
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11.15.07
Posted in Flatiron, New York City Neighborhoods, New York City Reviews, Steak, rated 9 to 10 at 20:39 by Dominique
111 E.22nd and Park/Broadway, 212-995-8500
Great for: medium parties, bacon satiety, civilized carnivores, healthy appetites
We had some friends visiting and thought this would be a quintessential hip New York steakhouse experience for them. We adore BLT Fish and loved Prime last time we went. I called up a week in advance and was pleasantly surprised to snag a table for 6 at 8:15. As it turned out, our friends changed their trips so we asked some other friends, only one of whom could make it. I called Thursday to update our party number and found out why I’d gotten such a good time. The reservationist had booked us for Sunday! Good thing we didn’t need a 6-top anymore. We ended up being 4 at the last minute, and were lucky that the table they’d earmarked for us was not one of the 3-tops on either side of it. It probably also helped that I’d called them 30 minutes ahead when we found out the other friend was coming.
It was a miserably cold, rainy night but we were instantly warmed by the atmosphere and bustle when we walked in (their heat may have had something to do with it too). We had been looking forward to our meal all week – we went 1.5 months ago and were very happy. In fact, it became our favorite steak restaurant in NYC. Don’t skip the bread. It comes with some amazing chicken paté. I don’t like liver by itself, but this is incredibly good. Nibble the big fluffy popovers as well, although you should only try a bit of one to save room.
For appetizers we shared baby spinach salad with bacon and Stilton, the crab cake, bacon and potato skins (from the sides column). The tuna tartare was good last time, too. The salad’s ingredients worked surprisingly well together. I love when a dish is so good that it makes me like something I usually don’t, as this did for the Stilton. There was some kind of vinaigrette with it that unobtrusively unified the whole thing. The crab cake is a very thick patty, for lack of a better word, full of crab and some vegetables. It’s really good, as is the creamy sauce it sits on. The bacon comes in traditional steakhouse-style slabs, almost as good (according to Boyfriend) as at Luger’s. The potato skins are not what you’d expect; they’re very thin rectangles similar to large flat pita chips, covered in cheddar, chives and bacon. They taste even better than the greasy TGI Friday’s kind.
Our table was split between 22 oz rib-eyes and 12 oz filets. Every steak has a pat of seasoned butter on top and comes in its own skillet, a nice touch I don’t remember seeing anywhere else. You have the option of maybe 10 different sauces with your steak – I got Béarnaise. Usually restaurants charge extra for sauce, so I like that it’s part of your order here. Especially since each cut is about $40 or more. There was no conversation for a good 10 minutes, as we were too busy devouring everything in sight. They do steak extremely well. It’s juicy and tender and generally the outside is perfectly crisp. One corner of my filet was a little charred this time but I ate around it. Boyfriend was also very happy with his filet, and the other guys tried heroically to finish their giant rib-eyes. Those come with the “eye” full of cooked marrow and a little spoon. My friends said one was a little overcooked and the other a bit under, but seemed pretty happy generally.
The sides come in cute little skillets too – we had leek hash browns, creamed spinach, mashed potatoes and the special artichoke hash browns with bacon. Didn’t really like the last (except the bacon, of course) and I think the leek version is maybe too big a portion for how heavy it is. The spinach was pretty good. The mashed potatoes were the star of the sides, though. They’re a little sweet, look kind of like polenta and are irresistible.
At this point we were completely stuffed with bacon, steak, potatoes and more steak, almost a pound of beef each. I had the Moscato d’Asti – sweet and lovely – and the guys had double espressos. They have some good cocktails as well. The pomegranate sidecar and caipirinha are very good. I found the grapefruit one slightly too citrusy.
The service is great. They’re warm and friendly, and happy to help even if you’re not in their section. They won’t push you to order more expensive things – I finished my Grey Goose soda when they cleared our steaks, and asked the waitress if I should get another one ($12) or the Moscato ($9). Without hesitation she said the Moscato, and she was right. The vodka wouldn’t have rounded out my meal the same way. We like the ambience a lot, too – it makes you feel happy and fun and of course well-fed. I like the giant meat room you can see through glass as you walk into the dining area. It’s good that it doesn’t feel too full of testosterone, the way some more traditional steakhouses do. You could have a lovely date, boys’ or girls’ night out, business dinner… Definitely one of my favorite places in all of Manhattan.
Rating: 9 / 10
Our cost (4 people, ~2 drinks each): $480
Noise level: Well controlled, especially with so many people. We had a pleasant four-way conversation without raising our voices much.
Chance of walking in: Medium, but it seems pretty easy to get a reservation a day or two in advance.
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