Gold St.

Note: Gold St. closed on April 1, 2009. It re-opened as Harry’s Italian.

*

Has a diner ever had so much attention? Practically every newspaper, magazine, or blog in town that chronicles restaurant openings mentioned Gold St., the latest brainchild of Harry Poulakakos, who owns Harry’s Steak, Harry’s Café, and various other Lower Manhattan restaurants.

To be fair, Gold St. isn’t quite a diner. It has an executive chef (Patrick Vacciariello from the Smith & Wollensky chain), a chef de cuisine (Tony Landeros), and a sushi bar. It serves a few items not found at many diners, like Kobe Beef Sliders and Fries with brie fondue, to say nothing of the sushi. But in other ways, it’s very much a diner, with the predictable burgers and meat loaf, on a menu long enough to include far more than any kitchen can execute well.

Gold St. is also the Financial District’s first 24-hour restaurant, located at the epicenter of a neighborhood now dominated by rental and condo conversions. It might not be the East Village, but the area has as much need of 24×7 food as any other, and now we have it.

If you come to Gold St. expecting fine dining (as NYCnosh did), you’ll be disappointed. If you come looking for a “diner plus…,” you’ll probably conclude (as Bloomberg did) that Gold St. is “just about right.”

Slow Roast Pork ($15), cooked on a rotisserie all day, had a nice pink barbecue texture. Peas and carrots were expertly done. There was nothing special about the fries, and the tomato salsa garnish seemed unnecessary. I had nothing else, aside from two diet cokes ($3.25 each, no refills) and a coffee ($2).

I’m not going to recite the various menu categories, but the cheapest dinner item is a hamburger ($8), while the most expensive non-sushi choice is grilled shrimp ($22). The very long sushi menu has the usual suspects, and some creative ones, like an Angry Spider roll ($11.50) and a Yellow Tail Tasting ($12.50). Sushi combo platters run all the way up to $52. The breakfast and dessert menus have all of the expected items, and the back page of the menu lists a number of fruit smoothies. There is also a full bar and a modest wine list.

There’s nothing original about the vaguely retro 1950s décor, but the seats and banquettes are quite comfortable, and the waitresses wear short, short skirts. Service was attentive, although the restaurant wasn’t very busy when I visited. I saw Harry Poulakakos himself nervously pacing around, which was unexpected on a Sunday evening.

Be it ever so humble, I’m glad Gold St. has arrived. Most importantly, it means the Financial District as a residential neighborhood has arrived. Unfortunately, I’m moving way uptown this summer, so I won’t be around long to appreciate it.

Gold St. (2 Gold Street at Maiden Lane, Financial District)

P. J. Clarke's on the Hudson

I tried P. J Clarke’s on the Hudson with my 11-year-old son about a week ago. It is basically a slightly more upscale version of Houlihan’s. Spectacular views of New York Harbor and the Statue of Liberty are about all that distinguishes it from a mass of similar restaurants around town.

Frank Bruni wasted a reviewing slot here, awarding zero stars:

It’s better than snobs would like to think and worse than contrarians would hasten to claim, which may be another way of saying that it’s usually serviceable and sometimes respectable.

At least he provided a history of the world-famous urinals.

For the record, a Farmer’s Omelet ($10.80) for me and a Buffalo Chicken sandwich ($12.20) for my son were unobjectionable. Service was pretty much invisible until it was time for the check, and suddenly our server became unnaturally chummy.

The original P. J. Clarke’s has been on the Upper East Side for something like 12o years. Perhaps it has some residual charm that this mass-produced version lacks.

P. J. Clarke’s on the Hudson (Four World Financial Center, Battery Park City)

Food: Acceptable
Service: Mediocre
Ambiance: Just like Houlihan’s
Overall: Acceptable

Harry's Café and Harry's Steak

Note: Click here for a more recent review of Harry’s Steak.

When I started working on Wall Street in 1989, Harry’s at Hanover Square was the quintessential “good ol’ boys” restaurant. Located at One Hanover Square in the landmarked India House, in the heart of the Financial District, it catered primarily to brokers and investment bankers. A big horseshoe-shaped bar dominated the space. It wasn’t known for its food.

Harry Poulakakos retired a few years ago. The space was carved up; two restaurants on Stone Street now occupy space that was formerly part of Harry’s. The main restaurant was closed for approximately 2½ years. Harry’s son gutted the place, and it has now re-opened as two separate but connected restaurants: Harry’s Café and Harry’s Steak. (Papa Harry is still associated with the place, as an advisor.)

The two technically have separate entrances: Harry’s Café at 1 Hanover Square, Harry’s Steak at the adjacent 97 Pearl Street. They are listed separately on Zagat and Menupages. But they have a common website, and apparently a common kitchen. The steak restaurant, which is smaller, is located in the former wine cellar of Harry’s at Hanover Square.

The steakhouse menu has pretty much the standard items and price structure that you would expect in Manhattan. The café menu has some of the steakhouse appetizers, but only one actual entree in common (the Dry Aged New York Strip on the bone, $41). The café’s entrees are more eclectic, with everything from lemon sole ($22) to “the original crackling pork shank” ($25), whatever that may be.

I was actually looking for the steakhouse, but wandered into the café instead. The staff advised that the café doesn’t normally offer the full steak menu, except on weekends, when the café is open but the steakhouse is not. But they let me order from the steak menu anyway. I chose the bone-in rib steak ($38.50). This was an enormous hunk of beef, possibly two inches thick before cooking. It was perfectly marbled and aged, and comparable to the two best ribeyes I’ve had in New York, at Strip House and Nebraska Beef.

At the café (but not the steakhouse), steaks come with fries and creamed spinach without any extra charge. There was no way I could finish all that food, but I noted that the spinach was excellent. The helping of fries was enormous and could easily have served several people. The bread service was above average.

Service was friendly and efficient. There was a bit of a delay in getting my steak out of the kitchen, and although I did not complain about it at all, they comped a glass of wine anyway. The décor is still in the burnished mahogany of the old Harry’s, but the space seems a bit more open and inviting.

The restaurant wasn’t full, but they have only opened recently, and are still building word-of-mouth. The clientele seemed to be a mix, rather than the pure Wall Street types you used to see in Harry’s at Hanover Square. The fact that the café is now open seven days a week speaks volumes to how the financial district has changed. Back in 1989, you could roll a bowling ball down Broad Street on a Saturday without striking anyone. It’s now a family neighborhood, with residential conversions on just about every block.

Harry’s Café (1 Hanover Square) and Harry’s Steak (97 Pearl Street), Financial District

Food: *½
Service: **
Ambiance: *
Overall: *½

It’s hard to judge by just one visit, but based on what I saw yesterday, Harry’s is doing an impressive job.

Farewell MJ Grill

MJ Grill, the casual outpost of Mark Joseph Steakhouse, is under new management. Although the signage and decor remain the same, it is now an Italian place. Within the next 2-3 months, it will be renamed Amici.

One thing that hasn’t changed is the lack of a dinner crowd. Just like every time I’ve been there, you find oceans of empty tables once you get past the bar. You’ve got to wonder if an unremarkable Italian place is going to have any more luck at attracting patrons.

The menu doesn’t break any new ground. I had a rather dull crab cake caesar salad, although my friend loved the veal parmagiana. There is still a cheeseburger on offer, but I have no idea if it’s as good as MJ Grill’s version. On the whole, it’s a menu that could have dropped in right out of Little Italy—which I don’t necessarily think is a bad thing, but it’s not going to turn many heads.

Service on a Tuesday night was extremely slow, despite the lack of patronage. We were offered complimentary after-dinner drinks, which unfortunately we had to decline.

MJ Grill, soon to be Amici (110 John Street at Cliff Street, Financial District)

Food: Okay
Service: Fair
Ambiance: Okay
Overall: Okay

Cafeteria

Cafeteria is open 24 hours a day. It’s perfectly suited to clubland exiles who need a place to get over their 4am hangovers. A branch in Miami Beach no doubt appeals to the same type of crowd. But for Sunday brunch, which my friend and I tried yesterday, you can do a lot better.

Cafeteria isn’t a cafeteria. It’s a restaurant with sit-down service. Perhaps I should put “service” in quotes, because there wasn’t much of it. The milk to go with our too-strong coffee was served in a sugar bowl. You can imagine the mess when we poured it. Omelets took about 25 minutes to come out of the kitchen. (To that, add the 25 minutes we waited for a table.) Each omelet came with just a single slice of toast. We had to ask for butter.

The omelets were fine: nice and fluffy, with goat cheese and mushrooms (we both ordered the same). But nothing to rush back for.

Cafeteria (119 Seventh Avenue at 17th Street, Chelsea)

Food: Satisfactory
Service: Poor
Ambiance: Fair
Overall: Fair

Brunch at Steamers Landing

Note: As of January 2011, Steamers Landing is now Merchants River House.

*

I enjoy living in Lower Manhattan, but my friends have often heard me complain about the lack of good brunch restaurants east of Broadway. Not the lack of restaurants (as there’s a good supply of them), but specifically the lack of restaurants with great brunch menus. I don’t necessarily mean “great” as in Normas, Sarabeth’s Kitchen, Bubby’s or Balthazar, but simply a solid weekend brunch place with a variety of omlettes, pancakes, waffles, etc.

Well, such places don’t seem to exist east of Broadway, which restauranteurs perhaps still think is a Monday-to-Friday neighborhood. A place around the corner from me called Cafe 92 serves low-end diner food, but it’s so limited and ordinary that one quickly tires of it. It’s a bit embarrassing to take guests there, although on occasion I have done so. That leaves the west side, where – thanks to Battery Park City and TriBeCa South – options are a bit more numerous. However, it is a longer walk. This weekend, I found a romantic brunch setting that might just be worth it: Steamers Landing, located on the Battery Park City esplanade between Liberty and Albany Streets.

I’d often walked by Steamers Landing while enjoying the view on the esplanade – one of Manhattan’s least known scenic treasures – but for some reason it never occurred to me to walk by for brunch. Turns out they have a wonderful brunch menu. Steamers Landing will never eclipse the city’s more famous high-end brunch eateries for its food alone, but they do a fine job, and on top of that is a spectacular view of the Hudson that beats just about any other restaurant in the city. Steamers Landing serves lunches and dinners too, but that’ll be a topic for another day.

Some Saturday or Sunday morning, when the weather is nice, head on out to Battery Park City and try out Steamers Landing for brunch. Be sure to sit in the outdoor garden. After that, take a nice long walk on the esplanade and walk off the calories you just inhaled. You’ll be glad you did.

Steamers Landing (375 South End Avenue between Liberty and Albany Streets, Battery Park City)

A Diner That Sleeps, in a City that Doesn't

Two friends and I popped into the Brooklyn Diner last night after a concert at Carnegie Hall that ran late. The place pulls in a lot of post-concert business, as it’s one of the better choices in the area for a light bite.

Unfortunately, the kitchen closes at 11:30pm, and we just missed the chance to order real food. We were able to order desserts, but my diabetic friend was out of luck.

Now, I accept that the Brooklyn Diner can choose to serve dinner whenever it wants, but we all found it odd to find the kitchen closed at a place that caters to late dining, in a neighborhood where one expects to be able to do so, and at an hour when business was still brisk.

Brooklyn Diner (212 W. 57th St. between Sixth & Seventh Avenues, West Midtown)

O’Neals’ Restaurant, Lincoln Center

Note: O’Neals’ closed in mid-2010. A branch of Stephen Hanson’s Atlantic Grill replaced it.

*

This venerable Lincoln Center restaurant re-opened fairly recently after a two-year renovation. O’Neals’ is trying to become more up-scale, with entrees in the $20 to $32 range. At about $4 less, they would have been fairly priced. Cream of asparagus soup and veal risotto were satisfactory, but I won’t be rushing back.

O’Neals’ (49 W. 64th St. between Broadway & Central Park West, Upper West Side)