Staghorn Steakhouse

I’m on a mission to try all of the steakhouses in town. The other day, it was Staghorn Steakhouse’s turn.

Before I even tasted a morsel, I was struck by the austere décor. Frank Bruni (on his blog) thought that it was built on-the-cheap. I took it as a considered decision to break out of steakhouse clichés, and I’m glad they did. The blonde wood floors, white walls, and generously spaced tables made the space feel more relaxing than most other restaurants of its kind.

Service, however, was right out of the steakhouse playbook. Bread rolls were cold and stale. When I asked about wines by the glass, the waiter blurted out a list of grapes (merlot, shiraz, cabernet, pinot noir, chianti), but there was no printed list so that you’d know which shiraz they were serving. No other restaurant in its price range would be so cavalier about wines, but nearly all steakhouses seem to do it.

The meat entrées were the usual items, at the usual prices. I ordered the prime bone-in ribeye ($36), which was nicely charred and a perfect medium rare, but not quite as tender as some other ribeyes I’ve enjoyed, and marred by gristle in a couple of spots. I don’t hold the restaurant entirely accountable for this, as these days there are too many buyers chasing not enough beef. The server informed me that the steak was aged on-site for 28 days, which seemed believable.

The seafood menu (though I didn’t sample it) looked a bit better than some other steakhouses, including a Dover Sole and a Grilled Whole Branzini.

The restaurant wasn’t particularly crowded, although on a Thursday night in mid-August I wouldn’t draw any conclusions. However, the location isn’t in its favor. I’ve walked by a number of times, and it never seemed full. As Eater noted, Staghorn probably does good business before Knick and Ranger games. I don’t know if that’s enough to stay in business, but as it’s on my way home, I’ll probably be back.

On the strength of one visit, Staghorn Steakhouse seems a notch below the city’s better steakhouses, but it’s certainly respectable, and its calmer ambiance might be just right for some occasions.

Staghorn Steakhouse (315 W. 36th Street between Eighth and Ninth Avenues, West Midtown)

Food: *
Service: Satisfactory
Ambiance: **
Overall: *

Smith & Wollensky

Smith & Wollensky isn’t quite the dean of New York steakhouses, but at thirty years old, it predates most this city’s beef emporiums. There are now S&W’s in nine cities. In New York alone, the same restaurant group also owns Post House and Quality Meats, in addition to the flagship at 49th & 3rd.

I believe I paid my first visit to S&W around fifteen years ago. My only recollection is the after-dinner cigars we enjoyed at the bar, an experience that couldn’t be reproduced today. A few weeks ago, a friend visiting from out of town was in a steakhouse mood. We chose S&W, as it was near his hotel.

S&W offers the same generic menu, at the same generic prices, that you find at most New York steakhouses. We both ordered the filet mignon, which came in a huge double portion. It was charred, nicely aged, and prepared to the correct temperature. The server was no doubt aware that it came with an ample helping of vegetables, but he didn’t mention that as we ordered an entirely unnecessary side order of creamed spinach.

The décor is unremarkable. When I wandered around looking for the restroom, it struck me that the upkeep was a bit sloppy, with various carts and trays left lying around in a hallway.

Smith & Wollensky has enjoyed four full New York Times reviews—a remarkable achievement for a formula restaurant. In December 1977, shortly after it opened, Mimi Sheraton rated it “Fair.” The format has apparently changed over time, as Sheraton described Smith & Wollensky as an “Italian steakhouse,” and there certainly is no vestige of that today. For the record, there never was anyone named Smith or Wollensky; the founder, Alan Stillman, chose those two names at random out of a Manhattan telephone directory.

In 1986, Bryan Miller upgraded the restaurant to “Satisfactory,” and then again in 1990 to one star. In its most recent review, in 1997, Ruth Reichl called it “A Steakhouse to End All Arguments,” awarding two stars. It was a peculiar headline, given her admission that she preferred Peter Luger (to which she had awarded three stars). To her, the difference was that at Smith & Wollensky you could order a fish entrée, and not feel like it had been an afterthought.

In  the last several years, there has been a glut of new steakhouses. Many of them mindlessly follow the traditional format, but a few have actually improved on it, such as BLT Prime, Porter House, and S&W’s sister establishment, Quality Meats. I suspect even Ruth Reichl would agree that, these days, a traditional steakhouse needs a little something extra to win two stars. These newer restaurants have it; Smith & Wollensky does not.

Smith & Wollensky (797 Third Avenue at 49th Street, East Midtown)

Food: *
Service: Fair
Ambiance: *
Overall: *

Bistecca Fiorentina

Bistecca Fiorentina is one of those Italian restaurants on Restaurant Row that looks like it’s been around forever. Actually, it has only been around since 2004, which makes it a youngster by the standards of that neighborhood. I selected it for an uncomplicated family meal before an evening at the theater.

Crostini; Tomato and goat cheese salad


Veal; Cheesecake

Italian waiters well schooled in the “Little Italy” style delivered competent service in an attractive “white table cloth” space. Perhaps it was not the best idea to visit a restaurant named for steak, and not order a steak. But that’s what we did. The food was fine all around, but basically indistinguishable from what is available at a hundred other Italian restaurants.

Bistecca Fiorentina (317 W. 46th St., west of Eighth Avenue, Theater District)

Food: Satisfactory
Service: *
Ambiance: *
Overall: Satisfactory

Harry's Steak

I’ve written about Harry’s Steak twice now (here; here), and normally wouldn’t have thought there was any more worth saying about the place.

But the other night they were offering a special so unusual that I had to blog about it: a bone-in filet mignon. Filet is virtually always served off-the-bone, so I was sufficiently curious that I ordered it. Steaks cooked on the bone are usually more flavorful, and that certainly seemed true here. The combination wet–dry aging process left it with a cool mineral flavor. It was cooked with a nice char, to the requested medium-rare temperature.

Harry’s offers all of the usual steakhouse sides, but I ordered the Peas & Bacon ($8.50), which is a bit more offbeat. It was the kind of dish that could make me into a pea-lover (not an easy task), though I didn’t taste much of the bacon.

When the bill arrived, I was surprised to learn that the filet was $55. The other steaks at Harry’s, including their off-the-bone filet, are around the $40 mark (the going rate in Manhattan), and I had no reason to expect the filet would be any different. Most restaurants don’t recite the price of the specials unless you ask. But I do think they have an obligation to say something if one of the specials is significantly more expensive than the rest of their menu.

In multiple visits to Harry’s, I’ve never found it crowded. Servers are friendly and competent, but as noted here and on past occasions, they have a tendency to up-sell. However, for the pure steak lover, Harry’s gives the better places in town a run for their money.

Harry’s Steak (97 Pearl Street at Hanover Square, Financial District)

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

BLT Prime

I previously awarded three stars to BLT Prime, based on two earlier visits—especially my first visit (the second wasn’t so impressive). Three stars for a steakhouse? Was that irrational exuberance?

Recently, I sampled the BLT experience yet again. Do Laurent Tourondel’s steakhouses kick ass? Yes, they do. Does that accomplishment warrant three stars? Probably not.

We visited on Mother’s Day at around 7:00 p.m. without a reservation. The restaurant was perhaps a little over half full. That fact signals BLT Prime’s limitation, for though the food is excellent, its heavy-handed informality is a deterrent on special occasions. (On most other nights BLT Prime seems to fill up easily—that’s my unscientific observation based on periodic OpenTable scans.)

Some aspects of the service remain incomprehensible. Given that the menu is a loose sheet of paper that obviously must be reprinted frequently—probably daily—why must the specials be printed on a separate piece of paper? And why drop off two copies of the menu, but only one of the specials? And why is the menu also displayed on large boards in a corner of the restaurant where perhaps only 20% of diners can see it?

 

The BLT restaurants are a carb-o-phile’s dream. First come two slices of country bread, with a terrific pâté to spread. Then come the legendary popovers with soft, creamy butter. At this point, anyone with a normal stomach is already feeling half-full, and the appetizers haven’t even arrived yet. Knowing this would be the case, we didn’t order appetizers and went streat to the steaks.

We were both drawn to the five-pepper crusted bone-in New York strip ($42), one of the daily specials. The mineral taste from dry aging was superb, and the steak had a beautifully charred exterior, with just the right fat content. This was about as good a preparation of NY strip as they come. Horseradish sauce (one of nine offered) complemented the steak nicely. Potato skins ($8) were competently done, but a tad too dry.

Two small petits-fours after dinner were a bonus not normally expected at a steakhouse, though we hardly needed any more calories at this point.

As it was a Sunday evening, we didn’t order a whole bottle of wine, but I noted there were no bargains to be had on the list, and wines by the glass didn’t come cheap either. We each had a glass of the house pinot noir ($14).

With Laurent Tourondel constantly opening new BLTs, he can’t be paying much attention to the existing ones. I’ve paid about nine visits in total to his various restaurants, and they can be maddeningly uneven. Brasserie Ruhlmann, the only kitchen he runs that doesn’t have his initials in the name, is an embarrassment. But at BLT Prime, he left a solid management team in place. It’s a “BLT” still worth visiting, even if Tourondel is busy elsewhere.

BLT Prime (111 East 22nd Street between Park and Lexington Avenues, Gramercy)

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

Nebraska Steakhouse

October 20, 2006: To satisfy my weekly steakhouse craving, I returned yesterday to Nebraska Steakhouse, mainly because I knew I could eat at the bar and watch the Mets game. Since my original report, I’ve been there a couple of times. All the steaks are competently prepared, but still nothing beats “The Steak,” 32 ounces of ribeye heaven.

The tables, which never seem to be full, are served by a waitstaff right out of central casting. But nowadays I usually dine at the bar, which is staffed exclusively by buxom barmaids in low-cut blouses, all of whom are from Romania. The most striking of the bunch is dressed like an advertisement for breast implants, and it turns out she owns the place. She started as a bartender, and bought the restaurant a year and a half ago. Her husband is a specialist at the stock exchange, so I have a pretty good guess where the money came from.

Last night’s crowd was in a festive mood. I stayed long past dinner and drank with a couple from Australia. They ordered the chili, which is prepared with chunks of filet mignon and comes with sour cream, cheese, and chives on the side — an impressive production that looks to be well worth ordering on a future visit.

The restaurant is still open only on weekdays, although the owner told me she plans to start a Saturday service in November. With Lower Manhattan enjoying a mini-renaissance, her exuberance is understandable. But Nebraska Beef is well off the beaten path, and unless it starts advertising (it doesn’t even have a website), it’s hard to see how the weekend traffic will find it.

Maybe I’ll drop by in a couple of months for an order of the chili, and see how it’s going.

April 18, 2007: Rather than post a new review, I’m just updating my last report. I did indeed return a month or two later for the chilli (described above), which was as good as it sounds. And last night, I paid a return visit for another helping of The Steak. The marbling this time was more uneven than I remembered it, although it is still one of the largest ribeyes in town. They seem to have hired yet another barmaid with large breast implants.

I’m changing my rating from 1½ stars to one star, not because I am any less enthusiastic, but simply because the earlier rating was out of whack. I will remind readers that one star means “good,” and is by no means a knock against the restaurant.

Nebraska Steakhouse (15 Stone Street between Broad and Whitehall Streets, Financial District)

Food: *
Service: *
Ambiance: Satisfactory
Overall: *

Easter Sunday at Quality Meats

My girlfriend, son, and I had Easter dinner at Quality Meats. This was our second visit—see earlier review—and cemented our view that Quality Meats is in the top echelon of New York steakhouses.

The most notable recent trend in Manhattan steakhouses—aside from the sheer quantity of them—is the rise of what I call “chick-friendly” steakhouses. It’s probably an unfair term, since plenty of women go to the standard Peter Luger-style steakhouses too. But at most of the classic steakhouses, the clientele is very obviously male-dominated. There are other stereotypes too, such as the wood paneling, unimaginative menu, and old-school waiters who seem almost bored.

Quality Meats, and others of its ilk, break this mold. They come across as fine-dining restaurants that happen to serve great steak, rather than as cookie-cutter steakhouses.

It would take a far more scientific study than I have time for to rate Quality Meats for the steaks alone, but they’re fairly close to the top of the heap, if not quite at the pinacle of it. There may be better classic steakhouses, but the supporting cast make Quality Meats a superior experience—from the excellent side dishes; to the homemade steak sauce, prepared tableside; and finally to the enjoyable AvroKO ambiance and first-rate service.

My girlfriend and I were both pleased with the 24 oz. bone-in rib steak ($44), which came with a foot-long rib bone still attached. The steak had the appropriate dry-aged taste, was done to the correct temperature, and was nicely marbled. My son did well by the 12 oz. filet mignon ($39).

We got the same side dishes as last time, the asparagus ($9) and the incredibly addictive crispy potatoes ($9), to which hot garlic butter was added tableside.

The wine list offers plenty to explore at reasonable prices. A Santa Duc Quatre Terres Côte du Rhône at $45 was a happy choice to go with what we had ordered.

For dessert, Quality Meats offers a great selection of ice creams ($6 for two scoops), so we all had that.

The restaurant did a brisk Easter business, but wasn’t full. Service was excellent, but for a repeat of the same upselling trick our server tried last time. We knew that steaks plus side dishes would be plenty, so we didn’t order appetizers. The server said, “Are you sure you don’t want appetizers? The steaks are going to take about 25 minutes.” Having been lured by this ruse last time, we politely declined. Sure enough, the wait for our steaks was more like 15 minutes.

There are plenty of great Manhattan steakhouses on my hit parade. If I’m just hungry for a steak, I walk in, order a slab of meat (with nothing else), and go home sated. But for a steakhouse that offers the whole package, Quality Meats may be the best of them all.

Quality Meats (57 West 58th St., east of Sixth Avenue, West Midtown)

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

Porter House New York revisited

Note: Click here for a more recent review of Porter House New York.

I first tried Porter House New York last October during its opening week. A 20% introductory discount was in place, perhaps because the management knew to expect some rough going. And that’s exactly what we found. By late November, Frank Bruni was no more impressed. He awarded the same one star that I had given it, finding Porter House a “generically sophisticated upgrade of the kind of chain establishment found in lesser malls…an M.B.A. program for beef eaters who did undergraduate work at Outback.”

My mom’s visit this week provided the excuse to see if things have improved at Porter House. And indeed they have. Service was the best I have encountered at any New York steakhouse. At least five people must have said “Good evening” to us before we had even sat down. The number of servers, runners, sommeliers and managers paying attention to our table—every table—was nearly enough to put Porter House in Per Se’s league.

On the way out, I had a brief chat with the manager. He actually knew my name, even though we hadn’t spoken at all during the meal. Now, that’s service.

There are rotating specials for each night of the week. We both had the Thursday special, Cowboy Steak ($38), a large rib steak on the bone that is typical of the ribeye most NYC steakhouses serve. The reason for offering this only on Thursdays utterly eludes me, when so many of Porter House’s competitors serve it every night. (The every-day menu has a chili-rubbed ribeye at the same price, which, unless they have changed it, is served off the bone.)

Anyhow, it was expertly prepared and very close to top-quality; perhaps a notch below the better specimens I’ve had around town, although not by much. We sampled three sauces along with it, of which the best was an excellent Classic Bearnaise.

The wine list is very expensive, with no choices below $50, and very few below $75. We found a fine Cabernet Franc at around the $60 mark. We had tap water with that, which I mention only because it specifically contravened the wishes of the chef! Every restaurant tries to sell you bottled water, but this was the first time that a server has ever said, “The chef recommends bottled water this evening.”

Luckily for Porter House and chef Michael Lomonaco, Frank Bruni’s unfavorable Times review was irrelevant: business remains brisk. This isn’t exactly a surprise, as it’s tough to kill a steakhouse. But unlike the mass of undifferentiated steakhouses in New York, Porter House is special. With superb service, postcard views of Central Park, an extremely comfortable atmosphere, and very solid work from the kitchen, Porter House can now be strongly recommended.

Porter House New York (Time-Warner Center, 10 Columbus Circle, 4th floor)

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

Dylan Prime

Note: Dylan Prime closed for most of 2013 due to a tax deficiency. It re-opened after re-modeling in late 2013 with new chef Michael Bernardino, and Kerry Heffernan consulting on the menu. This review is of the original Dylan Prime.

*

Dylan Prime is an haute steakhouse in Northwest TriBeCa. To an extent, it’s built on the standard model, with steaks à la carte and side dishes that plump up the bill. It departs from that model by offering the alternative of fully composed plates that are a bit more creative. The setting is also much more elegant and refined than the standard-issue NYC steakhouse.

I’ve dined at Dylan Prime a few times, always ordering standard steakhouse dishes. I always found them competently done, if not spectacular. To me, the restaurant’s primary virtue was its proximity to the office (just two blocks). It’s also a reasonable choice if you want to bring guests to an elegant steakhouse that doesn’t play to stereotypes.

Last night, I wanted to try one of the chef’s compositions, the Carpetbagger Steak ($41). The chef must consider this his signature item, as the website offers a video of how it is prepared—an honor bestowed on no other dish. An 11 oz. Filet Mignon is sliced open and stuffed with Blue Point Oysters, and it’s served on a bed of spinach and baked potatoes.

The video shows the oysters being added before the filet is cooked. From the taste, I would have guessed they were added afterwards, as they weren’t as warm as the inside of the steak. My reaction was that neither ingredient benefited from the presence of the other. The menu promised a Guiness and Brown Sugar Sauce, and this too is shown on the video. My dish was served dry, however. Obviously someone in the kitchen screwed up, and I only noticed the omission when I got home and rechecked the website.

Side dishes are $8. Winter squash risotto with parmesan and honey was an amazing deal, considering that an order of french fries would have been the same price. That risotto was also the best thing I tasted. Like most steakhouse side dishes, it’s not a realistic portion for a solo diner on top of an entrée, unless you have an extraordinary appetite. I left half of it behind—not for lack of enthusiasm—and hadn’t even ordered an appetizer.

The dessert menu offers a number of cocktails called “Pie-tinis” and “Cake-tinis,” named for well known flavors of pies and cakes. Examples include Apple Pie à la Mode, Keylime Pie, German Chocolate Cake, or Strawberry Cheescake. I tried the Amaretto Cheesecake martini ($12). Sure enough, it tasted exactly like a liquefied spiked cheesecake, with a gingerbread crust on the edge of the glass, and crushed almonds floating on top.

I had wondered whether Wolfgang’s TriBeCa, which opened last spring just a few blocks south, would leech business away from Dylan Prime. But the restaurant was nearly full on a Wednesday night. Wolfgang’s, of course, is nearly always full too, demonstrating that the steakhouse format remains almost indestructible, despite the high check size.

As a pure steakhouse, Dylan Prime is not as good as Wolfgang’s, but the space is far more attractive and serene. Notwithstanding the snafu with the Carpetbagger Steak, in general I have found that Dylan’s does everything competently. Service is a tad slow, but friendly.

Dylan Prime (62 Laight Street at Greenwich Street, TriBeCa)

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

7Square

Note: 7Square closed abruptly in February 2007 after it ran out of money. It just goes to show that having hotel guests and theater patrons as a captive audience is no guarantee of success.

Hardly a month goes by without a new steakhouse opening in Manhattan. The new restaurant 7Square seems to be yet another of these, with its billing as “A Modern Chophouse.” But of eleven entrees, the only one straight out of the steakhouse playbook is a ribeye. Other menu items that cater to carnivores aren’t steak per se, and would be at home just about anywhere: rack of lamb, pork chop, and short ribs, for instance.

The chef, Shane McBride, trained at four-star Lespinasse, and much of the menu at 7Square suggests that he isn’t content to replicate the steakhouse format by rote. A Dirty Rice Risotto ($12) is laced with duck confit, smoked duck ham, and andouille sausage. In pleasure given per dollar spent, it beats most risottos in town. Other appetizers caught my eye (though I didn’t try them). “HAM²” ($14), a “unique tasting of artisanal hams,” sure looked interesting. I’ve also heard good things about the steak tartare ($12). At these prices, it couldn’t hurt to experiment.

Main courses are $15–34, with most in the twenties. In the latest style, the menu tells you the biography of the animal you are eating. The pork chop comes from Niman Ranch, the veal chop from Upstate New York, the chicken breast from an Amish farm, the lamb rack from Colorado, and the ribeye from Wolfe’s Neck Farm. I tried the ribeye ($32) after Adam Platt raved about it. Served off the bone, it’s a slightly smaller cut than most steakhouses serve, which means you can actually finish it. The marbling and exterior char were first-rate—indeed, better than I was served at Porter House.

Sometimes the best bread service comes in the most unexpected places. 7Square serves warm rosemary cornbread that’s out-of-this-world. It would be worth stopping in for an appetizer, just to have more of that cornbread.

Located in the Time Hotel, 7Square’s decor is attractive and comfortable, but appropriately informal for the neighborhood. The service is a bit careless at times, but not annoyingly so. The food is actually good enough that you don’t need the excuse of seeing a show to dine there. This is one of the few restaurants in the Theater District that you can take seriously.

7 Square (224 W 49th Street between Eighth Avenue and Broadway, Theater District)

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