5 Napkin Burger

5 Napkin Burger is part of the same chain that owns a clutch of mediocre casual French restaurants, such as Nice Matin, Cafe d’Alsace, and so forth. Apparently the menu at Nice Matin offers a “5 napkin burger” that was so popular they decided it deserved its own restaurant.

My advice? Don’t bother. My son and I both had the namesake 5 Napkin Burger ($14.95) on Saturday evening. It was over-cooked, too greasy, and overwhelmed by the taste of caramelized onions. It oozed enough grease to make the poor bun wilt under the pressure.

The space is the size of a small barn, but the décor isn’t bad, featuring white tile walls and a collection of antique scales hung along the back of the room. There are over fifty beers on tap, but the rest of the menu is a mash-up of sushi and miscellaneous comfort food.

Service is designed to get customers in and out in a hurry. We waited around 20 minutes for a table at 6:30 p.m. on a Saturday evening. I am not sure why it is so busy. In a neighborhood that has a dozen restaurants on every block, it’s hard to see the point of this place.

5 Napkin Burger (630 Ninth Avenue between 44th & 45th Streets, Hell’s Kitchen)

Uncle Jack's Steakhouse

New York’s bustling steakhouse industry has settled into three distinct camps: classic, modern, and Peter Luger clones.

Classic steakhouses feature fairly predictable menus, old-school waiters (always men), and throwback décor (mahogany paneling, white tablecloths, oil paintings). You often see large, boistrous, all-male parties at these places; they’re much favored by investment bankers celebrating the latest deal, and so forth. Sparks and Keens are typical classic steakhouses.

Modern steakhouses are those that break the mold, usually by offering non-steak items you can take seriously, more inventive side dishes, friendlier service, and more contemporary décor. BLT Prime and Craftsteak head up this category.

The Luger clones are a variant on the classic steakhouse, but there are enough of them to list separately. The key giveaway is a menu that emphasizes “Steak for One” (Two, Three, or Four), the famous thick-cut Canadian bacon, and German-fried potatoes as a side dish. Examples include Wolfgang’s and Mark Joseph.

Uncle Jack’s Steakhouse is firmly in the classic mold, and it may be the best of the bunch. I loved my first visit there, 2½ years ago, even if my three-star rating was utterly crazy. I don’t know what took me so long to get back, as the Ninth Avenue location is practically on the way home. Anyhow, I finally got back again the other night.

I was enormously impressed with a truncheon-sized ribeye ($45) with a beautiful exterior char. Only at Strip House have I seen it bettered.

I was impressed with the wine list, too: a hefty tome with plenty of decent bottles below the $50 mark, and wines by the glass that are actually printed. At most of the classic and Luger-style steakhouses, the waiter just intones, “Cabernet, Merlot, Shiraz, Pinot Noir,” as if it were irrelevant which Cabernet, Merlot, Shiraz, or Pinot Noir they were serving.

The décor, I must admit, is a little tacky, with “Lobster,” “Caviar,” etc. painted in big block letters along the wall. In other respects, Uncle Jack’s has the standard steakhouse ambiance nailed.

Service is better here, with waiters who don’t seem as bored as most steakhouse waiters, and who circle back frequently to check up on you.

Uncle Jack’s doesn’t get as much publicity as the other classic steakhouses, but I am not sure why. On the basis of my visits, I much prefer it to Keens or Sparks—to give but two eamples. There are now three outposts of Uncle Jack’s: the original in Bayside, the one I visited on Ninth Avenue, and the newest branch in West Midtown, on 56th Street.

Uncle Jack’s Steakhouse (440 Ninth Ave. between 34th & 35th Sts., Hell’s Kitchen)

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

Esca

 

It’s hard to know when you can trust Frank Bruni. He seems to give a one-star premium just because a restaurant is Italian. And he seems to give a one-star premium wherever Mario Batali is involved. In just three years on the job, he has awarded nine stars to Mario Batali’s restaurants, a remarkable total.

So when Frank Bruni promoted Esca to three stars (his predecessor had awarded two), I had to wonder: was it really that good? Or was Frank just up to his usual mischief? Luckily, there was a parade of almost exclusively favorable comments on the eGullet boards, which persuaded me that I really must try Esca.

Bruschetta to start

It wasn’t easy. Esca fills up in a hurry. Several times I tried to reserve, only to find that 10:00 p.m. was the only time slot available. And no, I wasn’t that desperate to eat there. Last night, finally, I had an 8:00 p.m. slot. But even in late August, Esca was packed.

I agree with Frank Bruni about one more thing. The key to Esca’s success is that its chef and co-owner, David Pasternack, hasn’t over-extended himself. According to Bruni, whenever he’s called the restaurant for an interview, Pasternack is nearly always there. These days, when a restaurant is as successful as Esca, the chef starts to become an industry. Pasternack has dallied a little, but Esca remains his home.

Esca—the name means bait—introduced crudo, the Italian version of raw fish appetizers, to New York. Bruni, at least, credits Pasternack with the innovation. It was sufficiently obscure that William Grimes, in his 2000 review, had to explain what it meant. Nowadays, it’s all over town.

The menu’s crudo selections are followed by standard appetizers, pastas, and fish entrées. A solitary veal dish is the lone concession to the meat-lover. There’s no obligatory strip steak or roast chicken for the patron who was dragged along, but really doesn’t like seafood. If you can’t or won’t eat sea creatures, there’s probably no point in visiting Esca.

According to the website, the menu changes every two weeks. The menu currently shown there is quite a bit different from the one we saw—and also noticeably less expensive. I don’t know if it’s a very old menu, or if the prices were jacked up after Bruni awarded the third star. Nowadays, I think a restaurant in Esca’s class ought to have a reasonably current menu on its website.

While we pondered our order, a sommelier came over to offer assistance. The wine list is of medium length, and nearly all Italian. There’s an ample number of good options below $60. I asked for a red wine under that figure that would go well with the entrées we were considering. He instantly offered a fine suggestion at $54.

After pouring the first taste, he took the bottle away and put it on a serving table out of sight. Only a few restaurants in New York do this, and I find it a bit annoying. I don’t need someone to pour my wine for me, and I don’t like having to look around to signal for another pour. My request to have the bottle put back under my control was granted without complaint.

 
Orange Marlin (left); Verdura Mista (right)

I started with one of the crudo selections, Orange Marlin ($16). It was perfectly seasoned—just delightful. By the way, the restaurant offers a two-flight crudo tasting for $30 per person, and I’ve made a mental note to try one of these days. My girlfriend started with a salad of Verdura Mista ($16), and the kitchen did a superb job with this deceptively simple dish.

 
Squid ink pasta with cuttlefish and garlic (left); Whole orata (right)

There are about a dozen pasta dishes, orderable as a main course or as a mid-course to split. We shared the Squid ink pasta with cuttlefish and garlic ($24). We were again impressed, as the contrasting flavors seemed to be so perfectly judged.

The menu offers several whole fish, in addition to a larger number of composed dishes. I ordered the Orata ($33), a kind of sea bream, served whole. The preparation was straightforward, but the flesh was tender, sweet, and just slightly lemony. It came off the bone without difficulty. My girlfriend was less impressed with Merluzzo ($34), a kind of cod. She found it a bit dull, and even had to ask for salt to make it more lively—and that is not something she often does.

Biscotti

At Esca, both the space and the service occupy that middle ground between casual and formal that Mario Batali has mastered at his flagship restaurant, Babbo. There are white tablecloths, and an alert service brigade stays on top of things, but you could show up in jeans, and not feel out-of-place.

On the whole, we left Esca quite impressed. Three courses apiece, plus a $54 bottle of wine still came to under $200 before tip, and in this town it’s difficult to get such a good a meal at that price.

Esca (402 W. 43rd Street at Ninth Avenue, Hell’s Kitchen)

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

Gaucho Steak Co.

Alex Garcia sure has been busy. This month, he’s opened two restaurants: Carniceria in Carroll Gardens, Brooklyn (replacing the failed Porchetta); and Gaucho Steak Co. in Hell’s Kitchen. The Food Network chef’s growing empire also includes Calle Ocho on the Upper West Side, Novo in SoHo, and another Gaucho Steak in New Jersey.

Gaucho Steak Co. has opened in a neighborhood that was once considered rough, but nowadays Tenth Avenue buzzes with bars, restaurants, and new condos. It’s a bit of a hike to the subway, but we took a walk south after dinner and found plenty of nightlife in this formerly desolate area. Things get pretty bleak once you get to 42nd Street, but you can see the potential if the #7 train is extended west, and Mayor Bloomberg’s West Side Yards project takes off.

The focus here is Argentinean beef, though Garcia’s menu includes a number of generic nueva latina specialities that I suspect would be at home in any south-of-the-border country. Garcia must have gotten a sweet deal on rent, as nothing is above $20, which is remarkable for a steakhouse. Portion sizes are all generous. The restaurant had been open only three days when we visited. Both the service and the cooking suffered from some glitches that we presume will be rectified.

As yet, there are no wines by the bottle, though we were assured there eventually will be. In any case, we probably would have ordered the excellent sangria. A large pitcher ($24) yielded eight tall glasses.

We suspected that one appetizer to share would be ample, which indeed it was. The Ceviche ($9) came in a tall soda glass, studded with shrimp, lemon oil, jalapeno and fresh lime. We thought it was a perfect summer dish, but expected it to be a bit more spicy.

Steaks are $14–20, depending on the cut of meat, but we both chose the Combination ($18), which comes with grilled sausage, skirt steak, short ribs, grilled onions, and a choice of side dish. The sausage, with a bold, spicy taste, was the best of the three meats. The kitchen did fine by the skirt steak, but it was undistinguished. The short ribs, served on the bone, were a bit over-cooked.

Neither of our side dishes ($4 apiece if ordered separately) quite measured up. Mushroom Rice wasn’t warm enough, while Gaucho Fries were a bit too greasy.

There were assorted problems with the service, none of which seriously inconvenienced us, especially for such a low-priced restaurant. For instance, none of the servers offered us water, and the credit card machine broke down just before we left, forcing us to pay cash. Then, the new cooking equipment blew a fuse, and the power went out for about 15 minutes. However, the management gave us a free pitcher of the sangria while we waited, so I am not complaining.

The décor vaguely suggests an Argentinean Wild West (if there is such a thing). There are only about 30 seats, and the restaurant doesn’t take reservations. When the word gets out, I suspect there will be long waits.

Gaucho Steak Co. (752 Tenth Avenue between 51st & 52nd Streets, Hell’s Kitchen)

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

Cascina

 

My girlfriend, son, and I had a pre-theater dinner at Cascina last Saturday night. The menu, service, and attitude very much reminded me of Little Italy—and in case it’s not obvious, that’s not a compliment.

The word “Cascina” refers to the farmhouse or lodging on an Italian vinyard. Wine, indeed, is the theme of the restaurant. There are several large images of vinyards and wine-making equipment. Many of the wine bottles are on display. We weren’t in a drinking mood that day, but the wine list appears to be serious, with bottles anywhere from $35 to the thousands.

 
Swordfish risotto (left); Pizza Caprese (right)

The food turned out to be quite respectable, once they got around to serving it. Swordfish risotto ($19) was slightly runny, but in the end I had no serious complaint with it. My son, who is not easily pleased, raved about Pizza Caprese ($15), with buffalo mozarella, cherry tomatoes, and basil. My girlfriend seemed satisfied with Meat-stuffed tortellini in cream sauce with prosciutto ($16).

 
Tiramisu (left); Italian-style cheesecake (right)

Tiramisu ($8) was most impressive, so airy and light that one almost forgot it was dessert. Italian-style cheesecake ($8) was a bit too dry and crumbly.

One might chalk it up to the pre-theater rush, but service was frenetic and impersonal. Perhaps things improve later on in the evening. The food was reasonable, but on this showing, I wouldn’t rush back except as a friendly and inexpensive pre-theater dining option.

Cascina Ristorante (647 Ninth Avenue between 45th & 46th Streets, Hell’s Kitchen)

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

Daisy May's BBQ

Note: Click here for a later visit to Daisy May’s BBQ.

In 2003, Adam Perry Lang—who had previously cooked at such haute cuisine temples as Daniel, Le Cirque, and Chanterelle—decided to open a barbecue joint. He chose practically the most inhospitable and least accessible location in town: the corner of 46th Street and 11th Avenue, a solid fifteen minutes’ walk from the nearest subway station, and in a rather dingy neighborhood. Nevertheless, ’cue hounds flocked to Daisy May in the belief that no one else in Manhattan had come close to getting it right.

This spring, Daisy May added a small cafeteria-style dining room (it was previously just counter service, take-out or delivery), and they enhanced their menu, with rack-of-lamb for two ($95), half-a-pig or a whole pork butt for six ($200), or the whole pig for twelve ($400). All of these items have to be ordered a couple of days in advance, with a credit card to guarantee the reservation.

In the Times, Peter Meehan warned that it’s a ton of food, although he was in pig-heaven nonetheless. I didn’t have half-a-dozen companions to bring with me, so my friend and I pre-ordered the lamb. It cooks over a low heat for about two hours, and it’s fall-off-the-bone tender by the time it’s served. The rack was higher in fat content than what most restaurants serve, which is what allows it to cook for so long without drying out. Two or three ribs is quite typical for a lamb entrée, so with four between us the portion was ample. Yet, it was so good I was sad to see it gone. It came with homemade barbecue sauce (made partly with lamb gravy) that was out-of-this world.

The dish comes with huge helpings of cole slaw, watermelon, “Texas toast,” and two additional side orders from a menu of about eight choices—I picked the Peaches Bourbon and Cream of Spinach. The sides came in large serving dishes and could easily have accommodated five or six people. We didn’t touch the spinach, and we left behind great quantities of all the others. It is a sinful amount of food, and we felt rather guilty at leaving so much behind (when children are starving in Africa, yada, yada, yada).

The Times warned that service is pretty “bare-bones”, but the bones were barer than I’d imagined. The food is served with paper plates and plastic utensils. They not only lack a liquor license, but even so much as cups or a corkscrew. Unless you’ve pre-ordered one of these massive cuts of meat, service is strictly cafeteria-style, with canned soda all that’s available to drink. Then there’s the very long walk to 11th Avenue. This may well be the best barbecue in town, but I’m not sure how often I’ll walk that far to get it.

Still, on this occasion it was more than worth it.

Daisy May’s BBQ USA (623 11th Avenue at 46th Street, Hell’s Kitchen)

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

Robert's Steakhouse

Note: Chef Adam Perry Lang has since left Robert’s Steakhouse.

Robert’s Steakhouse has gotten some good press lately, including a prominent mention in the Times. One night in early June, I decided to find out for myself if the fuss is justified. The restaurant is located in the Penthouse Lounge, although it is a separate section of the club. Most men go there, I think, to drink at the bar, to look at the strip show, and perhaps to visit a private room with one of the models.

Steakhouse pricing is fairly consistent in the city. The steaks at Robert’s are over-priced beyond reason. There are three options for the solo diner: filet ($51), t-bone ($51) or bone-in strip ($53). All of them are at least $10-12 more than most NYC steakhouses would charge. The porterhouse and ribeye, both available only in portions for two, are similarly over-priced.

The server recommended the strip. At this price, it had better be a strip steak to die for. It wasn’t. Yes, it was a huge slab of meat, probably two inches thick before cooking. And yes, it was expertly broiled. But it was slightly tough and over-salted. Later on, one of the Penthouse models told me that she thinks Del Frisco’s is better — a remarkable admission.

Needless to say, Del Frisco’s is more sensibly priced. It’s also in a far more hospitable part of town — 49th & 6th, rather than Robert’s perch in the hinterlands at 45th & 11th. Indeed, I could easily name a dozen steakhouses serving better steaks at better prices in better neighborhoods than Robert’s.

The over-priced fare was not limited to the steaks. On the wine list, there were no bottles below $75. When I asked for wine by the glass, I was offered “cabernet or merlot”; no indication of vintage or winery. A glass of the unremarkable and unnamed cabernet was an outrageous $17.

Service was merely average. There was an excellent selection of warm bread rolls, but they were brought to the table long after I sat down. My check was brought to the table before I had finished ordering. I could go on, but you get the idea.

Robert’s Steakhouse (603 W 45th St at 11th Avenue, Hell’s Kitchen)

Food: *
Service: fair
Ambiance: fair, but not a place you could take a date
Overall: okay

Return to Churrasacria Plataforma

Last night, I visited the midtown branch of Churrascaria Plataforma. This outpost is larger, noisier, and a bit less hip than its TriBeCa cousin, which I have been to twice. It was the ideal outing for a group of 30 people belatedly celebrating the new year.

I’ve not much to add to what I’ve said in the past, so I’ll just link to the account of my first visit.

Churrascaria Plataforma (316 W. 49th Street between Eighth & Ninth Avenues, Hell’s Kitchen)

Uncle Jack's Steakhouse

Note: Click here for a more recent review of Uncle Jack’s Steakhouse.

Uncle Jack’s Steakhouse doesn’t seem to get as much “foodie” attention as other New York steakhouses. I was working in the neighborhood one night in October, so I thought it was a good time to give Uncle Jack’s a try. The restaurant claims to be “New York’s Best Steakhouse.” While I haven’t tried anywhere near all of them, on the strength of one visit the boast is not an unreasonable one.

I ordered the rack of lamb, which came with a dijon mustard, rosemary demi-glace, and Japanese panko bread crust ($40). This was one of the top 2-3 lamb dishes of my lifetime. Absolutely outstanding. I also ordered the asparagus side dish ($10), which was cooked to perfection.

I don’t know where the custom arose that steakhouse portions are about double what they’d be in any other type of restaurant. The server described the lamb chops as “lollipop sized.” I suppose that’s true, but even at that size, I don’t think I’ve ever had more than four of them on one entrée. Uncle Jack’s served eight of them. The asparagus, too, was certainly ample for two people.

Having said all that, I was ravenously hungry (having missed lunch), and with the food being as good as it was, I ate every morsel.

My only pet peeve was the menu, or rather the lack of one. The captain said, “I am the menu,” and proceeded to recite the whole thing from memory. He was most patient, and his explanations were perfectly clear, but at these prices why can’t they be bothered to put it in writing?

The other sticking point is that diners not familiar with NY steakhouse prices might be surprised at the final bill, since the captain doesn’t tell you the prices. You could ask about each item, but it’s rather tedious to do so. He did make a point of mentioning that the Kobe steak was “on special” for only $100. I happen to eat out at steakhouses a lot, so I wasn’t surprised at my $50 tab (before tax and tip). Others might be.

That caveat aside, Uncle Jack’s is wonderful. I’ll be back.

Uncle Jack’s Steakhouse (440 Ninth Ave., between 34th & 35th Sts., Hell’s Kitchen)

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

Le Madeleine

Note: After 28 years, Le Madeleine closed in March 2007, when they lost their lease.

*

My brother and his wife are visiting from California. They bought tickets the other night for Movin’ Out, and on short notice we needed a restaurant reservation. We’re dropping some major dough on food this weekend, so I wanted to keep things on the inexpensive side. It’s here that OpenTable.com came to the rescue. I chose Le Madeleine, a French bistro slightly to the left of the Theater District.

Entrées are generally in the $15-20 range, with an entrecote steak priced at $25. Appetizers are from $6-11, and side dishes all at $4. However, as all of the entrées come with appropriate vegetables I really see no need for the side dishes unless you want to load up on such things as braised red cabbage, Israeli couscous, or creamed cannellini beans. You can read the menu at Le Madeleine’s website, although the at present it’s showing the winter menu; what we saw was a bit different.

My sister-in-law chose the Spice Crusted Duck “Aigre Doux,” which is served with creamy polenta, braised red cabbage, and caper-currant-cranberry sauce - a clever preparation that was full of diverse flavors. My brother chose the braised Berkshire pork (I didn’t know the Berkshires were known for that), which he described as wonderfully tender. I had the grilled marlin, an off-the-menu special, which tasted a lot like swordfish. It was served in a sweet lemon butter sauce.

Le Madeleine is clearly oriented to the pre-theater crowd, and service is organized to get patrons out to their shows on time. Service was friendly, if occasionally frantic. There is a lovely garden room with a skylight, as well as a more conventional indoor room that resembles a hundred other bistros.

This is a solid pre-theater restaurant off the beaten path of Restaurant Row. It offers inventive fare that, at its relatively low price point, is well worth a try.

Le Madeleine (403 W. 43rd Street, west of Ninth Avenue, Theater District)

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