Peter Luger Steakhouse

Restaurant: Peter Luger Steakhouse
Meal: steak for 4, tomato slices, creamed spinach, potatoes, and pecan pie

If you live in New York City (or anywhere really) you've heard of Peter Luger Steakhouse. Known for their top notch steaks and old school charm, this place has been around forever and is the go to place for a high end steak. I had tried their burgers before, which were great, but I figured it would be a good idea to use my birthday as an excuse for my parents to pay for a steak for me.

After arriving half an hour late for our reservation (thank you very much Chinese New Year), and a celebrity sighting (Judge Judy) we took our seats. We started off with tomato and onion slices and a Caesar salad, which were both good but not great. The obvious attraction though was the steak for 4 (my sister got the salmon for some reason). Although we asked for medium rare, the steak was basically rare, which was fine with me. It was just as juicy and tasty as I had expected. Along with some creamed spinach (basically butter in the form of spinach) and some potatoes, it was really an excellent main course. I of course ate more steak than necessary, but there was still some leftover for a steak sandwich the next day.

For desert we got a pecan pie, which was scalding hot, but very tasty once feeling came back in my tongue. They also put some candles in a humongous mound of whipped cream for some reason too.

Unlike certain Ninja restaurants (review possibly forthcoming), Peter Luger's truly lived up to the hype, and I'm glad I finally got to go. Although I can't really afford to be a regular steak eater there, I'll certainly be back for some burgers in the near future.

Frank Restaurant

Restaurant: Frank
Meal: vegetable salad and roast chicken sandwich


I went to Frank restaurant for lunch last week with my aunt. After having a little difficulty getting in (ignoring the "Please use other door" sign, etc.), I waited for my aunt in the barroom, a small, cozy space with dim lights. Eventually my aunt showed up and the host brought us around to the dining room, which included a walk through the edge of the kitchen. The main room was small but inviting, and featured mostly young couples and groups of older people.

Even though it was still somewhat early, I decided to forego the prix fixe brunch menu (I was a little under the weather and anything with eggs seemed a little risky). Instead I went with a pretty basic meal of the vegetable salad and roasted chicken sandwich. The salad was nicely presented, but not very cohesive-big pieces of broccoli and beets and large string beans made it hard to combine anything. All the vegetables were fresh and tasty, but it ended up being more of a sampling plate than a salad. Certainly not bad-just not what I was expecting.

The sandwich however was very nicely put together. The goat cheese tended to overwhelm the taste a little, but this was a good thing, as the cheese had great texture and flavor. The chicken was well cooked and the tomatoes added a nice contrast. Overall everything was great, and based on the strong recommendations I've gotten from other friends, I hope to go back sometime on a settled stomach and try some of their more interesting fare.

The Meatball Shop

Last night, my roomates and I ventured through a massive snow storm to "The Meatball Shop," a new restaurant that opened in the Lower East Side only two days ago. The atmosphere was perfect for such a cold night - it was cozy and romantic with old photos hanging on the dark red walls. When we walked in, we were greeted by the owner, Micheal, who led us to a long communal table where he explained the menu.

The menu is barely one page but offers diners a wide variety of options. There are four different meatballs which can be served as heroes, sliders, or in a platter with different sides (pasta, polenta, veggies or white beans). You can also mix and match different meatballs with any of their unique and original sauces.

My roommates, Andrew and Dan, both had pork meatball heroes with spicy meat sauce. I tried the salmon and pork meatball sliders. The pork meatballs were definitely the best - they were juicy and their spicy sauce complemented them well. The salmon meatball slider was okay, perhaps a little too fishy for my taste.

We all inhaled our dishes very quickly and eagerly awaited dessert. The owner had explained to us that his wife makes the ice cream herself so we felt compelled to order two different ice cream sandwiches. We shared a vanilla ice cream and peanut butter cookie sandwich, and also the brownie and espresso ice cream sandwich. While eating our dessert, the chef came out of the kitchen and asked us for our feedback. We told him the cookies and ice cream were probably among the best we ever had.

I imagine "The Meatball Shop" will become a local haunt among all of my friends. The service, food, and affordability definitely make it a place worth visiting often.

Momofuku Noodle Bar

Restaurant: Momofuku Noodle Bar
Meal: Pork bun, fried chicken, veggie wraps

I went with a group of friends to Momofuku's special fried chicken dinner the other day. The reservation was recommended for groups of 4-8, but despite having a group of 8, there was more than enough food.

The meal started off with a round of pork buns, which were fatty and delicious. The waiters then brought out a bowl of veggies and some sauces, which we weren't quite sure what to do with. The carrots could be dipped into the (mostly spicy) sauces, but it was unclear how to handle the rest of the mostly lettuce-like other vegetables.

This was soon forgotten as the main course was brought out: a giant plate of 2 full fried chickens. One was fried Southern style-basically KFC but much better quality. The other was done Korean style, which had a more tangy, spicy sauce on it. I preferred the Korean style, but they were both good, and the opinion of which one was better was split pretty evenly across the table. The chicken itself was very juicy and tasty, and the extra crispy skin added a nice texture.

My only complaint with the meal was the lack of variety. I had been here previously and had a nice sampling of smaller plates. This time beyond the chicken and pork bun I didn't really have anything else. There were pancakes for use with the vegetables, but that was a little messy and it was unclear exactly how to combine everything. Thankfully the chicken itself was delicious, and more than made up for the lack of variety.

Welcome

Welcome to my site! I decided recently that I was on the verge of becoming a foodie** and wanted to document some of the places I've dined at in NYC. I've always enjoyed food but only recently have gotten into the whole culture of it. If that sounds pretentious, then good!...I truly am becoming a foodie. Feel free to leave comments, recommend new places, and hopefully visit the places I recommend.

Coming up will be reviews of The Meatball Shop and Momofuku Noodle Bar.

**[UPDATE 3/20/11]: I want to delete this but I won't. Foodie is a dumb term, but I guess a year ago I thought it was cool. Let the record show I am an idiot.