Keen's Steakhouse - Review

Intro
Keen's Steakhouse - Highly Recommended
72 West 36th Street, New York, NY‎ 10018
Between 6th Ave and 5th Ave
Phone: (212) 947-3636‎

The wife was away, so I met up the fellas for a dudes night out - Keen's Steakhouse followed by the over the top, dude entertaining movie "The Expendables." I'm usually anti-steakhouse due to the low happiness per price ratio. I don't mind spending over $100 a head for a meal, but at steakhouses, I'm always disappointed either getting minimal beef flavor, over salted, or overcooked steaks. This is definitely not the case as my dishes rocked! More on that later.

The other aspect of the steakhouse is the cookie cutter atmosphere - dark wood, leather sofas, starched white table cloths...you know what I'm talking about. This is the exact opposite and as soon as I entered the joint, I knew this was definitely going to be a fun dudes night. The first thing you notice is all these pipes lining up on the ceiling. Back in the day, dudes used to check their favorite pipes in their favorite hangouts. So, you can still see some of the following owner's pipes still there - Teddy Roosevelt, Babe Ruth, Albert Einstein, and General Douglas MacArthur just to name a few. Any who, a great time and definitely one of my favorite steakhouse experiences in the city.

Our Menu

Lobster Bisque **
Great velvelty texture and intense lobster flavor. It was so good that I had to use bread to sop the rest up and wipe the bowl completely clean. The only drawback was the lack of actual lobster meat inside.

Our Legendary Mutton Chops ***
This was outrageously delicious and obscene in size - definitely made me giggle and giddy like I was a kid again. Usually mutton is tough and over the top gamey, but this was relatively tender and had huge mutton flavor but not in a repulsive way. The best aspects were the bone marrow that you can extract out and the ridiculous mutton fat that is seared off separately in to bacon like pieces. The waiter recommended the mint jelly which I generally avoid, but this was pretty nice - great mint flavor and not overly sweet.

The Fat!

Rating System
--- What the F - in a bad way | (no stars - poor to average) | * Good | ** Great | *** What the F – in a good way

Overall Restaurant Experience

• Food (8.7/10) – Although I didn't order the steak, the mutton was one of the most fun dishes I've had at a steakhouse. Loved the fat and marrow which is so up my alley. The side potatoes and creamed spinach were solid too. You also get some buffalo wing accompaniments in the beginning which is surprisingly addicting - blue cheese dressing, carrots, celery, and olives.
  
• Service (8.5/10) – The waiters were attentive and the food came out pretty quick. There was a good amount of waiters per table as well, so there was always someone checking in and asking if we wanted more drinks - a must for a dudes night out.
  
• Atmosphere (9.5/10) – As mentioned above, love the old school vibe and sets the mood right for a dudes night out. The place was much darker than most steakhouses, but I didn't mind so much. This place was packed with large groups with the majority being couples going out. Opposite of Ben Benson's where it was all dudes there.
  
• Price (8.5) - About $110 a head which was reasonable since we had a good amount of Manhattans and Scothies. Definitely happy to pay for the food/experience.
  

Closing Comments
Love this place and probably my favorite steakhouse experience in NYC. Ben Benson's is a close second though...