Prime Meats - Review

Intro
Prime Meats - Dude Grade: A
465 Court Street
at Luquer St
Brooklyn, NY 11231
Phone: (718) 254-0327

We dudes always debate which burger reigns supreme in the NYC area. My go to burger was always JG Melon which consistently won out over all burger pretenders. However, Porthos has been telling me the Prime Meats burger was on another level. With so much hype from Porthos, I figured it'll be tough to live up to the reputation, but it does. Hands down this is the best burger in the NYC area - not even close for me.

Our Menu

House-made Pretzel **
Great pretzel flavor and perfect texture. Crispy where the "x" is and soft and chewy around the edges. Super fun with the sweet mustard - not too sweet and spicy/delicious mustard flavor.
Grilled Bratwurst *
Moist and fun to eat.

Bacon and Braised Red Cabbage **
Like many other items we had, it was an eye opener saying "oh, so this is what it's supposed to taste like." The bacon had some great smoke, was slightly sweet and intensely porky/fatty. Really phenomenal and the red cabbage was incredibly tasty and acidic which cut the richness of the bacon.

The Prime Meats Burger ***
1/2 lb. Creekstone Certified Black Angus, house-made sesame roll & fermented dill pickle, lettuce, tomato, onion & hand-cut French fries
Every single thing I look for in a burger was found in The Prime Meats Burger. A ridiculously awesome beef flavor that's funky enough due to the ageing, but not so funky that it detracts from the experience. A nice sear/crispy char on the outside with perfect seasoning that's also very juicy. The sesame roll had some great flavor, but my only complaint was the meat to bun ratio was a tad off - a bit too much bun in my opinion. Any who, this is hands down the best burger for me.

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 (A) - Phenomenal burger and the other dishes kicked massive ars also.
  
• Service (B) – Hostess was nice and friendly. Server did his job, but the food came out a tad slow...not awful though since the beers kept me occupied.
  
• Atmosphere (A) – Love the vibe here. In the back, it's high ceilings with a lot of sunlight and it felt like a cross between St John's and any Steakhouse with the bright white walls with the dark wood panel trim. The place was pretty busy for a Friday lunch. The crowd was a mix of young and old couples, groups, and dudes hanging out. A consistent theme though is there are a ton of hipsters obviously.
  
• Price (A) - $16 for the best burger in the nyc area. Can't beat that.
  

Closing Comments
Porthos always told me to check this place out, but living out in NJ - it's such a pain in the ars to take the F train to get out to Brooklyn. Now that I've been, I will 100% make that journey since I love this place. Comfort food at it's best cooked really eff'n good. The chef told us they're working on a roast chicken special with foie gras and chicken shmaltz (fat)...so I 100% want to go back for that.

Shrooms & Butter

Like Bonnie and Clyde. These two just work well together.

Now with a little thyme and a little garlic, you got yourself a killer side dish for your steak.

With just a little soy sauce, it's an instant Japanese classic.

Throw in some clam broth and toss some linguine, you got a killer pasta dish.

Endless classics from two best friends.

I Love Scotch

It's all about the type of wood and how much wood the scotch sees.
For this particular little gem, it's matured in Spanish Oloroso casks with extra sherry butts for that unique roundness.

Very impressive and surprisingly not more than a JW Green Label.

I'm actively searching out small distilleries from now on. Just like anything else out there, it's all about the small hand crafted products that really WOW people.

Not to mention this is cask strength. Another delightful plus.

Prime Meats

I've constantly raved about this place for the past few months. And finally Aramis came along for the journey.

Yup, the burger rocked! And I'll let Aramis write up his thoughts on that later.

But every time I go, there's something new that rocks my world.
This time was the in-house maple smoked bacon on fermented red cabbage.
Are you kidding me guys?!

Absolutely delicious.

My favorite beer ever...

Victory Moonglow Weizenbock. Devin introduced me to this phenomenal beer this past week during the Victory beer tasting and I was floored by how delicious this beer is. Huge complex flavors - slightly smoky like scotch, a bit of fruit and spice. A phenomenal beer for the colder weather.

8# of goodness down to 2#

Bo Ssam last week.
3 dudes tackling the meal that normally feeds 6 to 8 adults.

Really hit the spot!

Original Fettuccine Alfredo

SAVEUR (@SAVEURMAG) 2/17/11 10:00 AM Did you know that the original recipe for fettuccine alfredo does not actually involve a pre-made sauce? http://bit.ly/ga4sSF

Beer Night

written at 11:25pm Tuesday night.

Fellow dudes Devin and Aramis came out tonight to the Victory Brewery Tasting at Stag's Head on 51st and 2nd Ave. 
Totally worth the trip folks.  Because not only was there free beer, but the beers were PHENOMENAL!!!

Victory is a brewery located in Pennsylvania. 
As Devin puts it, "Everything Victory puts out, is wonderful.  Solid freaking Craft Beer."
Both Aramis and I were also blown away with the quality tonight. 

We tried 4 awesome beers but I can only seem to remember the last one.  (hey it's late and it's been a long day)
Saison Du Buff - a collaboration between Stone, Dogfish and Victory.  If you know anything about each of these breweries, you can actually taste all their signature flavor profiles in this single beer. 
Clean, Crisp, Medium Bitters with a gentle Citrus Hoppy finish.  Medium Light body with a aristocratic beginning, middle and end. 
The beer just tasted unbelievably clean and possibly is now my favorite beer.  (Pushing Dogfish Head 90 to #2)
If you love Sake, this beer is right up your alley.  All the tasting notes reminded me of a well crafted Junmai Daiginjo Sake. 

And oh yes, although not part of the Victory tasting, we got to try a sip of a one of a kind. 
Magic Hat - Brass Monkey with Brett. Hence "Funky Monkey"
You could totally taste the ripe funk in this beer.  I've never thought too much about Magic Hat but this one was exceptional. 
Thank god for Brett. 

Kimchi and Pork Belly

You've heard it before, and I'll say it again. There are just some things on this green earth that go really well together. Tomatoes and Basil, Chocolate and Hazelnuts, are just a few.

And tonight's dinner of Pork Belly and Kimchi is another All-Star combo. Out of this world delicious.

East Corner

Intro
East Corner Wonton - Dude Grade: C+
70 East Broadway
New York, NY
Phone: (212) 343-9896

All the foodies out there always point to Flushing or even Sunset Park now for delicious authentic Chinese food. I feel the attitude of many NY'ers is that Chinatown is really for "the tourists." My wife and I rarely go to Chinatown to eat anymore, but we had some errands to run down there so we decided to pop into this random joint. I was pretty damn happy as this place is straight up fun comfort food. Nothing mind blowing and probably not even authentic if you compare it to Hong Kong. But, this is authentic American Chinatown food which is basically the taste of my childhood.

Our Menu

Congee w Pork and Preserved Egg **
Whenever I'm sick or feeling down, this dish is my #1 go to comfort food. Generally, it's bland and I usually like to spike it up with a dash of soy and white pepper, but this friggin rocked - no extra seasoning required. Perfect texture and flavor and they don't cheap out on the portions of pork and egg. Big winner for me and this maybe my favorite congee I've had in Chinatown.

Hong Kong Style Noodles with Roast Duck *

Another comfort food item which was pretty fun. Noodles had a nice texture, but the sauce was a tad too much. The duck was real fun to eat though.

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 (C+) - Delicious comfort food that reminded me of my childhood. Not Hong Kong authentic, but still delicious.
  
• Service (C) – Standard Chinatown service -very quick and not overly friendly. Works for me.
  
• Atmosphere (C-) – Again, standard Chinatown joint where it's small, cramped and loud. Tons of kids with zero parental control being crazy loud and even running around and bumping into other people's chairs. Crowd consisted mainly of Chinese families with one table of tourists.
  
• Price (A) - Roast duck noodles were $4 and congee was $2.75. Friggin amazing for delicious comfort food.
  

Closing Comments
This maybe go to for congee from now on and if I'm ever in the area, I would totally get takeout from here.

Sashimi Platter at Home

Roughly $25 from the Japanese grocery store, this is a great alternative to going to a restaurant.
Unless you are looking for the very best, this will do.

And being able to eat at your leisure at home is a huge plus as well.

Knife Sharpening

It's been a few months now since I put on a kick ass edge on my knives. The honing steel can only do so much to realign the teeth you know?

But the thing was, I realized my sharpening stones were a bit warped.
After about 15 to 20 new edgings, you are supposed to re-flatten the surface of your stones so they can give you that perfect Japanese flat single edge.

So I spent a good 30 minutes just grinding and flattening my 2 stones.



And you know what?
It was worth it. Looooooove the new edge on my babies.

Tonkatsu

At Mitsuwa in Edgewater about to get my Tonkatsu on.

豚, it's what's for dinner

Dim Sum

Getting my dim sum on before my trip to HK next month.

Cappuccino che triste

I have never been a coffee drinker, but on my recent trip to Italy, I kinda picked up a coffee habit.

Now back states side, I just can't seem to get the good stuff.

Everything is weak and over sugared.

How sad.

Spiny Lobster (after)

O-Toro @ Jewel Bako

Sugar Dusted Croissant

I had never seen one like this until I visited Milan.
Right outside Prada's flagship store, in the galleria near the cathedral, this cafe makes hand over fist.
Golden rule of retail, Location, Location, Location.

People say the breakfast pastries are the best here but in all honesty, I was duped into a tourist trap.
Argh, hate when that happens.

Sushi 4G

Not only did this roll have imitation crab and spicy tuna inside, it was deep fried, sliced, then squirted with spicy mayo and dusted with tobiko fish eggs.

Truly an American original.

And I liked it!

Sausage

I love Italian sausage made with tons of fennel.
They're not only delicious, but soooooo easy to make at home.

I'm burning the midnight oil working on some reports and what not. Tummy started growling 30 min ago.
I can't tell you how glad I am to have had these links in the fridge.

I think work will have to wait while I sit back, watch some Superbowl highlights with a nice cold beer and these sausages on the couch.

American Banquet Halls

Why do all Banquet Halls serve similar, if not the same boring dishes?
I mean seriously, we have all seen this exact same salmon dish at weddings, bar mitzvahs, reunions and even cruises.
I wonder if all these "chefs" took the same University of Phoenix cooking class?

Crab Tomato Pasta

Chinese New Year Dinner - Part Deux?

After a real fun Chinese New Year dinner with the wife, my homeboy Sekino rang me up for an impromptu Chinese New Year extravaganza.

Here's a list of what we ate from one of my fave Chinatown restaurants - Oriental Garden. Way too much food, but pretty damn delicious. Thanks again Sekino!

• Pork, Chinese Cold Cuts, and Jellyfish *
  
• Gigantor Oyster in Black Bean Sauce **
  
• Shrimp and Fried Milk *
  
• Chicken Soup **
  
• Peking Duck *
  
• Duck Lettuce Wraps **
  
• Lobster *
  
• Fried Pork Chop
• Sea Bass
• Mushrooms *
  
• Spinach *
• Oranges and Grapes
• Almond Cookie and Water Chestnut Jelly *
  

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

Standouts included the huge juicy oyster that kicked ars with the black bean sauce. And, the surprisingly delicious duck lettuce wraps - loved the bits of skin, fat, and meat combined together. And no, this is nothing like the crap they serve at PF Chang's.

Cha Siu Bao (Baked)

I found myself relatively busy Saturday morning, running errands and being productive for a change.
It was still early and there was no way I was making it til noon for lunch. Good thing for local Chinese grocery stores all over NJ suburbia. I stopped in and saw these buns which I used to love growing up.

Cha Siu Baos are usually steamed and therefor white and fluffy, but these are baked and golden brown on the outside.

It did not disappoint one bit. It was so good, I made a U-ey and bought another dozen to bring back home and have during tomorrow's Super Bowl.
No subs or pizza for this dude. Cha Siu Bao and Tsing-Taos over at my place tomorrow.
LOL!

The Hilton Cookie

No. I'm not talking about Paris Hilton....

But I had to say something about the complimentary cookie you get when you check into a Hilton chain hotel.

As cheesy as this is, it did make me happy and diverted my attention from the subpar room I got while I ate the cookie.

Starwood Group, take note! One up Hilton with complimentary checkin Sandwiches.

DO IT!!!

Lady M

A lot of my Japanese co-workers keep raving about this Lady M patissier.

picking up on some chinese

Saveur Mag with a quick fire dish in honor of Chinese New Year. 
You know what... I appreciate the gesture. 
http://www.saveur.com/article/Recipes/Everyday-Fried-Noodles-Tian-Tian-Chao-Mian?cmpid=tw

Happy Chinese New Year

Xin Nian Kuai Le my fellow dudes and dudettes. Hopefully, some great eats for everyone over the next couple of days.

Here's what we had from our fave Chinese in the area Petit Soo Chow which kicked massive ars:

• Broad Beans
• Shao huang gua (Pickled Cucumber)
• Ma La Niu Du (Spicy Tripe)
  
• Chao hai gua zi (Sauteed Clam)
• Beef, Leek, and Tofu
  
• Chao Do Miao (Sauteed Snow Pea Leaves)
  

Oya (Boston)

Oya Restaurant - (B rating)
9 East Street
Boston, MA 02111
www.oyarestaurantboston.com/

I've been here a few times now and every time it gets a little better and better. 
I have to admit I was not a very big fan in the beginning.  When they first opened, I was more of a hater.  I found a ton of their dishes were copies of other famous dishes around the world and to me, that was kind of pointless.  Let alone paying upwards of $200 a person, it wasn't right serving unoriginal dishes and charging so much.

But over the years, having come back (sometimes un-reluctantly I might add), Oya has grown on me and their food seems to have grown a noticeable style.
Although there are still a few dishes that clearly are rip offs of other famous chefs, I have come to appreciate a few originals there and in a way, their food has taken on an Oya feel. 

Food - (B+) Solid. But just too damn unoriginal. 
Ambiance - (A-) Cozy
Service - (A) Very attentive
Price - (C-) Just out of wack from a NYer's point of view. 

Turkish Dips

For some odd reason, we have a ton of Turkish restos near me and we always have to order their delicious dips as an app. These dips are so eff'n delicious that I felt I had to re-create them at home. I've made Hummus and Baba Ganoush before, but the version at these Turkish joints are definitely different and more delicious than previous versions I've had - creamier and surprisingly including the addition of walnuts for texture.

Any who, these are very easy to make and are so delicious they would be Sultan approved. These dips are so simple - just throw them all in the processor and blend. As usual, always taste and adjust to your liking - more water/olive oil to thin it out, lemon to make it more tart, etc. Give them a try at your next gathering...

Hummus
1 can chickpeas - drained
1/3 cup tahini
2 tbsp water (makes it creamier and airy)
extra virgin olive oil
3 roasted garlic cloves
1/2 lemon juice
Salt and pepper

Yogurt and Feta Dip
2 cups greek yogurt
1/2 lemon juice
1 garlic clove minced
zest of one lemon
1 cup feta cheese
Salt and Pepper
1/4 cup crushed walnuts

Roasted Pepper Salad
About 15-20 diced roasted baby sweet peppers and their roasting juice
1/4 red onion finely diced
1/3 cup red wine vinegar
Extra virgin olive oil
1/4 cup crushed walnuts
Salt and pepper

Eggplant Salad
1 medium eggplant roasted and drained in a colander (the liquids are sometimes bitter)
1/3 cup tahini
1/4 cup crushed walnuts
1/2 lemon - juice
Salt and pepper