Dinner at Empire Steakhouse in NYC, New York

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Before reading this post, please note that, in accordance with the FTC guidelines, I must disclose that I was contacted directly by the restaurant or a PR and that the meal was complimentary. However, the opinions expressed in my blog are 100% my own!

I was invited by Empire Steakhouse for dinner, to try some of their dishes. I have to say that I was really excited about it as I love steaks! I said it many times on this blog: the meat in the US is much better than the meat in France, even meat from a boeuf Charolais! I think restaurants, especially steakhouses pay more attention to serve the best quality ("prime" label) and more and more are dry aging their meat, a process that allows the meat to be tender and with more flavor. I always tell visitors from France that they should go to a steakhouse and each time, they recognize that my assertion above is true.

To give you an idea, Empire Steakhouse has been founded by the Sinaraj brothers who also own Ben & Jack's in New York. They get their meat from local markets and dry-aged them for 21 to 28 days. Too bad I could not see their dry-aging room: I bet I would have drooled all over the floor!!! Apparently, they are serving around 1000 steaks a week!

The decor is different from most of the steakhouses: this 180 seats is not dark and full of leather or dark wood. That's good: at least I can see what I am eating as we say that we eat first with our eyes! I also could have a nice conversation with Jodi without screaming as I noticed that most of the Steakhouses are loud!

They sat us at a table that conveniently overlooked most of the dining room and the restaurant was packed (it was a Saturday evening)! 

They first brought us some bread and butter:

and I ordered a glass of Pinot Noir that is one of my favorite wines when eating a steak, because it is fully bodied and pairs well with the taste of the meat, moreover with stronger flavors like lamb.

For starters, Jodi ordered a Caesar salad.

There was a nice quantity of cheese on it and the salad was not overdressed. So it was a good start.

On my side, I ordered one of my favorites appetizers in a Steakhouse: crab cakes!

The presentation was very nice and the crab cake decent, but not the best I ever had. I thought at that point that they were made with the meat from the claw that is less tasty and has a bit of sweetness (I confirmed it later with the restaurant). So I did not get that smooth taste so particular to crab. 

For steaks, instead of going for their signature dish that the porterhouse is, we decided to order our favorite pieces of meat. Jodi got the filet mignon (16 oz):

And I got the ribeye, bone in (24 oz):

Both steaks were cooked to perfect temperature (medium for Jodi - pink in the center -  and medium-rare for me). They were a bit juicy (I prefer more juice personally) and very tender. But, between the two, I preferred the ribeye (I always do!): it had a nice char, a bit of fat (love it!) and was even tastier close to the bone. With the steaks, we tried their own steak sauce that was pretty good.

For sides, we had the onion rings and cottage fries (that are in fact chips):

It was very good: both were not greasy nor soggy. The fact that they proposed homemade chips (that were crispy by the way) is a nice alternative to fries.

We also ordered some sautéed mushrooms with onions:

This was fantastic and even better than the onion rings and potato chips!

The sides we got were good and they offer a very nice choice; I just wish that Steakhouses put on their menu a killer Mac & Cheese that is the perfect side for a steak, especially if truffles are added...

At this point, we got just enough courage to order a dessert. We decided to go for the key lime pie:

It was served with a nice quantity of homemade whipped cream:

First of all, it was great to have the whipped cream because it cut the sweetness from the pie. I could have eaten that whipped cream, that was very light, just straight from the bowl! 

The key lime pie was light and not too sweet. The crust was like a Graham Cracker crust and was slightly buttery. Good dessert!

So, we had a nice dinner at Empire Steachouse. What is interesting is that the owners worked as waiters at Peter Luger, same as Wolfgang Zwiener, the owner of Wolfgang's Steakhouse, that I visited already. But, contrary to Wolfgang's Steakhouse, they brought with them the basic rules that make the difference between good service and hospitality...

Enjoy (I did)!

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Ramen at East Noodle and Izakaya in NYC, New York

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As the weather is still good to enjoy ramen (meaning not in the heat of the Summer!), we decided to go have this delicious dish for lunch. At first, we wanted to go to Ramen Setagaya, even if it had a B rating...As we were there early, we decided to walk around the block. We then saw Ramen Misoya that had miso ramen with corn that, from what I understand, is typical from Hokaido. So we decided to go there instead, despite the same B rating. Again, as we had a bit of time, we walked further and this is how we found East Noodle and Izakaya with its A rating. Imagine that at that point, we had 3 choices and had to decide how to pick; well, it was not that complicated: we chose the restaurant with the highest grade! That is how we ended up at East Noodle and Izakaya.

It is a nice size restaurant compared to the other ones and was not very crowded. 

The decor is very colorful with beautiful lanterns surrounding the counter and dark wood for the floor and furniture.

Jodi ordered the Shoyu ramen, that is made of a pork broth with soy sauce, braised pork, vegetable and a boiled egg.

I ordered the Pork Belly ramen that is apparently very popular there.

The broth was pork based and it was served with pork belly, vegetables and a boiled egg.

In both dishes, the pork was very good, tasty and tender, although I preferred the pork belly that was fattier. Both broth were fantastic: light and not too salty, they were quite flavorful. The noodles were tender and in fact, the one in the Shoyu ramen were more on the yellow side than the other, maybe because they contained more eggs.

We really enjoyed the ramen at East Noodle. I think that it is a good alternative to Ippudo if you go for the food, that is cheaper, and less for the ambiance. 

Last, know that in Japan, they say that ramen is great when you have dinner with somebody you do not want to talk to (they have to concentrate on slurping). Just a little tip in case you end up in with a bad date...

Enjoy (I did)!

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Lunch at Midtown Philly Steaks in Hoboken, New Jersey

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Why aren't cheesesteaks as popular as burgers? I do not know! Because cheesesteaks are fantastic, as long as, for me, they meet three criteria:

• Soft bread,
• Tender and juicy meat,
• Lots of cheese.

I have been a big fan of cheesesteaks after I tried them at Geno's in Philly (check out my cheesesteak experience in Philly).

So we went to Midtown Philly Steaks on Washington street for lunch. The place used to be another cheesesteak joint called Philly Cheese Steak Hoboken. I never tried it, but decided to try the new one.

The place is small, with only 6 seats.

Two of the seats overlooking the street.

The menu offers cheesesteaks, but also chicken, salads and hoagies.
We therefore decided to try their cheese steaks

and a hoagie:

The two sandwiches, that were big, looked fantastic and very appetizing. They were made with the same soft bread. 

The cheesesteak was definitely a good choice and met the three criteria I mentioned above: soft bread, tender and juicy meat and lots of cheese. Each bite was melting in my mouth, that is great, because with either tough meat or bread, the experience would not have been pleasurable at all. 

The hoagie was the Sinatra hoagie, made with Genova salami, ham, provolone, Iceberg lettuce, tomato, Raw onions, olive oil and oregano. It tasted very fresh and all the colors of this sandwich made it look spectacular. I liked it although I would have liked a bit less iceberg lettuce. 

Midtown Philly Steaks is definitely a place to have in mind: they serve great sandwiches for a reasonable price (less then $20 for 2 sandwiches and 1 soda).

Enjoy (I did)!

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Japanese Burger at Kobeyaki in NYC, New York

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A Japanese burger! Doesn't that sound cool? Well, that was something I had to definitely try! In fact, I noticed Kobeyaki few weeks ago, when we went to BRGR.

The place has a nice and simple decor that is a mix between a burger joint and a Japanese restaurant.

The way it works is that you first order the food and then pick it up at the pick up counter.

You can order burgers, rolls, bowls, salad or soups. We were there of course for the burgers! Once it is ready, just pick up your tray full of these nicely wrapped items you just ordered!

Each burger was served with  lettuce, cucumber, carrot, cabbage, scallions and kaiware (daikon radish). Jodi ordered the veggie burger:

It was made of grilled vegetables, portobello, cream cheese, panko, spicy mayo and nori (seaweed). It was good but quite messy to eat as it was kind of falling apart. It was also missing a bit of texture...

I ordered the Kobe beef burger:

It was composed of kobe beef, teriyaki onions, teriyaki ketchup and spicy mayo. I loved it! It was very good, tender and juicy, with some fantastic flavors that were with no doubt inspired from Japanese cuisine!

For the sides, I was a bit disappointed as the choice was limited! The fried item they had was the tempura sweet potato fries.

They were superb: not greasy and a bit crunchy. Interestingly, Jodi who does not like sweet potato ate few of them! To dip them, do not look for regular ketchup or mayonnaise! No, try the teriyaki ketchup, wasabi mayonnaise (my favorite) or the spicy mayo.

The burgers at Kobeyaki are quite good and a nice fusion between a standard dish in American cuisine, prepared with Japanese flavors. Definitely something to try!

Enjoy (I did)!

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Danish cuisine at Aamanns Copenhagen in NYC, New York

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As I mentioned in my bio,  I tend to talk more about food than anything else when I come back from a trip, even if I was astonished with what I have seen...For me, traveling is a whole experience: I will not go to, let say for argument sake, Italy and eat French food or a burger! I will want to eat some local food. Traveling everywhere is a nice wish, if not a dream. But eating different cuisines is not, especially in New York City, where there are so many restaurants that serve food I would have never tried before. For instance, you do not need to go to Ethiopia to eat Ethiopian food! Well, now, you do not have to go to Denmark to try Danish food! We wanted to try Danish food because Jodi has a friend, a fellow artist named Anne (you can check Anne's website here), who lives in Denmark and we were curious about the Danish cuisine. Anne mentioned Aamanns-Coppenhagen in Tribeca; so here we are!

I have to say that I did not know what to expect from that place. This place has a spectacular setting: the ceilings are very, very high and they have an incredible bar with a shelf that goes so high that I doubt anybody would try to get the bottle on top! The furniture is modern and looks a bit like the furniture you would find at Ikea in term of style (well maybe a Scandinavian style?). What I truly appreciated there is the fact that there was space between tables (great, I did not have to hear the conversation of the other guests)!

After we sat, they brought us a bottle of water that had a black stick in it.

At first, I thought it was some sort of licorice to give a taste to the water, but there was no specific taste. So we asked the waitress and she told us that it was Japanese charcoal, used to purify water. I am glad that I did not try to take a bite of it! 

Of course, waiting for the food, I ordered a glass of Aquavit, a snaps distilled from grains or, in Denmark, from potatoes.

Aamanns serves different flavors. I ordered cranberry, but as they were out of it, I ended up with a lemon aquavit. This was good, but strong (it contains approx. 40% alcohol). 

Concerning the food, what I really like about that place, is that they offer a tasting menu for $46 called Taste of Copenhagen ($34 for lunch). As we wanted to try different dishes on the menu, this is what we ordered!

The first dishes were Smørrebrød:

A Smørrebrød is an open faced sandwich. When we asked the waitress what it meant, she said that Smør is butter and brød is bread. It makes sense! So, we had 4 of them (from left to right):

• Salted brisket, horseradish cream, pear and parsley
• Kale “tartare” with endives, apples and walnuts in a creamy vinaigrette
• Roast beef sirloin with crispy onions, remoulade sauce and freshly grated horseradish
• Beet-cured hake, scallions, dill and rosemary

The bread used is rye bread, but not the typical rye bread you find here: it is denser and more like a multi grain rye bread. I really enjoyed the Smørrebrød, especially the layers of flavors. Well, in fact the only one I did not like was the Kale "tartare" one as I am not a big fan of kale...And on top of that, the rye bread is homemade!!!

Then was a Herring tasting. It was composed of:

Herring pickled with juniper berries, black pepper, all spice and bay leaf, with capers, egg, onions and crispy rye bread:

Herring in spicy tomato compote with fresh tomato and endives:

I loved it! The first one was a little sweet, but they smartly put capers on it, that gave some saltiness to the dish. The taste of the herring was less strong than in the second one, where it really came through. I did not find the tomato compote to be spicy personally.

As Jodi does not like herring, they graciously accepted to serve her a fish cake:

This dish, called “Fiskefrikadeller” was a pan-fried fish cake served with remoulade, pickled cucumber on rye bread.  

It was very good! The fish cake was not greasy and was a bit crispy. I admit that I forgot what the fish was...It was a white fish, flaky with a delicate taste, similar to cod.

Then, we got a beef tartare and a pork pâté:

The beef tartare was served with an egg emulsion, tarragon, cornichons, capers, onion rings and crispy potatoes. It was good but a bit bland. I think that the potatoes and capers were a nice addition as it gave some texture, crispiness and saltiness to the dish, that would have otherwise be boring!

The second dish on the plate was the pâté of pork served warm with parsley, aquavit, fresh hazelnuts, pickled apples, celery and watercress. I loved it! It had bold flavors that were fantastic and was rustic at the same time. It was definitely one of my favorite dishes!

Last, we finished with cheese served the Danish way with butter-fried rye bread and a sweet and spicy relish:

Although I love cheese, I was a bit disappointed because I expected some Danish cheeses. Instead, they served us Brie de Meaux and Mimolette from France and a German cheese similar to blue. I think that, as they did not serve any Danish cheeses, they should have proposed a dessert like the rye bread cake that is on their menu. The best part of this was the rye bread that was fried in butter! It was so good!!!

The meal at Aamanns-Copenhagen was delicious and the tasting, a great way to try different Danish dishes, probably a bit elevated for the restaurant, although I cannot tell you if it is like that in Denmark. The food and the atmosphere were nice, but I have to mention that the kitchen was a bit slow...

The real question after this meal is: now that I have eaten Danish food, does that make me a Viking?

Enjoy (I did)!



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Croque Monsieur at La Maison du Croque Monsieur in NYC, New York

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Union Square has lots of cheap and delicious eateries, probably because of the proximity of NYU. Our last discovery is La Maison Du Croque Monsieur, the place of Yves Jadot and Alberto Benenati from La Petit Abeille.

I do not remember that Croque Monsieur was that popular when I was in France. My Mom used to cook it from time to time, very simply, and there were even, sometimes, some variation of it, with Crème fraîche and a slice of tomato. Because Croque Monsieur was a quick and simple sandwich to make, we never put any Béchamel sauce. The original version of Croque Monsieur was with cheese (usually Emmental or Gruyère cheese) and ham. The béchamel inside and outside makes it a fancier version, not to mention when there is béchamel and cheese on top: even fancier!

So, La Maison Du Croque Monsieur is serving a simpler version, as well as some variation of it, using cheese from Murray's. 

It is a small place with two tiny floors. We ordered and then went upstairs where they brought us our food.

Of course, we decided to try the original Croque Monsieur, Croque Mr Henry, made with jambon de Paris (ham), Béchamel sauce and a choice of cheese (we picked Comté  from France).

The second Croque Monsieur was Mr Eduardo (Bresaola, Béchamel, Smoked Mozzarella & Truffle Oil).

I have to say that I preferred Mr Eduardo: tastier, it had fantastic flavors from the bresaola and the smoked mozzarella, with the truffle oil really coming through. The original Croque was good, but the flavors did not stand out. I think it was missing a bit of béchamel sauce and cheese.

We also got one Croque for dessert...The Mr Gonzalo.

It was made of banana, nutella (hazelnut chocolate spread) and mascarpone.

This was succulent! Think about it: banana and nutella are the perfect combination for either a sandwich or a crepe. The mascarpone was kind of non-existent in it, maybe because there was not that much. This sandwich was slightly warm, so the nutella was melting a bit, dripping down on my fingers...A bit challenging to eat, but who cares! 

Even if the original Croque Monsieur was not my favorite, I really enjoyed La Maison du Croque Monsieur! It is an original and very affordable place: $32 for 3 sandwiches, chips and a bottle of water. Not bad!

Enjoy (I did)!

 


And Remember: I Just Want To Eat!

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