Restaurant Week #2

My second restaurant week adventure was to Primehouse (27th and Park). Primehouse is one of many restaurants owned by B. R. Guest restaurant group (founded by Stephen Hanson). A casual yet elegant atmosphere redefines the classic "men's club" steakhouse. I tried to make reservations, but the dining room was booked till 10. The bar area had tables that offered the same menu and were on a first come first serve basis. My friend Christina and I were fortunate enough to get a bar table, which we actually preferred due to the more casual atmosphere. The bar area offered televisions as well as good music (RHCP, beatles, jazz, etc).

The service was alright, but I expected better. When you have a steakhouse that offers dinners that are $50 or higher, you expect GOOD SERVICE. I know it was restaurant week, but we were still going to spend a pretty penny. It seemed that our server was waiting on everyone, but us. Not only did he seem unenthusiastic of us being there, but he did disappeared during our entree. We wanted to order another drink, but our server was busy serving EVERYONE ELSE. After not being served for awhile, we decided to get the check and leave which was a process in itself. He could have got us for atleast another $50 if he kept up with us.


But enough about the service and on to the food! The food made the trip to Primehouse well worth it. Christina started off with a good-sized portion of buffalo mozzarella with peppers, basil, and an aged balsamic--a great way to start the meal. I also started the dinner with a great dish- crispy pork belly with an Asian barbecue sauce. A small, but delicious portion got me ready for the next course. I drank a delicious Allagash White Ale while enjoying the pork belly. Christina drank a 2008 Le Coste Pinot Grigio.

Christina's second dish was the salmon, which I didn't taste but she seemed to enjoy. For the main course I got the 7oz prime, dry-aged rib eye with Parmesan fries which was recommended to me by our server. I originally wanted to get the short rib, but when with our server's suggestion. The steak was excellent. Although I wish the steak was a little bigger, it had great flavor and definitely didn't disappoint me. The steak came with Parmesan fries which were decent-nothing to brag about, but I probably ate all of them! I ordered Primehouse's house pinot noir to compliment the steak, but I wasn't feeling it. It was a 2008 Loring Pinot Noir from the Shea Vineyard in Oregon. I thought this $14 glass of Pinot was a waste of money (bottle wholesales for $40). I didn't enjoy the taste of the wine at all, not to mention the lack of body. I know Pinot's usually have light bodies, but this was just bad.

We continued the meal with different dishes as we got to our last dish, dessert. Christina got the cheesecake dome with a pistachio creme brulee center and candied kumquats. The presentation was awesome and so was the taste. Although her dish was delicious, I think I liked mine better. I got the chocolate napoleon which was a milk chocolate parfait with ice cream and salted caramel sauce. The parfait was definitely the star in this dish. It had three levels of great chocolate flavor that went well with the drizzled caramel. I don't usually get dessert, but I'd reconsider if I go back to Primehouse.

Overall, The Primehouse New York was a great experience! Yeah, I could have done without the Pinot Noir and the server's disappearing acts but I'd definitely go back.