From top to bottom: The A1 Steakhouse XT featured a faint steak sauce flavor and crunchy fried onions, all of which were overwhelmed by the burger’s char.  It’s a good thing the Smokey Cheddar XT (middle) is only around for a limited time because the cheddar tasted more like American and the smokey sauce was nauseatingly artificial.  The standard Steakhouse XT (bottom) was actually the best of the three, most closely resembling a thicker Whopper, just without pickles.

The Experience

What is this place? Call it a cultural gap if you want, I call it an identity crisis.  KyoChon is more like a dance club/bar that serves chicken rather than the take out/eat-in fried chicken operation it actually is.  Grating electro pop blares from the sound system throughout the overly modern space while your eyes cringe at the discombobulating visual experience washed in oppressively bright fluorescent lighting.  At least the lights are dimmer in the upstairs waitress-service restaurant area, where a larger menu is served along with wine and beer.  Slated to be open until 2AM nightly (last upstairs seating at 1:30AM, last order at 1:45am), I don’t know if KyoChon will inspire late night munchies or the spins.  Despite this initial confusion, the staff, embarrassingly dressed in uniforms resembling a modern take on McDonald’s in the 1980s, was very patient and helpful while I attempted to figure out what was going on.  Check out NY Mag’s Grub Street post for the upstairs menu and a slideshow of the interior to see what I mean.  The photos below show the downstairs menu:

The Food

My initial plan was to get the “Sampler #4″ featuring a taste of more or less everything on the KyoChon menu.  Unfortunately this is only served in the upstairs restaurant which last night desperately needed the cooling effect of air conditioning.  To compensate for this change of plan, I ordered chicken with all three of KyoChon’s sauces: Hot & Sweet, Soy Garlic and Honey.  I went with an order of small drumsticks (2 for $5.99) for the Hot & Sweet and Soy Garlic and a small order of Honey wings ($5.99 for 4).

Ordinarily it will be a 10-15 minute wait for your chicken to arrive.  In an ideal world, your wings will be fresh out of their 2nd frying and arrive steaming and covered in hot grease.  I received my wings in under 5 minutes which means I caught the back of the batch and the lukewarm temperature of the wings validated this.  I chalked this up to pre-grand opening blues and forged ahead, starting with the Hot & Sweet drumsticks.

Whew! This is some pretty spicy stuff.  Very manageable for someone with a high tolerance for heat (think two steps below Mamoun’s hot sauce), but incendiary for someone who doesn’t like spicy.  The “sweet” made a brief appearance upon first taste but melted instantly in the face of the peppery, lingering heat.  Disappointingly one-note.

I reached for a Honey wing to cool things off and although they’re quite sticky, they’re not very sweet, bordering closely on flavorless.  They’re also very small, a little disappointing considering the price tag.  The drumsticks were crispier than the wings, especially after sitting for a few minutes.

Certainly the signature Soy Garlic would redeem its brethren?  Not so much.  The “soy” aspect adds a definite sodium factor but the “garlic” was negligible.  Again, the wings uphold the ideal of crunchy outside, tender inside, but the lack of unique flavor prevents wings of this price point from ascending to any upper echelon.

Feeling unsatisfied, I asked one of the employees what her favorite dish at KyoChon is, hoping to find something positive to say about my experience.  Two women recommended the Grilled Chicken Steak (regular $11.99 for 2 pieces, large $14.99 for 4 pieces), a bone-in, skin-on chicken thigh, marinated then grilled and basted with a spicy, sweet soy barbecue sauce.  It’s sliced and served with sauteed onion, red and green pepper, a slice of pineapple, and white rice.  The chicken is tender and mainly juicy, except for some crispier end pieces, and the best bites featured the fatty skin curling off the edges.  The sauce is fairly standard but like the “Hot & Sweet” wing sauce, sweetness gives way to heat but on a much milder level.  The “bone-in” aspect refers to two actual bone-in pieces which you eat like ribs.  The sweet, obviously canned pineapple did not enhance but the vegetables were fresh and crisp, a nice light foil to the fatty chicken skin.  It was tasty overall but like its fried predecessors, nothing worth traveling for and probably too healthy to motivate a late-night run.

There’s a sauce station downstairs featuring four sauces: Jambalya, Garlic, Dijon Honey, and ketchup (ostensibly for the potato wedges).  I dipped each of my wings in the gloppy, seemingly mayo-based garlic sauce.  It did not enhance.

n.b. A massive oven with visible coiled bread warmers is dormant after 9PM.  It’s purpose? Baking bread for KyoChon’s sandwiches, the franchise’s first attempt at Americanizing the menu.  The sandwiches will only be served at lunch and the bevy of sauce options ranging from Jambalya to Apple offer another opportunity for confusion.

Conclusion

Sadly, I think McDonald’s, particularly in it’s current “we’re hip, we’re healthy” incarnation, is the appropriate comparison because as Chris, the solo eater seated next to me said, “this is just fast food.”  He was right, it underwhelmed the way a new fast food restaurant would: buzz and excitement surrounding the first branch’s opening and then you’re hit with high prices, high salt content and disappointing food.  That being said, this is still a novel experience for most people and if you can afford it, it’s worth trying for the Hot & Sweet sauce alone because at least that will leave a lasting impression.

KyoChon

This recipe takes a lot of cues from Turkish stuffed peppers (Etli Biber Dolmasi) but it can also be customized to fit anyone’s particular tastes.  I like to make this dish very spicy, the way it’s meant to be, but feel free to tone down your spice levels to whatever suits your taste buds.  This recipe is great to feed a large number of people or to have a nice leftover lunch to bring to work tomorrow.

One more note before we get started, if at all possible, please source the most local and freshest produce you can find. Sadly, I am not able to make it to the green market every day, so usually the fresh organic produce at your local store is fine; though food always tastes better when the vine to table time is measured in hours not days or weeks (do not buy produce from Mexico, unless it is some sort of hot-ass Chile pepper, ever, seriously — throw that shit on the floor so they stop selling it).

Ingredients

• 6-8 large Green Peppers (Preferably locally grown peppers from the green market)
• 1 lb ground beef (80/20 works well, who doesn’t enjoy a little extra fat?)
• 5-6 medium onions, finely Chopped Pine Nuts
• Chopped Dill (Fresh)
• Chopped Parsley (Fresh)
• Mint (Fresh)
• 1 Cup White rice
• 1 tbsp Salt
• 1 tbsp Pepper
• Turkish Crushed Red Pepper Spice (TRP) (You can find this at a Turkish specialty shop or online — you need this spice, I put it in everything)
• 1 tsp Cumin
• 1 Lemon
• 1 Tomato (grated)
• 4 Tomatoes for Tops (firmer the better)

Equipment

• Large Bowl
• Dutch Oven (enameled cast iron, or just regular cast iron)

The Filling

Take a large bowl and combine the ground beef, onions, pine nuts, parsley, dill, mint, rice, salt, pepper, TRP, cumin, juice of 1 lemon (make sure not to get seeds in there). Mix all ingredients together with your (washed) hands very well.

The Peppers

1. Cut out the tops of the peppers (reserve for your compost pile, yes, you need one)
2. Clean out the insides with a small knife and wash out all the seeds so your peppers looks nice and beautiful and ready to get stuffed.
3. Stuff those peppers with the filling making sure to leave a little bit of room at the top.
4. Take your tomatoes and cut into thick rounds and then halve.
5. Now stuff the halves into the tops of the peppers to seal them off.

Now doesn’t that look beautiful? Take a picture.

Cooking

The best way to do this is with a dutch oven, either an enameled cast iron duct oven (#1 must-have kitchen tool) or as seen in the picture, a vintage cast iron dutch oven, THE VOLLRATH! In this case I used both since only 3 peppers fit in each pot.

After you place the peppers in the pan, liberally place a pad of butter in the middle, pour 2 ½ cups water into the pot, drizzle olive oil on and around the peppers and then salt and pepper the tops. Turn on your burner to high and cover. Bring the water to a boil and then reduce the heat to medium and cover. The peppers should take anywhere from 45-60 minutes.

After about 45 minutes, open up the top and take a look. The peppers should be a paler shade of green and the rice should be starting to push its way out of the peppers. You do not want the pepper to get too mushy or everything will just fall apart. Press the side of the pepper with your finger, if it is still very firm, then it is not cooked all the way, if it feels just right and not too mushy then it is time to take out of the pot.

Let the peppers cool down a little and then they are ready to serve, I like to add hot sauce or sriracha (a.k.a. crack) to spice things up some more because the cooking process dilutes a little of the heat.

Subtle gourmet touches elevate Diane’s Bakery Cafe above standard fare.  Sweet Thai Chile sauce adds a subtle sweetness to the mayo-based tuna salad, further enhanced by airy Tom Cat brioche.  Pairing the sandwich with a heaping spoonful of fresh mozzarella salad adds some welcome acidity, a credit to  juicy grape tomatoes mixed with the small, creamy clouds of mozzarella and shreds of bright basil.

The rotating menu of prepared foods, all crafted at neighboring Trattoria Diane, includes just big-enough tins of bread crumb-dusted mac and cheese, flaky chicken pot pies, quiches, focaccia pizza and a seemingly endless array of colorful salads.

Every meal should end with something sweet and the options are abundant.  Treat yourself to a brownie, simultaneously delicate and decadent, possessor of a light, sophisticated sweetness even the most die-hard chocolate lover will covet.

And if it’s just a morsel of sinful sweetness you desire, you’re in luck.  One walnut-studded chocolate fudge cookie offers a deceptive decadence in its small frame, a perfect accompaniment to a fresh cup of Diane’s Bakery Cafe coffee.

Enticing pies, cupcakes and cakes guarantee you’ll be welcomed home with open arms.

Diane’s Bakery Cafe

Google Map

Upon entry, a bustling dining room, populated by young 30-somethings trained in the look of the hipster, greets you unceremoniously.  If your party is under six people, you don’t have a reservation so alert the hostess to your presence and make room for yourself at the copper-topped bar, mere feet from the massive wood-fired oven.  When the time comes you’ll either be led to a nearby table or guided to a steep, narrow staircase in the back of the restaurant, at the bottom of which is a cozy room with a fireplace, unadorned save a painting of John F. Kennedy and a pile of chopped wood.  This is where NYC Food Guy found himself with three friends, hungry and warmed by the roaring fire.

Of the four appetizers we ordered, only the Chicken Liver Mousse with Vinegar Onions and Pistachios ($12) offered a totally cohesive dish.  Crisp pistachios and delicately toasted, airy bread balance the decadence of the creamy mousse while the sweet cippolini onions help counter the gamey-ness.

The Oven Roasted Octopus with cranberry beans, olives, mâche, and charred lemon ($12) featured perfectly charred octopus whose flavor and texture was overcome by the strength of the charred lemon rinds and crisp olives.

The fact that the creamy collard greens were the most notable ingredient in the Wood Fired Tart with Collard Greens & Pork Belly ($11) tells us how bland the pork belly and burnt pastry shell were.

Adding some green with the Shaved Market Salad with clothbound cheddar, pecans and caraway vinaigrette ($10) proved to be a one-note maneuver, deriving all its flavor from the red onion strewn throughout the pleasingly crunchy salad.

Our disappointment with the inconsistent appetizers was literally squashed by the appearance of our entrees.  First, the Cast Iron Chicken ($16), which was super juicy and embodied a pleasingly tart flavor reminiscent of the best salt and vinegar potato chips.  The crisp skin echoed a potato chip crunch when not soaked in the addictive jus, so delicious it rendered the flavor of sweet grilled onions useless.

The Red Wattle Country Chop ($24) with homemade sauerkraut featured crispy-skinned slices of sometimes tough, sometimes buttery pork sweetly sauced but devoid of the tender, edible fat NYC Food Guy has grown to love (see: Momofuku Pork Belly).

Le piece de resistance was the special 36 Oz. Rib Eye for Two ($80) which easily served three, justifying its hefty price tag.  Butterflied prior to service, the steak became juicier as it rested.  But the bone provided the most delicious bites as we carved off small, charred bits of gristle-laced meat crusted with salt and spicy crushed peppercorn.

The buttermilk dressing coating the bitter green salad ($8), served as an accompaniment to the Rib Eye, was disappointingly dulled by the wet greens, which hadn’t been dried enough.

Braised kale with ricotta and nutmeg ($8) lacked the flavor and contrast in texture needed to make it stand out.

The seasonal salt baked sweet potato with harissa creme fraiche ($8), however, was bursting with flavor, just not from the harissa.

Pass on dessert as well, the signature Guiness cake ($8) is overpriced considering the boring, dense cake beneath a crown of cream cheese frosting.

Now that your journey is complete, you understand the need for a focused path to satisfaction.  Extraneous appetizers dilute value and valuable stomach space.  Make the outdoors-man in you proud at Vinegar Hill House and stick with the pleasing products of the hunt.

Vinegar Hill House

Char-grilled diced chicken breast dressed in a fiery hot sauce concoction mingles with salty Monterey Jack cheese, creamy, slightly sharp Feta, and sliced red onion all atop a thin tomato sauce.  Make sure to ask for this personal pie to be cooked extra crispy inside Café Duke’s gas-fired brick oven.  Once it’s removed and sprinkled with fresh chopped scallions, you’ll need all the support the sweet, chewy crust can offer beneath the myriad of toppings melding together to create a mouth-watering confluence of salty, spicy and sweet.

Of Café Duke’s three 24-hour Manhattan locations, only the one on 51^st b/t 6^th & 7^th Ave serves pizza.  And specialty pies like the Spicy Chicken are only made until 9PM.  After that they’ll serve standard sized slices and pies only.  Where are your favorite pizza places in Midtown?

Café Duke 140 W 51st St b/t 6^th & 7^th Ave., New York 10020 (212) 445-0010

It’s been a long time coming, but after a summer spent living in the city, it was time for my first post.  And what better food is there for me to review then my absolute favorite, burgers?  Last summer, my friend Evan worked at Bobby Flay’s Mesa Grill, and has been raving about their lunchtime burgers since.  We decided it was time to finally go check them out and give them a proper NYC Food Guy review.

Anyone who considers themselves a foodie has definitely heard of Bobby Flay.  He appears on various Food Network shows and has 5 restaurants across the country as well as a chain of burger joints.  Two things are evident in Bobby’s cooking: He loves burgers and he loves adding a southwestern twist to his food, as you’ll see with both lunchtime burgers being reviewed here.

But before we dive into the burgers, it’s important to talk about the fantastic bread basket that comes first.  Aside from the delicious fresh bread baked on site, the bread basket contains some of the most delicious corn muffins I’ve ever had. Half yellow corn and half blue corn, these rich bites are filled with real pieces of corn and pepper and are so buttery, they render the accompanying butter unnecessary.  They’re a delicious and unexpected start to the meal.

Pressed Cuban Burger with Adobo Fries ($15)

The arrangement of the plate is very simple and elegant.  Although this restaurant is considered more upscale then the ones I’m usually in, it didn’t have that overly fancy feel, which I thought was great. I also love that the burger comes served in wax paper, an homage to the “Cuban” side of the burger.

The cross-section of this burger is pretty overwhelming.  While the picture isn’t great, what you’re looking at below is a big mess of beef covered with thick slices of sweet, salty ham, a layer of pickles and melted Swiss cheese.  While it was definitely a bit sloppy, read on to see how each element came together to provide a crazy mixture of burger and Cuban sandwich that was certainly a tasty and interesting experience.

The Breakdown of the Pressed Cuban Burger:

• Ground Beef: As it says in the name, the Cuban burger is pressed, which naturally takes away some of the great juicy, fluffy texture I love in my burgers.  That being said, it was still a delicious patty of fatty ground beef.  And since fat is where the flavor comes from, it’s nice to see that Bobby’s not afraid to use it.
• Smoked Ham: Bacon is usually the pork on my burger so this was a nice change of pace.  The ham added a very sweet yet salty flavor to the burger mixing very nicely with the pickled vegetables.  My only problem with the ham was that it was slightly overpowering and in certain bites it was the only thing I tasted.  I’m going to stick to bacon from now on.
• Swiss Cheese: I can’t say I’ve ever had Swiss on a burger, but it is classic fare when talking of a Cuban sandwich.  Swiss is pretty mild cheese, therefore it didn’t add much to the actual burger.  It also didn’t take away much, adding a nice creaminess to the whole thing.
• Pickles: A little history about me: I used to be the pickiest eater out there.  I refused to try any new foods, and ate only French fries, pizza and bagels until I was 14.  As my tastes and food selection has expanded, so has my willingness to try new foods.  To this day, I still hate pickles.  I hate when their juice soaks into my French fries and I always make sure they’re not on my sandwich/burger.  With my new view on food, I’ve been very willing to try new things.  I trust Bobby and if he put something on his menu, I’m going to try it that way.  You can now appreciate how surprised I was to actually have liked the pickles on this burger.  They worked very well with the other ingredients and contained not only cucumbers, but jalapenos and peppers.  They didn’t have too overpowering of a pickled flavor as is the case with most deli pickles.
• Dijon & Garlic Mayonnaise: Also a recent mayo convert, this condiment worked very well with this burger.  As an accomplice to the King of Ketchup, I love dousing my burgers in a good amount of ketchup.  This time, I actually held off and used only this mayo that accompanied the burger.  It added a very nice, light flavor to the incredible combination of flavors already on this burger.
• Bun: The weakest part of the burger, the bottom bun just didn’t hold up very well to the plethora of ingredients on top of it.  While size-wise it was appropriate, it got a little too soggy from all of the juices on the burger and could have been toasted.
• Adobo Fries: These fries were seasoned with turmeric, garlic, and oregano to provide a very unique flavor.  They were very hearty French fries, the kind that you can actually taste the potato.  I think they could have also been a little more well-done.  While I preferred the Southwestern fries accompanying the Mesa Burger, my dining partner Evan liked the Adobo fries better.  Both were delicious but it’s obviously a matter of taste.

Bobby’s Mesa Burger with Southwestern Fries ($15)

This is a delicious and more traditional burger than the Pressed Cuban Burger.  With the exception of the wax papper wrapping, its presented in the same manner as the Cuban burger.  This is more along the lines of what you would expect from an upscale Bobby Flay burger.

The cross section on this burger, however, actually looks like a burger.  A nice, loosely packed patty surrounded by lettuce with a thick slice of tomato and two different kinds of melted cheddar on top.  While I’ve definitely had bigger burgers, this one was tasty and clean.

The Mesa Burger Breakdown:

• Ground Beef: While it tasted as if it was the same beef as the Pressed Cuban Burger, this is more the type of patty I love: a delicious blend of beef and fat packed loosely for a great juicy taste that oozes every time you bite in.  You could tell it was a very good quality meat, as it was a clean taste that isn’t going to leave you hurting hours later. It was also cooked to order perfectly and seasoned very well.
• Double Cheddar Cheese: The double cheddar blend is something every burger should have.  I first tasted this at Burger Joint in Le Parker Meridian and fell in love.  It always surprised me that I never saw this elsewhere, until I came to Mesa Grill.  Nothing compliments a burger better than the double blend of cheddar.  Neither were too sharp and overpowering, also something I love in a great cheeseburger.
• Grilled Vidalia Onion: Also another must-have on a burger for me, some fried or well grilled (crispy and sweet) onions need to be present.  These onions were grilled perfectly and provided a great sweet flavor complemeting the meat very well.
• Horseradish Mustard: Not a fan.  I don’t like horseradish sauce or mustard, and the combination certainly did not do it for me.  On the other hand, Evan, who loves both garnishes, enjoyed this condiment as a dipping sauce with the French Fries.
• House Roll: I had the same problems with this roll as I did with the Cuban Burger’s bun.  It got too soggy on the bottom and didn’t hold the big burger that well.  A good burger bun needs to be able to soak up the excess juices of the patty and at the same time hold up all the ingredients of the burger.
• Lettuce & Tomato: I don’t usually leave the healthy stuff on my burger, but again I trust Bobby.  Both ingredients added a crisp, delicious taste to the burger.  However, my first bite of the burger was very leafy, something I was not looking for.  I removed the superfluous lettuce from beneath the burger, which solved the problem.  I recommend you do the same.
• Southwestern Fries: These fries were seasoned well with cilantro, sea salt, oregano, and a touch of garlic and ancho-chili pepper.  As with the Adobo Fries, these were also hearty and delicious and could have used a little more crisp.  That didn’t stop me from finishing the entire bowl, I loved these and couldn’t stop eating them.

Conclusion

While both burgers were very tasty and flavorful, I don’t think I’d go back for either.  The Pressed Cuban Burger was unlike anything I’ve ever tried.  Since I’m not a big fan of pickles or ham, this burger was definitely a risk for me.  I did enjoy it though and would certainly recommend trying it (and its $15 price tag) if you like Cubans sandwiches and burgers.  The Mesa Burger was a very clean, juicy burger that I definitely liked as well.  The only reason I think it was worth $15 was the hearty helping of Southwestern Fries that accompany it.  If I had to put it in a similar league with another burger, it’d be Burger Joint, but I’d take the $7.50 cheeseburger and the $3.50 fries at the Joint any day over this.  The great service, great food and corn bread will certainly bring me back, but I don’t think it will be to have a burger.  Let me know if you feel the same way!

Mesa Grill

Pulled Pork – Chris Lilly, Big Bob Gibson’s Bar-B-Q, Decatur, Alabama

This is the best pulled pork I’ve ever had, hands down.  I can say this confidently because I’ve actually eaten this Decatur, Alabama original twice before thanks to the Big Apple BBQ Block Party.  Lilly is the son-in-law of the owner of Big Bob Gibson’s and he’s the man who has helped make them famous worldwide by winning at least 8 championships at Memphis in May, one of the fiercest BBQ competitions in the United States.  Lilly smokes his pork butts for 16 hours before pulling them off the bone, dressing them in an apple-vinegar concoction and chopping and pulling them to shreds making it juicy and tender, leaving bits of chewy, smokey bark (pork skin, my favorite part).  It’s dressed with Big Bob Gibson’s sweet and slightly spicy BBQ sauce, making it the best bite of BBQ I’ve ever had.

Beef Brisket – Howie Kleinberg, Bulldog Barbecue, Miami, Florida

Most barbecue brisket I’ve eaten is served in long, thin strips with fat curling off in every direction.  It’s rare to see brisket cut thick, like pork belly, fat intact between the tender meat and the crisp, sauce covered skin.  Howie Kleinberg’s brisket is the exception and it was an ethereal experience, transporting me, for a moment, to a place where my mother’s tender, beefy, and juicy brisket came out of an industrial smoker instead of a roast pan.  The former Top Chef Miami contestant who now owns his own joint, Bulldog Barbecue, in North Miami, also delivered burnt end baked beans which struck the perfect balance between spicy and sweet.  I would have enjoyed more brisket instead of the lone, dry rib Kleinberg offered, but I respect his ambition to offer three different dishes at an event where the voracious eaters would have been pleased with one.

Lamb Belly BLT with Duke’s Mayonnaise – Tim Love, Lonesome Dove Western Bistro, Ft. Worth, Texas

“The bacon craze has gone too far,” writes Tim Love at The Daily Beast.  Well he’s a man of his word and after tasting his lamb belly BLT (not pork belly, which appeared in at least 5 featured BubbleQ dishes), I’m a convert!  This is one seriously delicious sandwich.  Fatty, crisp strips of lamb belly sandwiched between Duke’s mayonnaise, a juicy slice of tomato and some field greens.  The lamb’s subtly sweet flavor and tender texture was a welcome break from the sinewy, salty bacon we’ve come to see on so many menus.  It combined with the creamy, slightly spicy Duke’s mayonnaise to contrast and balance a layer of decadence against the bright, fresh vegetables.

Lamb Rib with Calabrian Chiles and Pickled Fennel – Missy Robbins, A Voce, New York, NY

Missy Robbins’ serving station was momentarily empty, save one plated lamb rib, as I pushed through the sea of guests scooping up all available food like they’re preparing for the famine.  I hesitated to snag this solitary, seemingly outcast rib, thinking it must have been sitting there for a while for no one to notice it.  But the glisten of fat and char shimmering off the rib beckoned to me so I photographed it and dug in.  Wow.  If being wrong is always this delicious, I would make it a habit.  The sticky, smokey and flaky char melted away in the fire of the Calabrian Chiles, setting the backdrop for the star: tender, fatty and juicy fall-off-the-bone lamb meat.  I stopped in my tracks shoveling handfuls of delicately pickled, crisp fennel into my mouth to calm the Calabrian Chiles and then I immediately went back to the rib, gnawing on the knuckle, sucking off every bit of fat and meat until my entire right hand was covered in grease forcing me to give an awkward pound to someone I was being introduced to, someone intruding on my moment.  I’m now looking forward to trying Chef Robbins’ Italian food at one of her two A Voce locations in Manhattan, one on the 3rd floor at Columbus Circle and another on Madison Ave and 26th Street.

]]> http://nycfoodguy.com/2010/02/27/bubbleq-best-bites-at-2010-sobe-wine-food-festival/feed/ 4 http://nycfoodguy.com/2010/02/26/skirt-steak-eggs-breslin-vs-yuca-bar/ http://nycfoodguy.com/2010/02/26/skirt-steak-eggs-breslin-vs-yuca-bar/#comments Fri, 26 Feb 2010 16:06:37 +0000 The NYC Food Guy http://nycfoodguy.com/?p=4352 Skirt Steak and eggs: the Clint Eastwood of breakfast.  Its been around forever and it’s still badass.  And while The Breslin tries to cement its badass status with a no reservations policy and a meat-centric menu, Yuca Bar draws diners and imbibers to its Latin American oasis as coolly as Clint draws movie viewers.  So which skirt steak and eggs is the genuine article: The $17 Breslin version or the $13.95 Yuca Bar prix fixe?

I had steak and eggs for the first time just two years ago at Yuca Bar.  And after a 24-year wait, my initial reaction to chimichurri covered skirt steak and a mini-mountain of fluffy scrambled eggs was: “I need more of this!”   So it was with great excitement that I chose The Breslin, created by The Spotted Pig’s chef-restaurateur team of April Bloomfield and Ken Friedman, as the site of my second steak and eggs experience.  And fortunately, our basis for comparison is equal because like Yuca Bar, Ms. Bloomfield’s dish features skirt steak topped with a Latin-inspired sauce.

STEAK: The Breslin

The Breslin’s skirt steak is tender, cooked to a perfect medium rare and wears a nice outer char.  Yuca’s skirt steak could use a little more outer char but it pleasing fattiness makes it a shortcoming that’s easy to overlook.

STEAK TOPPING: Yuca Bar

When it comes to flavor, The Breslin’s “green sauce” is more grasshopper to Yuca Bar’s Incredible Hulk chimichurri.  The Breslin’s version may look nice but like a grasshopper, it’s off in the bushes, heard but not seen, on the plate but without any strong flavor presence save some mild acidity.

Yuca Bar’s concoction of onion, red pepper, garlic, and cilantro awakens your taste buds like a Hulk-A-Smash, so delicious that you should make sure to ration some for each bite.

EGGS: Yuca Bar

Comparing scrambled eggs to sunny side up is unfair but execution is unbiased and while The Breslin’s eggs look great, they were greasier than you’d expect from a kitchen of Ms. Bloomfield’s caliber.  Yuca’s plentiful scrambled eggs are always fluffy and satisfyingly moist, an airy contrast to the skirt steak’s sinewy texture.

POTATOES: Yuca Bar

No contest here.  $17 doesn’t even afford you potatoes at The Breslin.  For $13.95 Yuca Bar offers the choice of rice and beans or potatoes!  I advise the potatoes, a flavorful, albeit under-crisped (even when I ask for it well done), conglomeration of white potato, sweet potato, pepper, and onion.  And it’s all included in the prix fix.  Beat that Breslin.

EXPERIENCE ENHANCERS: Yuca Bar

NYC Food Guy always tries to enhance a meal by adding elements such as condiments or side dishes that might not be considered.  At The Breslin, this was as simple as asking for hot sauce.  And to my pleasant surprise, it was Tapatio, a popular West Coast hot sauce made of a secret blend of Chile peppers.  It’s spicy without overpowering and it was a mandatory enhancement to the Breslin’s bland accouterments.

At Yuca, I implore you to order a side of sweet plantains.  If they’re freshly sauteed and brought to your table immediately, then you’re in for a treat. Caramelized pockets of piping hot, chewy goodness.  They’re equally as delicious plain as they are combined with a bite of steak, eggs,  potato, and chimichuri.

WINNER: Yuca Bar

It’s a landslide.  Yuca Bar takes 4 of 5 categories.  And I know what you must be thinking:  If Yuca Bar loses the steak category, how can I even consider it? Well it’s the sum of the parts that equal the whole and on value alone, Yuca Bar is the winner.  But it certainly helps that Yuca Bar dominates every other category.  Looks like the new Clint Eastwood drinks caprihina.

]]> http://nycfoodguy.com/2010/02/26/skirt-steak-eggs-breslin-vs-yuca-bar/feed/ 3