steak club #1

there are so many steakhouses in NYC that i've tried and haven't tried, and my S.O. and i always have this argument as to which steakhouse is best. so we've decided to eat at every steakhouse in NYC (even the boroughs!) until we have a definitive winner. we call it "steak club".

we had our first steak club dinner on friday with four of our friends at Old Homestead Steakhouse, which makes sense, since Old Homestead is supposedly the oldest steakhouse in NYC. (i'm not planning to eat at the 2nd oldest steakhouse next.) i actually chose Old Homestead because i see it all the time, i've heard so many mixed reviews (mostly less than stellar) and we've actually takeout from Old Homestead while working across the street, but it was sorta eh.

so i went with less than the highest expectations on the food... and Old Homestead definitely surprised us. the crabcake was full of large, tender chunks of jumbo lump crabmeat. the manhattan clam chowder (soup of the day) was clammy and flavorful. even the chef's special bread appetizer (toasted garlic bread with a parmesan sauce) was different but yummy (suggestion: try dipping the onion bread in the parmesan sauce - mmmm). a plain old tomato and mozzarella salad had seasonal and juicy tomatoes, although the mozzarella was unmemorable. the biggest disappointments were the salads: the signature salad was barely chopped, tossed or good; and the iceberg wedge was blanketed with dressing.

the steaks also blew us away. one of my fellow diners thought the gotham ribsteak was one of the best he'd ever had. my prime rib had that delicious aged aroma. i didn't like the whole peppercorns crusting the prime rib; i'm not a fan, and i wish i had some warning. we aren't generally fans of filet mignon (it's just so lean - fat is flavor!), but Old Homestead's filet mignon on the bone actually had flavor and fat; that bone really makes the difference. and everything was perfectly cooked.

the one entree we didn't like was the american kobe burger. at $41, it was dry (REALLY DRY), crumbly and tasteless. the accompanying sauces were no addition. the entire thing was unfortunate.

of the side dishes, we loved the creamed spinach (really creamy, really spinachy, no competing flavors) and the super crispy hash browns. the steak fries made me sad - there were so few, and they weren't even good. we also had asparagus with hollandaise, which was fine.

they had a very varied and interesting wine list, which has been awarded a Wine Spectator award of approval. we went with an inexpensive malbec as well as a portuguese red (double the price of the malbec, but not as drinkable). i liked that the options were available.

if you have room for dessert, which we really didn't, the cheesecake is good and so was the key lime pie, but really, who needs those calories???

finally, the service and room... it was loud (it may have had something to do with the table next to ours that continuously toasted something or other throughout their entire dinner) and i didn't really care for the layout (or location - meatpacking district, ugh) of the restaurant. plus, they tried to seat us at a table right next to the waiters' station (i asked for a different table; it's so difficult to enjoy a meal in the midst of the thoroughfare). the service, considering the number of waitstaff - which was almost 1:1 with the number of diners, was pretty crappy. there was a lot of running around, and not so much actual serving.

overall, the food, particularly the meat, was excellent, but the experience was only good. i would think the oldest steakhouse in NYC would have gotten rid of the kinks by now.

Old Homestead Steakhouse
56 9th Ave
New York, NY 10011
212/242.9040

first time to maine

last weekend, one of my dearest girlfriends was married in Kennebunkport, Maine. having never been to Maine, i thought this was a perfect opportunity to enjoy a lot of LOBSTER and see these quaint seaside towns that i had envisioned my entire life. i did some research, and found spots close to Kennebunkport to enjoy meals.

we flew into Portland International Jetport (PWM) on Delta (i HATE delta - more on that later), rented a car and headed south to Kennebunkport. once we arrived, i couldn't believe that on a Thursday afternoon we were stuck in 15 minutes of TRAFFIC, just driving through the town of Kennebunkport. we arrived at and checked into the Nonantum Resort, the hotel where we were staying AND where the wedding/reception was held.

the Nonantum is pricey (during high season $350+/night). we stayed in a regular room (double or queen bed) in the main building (Carriage House Inn), and i don't think we've stayed in a crappier room EVER (#210): faded 1980s, Laura Ashley-esque wallpaper, wicker furniture and a sagging mattress... not to mention, we were right next to the ice and vending machines AND the housekeeping station. but the two worst offenses were a) the room was uneven - walking from the bathroom to the wicker day bed was 14.0% grade incline, to the point that if you didn't hold open the closet door, it would slam shut due solely to gravity; and b) the walls were so paperthin that when the cellphone of the girl in room 208 would ring, both my S.O. and i would look at our phones to see if it was our phone ringing!

enough about the rooms (which all of my friends and i couldn't get enough of - it was sadly the main talk of the weekend), because the view and grounds for this hotel are beautiful. my suggestion is to get married there, but stay ELSEWHERE.

kennebunkport seemed so picturesque, but each time i went to town via car, it really took minimum 15 minutes (and sometimes up to 30 minuutes) to get through a 5-block town, that it sorta ruined the experience for me. also, it's so TOURISTY - there are at least four gift shops on each block, which takes away from the quaintness.

we did eat a delicious meal in Kennebunkport at The Clam Shack. it's literally a stand, with outdoor, picnic-style seating, but the fried whole clams were AMAZING. the clam chowder was pretty good (somewhere between creamy and watery). but i was disappointed with the lobster roll, which was small and on a hamburger bun! the bun was good, but the entire thing was a bit too chewy and cold.

friday we decided to drive around Kennebunk, Wells and Ogunquit to really get a feel for southern Maine. unfortunately, every beachside town involved 20-30 minutes of major traffic to get through town. plus, state law requires drivers to stop for pedestrians at all times, so cars would suddenly brake even if the pedestrian was still a ways off, taking the law quite seriously.

for lunch we tried Barnacle Billy's in Ogunquit. it's a bustling restaurant towards the end of a small beachy street, with outdoor patio seating overlooking the dock. i loved the location, despite the traffic getting there. our food took a while to come out, and once it came, we were, again, not thrilled. the clam chowder was the most impressive - creamy and very clammy, this was a really delicious bowl of clam chowder. the lobster roll, on a hot dog bun, was too wet, which took away from the large chunks of lobster in it. and there wasn't much lobster in it anyway. the garlic bread (which my S.O. ordered) was made from frozen bread and had not a hint of garlic. and finally, the 2lb lobster that i devoured... it would've been better had it not been slightly overcooked to chewy rather than tender. but it did have a huge stick of roe inside which was a lovely surprise. mmmm.

on saturday, we checked out a sandwich spot on the fringe of Kennebunkport (not in the town's main drag) that we had passed the day before. there was a sign outside that said "Award-Winning Sandwiches", and of course i wanted an award-winning sandwich. unfortunately, my dress for the wedding was fitting snugger than i'd hoped at this point, with all of the food i'd consumed, so i had to suffice with splitting a large cheesesteak from Bennett's Store with my S.O. oh my - this sandwich was absolutely delicious. the bread was crispy on the outside, doughy, yeasty and wonderful on the inside. the meat was finely chopped and not too greasy, with the perfect meat to provolone cheese ratio. this is where i would certainly return.

on sunday, we drove to portland for the day to see what portland had to offer us. it turned out, there wasn't much. my friend mike, with whom i went to university, suggested a breakfast spot Bintliff's for great pancakes, so that's where we headed. mike's suggestion was FANTASTIC. a crowded spot, with incredibly friendly host and servers, i had what was the best lobster roll i'd encountered in Maine! it was tender, oozing in butter, with a hint of tang from a light touch of lemon mayonnaise on a warm, toasted hot dog bun. i could've eaten 8 of them. plus their ranch dressing (which i experienced with the side salad that came with my lobster roll) was OUT OF THIS WORLD. my S.O. had the buttermilk pancakes (ginormous, yet light and fluffy and wonderful) with a side of applewood smoked bacon which he said was the best bacon he'd ever had (unfortunately, he gobbled it up so quickly, no one else could try). i wish i'd tried so many other things, but first on my list for next time is the corned beef hash - huge chunks of real corned beef - i was drooling as they served it to the table next to ours.

finally, on route to the airport, i got a little lost, but luckily found this soft-serve ice cream place (which wasn't on my list of places to try, but i'm so happy we practically drove into this spot), Red's Dairy Freeze, which had some of the best soft-serve ice cream i've ever tried. not to be mistaken for the yogurt-flavored frozen yogurt spots that have been sprouting everywhere, this was good old-fashioned soft-serve ice cream. you could even get chocolate Magic Shell if you wanted, or a Nor'Easter - a McFlurry-like concoction. But i'm generally a purist. the vanilla was exactly what you wanted it to be.

supposedly i missed a great lobster roll at Mabel's Lobster Claw in Kennebunkport right up the street from our hotel, and from what i've heard, it actually is rustic in areas north of Portland. so maybe, Maine deserves another chance? for now, i'm perfectly content devouring the fantastic lobster rolls at Pearl Oyster Bar, which is an $8 cab ride from home, instead of having to suffer through Delta's $300 flights to Maine that are always oversold AND delayed over 2 hours just because there's too much flight traffic.