a dinner at Quality Meats

Greeted by a white plastic cow's head, the sultry deep caverns of Quality Meats surprised me. The venue is part of the Smith and Wollensky empire, a detail which comes as a surprise when you take in the massive cuts of meat. The decor of the three-story restaurant is from the hands of downtown design group AvrkoKO- and quite stunning with polished walnut planks, industrial steel meat hooks and a bar lined with bourbon jars of mash.

Our group settled to a table in in the corner of the top floor-- tucking into a crowd dominated by tragically good looking young professionals. A cast iron bowl of piping hot herbed bread and sweet cream butter, as well a wooden tray of figs brulee-style were placed before us. Our statuesque server approached with a contained enthusiasm, "Did I notice a wobble in your table? I have a trick." He pulled a wedge out of his pocket and crawled under our legs, "There!" (Come now, that's an aggressive icebreaker. We all determined it was his signature move. There was no wobble).

We ordered two bottles- Cloudy Bay Sauvignon Blanc and Freemark Abbey Merlot from Napa. Stunning and excellent in pairs with our trail of starters: U7 shrimp cocktail (knife and fork needed, three sauces: wasabi, ginger and cocktail) and the QM colossal lump crab cake.

As well, we sampled the bone marrow, which came with buttery toast and a savory fruit compote with bacon.

Segue, to the mains. The fish special: Wild Striped Sea Bass with fork crushed Yukons and sauce veirge. Flecked with capers, the dish offered an aesthetic appeal.

The rest of us didn't stray: Porterhouse for three. Yes. Three. A heaping dish of thick and bloody steak that I'm arguing we somehow finished. If steak were velvet, this would be it.

To compliment this gorgeous shared plate, we ordered three sides: King Oyster mushrooms, Yorkshire creamed spinach (baked in a pastry) and minty edamame with sea salt. The mushrooms could have been meat- thick, massive and somewhere between tender and al dente.

My spread (yes, I couldn't resist seconds. Maybe thirds. Shhh...it's Winter. I need a little meat added to my bones:)

images: from my iPhone

a brunch at Wolfgang's Tribeca

From Wolfgang Zweiner, a former head waiter at Peter Luger in Brooklyn, comes Wolfgang's Steakhouse in Tribeca. The vaulted ceilings and massive dining room were quite ideal for our large group. In the tradition of steakhouse decor, the venue is clad in mahogany, exposed brick and arched ceilings with mosaic tiles. We sipped thick bloody marys before transitioning to champagne with our meals.

While most at the table opted for the unadventurous caesar salad with grilled chicken, or the Beverly Hills salad ( romaine lettuce, fresh baby spinach, green peas, carrots, corn, cucumber red sweet pepper, red cabbage, hearts of palm, avocado, feta cheese with house vinaigrette), others opted for the steak sandwich. I teamed up with another at the table to share the jumbo lump crab cake and Yellowfin tuna with braised asparagus and wasabi. The crab cake was quite excellent- not needing the accompanying tartar sauce to enhance the flavor. The tuna came seared and in what I would consider a portion for three people. I finished about 1/4 of the total steak.

We ordered a few shared plates: cottage fries and bacon for seven. The cottage fries are giant oval slices (1/2 cm thick) fried and lightly salted. Fairly simple, they were a little addictive after a few bites. In the Peter Luger tradition, the Canadian bacon came sizzling and in extra thick slabs.

Though the meal was quite good, I would have preferred it later than Saturday Brunch time. Service: flawless.

Images: from my iPhone.

a dinner at Mark Joseph

Noted for the "spattering of wise guys," Mark Joseph Steakhouse is tucked around the corner of Peck Slip, in the Downtown Manhattan's South Street Seaport. Slightly empty and overly air-conditioned, we tucked ourselves into a table for what is noted as the city's best steak. Co-owned by a former Peter Luger man, the onion rolls coupled with the simplicity of the menu speak to the inspired charm. We ordered a bottle of 2006 Zinfandel from Napa and a few slabs of the signature Canadian Bacon. Thick cut and sizzling, we dipped the meat in the tangy house sauce, per the suggestion of our waiter.

Our second course, the Hearts of Lettuce with Tomato, also comes recommended for your succession of courses. The chef chopped and split the salad- offering us two boats of dressing- from scratch blue cheese and Italian. I leaned to the blue cheese which is pitch perfect with hearty chunks of cheese.

And the star: Porterhouse for two. This is arguably the largest plate that has ever been placed before me. The waiter selected pieces of filet- noting the savagely hot plate as an avenue of cooking your meat longer. The dish is served dripping in its own sizzling and buttery fat. It's amazing. We couldn't possibly have finished it.



Images: NY Mag, Roadfood(dot)com