Deciding where to take Mike for his birthday dinner was quite difficult this year. I cooked him his favorites on Friday, however, I wanted to take him out somewhere special. After my birthday at WD50 with the best meal I have EVER had, I knew I wouldn’t be able to beat it, but I had to make sure it was a good place. I was debating Ninja, but I hear that while the entertainment is fun, the food is only so-so (and horrifically expensive). I thought about a classic like Gramery Tavern or Bouley, but then I heard such rave reviews about Quality Meats (on West 58th Street between 5th and 6th Ave) that I decided to take a gamble and try it out.
The decorations were nice with all old fashioned light bulbs and wines stacked to make partial walls. The downstairs had an interesting room with 2 chairs, and antique phone, and a bull… which lent itself well to a good, cheesy photo op. (Mike is such a ham. Love it.)
For the wine, we chose to take a chance with the “Sommelier’s Bin” which provided a good bottle of wine for $75 that was orphaned from a previous special. Our wine was just okay, but it was nice to know we got a good value (the wine would have normally gone for well over $100).
It was too dark at our table to take pics without flash, so I tried to pick my photo ops wisely and waited for the entire table to be laid out before snapping away. The only items that missed the shot were the 2 figs with goat cheese that we began with and then the appetizer we ordered of fresh tomato salad (which was good, but nothing special).
The main course was quite a spread. Mike ordered the aged rib steak and I went with the aged bone-in sirloin. Our waitress said that while the filets are good, these two cuts were even better, so we trusted her. They both had EXCELLENT char on them, though I liked my sirloin a wee bit better. We both agreed that even the steak sauce was great and neither Mike nor I like steak sauce.
Mike ordered the Yorkshire Creamed Spinach and I was told the Corn Creme Brulee was not to be missed. The creamed spinach was tasty and I liked the pastry around it, but it fell a wee bit short somehow.
The Corn Creme Brulee, however, WOW! This was probably one of the single best things I have ever eaten. Thank you Hyun for insisting that we order this! It was perfectly flavored with fresh corn in a custard like creme and perfectly seared on top to make a crackle. It was absolute heaven.
For dessert, Mike wanted chocolate rum raisin ice cream (which tasted deliciously rummy) and I went with the blueberry tart that had stewed peached. It was delicious, though the peaches were cut so small that they had almost 0 flavor. My favorite part, however, was that a odd green sauce was around the edge. Turns out it was basil and mint and it was Fan.Freakin.Tastic. I could have drank the stuff! The tart itself was great, however, and I wish I had the room to finish it!
Overall, I thought Quality Meats was pretty fantastic. The steak was some of the best I’ve had (rivaled Keen’s even! My favorite) and the corn creme brulee just sent it over the top. It’s an expensive meal, but I felt like we got our money’s worth (by NYC Steak House standards anyway).
Total Nom Points: 8.5 out of 10 (and 10 out of 10 for that corn creme brulee!)
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