Tag Archives: broadway

Quality Italian Steakhouse and the Pizza Pie size Chicken Parm

20 Nov

We have been meaning to go to Quality Italian Steakhouse since it opened. We loved our meal at Quality Meats a few years ago, and I really loved General Assembly (even though it closed) which are both from the same restaurant group (Fourth Wall Restaurants, who also has Smith & Wolensky amongst others).

On a night before a Broadway musical, we decided it was time to finally try the (in)famous restaurant.

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I actually hadn’t realized that “Steakhouse” was part of the name until I saw the awning upon entering.

The inside had the industrial chic feel that I’m a total sucker for.

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And I really liked the little details, such as the “QI” on the edge of each tablecloth, right where it hung off the table.

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They served parker house rolls, which were pretty good, but not my favorite version of them.

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As we were browsing the menu, the table next to us had a live flambee, which wound up catching the entire table on fire for a moment.  It was quite the spectacle, but was handled with grace.

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We decided to split a few things in preparation for the Chicken Parm that they are famous for (more on that later).

First we tried the Artichoke Maccheroni, which was like baked macaroni and cheese with artichokes in it.  It was delicious, but as a total artichoke lover, I was hoping for more big chunks of artichoke.

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And of course we had to split the corn creme brulee, which is always my favorite part of the other restaurants.  This one was very good, but not quite up to the same quality that I have come to love.  If this was my first time trying it, I would have been impressed. But I know how good it CAN be, so I was a bit bummed that the corn creme was a bit loose and the brulee was a bit charred without being as crispy as I have come to love.  But I’m being far too picky, because it was really lovely.

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Our table was then set with a stand, ready for the chicken parm, with some extra greens and seasoning below.

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And then out it came.  Before I could even flash a picture, they were slicing it up and serving us pieces. (To be honest, the man who was serving our food, not our waiter, made me uncomfortable. I felt like he was in a rush and was very annoyed that I was taking pictures, so he managed to shove spoons in the sides and a pizza cutter into my shot each time… grrrr).

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We were served a slice each.

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And boy oh boy… this was so good. It was everything you wanted it to be.  Perfectly juicy chicken with a crispy outside that wasn’t made at all soggy by the thick layer of slightly charred cheese and crispy leaves of basil. I am pretty sure I moaned as I ate this.

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At one point during our meal, our very nice waiter offered to serve us another slice. When we said we could serve it ourselves (to be polite), he said it was actually much easier to serve it from a standing position.  We questioned this until Mike tried to serve the next piece himself…

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It was a tragedy to see that beautiful piece of chicken parm hit the ground.  I wiped a tear.  A waste of very good food.

I absolutely loved that chicken parm.  It was a HUGE portion for the two of us (we had it for dinner the next day) so it almost made it worth the $29 per person price tag. Yes… you read that right… we spent nearly $60 on a chicken parm.

And you know what? I have 0 regrets.

I have to dock a little bit of points for the weirdly rushes service and for the not quite as great as I’ve had it before corn creme brulee, but that chicken parm… man oh man… I want some more RIGHT NOW.

Total Nom Points: 7.5 out of 10

Total Nom Points: 7.5 out of 10

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Tenpenny- A surprisingly great meal near Broadway

23 Apr

We live near Broadway, so we go out in the area more than most.  The Broadway/Times Square area is not known for having great food. There are some gems, but almost the entire area is over priced, over crowded, and underwhelming.

We were looking for another hidden gem so I pulled open my Immaculate Infatuation app and found their recommendation for Tenpenny. They had a reservation at the right time (and wound up being pretty empty at the early, pre-theater hour we visited) so we went for it.  It is also within walking distance of Grand Central station, so it’s located near a lot of places where I am frequently asked to find restaurants.

Tenpenny is located in the Gotham Hotel on 46th Street. The restaurant has a great feel and you certainly wouldn’t believe you’re right in the middle of all the city action here.

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There is a skylight in the back that offers a lovely NY high rise view and lots of sun light on a nice day like when we went.

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Immaculate Infatuation also had mentioned crispy artichokes (which are one of my favorite foods ever), however, they were not on the menu this time. ::sad face::

The bread was a really nice crispy crust and fluffy inside. And I really enjoyed the garlic and rosemary sliced into the olive oil. (The other was red pepper flakes, so I had to stay away).

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We tried the OPP or “Other People’s Pinot.” It was a Pinot Noir and we really enjoyed it.

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It was from a winery called Mouton Noir and I really enjoyed the cap.

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We decided to start with the crostini and we tried the smoked salmon & dill creme fraiche crostini and the crispy pork belly, spiced yogurt & fuji apple crostini.  The smoked salmon and dill one was okay (though I’m not a huge fan of salmon) but I really enjoyed the crispy pork belly.

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The bread on both was fantastic and I really enjoyed the pork and apple combination on the second one.

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Mike went with the Lamb Porterhouse which was cast iron seared Colorado lamb with house butter. It had a great lamby flavor that we both really enjoyed.

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I chose the Heritage Pork Rach which was house brined, pan seared, and served with bourbon pork jus.

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There was a really nice sear on the chop and it was surprisingly juicy and tender all throughout. The bourbon jus was also a really great compliment.

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It also came with a small onion tartlet that I really enjoyed. The onions were perfectly caramelized and the pastry itself had great flavor.

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Tenpenny serves their entrees as mostly just the meat, so you do need to get a side on its own (which definitely puts the meal further into the pricey category). We chose the brussels sprouts. They were delicious and the way we like them (with pork) but weren’t as crispy as we like. We are quite particular about our brussels, however!

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We then decided to try some dessert, and we started with 2 glasses of after dinner drinks. I chose a dessert wine and Mike got a port.

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Mike chose the pecan pie with cinnamon gelato and caramel sauce. This was quite good.  The pecans were nicely cooked without being over sweet, and the  pastry was a nice compliment to the sweetness.

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I went with the chocolate caramel mousse with espresso anglaise and toasted hazelnuts.

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The mousse was the perfect texture with the crisp chocolate on top and cookie-like crust on the bottom.  Really nice dessert and looked beautiful.

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Overall, Tenpenny was a great find. A bit expensive (especially since the entrees don’t really come with any sides), but the quality is there to make it a worthwhile place to eat and worth the midtown price tag. It’s hard to get away from a costly meal in that area of town, but with the others being much lower quality, I think Tenpenny is a great place to go.  All our food had great flavor and was cooked and presented with obvious care. It’s also just a nice place to spend an evening. We sat and leisurely enjoyed our meal and drinks.

Total Nom Points: 7.5 out of 10

Total Nom Points: 7.5 out of 10

 

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Smush: “The NY Deli of Desserts”

29 Oct DSCF2042

Just across the street from Bryant Park, there seems to be a collection of dessert shops opening up.  A chocolate store opened up a few months ago, and then a few signs popped up for various dessert places, including what looks like it will be a patisserie and, of course, Smush.  Smush bills itself as “The NY Deli of Desserts” and is decked out in neon signs and fun art.

They have signature sandwiches to choose from.

Or you can make your own by choosing a cookie, spread, toppings, and ice cream.

They have a display of their cookies to choose from.

We showed up right at closing time, and while they were all but closed, they offered to stay open to make our Smushes. They only had 2 flavors left: pumpkin and french toast.  I signed right up for the pumpkin while Mike went for the french toast.

They even make their own ice cream here, which was individually wrapped and ready to be smushed.

Our Smush man made our sandwiches.

I went with nutella, pretzels, and vanilla ice cream on my smush.

Mike went with bananas and vanilla ice cream on his french toast cookie.

And the verdict?

SOOOOO good!

The cookies were perfectly done, soft enough to be enjoyable yet hard enough to be a perfect conduit for everything in between.  The ice cream was equally perfect for immediate eating.  And the pretzels I added to mine were a great salty crunch.  I love being able to choose all the ingredients and flavors to suit my mood. And the fact that it tasted great and was the perfect texture all the way through left me recommending Smush to just about everyone in the area.

And when I picked up the paper underneath after finishing my Smush, I noticed a little smart touch. A wet nap at the very bottom.

Overall, Smush was much better than expectation and we really enjoyed it.  A perfect snack for after dinner, before or after a Broadway show, or basically anytime you have a hankering for something sweet in midtown.

I would really like one right now, actually!

Total Nom Points: 8 out of 10

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