MarkJoseph Steakhouse - Financial District, NY

Restaurant week creeps upon us twice a year, in the blistering cold and in the scorching sun. It's always that time when J and I have a hard time deciding if we want to go to any participating restaurants and which ones.

This year, we decided to drag along 2 friends with us to a steakhouse. I mean, how can you say no to steak? I've done a good share of researching. I'm the type of person that wants to know what I'm exactly getting at a restaurant for a deal that they usually don't offer. What I mean is a lot of places would either lessen the plate of the food or just serve you something that's what you expect. I don't like surprises...in that way.

MarkJoseph was the winner for us and I gladly made the reservations.
The date we chose to eat as MarkJoseph will forever be memorable, just because the next day, NYC had the biggest snow storm in a long time. It was already snowing pretty hard when we left the restaurant. But, now back to the food.

The service was quite superb. Even dining during restaurant week, I felt like an appreciated patron. The food was amazing. Definitely the best deal we got. We started off with the thick cut Canadian Bacon and Baked Clams, both were very good. Of course, portion size was cut in half since it was restaurant week, but that's ok. Then onto the main course, we all ordered the Sirloin Steak which was 20oz each. Cooked perfectly to medium rare and served on a sizzling hot plate. The steak was so tender, add some salt or use their in-house steak sauce or nothing at all. Each steak came with mashed potatoes and creamed spinach. For once, the mashed potatoes actually tasted like potatoes and wasn't covered and mixed with butter and cream, the spinach tasted like spinach and not fancied up cream that had a gloppy consistently.

Lastly, the dessert was simple yet delicious. The Mini Brownie Sundae definitely was a nice ending touch to a wonderfully satisfying meal. Oh, forgot to mention, the wine was amazing also. If you're curious, we ordered the 2011 Ruffino Chianti Classico Reserve from Tuscany, really good bang for you buck wine.

I'd go back to MarkJoseph in a heartbeat. It's hard to find a good steakhouse in NYC because there are just too many, but once you find one that you like, don't let it go, keep it in your radar.

Verdict:
Food ~ 4.5 out of 5
Price ~ 4 out of 5
Service ~ 4 out of 5

2011 Ruffino Chianti Classico Reserve

Thick Cut Canadian Bacon

Baked Clams

Sirloin Galore

Brownie Sundae

MarkJoseph Steakhouse
261 Water Street
New York, NY 10038

Yakiniku West - great late night bbq

So it was around 9pm, J and I were getting hungry after a few glasses of wine. We were hungry but didn't exactly want anything heavy so small plates would be perfect for us.

Yakiniku West popped into our heads because of the interesting take-off-your-shoes concept before entering into the dining rooms with the tables. Good thing I brought my flats along for easy slip-ons and offs. The tables are a lot lower than your average dining tables and you sit on the floor, but no worries, they have holes right underneath the table for leg room. Oh, and cushioned seats for your buttocks, so comfortable haha

We ordered an array of dishes (about 6 dishes plus a drink) to grill and the total of everything was less than $50, mind blown!

J was curious about this OneCup sake and when it came out I started laughing. It looked like those cup they give you at the doctors to do a #1 for a body check up. The taste on the other hand was like unfiltered house sake, I wasn't a fan.

Love me some Agedashi Tofu when I can get my hands on it. I love how light the tofu is and the dashi soy broth is just so refreshing. Pieces of tofu here are pretty big, one piece can be split into quarters while other places I can just split them in half and fit it in my mouth (that's what she said!).

The first time we had Yooke was at Takashi and it blew my mind. Ever since, J and I were on the search for the best Yooke and up until this day, Takashi is still in the #1 spot. YW's Yooke isn't bad, beef was tender and we liked that touch of cucumbers in it, but also agreed that something was missing. A flavor was lacking but we just couldn't put our hands on it.

Grilling at a Japanese restaurant is totally different than a Korean restaurant because you're not rushed. Every time I'm at a Korean restaurant, the waitress/waiter always come by and cooks the food and quickly places it on our plates. At a Japanese restaurant, you cook it yourself and get to experience it. Which is what I like about it, I can control how much I want on the grill because I like eating it piping hot and fresh off the grill.

Everything was delicious. We were given dipping sauce but some weren't really needed. Tongue was the best and next came the pork cheek but everything was excellent.

Really dig this spot because of the atmosphere, concept and decor. Great place for group get-togethers.

Yakiniku West
218 E 9th St
New York, NY 10003
(212) 979-9238

Thalia Restaurant - how can you say no to such cheap aphrodisiacs

J and I always have a hard time deciding where to eat, and we get annoyed and upset at each other about it but we get over it quick. This time, we ended up at Thalia's. Apparently they have HH $1 oysters after 7pm, unlike other places which ends at that time.

Thalia was big, there were couches for the lounge-y feeling, high tables for the sophisticated and regular dining tables for the romantic. We came without a reservation, waited for about 15 minutes for a table which was understandable.

Started out with a pitcher of Rose Sangria, it was more fruity than anything else and the Rose tasted really light. I also don't like how the ice melted so quickly making the drink a lot more watery than it should be.

Some bread and olive oil was served. J liked the foccacia but I barely had any since I wasn't a big fan of this type of olive oil.

We didn't order too much food because the waiter advised that we already had a lot of food already. It's nice when the waiter can judge the amount of food and tell if it would be too much or too little. Plus, in the end he was right.

The HH $1 oysters was really good. They were a decent size and each one packed with meat. I also ordered half a dozen of clams, J doesn't like it as much as I do but these were a bit briney and fishy...definitely could've passed. I really wanted another round of oysters but held myself back from ordering.

It took a while for our next dish to come which made the oysters set into the stomach and made us pretty glad we didn't order another round. The Fried Sweetbreads, special of the night, was amazing. The vinegar glaze went so well with the delicately fried sweetbreads, along with the watercress and onions, it was a match-made in heaven. For those that don't know what sweetbreads are, it's the throat or pancreas of a calf or lamb. In this case, it's the "throat" of a calf...taste very similar to the consistency of brain, it has that mushy feeling.

So at this point, we were at the brim of being full because the entree took a looong time to come.

The Filet Mignon w/ pork reduction, fingerling potatoes and broccoli rabe was quite impeccable. The steak was encrusted with a layer of dried cranberries and what seems to taste like breadcrumbs. But anyways, it was really good and cooked nicely to a medium rare which we ordered.

After such a satisfying meal, there was no room left for dessert. I'd love to come back just so I can have endless amounts of oysters. Next time, I'll stick to glasses of wine rather than the sangrias...

Thalia Restaurant
828 8th Ave
New York, NY 10019
(212) 399-4444 

Brennan & Carr - a special independence day in the heat

This year's July 4th was insanely hot, like temperature hot, like I want to dance naked in the street hot. J and I wanted to go to the beach but you see, we woke up late...actually, we woke up around 8 and was like let's sleep a little more and rolled over and passed out. The next thing we knew, it was already 11 and we had to sluggishly push ourselves up and get ready. So, by the time we got in the car and headed off to the beach, there was a long line just for parking...we turned around and drove off.

Needing something in our stomach, more like J's stomach since I already had steak for lunch haha

Brennan & Carr was on our list for a while, because of their roast beef sandwich. The place looked like a little cabin, gave me the cute vibe.

The Onion Rings were ok, had too much batter going on there and just a small amount of onion in the center. Plus, it was like hard-crunchy not fresh good crunchy. Need to go get my fix on onion rings now since this didn't cut it.

The menu wasn't big, but there were different variety of things. Everyone there ordered the clam chowder and what seems like iced tea, must be really good...must order next time.

J ordered this massive sandwich which he inhaled in like 5 seconds. The Gargiulo Burger obviously appealed to J because of the beef patty, roast beef, cheese, and onions, plus it was dipped into this heavenly beef broth. It was good but also really meaty and heavy.

I had a regular Roast Beef Sandwich with cheese, didn't want onions this time. Very simple and quite excellent. Mine was dipped also, makes it less dry and a lot easier to eat. I wished I had the appetite to finish it but the steak that was sitting in my stomach earlier was fighting me. J ended up finishing my half sandwich, fatty!

The atmosphere was really laid back and the staff there were nice. Looks like they came out of a 1970s movie, cool eh?

Brennan & Carr
3432 Nostrand Ave
Brooklyn, NY 11229
(718) 769-1254

Whitman's - A suprise that will leave me speechless

I know J has been wanting a Juicy Lucy for the longest time. The idea of having melted cheese in a burger is just something we can't pass up on. Plus, I was totally in the mood for a burger and something fried...

J ordered a Negra Modelo ($7) beer. I'm not a big fan of beer so I just stuck with my water.

The Fried Pickles ($4) were alright. I didn't like them as much just because I thought they were too thin and weren't crunchy enough. The dipping sauce was delicious though, I'm sure it's not cheese but J keeps telling me otherwise. I prefer a thick and crunchier crust, but I still can down endless bowls of this.

I was the normal one that ordered the regular Juicy Lucy ($10). The patty might look small but it was a delicious ball of goodness. I was trying to flatten the burger but forgot about the cheese in the middle until J was like "omg it's squirting from the other side."

The cheese were actually all situated in the center, I wished it was more all over the patty. You can actually have your choice of cheese but I just went with the pimento cheese since that was the regular one on the menu. The pickle was ginormous though and spicy. So good and fulfilling.

J's crazy Juicy Lucy ($10) with bacon ($1) and fried egg ($2). I know he just had to do it. I have to say that it looks absolutely beautiful when it came out. The egg was so perfect and I wanted his greens! Anywho, his was less messy than mine. Odd, cause my plate was filled with meat juices...hahaha

Whitman's
406 E 9th St
New York, NY 10009
(212) 228-8011

Hong Kong: Yoshinoya

There were days where J and I weren't so hungry, we needed something small but yet filling. There are tons of street food in HK but sometimes we just want a break from it.

J told me about Yoshinoya since it was literally right below our building and around the corner, so convenient. Took us a while to decide what we want. I ended up asking them if they have a extra large size...and they did!

It's great how it came with a drink, we chose tea, and nicely packed utensils.

We ordered the Beef Bowl - extra large baby! Doesn't look like much but it filled us up. The rice was fluffy soft.

Might look a bit dry, but the beef was really tender and when you bite down into the beef along with some onions, the flavor burst everywhere. So gewd! It's probably overpriced here in the states so I'll just get it when I can when I'm in HK =D

Vietnam: Bo 7 Mon

I was utterly excited when I had the chance to dinner with my parents, and dinnering in Vietnam made it that much more special. I can't remember the last time I ate with my parents at a restaurant, my dad can be extremely picky and lazy.

I knew my mom wanted to try beef 7 ways in Vietnam, supposedly better? This was definitely my first true experience.

The set up for Beef 7 Ways, looks like Korean banchan here.

A pot of vinegar, onions and an egg. Bo Nhung Dam is like a fondue but with vinegar, love the sweet and tartness it gives off. The egg was actually something different because when we make this at home, we don't usually add an egg but it was a nice touch.

The beef and cow's stomach which you boil in the pot of vinegar. The beef looks beautiful!

Get some rice paper, add some herbs, throw in the beef and onions and wrap it up. They have this type of dipping sauce, not nuoc mam but it's called mam nem which is fermented anchovy sauce, very pungent but works really well with the vinegar-ed beef.

Right in the midst of beef fondue, I asked my dad to order me a bottle of Vietnamese beer. He ended up ordering me Tiger which was definitely not from Vietnam, should've just told him I wanted a 33 beer...

Goi Bo is my favorite so far because the thin slice of beef was absolutely perfect. I didn't need to dip this into anything, wrap the beef around the greens, onions, and cilantro and bam! Orgasm in mouthhh.

This plate is a little crazy because they fit 4 different kinds of beef here. Starting from top left going clockwise -- Bo Cha Dum (steamed beef that comes with this crunchy sheet of rice paper (shown below) but a lot of places uses shrimp chips), Bo Nuong Mo Chai (beef wrapped with fat), Bo La Lot (lolot leaf wrapped in beef) and Bo Nuong Hanh (scallions wrapped with beef).

This was definitely not the shrimp chips because it tasted like rice. Tasted great with the Bo Cha Dum.

And the 7th course was Chao Bo, beef congee aka porridge. Most likely they just grilled the grains of rice to give it some aroma and throw it in the beef stock/soup hence the grains of rice looks weird and nothing like congee. I find that Vietnamese don't like the thick congee but they prefer it less dense.

That was not enough so we ordered...

...two large crabs! Cua Rang Me which is crabs in a sweet tamarind sauce was the total bomb! My dad says otherwise, see what I mean when I say he's picky and hard to please. I thought the crabs was delicious and the sauce was seasoned just right. The crab meat were so sweet and fresh. I regret not eating much seafood in Vietnam...

After stuffing ourselves with the crabs, to finish the meal off we were offered Banh Flan. One of the things the Vietnamese picked up from the French. Delicious, strong, lightly sweetened flan was a great finale.

And if you're curious and/or adventurous...

...tada! The address and name of the restaurant. Mind you there's no air conditioners, just fans. It can get pretty darn hot there. But all worthwhile with the delicious food.