Restaurant Review: Route 66 Smokehouse

Details: Located at 46 Stone St, New York, NY 10004. The official site is http://www.route66smokehouse.com/

I came here on a Friday night. It’s a large space with two floors, so while there few open tables downstairs, upstairs was practically empty. We sat upstairs.

Service was fine.

I ordered a half rack of the St. Louis style ribs with french fries for $19. The ribs were pretty good. Something that barbecue places often screw up is overcooking the ribs to the point where the meat falls off and you can just slide the bone out. To me, that is over cooked ribs. Any idiot can do that. Just leave the ribs in the smoker and forget about it. Here, the ribs were tender, but still had some grip on the bone. That’s the sign of a good rib to me.

Of note should be the size of the sides that come with orders of barbecue meats (or “from the pit” as it’s worded on the menu). I was a little annoyed we only got one side with our order… until I saw the size of my fries. It was huge. The apparent intent of the sides is that each person who orders a side should share it with their neighbors. If you order “from the pit,” be sure to order different sides from your fellow patrons so that you can all share in the variety of large-sized side dishes.

Overall, a decent place for barbecue which I’d recommend.

Score: 6.5/10

Restaurant Review: The Malt House, Financial District

Details: Located at 9 Maiden Ln., New York, NY 10038. Official site is http://www.themalthousefidi.com/

I came here on a Thursday night. It was pretty packed. I’m always surprised to see people out on a weeknight, but then again, Thursday is the new Friday.

I have no opinions on alcohol. If a connoisseur can’t tell the difference between expensive and cheap wine, how the hell am I supposed to be able to.

As for food, I ordered the Wagyu house blend burger (bacon, pesto aioli, tomatoes, lettuce, and choice of cheese) which came with fries for the price of $17. It was a pretty good burger, although pricey for a burger. The fries weren’t bad either.

I think the most important part of a bar like this is the energy and ambiance. It was lively with lots of people, music, televisions, and a separate area for people who wanted to sit and eat. Regardless of whether I liked the burger or not, it was a fun place to hang out.

The service people were nice.

Score: 6/10

Restaurant Review: Five Guys Burgers and Fries

Details: I went to the one near Rockerfeller Center in New York City, but there are lots of locations all over the city. Official site is http://www.fiveguys.com/

So I’ve reviewed a number of fast casual burger places and it’s about time to review this place. Five Guys is burger and fries place that also serves hot dogs. The main difference between this place and the others in New York City are that they serve boxes of peanuts for free, many of the toppings are free (not bacon), and the style of their fries is a little different.

When I come here, I normally order a cheeseburger all the way (has all of their free toppings) and an order of their fries, either Cajun or regular. The burger is about as good as a Shake Shack burger or slightly worse. The fries however, are probably the best fries out of all fast casual burger places in this price range. They are thick cut and fried as their ordered. You can get some Cajun spices sprinkled onto it or just have the regular old salt. What I love about Five Guys is that after they put your order into a brown paper bag, they then take a scoop of more fries and dump it into the bag. This turns the bag into a greasy mess, but it’s nice that they give you more than enough fries than is necessary. Normally, I have trouble polishing off a regular sized order of fries.

The price for a cheese burger all the way and an order of regular fries is around fifteen dollars. That puts the price at just about the same range as Shake Shack.

So which is better? Shake Shack or Five Guys? I would say that Shake Shack has slightly better hamburgers, while Five Guys has far better fries. So, either is all right depending on what your feeling.

Score: 6.5/10

Restaurant Review: Genuine Roadside

Details: Located at 600 11th Avenue, New York, NY 10036. The official site is http://www.eatgenuine.com/

I came here one night with some friends. Worth mentioning was that it was located inside Gotham West Market, which looked like a nice place to eat. They had a number of options, but we opted only for Genuine Roadside so I can’t speak to what else was there. Also, while it looked fun, it was on 11th Avenue, which is a little too far from the subway for me. However, if you are in the neighborhood, you might be interested in getting an overpriced burger from Genuine Roadside.

We ordered the Super Duper Stack Burger, the Buttermilk Battered Chicken Sandwich, the grilled citrus shrimp tacos, and some fries with that. Everything was fine. The buns used were like Shake Shack; they used potato buns. The fries were just okay. Nothing great about them. I will note that they had bottles of Sriracha for everyone to use. That’s not something I see to often.

Which leads us to the price. I spent about seventeen dollars for a chicken sandwich and a fountain soda. I looked up and compared the prices of this place with Shake Shack and Genuine Roadside is a little more expensive. Unfortunately, the burgers and sandwiches tasted equal to or worse than a burger or chicken sandwich I’d get at Shake Shack.

In conclusion, Shake Shack tastes as good or better and is cheaper. Go there for a good chicken sandwich or burger, not Genuine Roadside. Shake Shack is also closer to the subway.

The employees were very nice, so much so that I actually remembered how nice they were. That doesn’t usually happen.

Score: 5/10

Fast Food Review: Wendy’s 4 for $4 Deal

Details: There are Wendy’s all over the place with a couple in New York City. The official site is https://www.wendys.com/

I’m sure that most people have been to Wendy’s, but I really wanted to write something about the Wendy’s 4 for $4 and the effect it’s had on competing fast food restaurants.

A while back, Wendy’s decided to implement the 4 for $4 dollars deal. While ordinary looking, the 4 for $4 deal turned out to be a phenomenal financial success. Wendy’s stock price went up to the point that it’s competitors, McDonald’s and Burger King, implemented their own versions of the deal. McDonald’s had the McPick two deal where you picked two items from a list for about $2.50. Burger King had the 5 for $4 deal where you’d pretty much get what you’d get at Wendy’s and the fifth thing was a cookie. These deals did well for their company’s, but in comparison to the quality and quantity provided by Wendy’s, they were clearly inferior. Months later and into the present time, McDonald’s and Burger King’s deals have either eroded or been removed entirely. Wendy’s however, has continued to keep their 4 for $4 deal and keep it unchanged. For this reason, I will forever revere Wendy’s, at least more than McDonald’s or Burger King.

The 4 for $4 deals provides a junior bacon cheeseburger, an order of small fires, five piece chicken nuggets, and a small soda. Prior to the implementation of this deal, this items were exactly the things I usually ordered whenever I came to Wendy’s. The 4 for $4 deal took these items, bundled them together and then made them even cheaper than they were before. For whatever reason, Wendy’s took my favorite and their bestselling items and made them even cheaper. Furthermore, the junior bacon cheese burger is in my opinion far superior to any similarly priced burger from any other low end fast food restaurant.

It’s an amazing deal. I love this deal. I love Wendy’s. Next time you need some cheap fast food and are deciding between some other fast food options as well as Wendy’s, go to Wendy’s. They are by far the best choice.

Score: 7.8/10

Restaurant Review: Hendricks

Details: Located at 557 Third Avenue, New York, NY 10016. Official site is http://www.hendriksnyc.com/

The website of Hendricks says “High Quality Ingredients.” Well, even if the ingredients were high quality, the food wasn’t that good.

Came here with a friend. I ordered the lamb meatloaf which came with mashed potatoes and vegetables. My friend ordered the black Angus burger that came with fries and garlic mayo.

The burger was good he said, as were the fries. My vegetables and mashed potatoes were good. The meat loaf was pretty terrible. It tasted like a loaf of the gyro meat you’d get from a halal cart off the side of the street, which wasn’t what I wanted. It was pretty shit.

The waitress was nice. The interior was also nice.

Score: 4/10 I thought a bit about how I felt about this place and I’ve concluded that this place was not great. I feel like I ordered the wrong thing and that there is better stuff on the menu. However, they put that meat loaf on the menu and should stand by it. Accordingly, this place gets a four out of ten.

Restaurant Review: Bareburger

Details: Address is 535 Laguardia Pl., New York, NY 10012. Official site is http://www.bareburger.com/

I’ve been to a number of Bareburger locations around the tri-state area and in my opinion, Bareburger is the best fast casual burger of them all. I feel that it’s better than Shake Shack, Five Guys, or Burger Joint. I feel that it’s better than all those chain, bar and grill places like TGI Fridays and Applebee’s. Many people have disagreed with me, but that’s my opinion.

The first thing I like about Bareburger is the design of the restaurants. I like the corny bear puns and the fact each Bareburger I’ve been too looks like a garage. I also like the use of wood and that there are booths to sit at.

But as much as I like the interior, it’s got to be about the burgers, or in this case, the toppings you can put on the burgers. Firstly, in terms of the quality of the patty, the burger patty is as good as any other fast casual place. Additionally, you get to order things like boar meat or ostrich (among other things), stuff you can’t get elsewhere. Personally, I feel that beef is the correct choice, but the option is there.

As for the toppings, you can get just about anything, ranging from a fried egg to brisket to duck. There are just an enormous number of combinations you can go for. Most importantly to me, is the inclusion of different kinds of sauces and mayonnaise like paprika mayonnaise curry ginger ketchup.

Which leads me to the fries and onion rings. I think that this place easily does fries and onion rings better than Shake Shack, or Burger Joint… maybe about even with Five Guys’ French fries. What Five Guys doesn’t have are the extra sauces that come with a basket of fries. Bareburger wins yet again with three kinds of dipping sauces that go with the fries. I think the three are curry ketchup and two mixes of mayonnaise. I always get a basket of onion rings and fries here.

In regards to price, it’s okay. It’s not as cheap as say, McDonald’s, but it’s about where Burger Joint and Shake Shack are. It’s somewhere between ten to around twenty dollars to order burgers, fries and drinks.

Score: 7/10 My favorite fast casual burger place. I will offer a disclaimer that most people I know disagree with me.

Restaurant Review: Burger Joint

Details: Located at 119 West 56th St., New York, NY, 10019. Official site is https://www.burgerjointny.com/

The first time I came here was about a decade ago. I remember thinking at the time that it was okay. Ten years later, I still feel the same. This burger did not change my life.

I came here on a Thursday night after work. The location I went to was the most famous one behind the curtain at the luxurious Le Parker Meridien Hotel. It’s kind of to the right of the front desk. There’s a neon burger sign at the end of a narrow hallway with a big curtain hanging on one side.

Considering that this was a Thursday night, this place was packed. Part of the draw may be the burgers, but it was also most likely because they serve beer here. It’s a small, grungy space which is inconvenient considering how popular this place is.

I ordered the cheeseburger with everything (lettuce, tomato, pickles, onions, ketchup, and mayonnaise), a side of fries, and a soda (which was kind of small) for a total of $17.50 (tax included). I have to admit that this was pretty expensive, although it is in the same relative price range as Shake Shack or Bareburger. The burger was pretty good. The fries were just okay. If you were to compare this burger to the Shackburger at Shake Shack, I think the Shake Shack burger would come out slightly on top.

The main reason to come here is to get a famous burger from a seemingly “secret” place that will make the customers feel they are special. I can guarantee you that Burger Joint has long since stopped being a secret. Instead, your experience will consist of bumping elbows and fighting for seats while enjoying decently made (if not overpriced) burger.

Score: 5.9/10

Restaurant Review: Pelicana Chicken

Pelicana is a Korean fried chicken chain headquartered in Korea. The one I went to was in Queens. Its identical to other Korean fried chicken chains like Bon Chan and Mad For Chicken. They do regular sized chicken and wing sized.

We ordered three types of chicken. While there are numerous flavors of chicken on the menu, there are in reality only two flavors: spicy and not spicy. And varying degrees in between. I hate spicy food so the non spicy, soy flavored chicken is pretty good. I tried one of their spicy ones and that hurt big time. They also have fries, mozzarella stick, onion rings, etc.

Score: 7.5/10 Good place for fried chicken and beer. If you have a choice between an American fried chicken place and a Korean fried chicken place, always pick Korean fried chicken. Its better. Far better.

Official site: http://www.pelicana.co.kr/global/english/

Restaurant Review: Le Baratin

Details: Located at 26 Greenwich Ave, New York, NY 10011. Official site is http://lebaratinnyc.com/.

Le Baratin is a French restaurant specializing in your average French fare (i.e. bistro style food). It reminded me a lot of Le Parisienne which I reviewed some time go.

The space was small (maybe twenty seats) and cozy. The menu was short as well, but I usually interpret that as a good sign. To me, it means they are good and focused on what they make and don’t waste time trying to make a million different things.

They had a prix fixe menu which we all went with. We ordered the Pate Maison (comes with salad and cornichons), the Bavette Frites (steak with french fries), and the Cordon Bleu (comes with mash potatoes).

Everything was really good. The steak was tender and the sauce was delicious. The fries were nice, but it doesn’t take a genius to do french fries. The Cordon Bleu… tasted like Cordon Bleu.

Score: 6.5/10 Pretty good. A nice, casual place for dinner.