KO Prime vs. Grill 23

[jdoc]

Trying to decide between the two for an anniversary dinner. Have never been to KO prime and haven't been to Grill 23 in years. Any thoughts appreciated.

[MC Slim JB]

KO Prime has better non-steak items, lots of great offal dishes. I don't much care for the atmosphere, but it is more modern and quieter. Grill 23 has better bartending, superior steaks (several dry-aged ones, which I like, and boutique prime-grade beef, Brandt Farm if memory serves, corn-fed Holstein, where KO uses choice, though it dry-ages some of its cuts), and better service. But the atmosphere is kind of that cliched boys-club theme, and the place is really, really loud. Both have seriously gouging wine lists. If I were choosing a steak house for the steak, I'd go with Grill 23. But if I were celebrating an anniversary and it had to be a steakhouse, I'd add Mooo.... to my list; it seems the most romantic of the bunch, and isn't a chain outlet.

[treb]

Grill 23, better quality, nicer place to have a good chow dinner. For an anniversary I'd go to The Oak Room and have Chateau Briand for 2 and a good bottle of grape, very romantic.

[Guilty Glutton]

I looked at Mooo's website after you mentioned it. How is their Kobe beef? I saw that they offer the real-deal from Japan.

[almansa]

My friends went to Mooo.... and the sous chef, also a good friend, sent them a mid course of the Kobe. To their surprise they didn't like it. They said that although it was properly cooked, the texture was mealy and the meat dry and somewhat tough. The menu lists it as "sirloin," which I have to assume is top butt, not striploin. If I were to go there I think I'd have the Four Story Hill Farm dry-aged New York.

[treb]

Yah, it the real deal and it's $30. an ounce!

[ScubaSteve]

Mooo? romantic?
we were there a few months back and thought the room wasn't too cozy. maybe a little too bright and the color palette didn't really work for us.

[wittlejosh]

KO Prime does Wagyu just right also.

[MC Slim JB]

Funny, bright is the last adjective I'd think of for that room. Its underlit-ness is part of why I called it romantic. It's worth noting that I mostly hate high-end steakhouses, so I'm making recommendations while holding my nose, like, "This is the least sucky $300/couple place I can recommend." It's just not how I like to spend my high-end fine-dining dollar. I'm also not a Kobe fan, don't really like that super-tender texture, myself, don't think it's worth the premium.

[ScubaSteve]

really?
h^mmmm.
it was March (i think) and we were there at night, but not too late, maybe they hadn't lowered the lights?

we really liked the food and our steaks were cooked spot-on. we also sat (as usual) at the bar but did have a drinky in the front 'lounge' area which we thought was very Hotel Lobby-ish.

[Gabatta]

KO Prime doesn't even serve prime steaks...