Farewell to Craftsteak Review
Had been on my steakhouse priority list for quite some time and since they are closing Dec 31, had to try it.
Went tonight and had a very good experience. Service was incredible and very on point. My waiter gave great suggestions and checked on me several times throughout the meal. The manager and maitre'd also came to check on my meal as well so they get high scores for that.
As for the food, the bread was great. I loved the simple parkerhouse rolls piping hot, soft, and fresh with salt and butter from the oven.
To start I had the sweetbreads, brussel sprouts, and black garlic. A nice little appetizer. The sweetbreads were tasty and the black garlic sauce complimented it well.
For main I went with the 20 ounce t-bone steak. To be honest, I was a little disappointed in the steak. It had a very small filet and was a bit overcooked (requested bloody rare). I give them credit for honoring my request for garlic confit and melted butter on the side. I was also presented with 4 sauces, which were all very good but not needed when it is a great steak. As for the flavor, the steak was a little underseasoned. It was just missing something. Overall though a very good dry-aged piece of meat that hit the spot.
As usual, Colicchio did a great job with the sides. I loved the fingerlings with bacon and spinach gratin. The polenta and grits and red wine poached egg were also well done.
For dessert, the monkey bread was tasty but a little overhyped. Pretty much a cinnamon bun for $12, but the butter pecan ice cream was superb. Also tried the ice cream and sorbet sampler ... Stout, maple, cinnamon ice cream... Chocolate, cranbery, coffee sorbet. This was delicious! They did a great job with them and you get real huge scoops not this thimble spoonful that other haute places tend to dole out.
Overall, it is very pricy and not nearly as good as Craft. But I give it a good mark for great service, tasty food, and great experience toooooooo.
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Craftsteak
85 Tenth Ave, New York, NY 10011
By steakrules85
on Dec 28, 2009 05:12 PM
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How many of you were there?
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Me and two friends went.
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Just curious. Why is it closing?
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Tom Colicchio is closing Craftsteak in Manhattan after nearly four years.
“The excitement for me has kind of worn out there, but mostly it’s the neighborhood. It has changed with the High Line, and with the economy people aren’t really coming out for $100 steaks,” he is reported as saying.
He said that the restaurant’s chef, Shane McBride, will stay on, but Mr. Colicchio suggested that he would be writing much of the new menu himself, and that he hoped to spend what Grub Street called “a good deal of time” in the kitchen. He expects the new restaurant, Colicchio & Sons, to open in January.
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Yep thats correctumundo. I spoke to the staff and they said he just grew tired of the whole steakhouse deal. He believes it is better suited for Las Vegas and wanted to do some more "farm to table" and "composed dishes" as opposed to the ala carte fare that Craftsteak serves. They said the new restaurant will be more in the style of his roots from Gramercy Tavern and will open on January 11th.
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Never made it to Craftsteak. Underseasoned and overcooked steaks sounds like I didn't miss much.
On another note, you do know that the difference between a T-bone and a Porterhouse is the size of the filet. A t-bone has a much smaller filet side.
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Believe me you do not need to school me on the difference in cuts of steak. Still, the size of the filet was laughable to a certain extent. I have gotten t-bones form my local Pathmark that has a larger filet. Even so, I do not want to come off as if the steak was terrible because it was not at all.
Very tasty piece of meat but like I said it was flawed and I am a very tough customer when it comes to steak. The porterhouse I had at Craft blew it away I will say that much. I think the overwhelming majority enjoy Craft over Craftsteak.
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In my opinion there are only three ways to ruin a good dry aged steak. One is to cover it in sauce and the other two are to underseason and overcook. Lots of salt and lots of red (I'm a rare guy too) are a must
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Completely on board ESNY lol.
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I think I'm the minority. Craftsteak was consistently a better performer than Craft in my book, although I am a fan of both. Ironically, I thought the rawbar selections at C-steak were stellar and underrated.
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