Robert's Steakhouse - X-Rated N.Y. Strips !

For certain offerings, living just somewhere in the US is not good enough. You have to be in New York City to encounter this type of enlightenment's. Though I must warn you; This post maybe leaning slightly towards the male audience, it may also be misunderstood as chauvinistic and it is most certainly dedicated strictly to the to the hardcore carnivores amongst us. If you picture a guy, a real guy that likes steak--lots of steak--and also does not shy away from taking a peak at nice female curves every now and then, well then you are looking at the target group for Robert's Steakhouse in NYC which actually is part of a gentlemen strip club. The Penthouse Executive Club is most probably one of the few venues on this planet where a man (and/or woman) can enjoy the epicurean pleasures of a great steak whilst admiring beautiful female nakedness. No, no do not dismiss this so easily. This is not one of these dark places where it is all about the ladies and the menu is more of an excuse to pass as a gastronomic establishment instead of just an adult entertainment place. On this one I'm backed by people as serious as Jeffrey Steingarten. He is a well known culinary critic and columnist for the likes of Vogue magazine and Slate and has written books like "The Man Who Ate Everything" and more recently "It Must've Been Something I Ate". He commented after his night out at the strip club; "The best steak dinner in town--the meat could not have been more flavorful, tender or juicy, and grilled to that precise point of perfection between rare and medium rare-while a beautiful young dancer just eight feet away moved with energy and originality". If that is not enough to make this a serious dinner option yet, how about Alex Witchel that wrote for the NY Times;"One of the clubs biggest hits is its steakhouse, where customers can carefully enjoy aged beef prepared by noted chef Adam Perry Lang. His steaks--on the plate-- are exquisite and packed with flavor." The Penthouse Club even won the 2004's TIME OUT NY Award for Best Indoor Scenery and Robert's Steakhouse was nominated Best Steakhouse in NYC. Located on the club's posh mezzanine level, Robert's Steakhouse's features a truly top-rated cuisine by Chef Adam Perry Lang and offers its patrons a 2,000-bottle wine cellar. Amongst the meat options are dry-aged premium steaks cut to order and also Kobe beef. And like in any other great steakhouses, they offer all the classic appetizers and beautiful side dishes that we all come to love. I hope that you ladies are not too mad, that I turned hubby onto this dinner venue, but after all this maybe just what was needed to bring you along for the experience!

A Lifelong Passion - The Hunt For The Perfect Burger !

No matter how gourmet you are - the hunt for a simple but perfect burger is something that will never really leave you. A perfect burger is the epitome of comfort, grab food. Like that first draw on an ice cold beer, when you are really, really thirsty that first bite into a perfect burger can be simply divine. We all know that feeling, when taste, temperature, liquid grease and perfect soft texture with just a hint of crunch come together perfectly to what amounts nothing less than a gourgasm in your mouth. If you ever experienced that feeling you will never be able to go passed a burger joint and not ask yourself whether or not this could be the place where it could happen again. But we all know that chasing that perfect burger moment can be very frustrating. Many times we order and wait with that anticipation of the moment only to be disappointed again and again. Nothing more simple than a burger and yet nothing harder to find than a perfect burger. One city that always awakes my instinct to hunt for that perfect burger - and lets be honest, the city that holds those secret places where you can find that perfect bite, is New York. I have pointed you towards several great burgers that you can find in N.Y. Today I will tell you about the The Shack- Shack of all Shacks !There burgers are bits of heaven reincarnated as divine combinations of proteins, fats, and carbohydrates. There is absolutely no nutritional balance here in any way but they taste awesome. For all of you that are mad at the world and try to get away from it all by numbing yourself with alcohol or illegal substances - try this burgers instead. Your worries will be gone and you will enjoy instant happiness. Happy lipids to all of you. And if you have the chance and abut 30 minutes to stand in line for one of these puppies - do yourself the favor!

2007 - The Worlds Best Restaurants !

Many Top Chefs, foodies and restaurant critics regard Spain's Ferran Adria as the best cook on the planet, a man who deconstructs food while playing with your mind and palate. I happen to agree with this call. For the second consecutive year, Chef Adria's restaurant, El Bulli, on the Costa Brava coast in Spain, has been named the world's best by Britain's fanous Restaurant Magazine. Apart from deconstruction cooking, Adria has been credited with creating what is known as the molecular gastronomy culinary - things like foam or espuma and apple caviar etc.. His tortilla espangola is no ordinary Spanish omelet. Instead of blending the three main ingredients — eggs, potatoes and onions — each is cooked separately and turned into a potato foam, onion puree and a sabayon sauce of sorts made with egg-white. The dish is put back together in layers, sprinkled with crumbs of deep-fried potatoes and served as merely a mouthful in a sherry glass. While it's debatable that the Best 50 list is "the most credible indicator of the best places to eat on Earth" and "stimulates fervent debate and sometimes controversy", as the magazine's website says, there are no surprises in the top 10 list. Before you think of flying out to Spain to dine at Adria's 50-seat restaurant — open only for dinner, April to September at about $450 per head — they are booked out until June 2008. But then again; This year you find 3 options in Spain in the top 10 spots. I guess it is Spain all the way at this point!

WORLD'S BEST 10 RESTAURANTS

1 El Bulli Spain

2 The Fat Duck England

3 Pierre Gagnaire France

4 The French Laundry United States

5 Tetsuya's Australia

6 Bras France

7 Mugaritz Spain

8 Le Louis XV Monaco

9 Per Se United States

10 Arzak Spain

Alinea - A Name To Be Reckon With !

I know that it is early in the year and I should not be busy with the "Best Of" just now. Nevertheless I cannot resist the temptation to introduce to you what I consider "The Most Exciting" restaurant in America at the time! Please note the name Alinea. Owner and Chef Grant Achatz is receiving worldwide attention for his hyper modern, emotional approach to dining. Alinea is a true restaurant of the new millennium, with a crisp modern approach to cooking and an incredible amount of care that goes into presentation and pleasing all the senses.


Born in Michigan in 1974, Grant Achatz grew up in the restaurant industry, literally, his parents and grandparents being restaurateurs. Naturally curious and always driven, he could be found in the kitchen by his twelfth birthday and over the coming years spent most of his free time there, learning the basics and developing the skills that would allow him to become one of the foremost innovators in the field. Early on he realized he wanted to be a chef, and upon graduating from high school immediately enrolled at the Culinary Institute of America.


Excelling at the C.I.A., Achatz graduated and ascended the culinary ladder at several prestigious restaurants, including the acclaimed French Laundry in the Napa Valley. Working closely with Gourmet Brother and Top Chef Thomas Keller, Achatz thrived in this highly creative and dedicated environment, and after two years became sous chef to Keller. After four years at the French Laundry, Achatz chose to broaden his knowledge and worked as an assistant winemaker at La Jota Vineyards. In 2001, he accepted the Executive Chef position at the four-star restaurant Trio in Evanston, Illinois.


Achatz flourished at Trio, garnering accolades including being named the “Rising Star Chef in America,” James Beard Foundation, 2003 and one of ten “Best New Chefs in America,” Food & Wine, 2002. Under Achatz’ lead, Trio received four stars from the Chicago Tribune and Chicago magazine and garnered five stars from the celebrated Mobil Travel Guide in 2004. Known by now in culinary circles as one of the top promoters in the forward-thinking movement, Achatz realized a lifelong dream by opening Alinea in Chicago in May 2005. The restaurant received extraordinary attention from day one, and was nominated by the James Beard Foundation as the Best New Restaurant in America that same year.


This restaurant under this young and exciting Chef is a true upgrade for Chicago and that is a grand statement for a city that has so many culinary gifts already. It is time for all of us to acknowledge his name and to start pay attention to Achatz. When in Chicago you definitely need to try this place!

The New Havana Club Of Miami - High Above The City !

By the time Miami’s brand-new Havana Club opened a few months ago, 700 of its 800 membership slots already had been filled. The renovated space at the Miami City Club on the 55th floor of the Wachovia Financial Center provides an elegant venue for entertaining or conducting business while enjoying a real smoke. Members pay an initiation fee of $5,000 and monthly dues of $300. In full view of Biscayne Bay, less than 200 miles from the heart of Havana itself and towering high above the city, Miami's leaders come together in one of the most recognized spaces in town - the top floor of the 55-story Wachovia Financial Center. But the Havana Club at the Miami City Club is more than a social club; it is an intimate meeting ground for corporate and community leaders and a place where business is conducted in style. The atmosphere is the result of over five million dollars in renovations and improvements. Noteworthy advances for the Club’s space includes a brand new, state-of-the-art induction kitchen, high-speed wireless Internet access, and a state-of-the-art air purification system. The entire interior has been newly designed to reflect the sophisticated, comfortable Miami lifestyle with exquisite woods, fabrics, furnishings and fixtures. Like nowhere else in Miami – the Havana Club has taken dining to its highest level. Savory breakfast, lunch and dinner menus will be created by internationally renowned culinary personality, Chef Douglas Sisk. Known for the delectable selections at the Sardine Factory in Monterey, California, Chef Sisk is infusing the Havana Club menu with local flavors and irresistible tastes. Then, while you dine, breathtaking 55th-floor views of the ocean, Biscayne Bay, the Everglades and downtown Miami, will satisfy your hunger for Miami’s most exceptional dining experience. And they feature the best non-Cuban cigar menu that I have ever seen! They are worth your visit.

Over-The-Top - Menu Items For Big Spenders !

Most of the time we report to you about the best of the best regardless of what the charges for these things may be. Off course when things are very nice or extremely good, they naturally tend to cost more. But then there are the over-the-top menu items. We do not withhold them from you. Consider, the $1,000 breakfast frittata served by Norma’s, a breakfast joint at Le Parker Meridien in New York, or the $100 cheesesteak served at the Philadelphia steak house Barclay Prime. Harry’s Steak & Café, in New York tempts its guest with $14.50 Kobe beef hot dog. You can find some of the same over in England. Gordon Ramsay introduced a $185 white truffle pizza at his London restaurant Maze. Chef Spencer Burge added to the menu at Fence Gate Inn in Burnley, Lancashire, England, a $15,000 steak-and-mushroom pie served with a sauce made from 1982 Château Mouton-Rothschild. Norma’s $100 version of the frittata features an ounce of Kazakhstan sevruga caviar whilst the $1,000 version features several ounces of the same caviar. And then there is my Gourmet Brother Daniel Boulud. He offers you a $29 burger sandwich which showcases a patty stuffed with black truffles, foie gras, and beef short rib meat that has been marinated in red wine for 18 hours. His best seller is the Royale burger, which includes seven additional grams of sliced black truffles, which increase the price to as much as $70. The Super Royale, contains 15 grams of black truffles and costs as much as $120. Boulud’s burgers are served with French fries that arrive in a paper cone tucked in a silver cup. And despite Boulud’s protestations, the waitstaff will pair the Royale with a Coca-Cola if requested. Should you seek an appropriate nightcap after dining on a Royale, the lobby lounge of the Algonquin Hotel next door serves a $10,000 martini, which is poured into a glass that contains a diamond. Hey, just make you aware of the choices out there!

Barclay Prime
215.732.7560
www.starr-restaurant.com

DB Bistro Moderne
212.391.2400
www.danielnyc.com

Harry’s Steak & Café
212.785.9200
www.harrysnyc.com

Norma’s
212.708.7460
parkermeridien.com