In the New York dining scene, there are steakhouses, and then there are celebrity chefs. The two concepts seldom mix together with positive results. Preparing meat is tricky business, from selecting the cut at the butchers to dry-aging the meat to perfection. The imagery of bloody aprons and racks of chops are probably not something you would associate a Bobby Flay or Jean George with.
Ask yourself this question. What’s more difficult: grilling a finely chopped and aged steak to perfection, or crafting a beautiful and tasty French entree? Steakhouse chefs are very in tune with the natural flavor of the meats, but I’m not sure they can handle the intricate flavors of other cuisines without extensive re-training. However, does it work easier the other way around? Can celebrity chefs take their years of sensory training and grill a steak that rivals Spark’s or Luger’s?
The Primehouse
While writing the previous entry for Ben & Jack’s Steakhouse, which I last visited in the fall, I developed a craving for steak. It was really tempting to head back to Ben & Jack’s for a hearty portion of porterhouse, but for the benefit of our readers, I decided to try something unique and original. Primehouse it is, featuring an executive chef with Le Bernadin on his resume. If he can grill fish, I bet he can do beef…. right?
Situated slightly north of Union Square on Park Ave. South, the restaurant is definitely brighter than your usual midtown steakhouse with the heavy curtains. We walked past a very unique looking bar, and took our seat in a comfy leather booth. The restaurant was very quiet, another benefit of dining on Oscar night.
The waitress came by and explained to us that the Restaurant Week menu was still available, obviously because of the recession. The menu features contemporary appetizers, and your classic entrees of meat. I didn’t look at the fish or poultry section, sorry but I find no reason to do so.
The appetizers did not disappoint. The jumbo crab cake was cooked and seasoned exceptionally well, and although a bit pricy at $15. My obsession with ordering tartare continues, and was very satisfied with the big-eye tuna tartare seasoned with ginger ponzu sauce, all personal favorites. Definitely recommend these dishes.
Jumbo Crabcake
Big Eye Tuna Tartare
For entrees we ordered a Porterhouse for Two, and a Filet. Dry aged in a custom-built Himalayan rock salt-tiled aging room (wow that’s a mouthful), Primehouse insists on dry aging beef longer than most other steakhouses. So how were they? Before you can eat the meat, it’s carted out for you to view, and then the waitress begins to carve the meat table side. Was she ever the slow and meticulous one…. I was really tempted to stop her, by the time she was done, the meat really lost some of the temperature I was expecting. What happens when you cool a medium-rare steak? Cool meat.
There it sat.... cooling....
Sides were very ordinary. Turned out pretty neat on photos for the unique presentation, but not impressive. Dessert was pretty ordinary as well. I should not be able to have room for dessert in a good steakhouse. Diner Law!
Shrooms
Broccoli
After dinner, I tried hard to “grade” the quality of the meat. Yes the meat is tender, yes it’s cooked well. But there’s nothing about this that will make me want to come back, and nothing here to recommend it over Sparks, Keens or my good ol’ favorite Ben & Jacks.
CS
(sorry the photos are a bit dark, still learning how to control this new Flash, and the mirrors around the room were tricky)
Rating: 
Prime House (Make a Reservation)
381 Park Avenue South
at 27th Street
New York, NY 10016
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