I think I might have taken this local, good eats thing too far.
Having found three great local dining destinations in Sushi Yasu, Danny Brown, and Katsuno, I was under the impression that Forest Hill dining has transcended the local level. On a sunny weekend afternoon, if you drive past the crowded restaurants on 70th Road, the place is absolutely buzzing. On one block, you have a handful of different cuisines, many featuring outdoor dining.
With a craving for steak, I choose to grab dinner at (aged.) Funny enough that’s exactly how they write the name, lowercase, in parenthesis, and with a period. I have absolutely no clue as to why they do this, or who the chef is. The website for (aged.) has very little information other than the food being served, and I found it curious that under the “About Us” section, the only name I see is that of the architect. No names of owners, no names of chefs.
(aged.) looks nice, gotta give them that.
Perhaps then it’s not wrong to say that the website is accurate. The decor is unique in its rustic charm, combining what people’s expectations are of a modern steakhouse, with the warm feeling of a farm cabin. The food, however, fails to live up to the decor.
The oysters were fresh, delicious, but not cleanly shucked. There were fragments of shell on the bivalve molluscs. The chowder was a bit on the salty side, and was a bit too thick for my liking. Flavor does not come from starch and flour.
Good flavor, can be better shucked.
Chowder, not much about it.
The steak, dry (aged.) then grilled, tasted tender enough, but lacked the flavor in the meat you’d find in top tier restaurants. When I dine out for steak, I want to experience what I cannot accomplish at home, which is dry aging followed by a gorgeous sear on commercial grade grills. This was just a decent steak, but not impressive.
Bone in Ribeye, needed more heavy searing.
Even though the steak’s not spectacular, if you dine at (aged.), stick with the steak. The herb crusted chicken breast was very dry, lacked flavor, and felt like an amateur effort.
I cook a better chicken at home.
Like I said earlier, being proud of your interior decor is nice, but we ultimately come for the food. Instead of knowing the name of the gentleman who picked the seats, I’d rather know the name of the chef who’s passionate enough to put his name behind each plate that gets served on these designer tables.
CS
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What does this rating mean?
Aged Steakhouse
107- 02 70th Road 11375
Forest Hills, NY 11375
