BLT Prime

I am making my way to all the BLT’s.  Laurent Tourondel has really make his mark in NYC.  You know which restaurants are his because they all start with BLT.  He now has BLT Fish, BLT Steak and BLT Prime.  What’s next?

We went to BLT Prime, the second of his restaurants I have been to.  The restaurant is in the old Union Pacific.  Laurent did a really nice job converting the space.  It has a steakhouse feel but modern at the same time.  The bar is right when you walk in.  TV on with the Yankees/Sox game.  A couple of different types of munchies.  You can see the entire space from the bar.  There is also the prominent glass wall refrigerator stocked with prime beef marked by aging.  It is a pretty impressive sight.  Very french, which would make sense since this is where Laurent is from. 

All the menus are printed on paper like a placemat.  A bistro.  There are the standard selections in depth that all NY steakhouses have.  They also have fish, lamb and pasta but hey if you are in a steakhouse, order the steak.  So we did. 

Once you sit down, they bring over a small plate of toasts accompanied with a small jar of warm chicken liver which is quite sublime.  Warm, rich and creamy. 

We all ordered a salad.  I had the chopped salad.  Tomatoes, corn, cucumber, feta, celery etc. with a mustard vinegarette.  It was delicious but honestly it was so large that I could have been done with dinner after that.  Someone has the spinach salad with bacon and maytag cheese.   A field green salad was also a pick.  All and all, the salads were good but quite large and could actually be split.  The table also came with a small basket of garlic rolls to start.  The garlic almost killed me from the smell.  Didn’t touch those babies. 

Fred and I shared the rib eye for 2.  Our friends each had something different.  One had the filet and the other had the NY Strip.  The steak is really good.  They were all cooked to perfection topped with a huge slab of butter which we immediately took off.  But, my guess is there is butter somewhere else lurking or oil because after one piece I felt unbelievably full.   You get a choice of different sauces with your steak too, bearnaise, red wine, etc. 

Sides were creamed spinach.  Good but a little bit heavy on the garlic.  Grilled special mushrooms of the day which were good and very rich.  We also had 2 types of potatoes, recommended by the waiter.  Tater tots and creamy home fries.  They were all good but not stellar.

We opted for the desserts.  Had to taste.  We had the peach blueberry bread pudding and the chocolate cake.  All good but large like the pieces they serve at the Palm.  The only difference is that they tasted better than the Palm.  Richer and sweeter. 

We literally rolled home.  I couldn’t even eat until lunch the following day.  I truly didn’t eat as much as it sounds like.  I swear there was butter pumped into the food that I didn’t see.  Who knows.  But, I will say, I’d go back.  I like the vibe, I liked the steaks, and it was solid.