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“V, The Steakhouse-- Closed”

Occasion:	Cuisine:	Area:	Cost:	Rating:
Night Out	New American	Midtown	Break the Bank	Great

Do you just love meat? Do you like it really tender, moist, meaty and rich and sealed up with flavor? Do you love it when you don’t need to even dress it with steak sauce (a Niman Ranch Strip, $38)? Do you love it when your knife can sit idle on the side of your plate as the beef bows to the pressure of your fork alone (a Niman Ranch Filet Mignon, $28/$38)? How do you feel about lamb chops, so tasty, and so juicy that you have to bib yourself at the table (Colorado Ranch Lamb T-bone, $37)? Do you have warm and fuzzy feelings about beautiful Yama Ranch Waygu Sirloin ($62, American Kobe), and a thick and marbled Niman Ranch Porterhouse built for Papa Flintstone ($62)?

Is there a place in your heart for a thin slab of bright pink fresh salmon ($12)—smoked just so it is infused with a gently with a lush smokiness, and jolted up to attention with bursts of orange fish roe, dill, set in a puddle of herb puree bolstered with lemon? What would you say to a crispy bacon roll ($11)—a tight, greaseless spring roll filled with spiced pulled pork belly and Napa cabbage? (Think pig in a blanket on LSD. Delish!) What about buttery Yukon gold potatoes ($6), crisped in their skins, topped with a fat dollop of cream and a sharp dice of chives? What about caramelized onions, all sweetly tangled up ($6)? And what about condiments so delicious that you want to dip your fingers, bread, forks, everything in site in every one and boldly lick all dunked items at the table? (There’s steak sauce—not really needed—lots of ketchups—one tart with rhubarb, another tangy with tamarind—mustard with papaya, a garlic and chile paste, and on and on.) Is there a reason not to love all of these things? Is there a reason not to impeach Bush? I don’t think so.

I loved V, Jean George’s Gaudi-esque steakhouse up at the Mall. We all did. The four of us (all women), were seated at a round table in the baroque room, filled with gilded trees hung with chandeliers, like a Cinderella party in an enchanted forest.

Designed by Jacques Garcia of Hotel Coste in Paris and Spice Market in the Meatpacking, V is a bordello of a steakhouse, an opulent, over the top room decked out in rich vampy reds that feels like something out of Vegas, but somehow is muted enough so that it doesn’t offend. When the night sky dims, and the windows fade into the background letting the city night work its magic, it feels like a fairytale. You ... [more, click below]

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Posted: June 19, 2004

Other restaurants in Midtown :
+ Lever House   + Aquavit   + RM   + Joseph's (formerly Citarella The Restaurant)   + Town   + Artisanal   + The Oyster Bar   + Geisha   + David Burke and Donatella Restaurant   + Riingo   + Amma   + Cafe Sabarsky   + The Stone Rose Lounge   + BLT Steak   + V, The Steakhouse-- Closed   + Bar Masa   + Cafe Gray   + The Bar Room at The Modern   + The Cafe at Aquavit   + The Cafe at Aquavit   + Bistro du Vent-- Closed   + Shaburi   + Xing   + The Modern   + Bar Americain   + Alto   + Park Blue   + Mainland-- Closed   + Nobu 57   + Quality Meats   + Dona-- CLOSED   + Daisy May's   + 7Square-- CLOSED   + Amalia   + Fireside   + Anthos   + Patroon   + BLT Market   + Toloache   + Mia Dona   + Park Avenue Summer   + Convivio   + The Oak Room by guest reviewer Julie Besonen   + At Vermilion by guest reviewer Elaine Weiner   + Lunching at Inakaya, by guest reviewer Kathleen Squires   + Marea, by Guest Reviewer Susan Kane Walkush   + Le Bernardin   + New York Central -- A Reason To Eat at the Grand Hyatt Again   + Pampano Botaneria by Dara Pollak   

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