57 W. 58th Street
New York, NY 10019
(212) 371-7777
Reservations recommended
website (not quite complete)
With a name like “Quality Meats” and the lifesize plaster cowheads splashed around the foyer, QM makes no apologies for its focus. Meat, plain & simple; the bartenders even wear butcher coats with the simple logo of “QM” printed across the breast. The inside of the place reminds you constantly why you’re here: for quality meat, but without being so garish to include meat hooks… oh, wait. A line of lights in one part of the dining room, upon closer inspection, is hung from intertwining meat hooks. Still, the decor manages to remain above gimmicky. Instead, you get a steakhouse that doesn’t cater only to the males, as so many of the great steakhouses do (dark interiors, excessive use of oak, and the ratio of men to women is something akin to 5 to 1)- it strives to be trendy, and while falling short, gracefully accepts its place as simply casual.
Since we were there on the first official night that QM was open to the public, the crowd is a bit hard to peg. About half of the diners, I’m told by my insider friend who invited us, were actually Smith & Wollensky employees and employees’ friends & familes. While we enjoyed drinks at the bar, in fact, the owner of the enterprise himself chatted amiably with the people behind us. However, during dinner, it became clear that of the half that were not here for free food and drink, the crowd was definitely mixed. I saw people on dates, friends (both male and female, some whole tables of women) catching up, and people just checking out a new place and enjoying themselves.
My first note of food actually starts with the bar. There are two bars; a regular bar and a charcuterie across from the regular bar. We didn’t sample any of the items on the charcuterie’s menu, but I took a look at the area itself and was amused to see that there was an industrial slicer, of the kind you find at a deli for slicing meats, on the countertop. Also, at the regular bar, there was a generous spread of paper bags with the tops cut off and filled with a type of potato chip; like a waffle fry but much thinner and seasoned with BBQ seasoning. I commented on how tasty they were, and my insider buddy (who’d already dined here on Saturday, before the official opening at a private event) informed me that they were made on premises. I was impressed.
I have to also note here that the service was a touch out of sync, but only in that “we just opened and haven’t really formed our systems yet” kind of way. Aside from that, service was attentive and extremely friendly. Various managers kept coming by our table to make sure we were having a great time- a few of them remembered my friend from the other night- and were very helpful in helping us choose wines, desserts, what-have-you.
But now, back to the most important aspect: the food.
As soon as we were seated, a waiter served us an amuse bouche: radishes marinated lightly with olive oil and a dill creme fraiche with green onions. These were light and very yummy: a good sign for a start.
We started off with an appetizer each; my date chose the crabcake, which insider recommended, I chose steak tartare, and insider chose shrimp cocktail, which the menu listed as U7. (Shrimp are measured by size, of course, but backward; the number indicates how many to a pound, which means U7 has about 7 shrimp to a pound. Standard jumbo shrimp are anywhere from 15 to 25 a pound, to give you an idea of size. Or, see picture.) I hate to report that since dinner was complimentary, I did not look at the prices, but I do recall that it was not exborbitant in particular for the shrimp cocktail; perhaps around $15-20?
From left to right, the sauces: cocktail sauce, a chimichurri sauce, and horseradish. I tried a bit of the flesh, and though I am not a shrimp fan (unless it’s rock shrimp!), these were very fresh and sweet, steamed to perfection; not overcooked to a chewy mess, which some places tend to do (shrimp cooks very quickly).
As you may recall, I have searched high and low, far and wide, for the perfect crabcake. This crabcake definitely makes my personal top 10 list: all lump crabmeat with a smattering of breadcrumbs on top, cooked ever so gently and placed atop a bed of complementary veggies. Normally I don’t like onions or fennel raw, but this just worked. I actually wound up eating about a fourth of this… my apologies to my date! but it was so good.
As for my own appetizer, the steak tartare, I have only ever had kobe beef tartare, so I’m not sure exactly how to rate this. The sea salt scoop in the center held an array of various spices to mix with the tartare (from bottom: black peppercorns, minced onions, capers, rock salt, and a smooth dijon mustard), which I could choose to mix as much or as little as I pleased. This method is one that greatly appeals to me (see: morimoto nyc, visit 1, toro tartare), as some people like more and some people like less. I was still figuring out what exactly I liked (less mustard, more capers and onions) and enjoying myself thoroughly throughout. I did, however, mix the entire egg yolk through the meat mixture.
A bit amusing: the runners first tried to serve me the shrimp cocktail, then the crabcake, and raised an eyebrow or two over the realization that the only girl at the table had ordered the heartiest (manliest?) appetizer. It’s small things like that about the service that caused me to comment about the lack of synchronicity, and the slight unprofessionalism at the raised eyebrows, but overall these slight glitches did not affect how much I enjoyed the evening. I did insist both my companions try the tartare, since one of them was wary over raw beef having never tried it, and the other was just not keen with the way it looked. They both enjoyed it and helped me finish it, in fact. I did like this dish quite a bit- spreading a bit over the baguette “chips”, mixing the seasonings (I didn’t even open the tabasco nor worcestshire sauce), and just munching happily away. I must note here that this appetizer, I felt, was a bit too large, though, as I had leftover meat but no baguette chips, and the bowl in the picture is actually about the size of a small rice bowl, and was filled with the meat mixture.
While we waited for our steaks, we enjoyed some really good garlic bread. These little knots were the perfect size and had a great combination of seasonings on top: garlic and perhaps thyme? In fact, “insider” was struggling not to eat another piece, since apparently, it is against his principles to fill up on bread at a restaurant. (When I asked why it was against his principles, I was half-dreading his response, expecting it to be akin to “Because I know what they do with the bread people don’t eat” or some other. I needn’t have worried; upscale restaurants do not worry about such paltry costs as wasted bread.)
Intriguingly, a few minutes later, one of our busboys (yes, we had more than one) came by to make the house steak sauce tableside! He snipped some fresh rosemary, took some fresh pepper, tomato sauce, worcestshire sauce,.. he said the name of each ingredient as he mixed, but as he was across the table from me, I did not quite hear it. Regardless, the end result was a tomato-ey blend with just the slightest hint of a bite to it. It was actually quite good, but I tend to not use steak sauce when I eat steak anyway.
Ahhh, finally! the main course arrived. I had to laugh; all three of us had ordered the rib eye, medium rare, which the menu proclaimed weighed in at a whopping 24 ounces. When the waiter set it down before me, however, I burst out laughing because the bone- which I stupidly decided to cut out of the picture a bit- measured at least a foot long and must have weighed at least 6-10 ounces. Not that I’m complaining, though- 14 ounces of steak is way more than enough for a girl on a diet- but the plate just looked so absurd and lonely with a piece of steak on it, no parsley or garnish (thank god!), and a 12 inch bone jutting off the edge.
The edges were charred just enough; the steak cooked to exactly my specification (medium rare). I have to point out here that the edges were extremely flavorful (and fatty, as this cut is meant to be), but the very center I found a bit blah. Yes, good steak has its own flavor, and this one did: meat! very good meat! but I found myself sprinkling a wee bit of the rock salt on it, which perked it right up to where it should have been to begin with. Yummy!!!
The real stars of this meal, however, were the sides. The menu boasted many different sides, and a section labeled “New Classics” drew my attention immediately. Before I continue, however, pictures.
from top: roasted cioppolini onions; creamed spinach souffle; japanese sweet potatoes?; corn creme brulee
The roasted cioppolini onions were delightfully sweet, and according to insider, the only side he felt could stand up against the steak. All the other sides, he declared, were a little too sweet and light to go with steak. I don’t disagree that the other sides were light, but I felt they went perfectly with the steak. My greatest disappointment was how small they were compared to other standard steakhouse sides.
But, we speak of flavor. My first bite of the creamed spinach souffle was heaven; it melted in my mouth and was overall a light, airy, fluffy bit of spinach puff. It was not, however, creamy whatsoever, and my later bites from closer to the center were extremely salty, and I said as much, to which both of my dining companions agreed.
The potatoes are of note: my date had ordered the crispy potatoes with a rosemary cream sauce straight from the menu, but when the waiter brought it, he announced these were the Japanese sweet potatoes. They tasted sweet, but they also had a light cream sauce with sprigs of rosemary atop them. However, they were not crispy whatsoever, though very tasty. I was definitely disappointed they didn’t bring a bigger portion.
The most innovative side dish here though had to be the corn creme brulee. This was definitely a light side, but completely amazing. We’d been wondering about this side: in fact we almost didn’t order it, but at the last minute I said f* it and let’s get a fourth side. Judging from the sizes of the dishes, I wasn’t wrong to order a fourth side for three people. Perhaps next time even order two of this dish! one all for me. The brulee was not as hard a caramelization as a dessert creme brulee would be, but merely a light touch of the torch, I would guess. The inside, however, was a soft, sweet but slightly savory custard, with individual corn kernels that were clearly, oh so clearly freshly cut from the ears before being used in this dish. They were crisp but yielding, bursting with sweetness and perfectly contrasting the smooth creaminess of the custard surrounding them.
I loved this side. Honestly, it has to be one of the most innovative dishes I’ve had in a while (one of, this is by no means tops!- morimoto remains unchallenged). My biggest complaint is the minimal size of this dish. More, more, more!
Now, moving on through dessert.
My date was too full to go forth and sink his teeth in, and instead ordered only a port. Insider, however, ordered a fresh raspberry tart, which, as you can see, is overflowing with the raspberries. As I’m allergic to raspberries, I refrained from attacking this with the same gusto he did.
Instead, I ordered a pecan bourbon chocolate chunk pie, which, okay I’m actually allergic to nuts, but sounded so delicious I had to give it a shot. A manager came over while we were ordering desserts and told me that this dish is more pecan than anything else, but it just called to me. Honestly, the chocolate in this dessert makes the whole thing. You don’t see a lot of chocolate, but somehow, it just comes together in your mouth and leaves you begging for more. I ate about half of this before I was afraid I’d burst out of my jeans. If you like pecans, I highly recommend this pie.
I must note a few things here: exceptional things. The manager who came over and discussed desserts with me gave a rundown of which desserts she’d tried, enjoyed, etc., and was noting some of the ice creams on the quite extensive (something like ten flavors) list. I decided to ask, even though I found it a bit tacky, if they were made on premises, and she responded with enthusiasm that yes, they were. It appears that nearly everything- or perhaps even the cows! hah!- is made on site, which increases my respect for a place instantly. The other exceptional thing was, while we ate our desserts, a runner came around with a milk can (the kind that looks like a carafe.. don’t ask me why I’ve seen it before used as a milk can, I don’t know!) with a wooden spoon sticking out of it, and proffered fresh whipped cream. The thick goodness plopped heavily onto our dessert plates but was excellent. So good that my date, who does not eat whipped cream like ever, began eating my share off my plate after finishing his.
Yvo says: All in all, a very positive experience. As a friend pointed out, though, when you don’t pay for dinner, the restaurant is seen in a better light. I believe I would go back, because prices did not seem to be out of the norm for a steakhouse in NYC, and though the main attraction (the steak) wasn’t exceptionally good, it was standard (at a lot of upscale steakhouses, I feel steak is steak, cooked properly and seasoned well, but it is still steak), and the other dishes more than make up for it with their own drawing power. I would definitely feel comfortable recommending this to anyone looking for an out of the ordinary steakhouse because this place is anything but an ordinary steakhouse.
**Another bonus point for service: I think this was because we were on the special guestlist- my date paid for drinks at the bar, since insider had gotten us the invitation. The manager who came to escort us to our table, however, upon learning that we had paid for our drinks, became upset (not at us) and said he would take care of it, despite my date’s protests. Finally, halfway through the meal, he came back and told us the charges had been reversed and to please, enjoy our meal. I was impressed with his attention to detail, because I’m sure many managers, upon seeing our complete cavalier attitude towards the money, would have just let it slide.
For you lazy people who want to just look at pictures and read 10 words:
Recommended!
Leave a Reply