DINNER AT THE PRIME GRILL

We had the opportunity to eat at the Prime Grill over the long Thanksgiving weekend. The Prime Grill is the most expensive kosher restaurant in NYC now that the Box Tree closed. So, what did we get for our money?

There’s good news and there’s bad news. Let’s start with the seating arrangements. Tables in the section of the restaurant where we were seated are about ten inches apart. People blessed with a Semitic tush who need to squeeze through that space to get to the inside seat pretty much have to move the table aside so that they can squeeze through. Ok, that is not such a big deal, but try to have a private conversation in such close quarters! The young lady at the table next to ours was blessed with a voice like the late Selma Diamond- like fingernails on a blackboard. That was such a wonderful addition to our dining pleasure!

My dinner companion had sushi for an appetizer. It looked fresh and well made. We had the veal sweet bread tart. What was it? It was a four inch circle of fillo dough upon which rested four small pieces of sweet bread. Sure, the sweet breads were outrageously tasty, but, frankly, four pieces was a bit chintzy. For the pleasure of tasting four little bits of sweet bread, we paid $14.

Second, although we have to admit that the steaks we had were truly superlative, the overall cost of dinner was astronomically high. The steaks were $40 each. We will say, however, that the meat was an excellent piece- well marbled and dry aged to perfection.

A side serving of spinach was an additional $8. Ditto a baked potato.

The decaf coffee was undrinkable- it was burned and very clearly the bottom of the pot. We sent it back.

Dinner consisted of two appetizers, one glass of wine, a bottle of sparkling Saratoga water, two diet Cokes, two steaks, two side dishes, two teas and one dessert. Yes, the meat was indeed outrageously tasty. The total for all this? With tip (at a relatively low 17%) and tax, it all came to over $200. Not cheap by any measure.

Was it worth it? Frankly, we are not sure. When a restaurant offers absolutely no ambience and every dish is priced absurdly high, it is hard not to feel ambivilent about it all. Would we go back? Sure, if someone else were paying!
(RJR)