Critic's Review
Ladies and Gentlemen, we have a winner.
All signs pointed negatively; the previous owner, Stephane, had yielded to a "NY Bar and Grill" from Montreal, which didn't seem like the same as a NY Bar and Grill actually from NY. The opening was delayed. And the menu seemed uninspiring. Their web site reminded me a lot of Kaluz. My expectations were pretty low, but they're open for lunch, I now have all 8 cylinders on my car working, and it was a beautiful day; a perfect storm for taking a drive up to Boca.
There were a lot of cars for a January afternoon; I was greeted by a gentleman who was either the GM or the owner; he seemed in charge. I got the "Would you like to eat at the bar", which is standard when you dine alone. I looked at 2 guys at the big bar and it didn't seem very inviting; they put me in a nice booth.
If you'd been to Stephane's, you'll recognize the layout and some of the decor. But they've substantially improved it. They got rid of the froofy bench seating and put in big, comfortable booths with nice wooden tables.
They also improved the bar area, and there's sports instead of photo shoots on the TVs.
I would have had a salad with beef, but all of the salads have chicken. The steaks are pretty expensive for lunch and there's no indication of quality; I wasn't going to order a $33 lunch steak. They had prime rib, but no indication of the size, just "lunch cut'. So what was that, 12oz for $25? So I went with the ribs. The menu says that entrees come with a choice of potato, but they'll sub out a vegetable. So why not put better choices on the menu? My server recommended the vegetable of the day; fried brussel sprouts. He didn't have to twist my arm.
The menu also implies that you have to ask for bread, so I did. Some fresh from the oven rolls came out shortly.
The butter was ice cold; they need to work on that. The rolls; very good.
There's Sinatra style music playing. Service was clearly that of a newly opened restaurant, but the feel is professional. You feel like you're in a good restaurant here. The ribs came out within 10 minutes.
The ribs looked fine; although the vegetable wasn't what I expected. Someone other than my server dropped off the food; I mentioned that I thought I'd ordered brussel sprouts. He was very apologetic, and within 3 minutes I had an order on the table. A new restaurant issue, but taken care of as well as any place can be expected.
Brussel sprouts can be awful, but these were cooked right. Some cauliflower and cheese; a nice dish.
The ribs were also good; very similar to the ribs at Houston's. Not the kind of ribs you get at a BBQ joint, but perfectly cooked with just enough sweetness in the sauce. I enjoyed the ribs.
I eat out enough to know when a place knows what they're doing, and this place does. With the worst Houston's I've ever been to just down the road; there's much less reason to go there now. This is a nicer restaurant at a similar price point.
There are more actual New Yorkers in Boca than in Montreal, so they'll need to improve this menu; maybe a sirloin for lunch and a gorgonzola salad with steak; but I have a feeling that they'll do OK.
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