The Good, The Bad and the Costly

There is a known story of a famous American Jewelry chain whose method of identifying a good location for their stores, was to set up next to an already existing successful jeweler.

This probably what the Prime Grill owners' brother Eddie, thought when he opened.

La Carne Grill on 340 Lexington Ave.
http://www.lacarnegrill.com/
1-212-490-7172

We decided to eat there the five of us a few weeks ago, we guess it was the third week it was open. We went on Tuesday Nov 8.

Firstly we must thank G he told us about this place. Actually it goes like this E was standing at I's doorway standing while talking to G on the phone. G said why don't you go to La Carne Grill, I overheard that and said, who is that, G? Are you crazy to listen to him? He loves Esti Hanna!!! Any one who thinks that's a gourmet place we can not follow their recommendation!

We we did and it was fine!

M reserved for 8 but our wives rejected the invite, this however gave us a wonderful spot on the second floor in an empty room.
The location of this restaurant is superb as the adjacent side streets permit free parking starting at 7pm.
We parked on 39th and arrived ready to eat at 7.

G first scanned the restaurant, there is a ground floor, which seems to be noisy, stuffy and full, somewhere between Le Marais's downstairs and The Prime Grill.
Then there are two sets of staircases. The one at the back leads to a second floor which is setup as a sports bar. The one on the front leads to a nice quiet room with several tables.
From both second floors there are steps to a third level of dining which is right above the first floor (the second levels are at half floor height).

As soon as we got to the restaurant we were greeted at the door, our reservation was identified and we were escorted to the second floor. Two waiters were on hand the entire meal they were both superb. One of them I asked to ensure our cups all had Diet Coke in them at all times, he did! We never had to ask again. We went through the menu and opted for a chefs tasting menu. The chef Alex came to introduce himself and we told him to chat with I our resident butcher and carnivore expert. The chefs tasting menu is a fixed meal that cost $150 per head.

We chose which starters we all wanted, we all wanted to taste the Duck Ravioli, we all wanted the sausages, we all also got the Asparagus Risotto. The starters were all amazing! I complained one of them was too small and right away got another. I of course had to order sushi he seemed to like it. We ordered one bottle of overpriced chalk hill wine and ended up drinking two bottles they were kinde pushed on us but, we won't hold it against them though a price tag of $120 a bottle for a chalk hill which retails for $54 is rather high!

For the main course, Alex the chef decided to give us all a bit of everything. Though it was all good, given the time it took we all ended up with one of the samples on our plate cold. E who actually goes to steak houses and grills to eat chicken wanted chicken. The chef listened to our comments and threw in a portion of Chicken, it was superb. I (hashemyerachem usually eats on his own the Le Marais Rib Eye for Two) and G's appetite was still not quenched and they ordered another DelMonico. It was delicious they were licking their fingers with enjoyment.
The desserts were simply amazing. E got two the chocolate mouse and the chocolate cake the rest got everything else and loved them all.
Service was amazing, the food was superb and the overall prices was only 50% more than we expected it. Pricewise with our experience it was only a bit cheaper than The Prime Grill (who incidentally just changed their menu) and more expensive than Le Marais.

G and I however seemed to have met again on Thursday. G was part of a party of six sitting on the second floor and I was part of a party of five sitting on the entrance floor. The place was packed and service was well below the service we experienced earlier that week. The main floor was also extremely noisy. One more thing I discovered was the importance of location. He was sitting in the main floor however the third level was right above him, with a small space between the floor and the staircase. In the middle of the meal someone from the third floor was putting a salt shaker on their table and missed the table, this came flying three floors down right onto I. So if you are stuck sitting on the main floor don't sit under the crack.

All in all we love the place we will go back again, probably on a Tuesday or a Wednesday when it is emptier and with better service.

Have you eaten there? What do you think?