Bourbon Steak

Michael Mina is an award winning chef and restaurateur that currently runs and operates over 40 restaurants worldwide. He opened this restaurant in the JW Marriott Essex House, right across from Central Park south and near Columbus Circle. This is his love letter to the classic American steakhouse. Bourbon Steak has multiple locations in the United States, so it’s not an entirely new restaurant. I picked this restaurant particularly because of their prix fixe menu that seems to give a pretty good spread of what this restaurant has to offer.

Ambiance & Service

The ambiance can be pretty loud, but because of its location, you know it’s targeting the upscale, posh type of crowd. The restaurant entrance is actually inside the hotel to the left as you enter. You check in with the host, and they offer you initial seating in their lounge area until your actual seat opens up. When your dining seat is ready, another host will come and escort you to the table. The interior can be quite loud once the room filled up, but there’s enough space between tables such that other party’s conversations don’t quite overpower.

The service is pretty attentive as each area has multiple coverages. I found it weird though on the pacing. Sometimes a guy in a suit would come and serve our table or take away things. It’s as if the bussing is still chaotic, and they haven’t figured out their groove. Nonetheless, the overall experience was fine.

Food

The cost of the early bird 5-6 PM early bird pre-theater menu was $75 per person. The optional wine pairing of 2 wines was $45 per person.

They gave us complimentary fries and different sauces. Each of the complimentary fries were prepared slightly different. I recall the furthest in the back had truffle seasoning on it. The one in the middle was fried in duck fat. I vaguely remember the third one being fried in pastrami fat, but I’m not entirely sure. The sauces were all decent. The middle was of course ketchup, and the one furthest reminded me of a garlic aioli mixture. The one closest they said was their “secret” sauce, but there wasn’t anything particularly wowing about it. The fries were beautifully crispy and cooked perfectly.

The Pisco Punch ($22) came with La Diabla pisco and citrus pineapple. My partner ordered this and enjoyed it much.

The first pairing was for the appetizer, and it was the Heart & Hands dry riesling from the Finger Lakes, NY 2022. This dry riesling was definitely on the lighter side. It wasn’t bad, but it also wasn’t great. It’s fairly straight forward and smooth with decent minerality.

The appetizers came with (starting at 12 ‘o’ clock, clockwise):

• Fresh hearts of palm salad, which was butter lettuce, ruby red grapefruit, avocado poppy seed, and dijon vinaigrette. This salad was just OK because I’m not a fan of having to use a knife to cut salad. The flavors tasted how it sounded with the ruby red grapefruit and notable flavors of dijon.
• Roasted butternut squash, which had black trumpet mushroom, farro, and chestnuts. I didn’t really taste the mushroom much, but I definitely tasted the chestnuts and farro at the bottom of the soup.
• Bacon-wrapped Scallops, which was cranberry, turnip, and marcana almond foie gras emulsion. The scallop was perfectly cooked, and it had a nice salty flavor from the bacon.
• Michael Mina’s tuna tartare, which was quail egg, pine nut, mint, Asian pear, and habanero-sesame oil. This was one of Michael Mina’s signatures. The tuna tartare was pretty good and was seasoned properly. I did not think this was the best tartare I’ve ever had, but it was definitely respectable at this value.

The final and second wine pairing was for the entree, and it was the Bergstrom Cumberland Reserve from Willamette Valley, Oregon 2022. This red wine was surprisingly very good. Despite the red wine being a medium-light body wine, the flavors had notable tannin and some nice earthy tones to it. It’s balanced on the slightly acidic side, and it was a nice complement to the steak.

The 8 oz rip cap (+$20) was ordered medium rare, and it came out slightly more rare. The rib eye cap definitely had a texture similar to a skirt or flank steak. It was cooked nicely, and it was very tender and flavorful in each bite.

The 8 oz filet mignon (+$10) was ordered medium, and it appeared to be slightly over. This was my partner’s steak, and it was OK.

The shareables included:

• whipped potatoes, which was quite smooth and tasty.
• fried brussel sprouts, which tasted OK.
• sauteed spinach, was watery, but it tasted alright.

The Bourbon Steak Black & White Bites ($16) came with harlequin cookies, buttermilk semifreddo, and dark chocolate & vanilla fondant. My partner thought there was ice cream, but really it’s the buttermilk semifreddo which had a liquid nitrogen-like texture to it. It was cold in the middle, and it didn’t melt like cream. It was pretty decent.

Final Verdict

Overall, I thought the steaks and the meal were pretty good, though it doesn’t quite make it on my highly recommended steak list. The one thing that I think could be a great bargain deal as long as they have it is their prix fixe menu that only happens between 5 to 6 PM daily. The portions are actually very good for the price.

Yelp Jabs

This spot is an instant hit! Easily ranks in the best of steakhouses list for the city. Fantastic aesthetics with food to match.

I definitely disagree on this being part of the best steakhouse list in the city. I think the cook on the steak was missed, and it seems to attract a very specific type of clientele that probably hasn’t tried enough restaurants in the city yet.

My Hubbs said his strip was extra salty , too salty. Maybe lay off the salt Mina.

Like this Elitist, I did find the steak seasoned a bit on the saltier side. However, I wouldn’t entirely blame it on Michael Mina directly, but perhaps more on the griller in the steak section. I’m sure they have good cuts of meat, but it seems apparent that the seasoning and cook time are slightly off.

Revisions

1. Nov 8, 2024 - Initial revision.