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Categories: American (New), Bars [Edit]
Neighborhood: Theater District7th Ave-53rd St (B, D, E)
50th St-Broadway (1)
49th St-7th Ave (N, R, W)
Sip on Specialty Cocktails and enjoy our small plates by Blue Ribbon. Available till 2 a.m. weekdays and 4 a.m. weekends.
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It was a very good meal! Girl had the Cioppino and I had the Filet Mignon and we had the shrimp and grits as an appetizer. The grits and the variety breadbasket were delicious!
So was the soup, all the seafood was seemingly fresh and tender, the broth was a bit salty, but so perfectly balanced otherwise. My filet was good, but I have never seen it served this way -- with it cut in half, right down the middle. Almost as if the chef questioned weather it was done to medium and sliced it open to check! By the time it got to the table, the juice was all over the plate, rather than in the meat. I definitely question the plating on that dish, but everything else was great.
I did find it a bit tacky that the waiter checked his tip only a few steps away from the table, and in plain sight of us, but the seating we were given was very nice and the staff was pretty attentive. Plus it cost an arm and a leg to get out of here. But a nice experience for a special occasion, though I wouldn't suggest going out of your way for it.
Our party of 8 came for lunch. Mr. Flay was in the kitchen, which was cool -- and he let us get a group picture with him. Nice!
Anyway, our entrees included the pot pie, the steak sandwich, the burger, and the shrimp and grits.
Overall, the food is solid in flavor, and good. The pot pies were incredibly hot -- which is usually good for food -- unless it keeps you from eating it. =/
The burger was well received, and the fries were great.
The shrimp and grits were good as well.
The deserts were the highlight, the star being the sweet potato pie.
The service was somewhat slow, especially since it was still pretty slim on patrons. Wait staff was attentive, but slightly "snooty."
So why 3 stars? Well, I'd give it 3.5 if I could, but I can't -- so I'm rounding down because there was hair in one of the pot pies. Yep, one of the cardinal sins.
Also, while the food was good and solid in flavor -- I wasn't "blown away." I have been to much better restaurants. That said, I would never tell anyone to NOT go to Bar Amercain, but I would tell them not to set their expectations too high. Just because it's a "Bobby Flay Restaurant," that doesn't mean every meal or plate will be a knock out of the park.
So, for my first visit, I'd say I wasn't really *that* impressed -- but I like to try new places at least 3 times before making a final, negative assessment, as you never know if your visit was an "off day" in the kitchen.
Rich and greasy. Is that Bobby's plan to win over the thrown down judges? This restaurant features many of the items Mr. Flay created in his throw down competitions.
-Shrimp and Grits were soupy
-Hot brown was basically toast with left over turkey and greasy cheese on top
-Pizza was a flatbread with some greasy cheese and extra oil drizzled on top
-Chicken pot pie was creamy and luxurious, but I didn't feel like Bobby's signature style came out in it.
Much prefer Mesa Grill for "signature bobby flayness". But the popover bread was to die for though- I took a whole basket home thanks to our waiter who hooked it up!
4.5 stars
Food, TV, travel...my life revolves around these things. Whenever I see Bobby Flay strategically planning his "Throwdown" dishes at Bar Americain, my heart does a little dance. I've been wanting to try Bar Americain for some time now & I finally got my wish. His bold flavors & clever combinations are still so fresh in my mind.
My mom & I wanted to try a bevy of dishes, so we opted to nosh on a few appetizers instead of picking a main dish. We chose:
- asparagus salad: we have since recreated this hearty salad of mixed greens, asparagus, apple, croutons, cheddar cheese, & garbanzo beans.
- crab cake: a little fishy...i'm not sure if it was made with salmon, as well as crab, but sadly, I was not a fan. Also, even for one person, the portion was very small for $19.
- shrimp & grits: amazing stuff. Grits are super creamy & buttery, shrimp is firm & flavorful & the entire dish is sprinkled with onion & bacon.
- johnny cakes with pulled pork:beautifully plated. The sweet & savory marriage is perfect in this dish. I loved the cranberry butter.
In keeping with the (almost) holiday spirit, we got two festive holiday themed desserts (yes, we are some dessert lovin' ladies): sweet potato pie with graham cracker crust & cinnamon ice cream & apple tart with maple ice cream. Both were flavorful, classic with a few inventive twists & worth every calorie.
Bar Americain is a short walk from Times Square. The atmosphere is lovely, dim & despite the hustle & bustle, is still very warm with fantastic service. I will definitely make time (& room in my tummy) for some Bobby Flay cuisine the next time I am in one of my favorite cities.
Dinner total: $89 (not including tip.)
I have visited Bar Americain a few times over the past few years. A couple of time with just my wife, and a few with larger groups. Every visit was excellent. It's definitely a reliable restaurant destination if you are in midtown.
The place is usually packed, so I would suggest getting a reservation. Once you get through the crowd waiting for tables and get seated, the atmosphere is much more comfortable. The decor is based on shades of orange with large circle lighting fixtures hanging from the ceiling, and the seating is spaced enough where you can have a conversation without the people next you you hearing every word. It can get loud when it's busy, and the decibels are louder the closer you are to the bar area. If you are looking for a more relaxing meal, see if you can get a table in the upper level that looks over the main dining area.
The food here across the board has been great. I don't see it on the current menu online, but they used to have a Saturday special of barbecued bone-in ribeye steak. I am a big, big steak lover, and I would usually never ruin a good steak by having barbecue sauce all over it, but Mr. Flay does an amazing job with this dish. The steak is hanging over the plate huge and cooked perfectly medium as I asked. He some how kept the barbecue sauce smokey and flavorful while still maintain a true buttery fatty rib-eye taste.
Also, try the Vidalia onion soup(flay's version of a French onion soup)....best I have ever had! It's season perfectly, and the cheese, crouton, broth consistency is perfect. This starter is worth the visit alone.
The rest of the food options are very good, with some hits and misses. The steaks are usually a safe bet along with the nightly specials. If you navigate the menu for the stronger choices, you should have a very satisfying meal.
The prices are consistent with the other restaurant options in the area (meaning you can get a better meal for a better price in other neighborhoods).
Bar Americain provides familiar dishes with just enough of a twist or personal touch to make them appealing, but not too much to make them over complicated
Wow, this was an incredibly bad dining experience, in the bottom three of my whole life. I went with my fiancee before going to a show and we had a 1 hr time constraint so we only ordered 1 course and a half-bottle of wine.
First the Wine:
Half Bottle of the 2003 Borgo Salcetino Chianti Classico. This is the first time I had to not accept a bottle of wine after tasting it. The sommelier agreed that it was spoiled. We decided to get another one of the same thinking that it had been corked. I tasted it and it was better, but still bad. The sommelier told us it was probably stored at a bad temperature (before they got it, of course). If all of the bottles are this bad why? They should be returned to the distributor. Anyway the sommelier brought us the 2006 Saintsbury Pinot Noir and that was OK.
The Food:
-She ordered the rack of pork with apple butter, fresh cider, sour mash and brussel sprouts. The pork was extremely dry. It was inedible on its own but not completely terrible when eaten with the sides. Flavor-wise the brussel sprouts were overpoweringly bitter.
-I ordered the blackened Prime Rib. This was probably a medium to medium well piece of meat before it was blackened and then turned into a medium well to well done disaster.. One side of it had a little pink in the middle, but the other was charred on the outside and gray in the middle. It came with fries and a chipotle mayo which had a nice smokey flavor. I basically paid $30 for french fries.
Novelty Factor:
They have an open kitchen and we could see Bobby Flay Cooking the night we went. Although, maybe he was responsible for our terrible food (which would explain why Mesa Grill is better).
Overall:
I am really surprised there are this many positive reviews on Yelp, although they mostly seem to be from tourists. I know that there aren't many good restaurants in thie neighborhood, but this is an awful restaurant. If you really feel the need to see Bobby Flay and have $100 to waste then this is the place to go. Otherwise, you are better off going to McDonald's or getting some street meat (it will probably be cooked better).
Ok. Of course, you always hear about Bobby Flay, so you decide to check out one of his staple joints. I should have known that during busy summer business lunch months it's not a good sign to have your restaurant half empty during lunch.
Well, ok, this is a decent place, but NOT worth the money that you pay. The food and service are on par with a family restaurant, save for a memorable dipping sauce for the fries. The salads are incredibly poorly prepared, which is a first impression at a high end restaurant.
It's not without it's merit. They make a good burger and a decent lobster roll.
Why the third star? No question. The sweet potato pie was the last thing I remember and it was great. I'd go there for a piece of pie alone.
Underwhelming, but very appreciative of the folks that took me. It's a solid meal, but is sullied when you see the prices. The service is also not great, especially when you see a manager scold a waiter right by your table. At these prices, you should never be able to pull back the curtain and see the wizard. Great food should magically appear from little Munchkins as you tour the Emerald City.
Not highly recommended, but it's worth a shot.
One of my friends proposed we eat at Bar Americain for dinner. I wasn't looking forward to this occasion since I've eaten at two other Bobby Flay establishments and was extremely disappointed. Well, Bobby Flay redeemed my respect with Bar Americain.
We first started with some raw oysters. Boy, it was THE BEST oysters I've ever eaten. It was such great quality that it tasted creamy. My friend ordered a Riesling which was very nice so I ordered a glass.
For my entree, I had the skate fish in some sort of spicy sauce and it was delicious. It came with a tomato corn bread which actually had the consistency of a souffle. Absolutely delicious.
For dessert, my friend and I decided to share a blackberry souffle which was so delicate and creamy. Everything I ordered was spectacular. I even tasted another friend's rib eye steak which was excellent.
What struck me the most was the oysters. Gotta go back for oysters again.
Dropped on over here for brunch the other day. This place gets tons of publicity because of the Food Network. Maybe I had huge expectations, but this place was decent at least. For an appetizer, we had the tuna tartare. It was pretty good, and a great start to my meal.
For my main course, I had the biscuits and gravy, and my lady friend had the chicken pot pie. According to her, the pot pie was a little spicy, but it looked quite hearty. My biscuits and gravy, on the other hand, was alright. The biscuits were tasty and the sausage was cooked correctly, but it didn't seem like a $18 entree.
Great decor and incredible service, but in the end the food didn't WOW me.
I went here for lunch hoping to get the filet mignon steak sandwich but couldn't because it was only served for lunch so I opted for the Burger Americain with blue cheese instead. The burger was good not great and definitely not worth $20 in my opinion but it was very filling. The fries were delicious and the mayo dipping sauce they serve with them was very good. I don't think I would go back here again but if i did it would be for the fries or to try the steak sandwich since that was what was recommended to me in the first place but overall I think this place is overpriced.
Came here with my aunt on a Saturday night for dinner. Our table wasnt ready for our reservation, which we didnt mind as we beelined for the bar. The bartender was pretty friendly and made our drinks excellent. I had a Dark N Stormy, since i'm a stickler for specialty drinks.
Our food came out quickly and the service was excellent. The kitchen also sent out a complimentary potato chip and blue cheese fonduta type of appetizer. We had the vidalia onion soup and crabcakes to start, which was delicious. Could not savor each bite enough. For the entree i had a strip steak (ordered medium rare) and the griddled pearl onions and mushrooms as a side. The mushrooms and onions were to die for - the levels of flavor were amazing. The steak came out surprisingly large a pretty substantial cut. I started from the end and cut inward was i ate, and by the middle it seemed just way too rare, almost to the point where it looked like pan seared tuna. I didnt mind since i was crazy amounts of full by that point and it would reheat to perfect when i would take it home. My aunt had the duck which she was smitten with as well.
For desert i had the chocolate cream pie an a latte. Both were extremely enjoyable.
The food was excellent and the service was excellent. A bit pricey, but personally its nothing too extravagant. I plan on coming for dinner in a week or two, as i insist that my friend who is a steak and onions afficionado like my self absolutely needs to try this place.
The atmosphere is pretty relaxed and the restaurant is gorgeous,with a 2nd floor balcony with additional seating.
As some other reviewers have noted we really would have expected better execution from a Bobby Flay establishment. Maybe our expectations were set too high. The menu is laden with heavy, rich food. Case in point...potato chips with blue cheese...um, yum but gut buster! The red snapper was good. The lamb chops were the best thing we had there. The kitchen surprisingly had a difficult time cooking meat "medium." With the exception of the lamb chops, everything we tried from appetizers to desserts sounded better on the menu than they actually tasted.
We ended up here because no cab would take us to Brooklyn to Peter Luger's during the 5:00 rush hour on a Friday night. Some friends had recommended this restaurant so we were excited to check it out. What a disappointment!
Service was bad. We're four girls from Cali that really wanted to like this restaurant. Unfortunately the bad service is what we remember instead of the food. We ordered 2 ribeyes, Rack of Pork and Cioppino. When we asked about the menu, it was as if we were inconveniencing our server. It seemed since we didn't order any cocktails or wine, our server didn't want to tend to us. We're not drinkers...is that okay? The "family style" portions he had recommended as sides were more like an "individual side order". That set you back $9 per side. We ordered the fries and the sweet potato au gratin. Sweet potatoes were good. My friends liked the Rack of Pork and Cioppino. My other friend who ordered the ribeye with me argued this is not ribeye, it was not tender at all. I enjoyed my ribeye and sweet potatoes and thought it was great.
My friend had asked for her coat from our server and never came back to give it to her. I had to ask for a refill and never got it back either. Good food should come with good service. My friends and I are very easy to please but this place left a bad taste in our mouth.
Nothing really stands out for me at this place! I was very excited to go tonight. The seafood tower looked amazing, the selection was good not great! Everything tasted the same!
Onion soup was excellent, bread and cornbread were great! I like when they serve the butter soft so you can spread it. My Ribeye was really good but no where near the best I've ever had!
Service was choppy, Server was good not great! They had a little drama in the dining room that night, two employees got into a fight. Not a good scene!
Decor was awesome, very comfortable! Bathrooms were clean, Price was way to expensive for the experience.
Seems to me someone has taken there eye off the ball. Details really matter, it's still not to late to fix it!
I think Gary L's previous review was spot on. I came into this place expecting something solid, even great, since it's Bobby Flay's place. But I guess that's what you get for overexpecting of a celeb's restaurant.
My lovely companion and I decided to share a horseradish crusted halibut with a dungeness crab chowder and the hangar steak. First of all when it says chowder, you expect a side of it. Instead the entire fish was covered in it - like a stew that had been spilled. Don't get me wrong - it was actually good - but you need to be specific about what it is. I mean the longer it stayed in the chowder, the soggier the fish got.
The hangar steak was a complete disappointment. Either have spectacular flavor or a big enough portions - this had neither.
The service was nothing special either, and I left this place very BLAH. Not a sign of a good restaurant. Avoid this place. Spent $6 on a halal cart meal two blocks away (53rd and 6th). At least then you'll be full. And satisfied.
I am a big Food Network fan and Bobby seems like a cool, down to earth guy who is fun to watch, so I was excited to go to his restaurant earlier this year. The experience was nice, the dining room beautiful with huge cathedral style ceilings and the service was great as well. The food was OK - not amazing. I would probably give it a 3.5. A fun experience but not the place to go to if you want AMAZING food.
Wonderful food and service! My mom and I just went as our last meal in NYC. Split fish cocktail sampler (crab-coconut, lobster-avocado, and shrimp-tomatillo) and the grilled pizza.. Then each had a fish entree and dessert and wow! Nothing but wonderful flavor combinations and exceptional taste. What a great end to a super first trip... Well done Bobby!
Went to NYC for a short getaway by myself. One of the wishlist items was dining at Bar Americain. Sat at the bar on a Friday night, was treated warmly, with genuine interest and attention (and I'm not a runway model!). Had four courses, including the seafood cocktail sampler and was delighted with every bite. Staff let me take my time between courses and I never felt rushed. The pulled pork with jonnycakes and cranberry relish was an experience. Putting the cinnamon in the ice cream instead of in the sweet potato pie itself was inspired! With a glass of sherry to start and a glass of Sauternes to finish, bill was $100. Good food is hard to find, innovative food is even rarer and true hospitality is like finding a diamond in the streets of New York. Thanks, Bobby!
Disappointment sums it up. Way expensive, and food was only OK and a lousy value for the money.
Asked the waiter for the rib eye grilled rare with one side grilled with just salt and pepper and the other side seasoned with their Special Spice Dry Rub so I could compare the flavor side by side. The order took forever because they screwed it up the first time. The steak finally arrived, plain grilled with the dry rub spice served in a bowl on the side. Well slap me silly, but doesn't that totally defeat the purpose of seasoning the meat with a dry spice rub if you have to sprinkle it on top of your already cooked meat?
The raw bar sea food appetizer trio special was good, and the best of the bunch was the poached lobster in an Asian / Coconut Sauce.
The waiter warned us about how the shared sides were quite large-but the portions were dinky and only so-so and no standouts that are worth a shout-out.
Service was very slow, and we had even told the waiter that we wanted to catch a show in about an hour and a forty five minutes-and yet the food only came out verrrrry sloooowly.
Wine list was OK-but overpriced. Plus our waiter was a bit clueless about the different wines available-if he wasn't sure he could have asked the wine sommelier for advice.
Very noisy and you could not hear anything over the din of the kitchen. Felt sorry for the long line of women waiting to use the rest room... it almost snaked out to the dining area the line was so long.
Over-hyped and NOT ready for a Throw Down. I'd like to see what DA Cabot would have to say to that! Maybe not Criminal Intent, but felt pretty bad about the money spent.
Not impressed...
From everything I've heard and expected the food was very standard and lacked excitement. Had ribeye that was cooked too much but the steak sauce was decent. I generally don't like steak sauce on my steak but this one needed it. Another thing that didn't make me happy was that my steak sat for a minute before they brought it out. Came out warm but not hot like it should've.
Also had some of the grilled bacon pizza with carmelized onions. Was decent but nothing special. Tasted my girlfriend's buttermilk fried chicken with honey mustard side. Not worth it, just not worth it.
The best thing I experienced was the excellent wait staff and the atmosphere. Such a shame this place didn't have better food b/c it's a place I could frequent.
P.S. You have to try the bottle of 2006 Carr Cabernet Sauvignon, it was REALLY good!
Came here for a late evening dinner. My friend and I had steaks, wine and two sides. Very delicious overall and pretty quick service. The interior of the restaurant was really nice with its art deco make up. Recommended!
A group of us were in NYC to deliver some training at the local Microsoft office and we decided to grab a nice dinner after the last day. I was extremely disappointed with almost everything at the table.
I started with the only really good thing - the shrimp and grits was quite good. The pumpkin soup was also good.
For entrees - the pizza was badly burned. The duck was dry and overcooked. The desserts were underwhelming - something that could have been found in just about any restaurant.
The service was mediocre at best - we were given the wrong menus and when we ordered we were told we should be there for lunch if that was what we wanted (this happened twice with dinner and dessert menus).
For a high profile restaurant, I expected more. I won't be going back.
Over-rate, touristy.
Almost embarassed to admit I've been there, but was a business lunch so don't hate me. Great place to entertain out towners who love Bobby Flay. Otherwise, meh.
I ordered their lobster shooters as the app. Lobsters prepared in several different ways served in shot glasses . Lobster was pretty fresh, have to admit and all in all, okay. Got grilled chicken salad as entree. Also, okay.
Nothing special, not dying to go back and not a Flay fan.
I heard great reviews but was a bit nervous that there was not going to be any veggie options for me. But I was more than fine. Cool room, and great service. Not too on top of us but just enough to make sure everything was good. We asked what the veggie/vegan options were and he said the chef makes a combo of all the side dishes for veggies and that would be a great meal. So I had the Asparagus Chopped Salad with vermont cheddar, meyer lemon vinaigrette that was tasty and the "specially prepared veggie dish" that was excellent. Everything had such a unique and delicious taste and wasn't like a mush of vegetables. Everyone else had fishes, ribs and the bacon pizza and loved it all. HIGHLY recommended.
Even the bathroom was nice, smelled great. Clean.
My boyfriend and I decided to stop by Bar Americain around mid-afternoon to sit at the bar and have some drinks. He got a light and refreshing Brookliner Weisse (I'm not sure about the spelling) and I got a glass of sparkling wine. We cheered to our first visit to New York City. Although one could say that it was a picture perfect moment, something was missing. Ah yes...a snack. We ordered the sweet potato pie with graham crackers and cinnamon ice cream. That dessert was excellent! The pie was not too sweet and silky, the graham crackers added an irresistible texture to the dish, and the cinnamon ice cream could not have complimented the pie any better than it did. That dessert made our spontaneous celebration one of the best memories of NYC.
Bar Americain is a beautifully decorated restaurant. Our bartender John was awesome and even gave us several suggestions of jazz clubs around the area. If the food at Bar Americain is as good as the sweet potato pie, then I cannot wait to visit yet again on my next trip to NY.
Bobby Bobby Bobby, what were you thinking? I love Bobby especially his grilling shows on FoodNetwork so I had some high expectations for this restaurant. We decided on this place to celebrate our 1 yr wedding anniversary. UGH. Wrong decision. The other reviewers mentioned the bad service but insisted that the food was still good! The service was certainly one of the worst ever. We ordered a split of Veuve and at one point, our glasses had been empty for so long that my husband walked over and poured it himself. The sommelier immediately came over and waved over our waiter. Our waiter rarely attended to us. He didn't even ask how everything tasted after receiving our meal.
For our app, we ordered the fried green tomato with trout and it was pretty good. The app was deceivingly tasty because it led us to highly anticipate our entrees. My husband ordered the ribeye (Bobby's fave cut) and I ordered (for lack of a better option) the mussels and fries in a green chile broth. The ribeye was fair, nothing to write home about. The mussels were actually pretty good but considering I found nothing else appealing on the menu, it wasn't that great. I felt like I settled.
Wouldn't return here ever again but I haven't given up on Bobby yet.
Now, I have to preface this with I have only eaten lunch there, so take this for what it's worth.
This pain me to say because Bobby Flay is near and dear to my heart as a chef who really started it all for me as far as wanting to cook myself, BUT Bar Americain was...ok. Anybody who gives this less than 3 stars is either being a little disingenuous or holding the food up to a standard that it isn't meant to be compared to.
Service was fantastic, drinks were stellar, food was good. I had the grilled tuna steak with avocado relish and the signature red and green chile sauces. Don't get me wrong, it was good, really good. Also, for $27 that's what I should get, so it's reasonably priced for what you are getting.
Eh, now that I read over this, maybe I'm holding it to a higher standard myself. Again, I'm very honest, take this all with a grain of salt. I'll re-write once I have dinner there.
In short, it was good, but not amazing. The drinks were excellent and the service was very attentive. My mussles and fries in a green chili broth were good, but hardly great (some of the mussles were gritty). The shrimp and grits appetizer was good, but overpriced (even for midtown Manattan). The rack of pork was delicious - probably the highlight of the meal.
It it was 2/3 the price, I'd rave; but given my expectations and Bobby Flay's reputation, I wasn't overly impressed.
I am pretty conflicted about this restaurant. What started out as a pretty decent experience, ended up horrifically.
My wife and I made reservations here for our wedding anniversary. The host looked up our reservation and before he could walk us to our table, another host (I presume) noticed from our reservation that it was our anniversary, and prompted the other host to put us at a different table. We ended up at a quiet 2-top. So far so good...
We started the evening with a couple of cocktails. My wife ordered an off-the-menu cocktail and I explained the ingredients to our server. It was quite a while before the cocktails made it to the table but nothing terrible. Still, so far, so good...
We ordered our dinner. We shared the Boston lettuce salad with gorgonzola cream and bacon, my wife had the black pepper chicken and I had the tuna with chile sauces. The salad was slightly above average. My wife's chicken was okay. My tuna was probably the best dish we had, and it was mainly because of the quality of the red and green chile sauces. Nothing incredible, but so far, so good.
We ordered dessert, the deep dish chocolate cream pie. And that's when things went downhill. We noticed a party of 6 or 8 people sit in a booth just behind us. The manager instantly swooned over this table, and soon our server was doting over them as well. Our dessert was delivered by a server's assistant, as our server was obviously too busy with the other table. By the time we finished our dessert it had been 20 minutes since we last saw our server at our table. We saw him constantly, just not at our table.
At this point, we could either demand attention by grabbing another server or assistant as they walked by our table, or we see how far this would go. Call us sick, but we saw this as a little social experiment. We sat there at the table with nothing but our water glasses, waiting to see how long it would take. When the bill was finally dropped off, it had been over an hour since we last spoke to our server. In this hour, we saw both our server and the manager at the other table at least a dozen times. They were obviously much more important than we were!
All in all, the food was decent, the staff was polite and knowledgeable. But as soon as someone 'more important' arrives, plan to be completely ignored.
i came here after my graduation at radio city music hall with my family. we didn't have reservations but they were still able to squeeze in a party of 6 which was more than accommodating.
it was a lovely meal with lovely company, though partially due to the special occasion that we were celebrating, but i expected no less from a bobby flay restaurant. it was pricey but definitely in line with the food and the atmosphere. i didn't feel robbed.
the only aspect of the meal where i did feel robbed was in my skate. i am danish. i have eaten skate fresh in skagen so i had high expectations for this delicate fish in brown butter. i was disappointed. i really really wanted to like it though, so i managed to eat half of it, but the texture was off and so was the flavor. :( really made me sad since this fish holds such great memories for me. however, bar americain shines in its selection of sides, and we loved how they were served family style so we everyone got to try a bit of everything. i think everyone else enjoyed their entrees, but they lose serious starage from me for that lackluster skate. the service was great and it would be worth a visit if you're in the area, but i wouldn't go out of the way.
I won a raffle: a three-course meal for two at Bar Americain.
She started with the gulf shrimp and grits, I had the grilled bacon pizza.
She had the skate, I had the ribeye.
She had the cheesecake, I had the peanut butter and rocky road sundae.
Barring another raffle win, I probably won't return. Certainly, everything was good...good enough that it got eaten, in any case. However, at these prices, there are much better meals to be had in NYC. If I did revisit Bar Americain, I might consider the ribeye and the peanut butter ice cream again. The rest was eminently forgettable.
Admittedly, this review is uninspired; I just thought it should be consistent with the food.
I was a Bobby Flay fan when I was 12 and he was on Lifetime. It was the kid in me who really wanted to go here while in NYC for the weekend of theater with my mom.
We came here for lunch, and the service was great. I had the french onion soup and it was amazing. It was so good, I don't even recall what I had for the rest of my meal.
I got my celebrity chef fix here, and you will too. Definitely a lot of suits having lunch here.
After watching Throw Down, I was in the mood for Bobby's shrimp and grits. However, due to my lactose issues, I settled on the lobster club and my friend got the shellfish cocktail tasting. What can I say except that they were ok. Nothing that blew my mind. They were well executed and nicely presented but the flavors were well, safe.
It is a nice restaurant. Certainly the decor was warm and the staff plentiful and helpful. There are other places in the city to go for an amazing meal.
Bobby Flay is my boy. We're not actually friends or anything, but I always stand up for him against haters and root for him on the food channel. However, I was so saddened by our meal here on our way to Billy Elliot, that I didnt watch the food network for a week (two days really).
It is true we didnt get the most "Flay" dishes. I got the tuna and my gf doesn't remember. None of the flavors were bold (or even memorable).
The huge place, location, and bland flavors seemed to suggest that this was a bobby flay place for tourists.
Im sticking with Mesa.
Even though Bobby Flay came out and hugged members of our party, it didn't make up for the despicable thing he did to my steak. The rub was good, but the meat was low-grade and over-cooked.
However, the chips with cheese sauce at the beginning were just amazing. And the apple tart at the end was pretty good.
And the margaritas were almost perfect!
I watch the food network all the time and love Bobby Flay and his challenges. I was very exited to go to Bar American. The wait staff was superb. We walked in with no reservations and they were able to get us in very quickly. I ordered the shrimp and grits for the appetizer and loved it. My husband ordered the Johnny cake with pulled pork, which was good, but the cranberry overpowered the whole thing, so it tasted a bit too Thanksgiving for my liking. For my entrée I got the Snapper Florida style, and It was cooked perfectly. My husband ordered the Rib eye, and to our surprise they over cooked it! The waiter was very gracious and immediately took it back, the funny thing is that when they brought it back they asked him to try it while they waited and it was so rare it looked like ahi tuna. They had to take it back again, but when they returned with it 5 minutes later it was finally cooked perfectly! All in all I am glad I went, although I was a bit disappointed about the whole steak thing- everyone has bad days and it did not ruin our over all experience because everything else was great.
+: great menu & food, solid service, nice Manhattan/city vibe
-: definitely not regular 'hang out' type of spot
***If ya want the full VinDivine review & more reviews, check our profile...
First off, the place was pretty packed when we were there. Late afternoon/early PM before the theatre. The place was jammin', especially the bar. First kudos to this place? Even though were two deep at the bar, we got immediate service. Main reason: my wife Janine is smokin' hot and about 6' in heels. Yee Haw! But the bartenders here don't have that typical tunnel-vision so many do. Very cool. 'Cuz I despise waiting for a cocktail!
And even with the crowds & no resie, we got seated in under 30 minutes. Turn 'em and burn 'em Flay!
The menu here is eclectic and seems way bigger than it really is in sheer number of selections. Well played, Bobby. They have a raw bar, 10 appys including an awesome Vidalia Onion Soup w/ Vermont Cheddar, a tasty, filling bowl that could go toe-to-toe with most traditional French Onion Soups. Another killer is the Spicy Tuna Tartare. I know, I know, you're asking: "VdV, when the hell is this staple on all appy menus gonna wear itself out and swim away into the sunset?" Hey I hear ya. But ya want Bobby to keep this one on 4-ever. This Tartare is excellent sushi-grade tuna, cut into generous chunks and seasoned perfectly with jalapeno and smoke. Yes, smoke. Don't know how he got that smoky accent in there but it works....
***If ya want the full VinDivine review & more reviews, check our profile...
I'd have to say this is a fun place to have a great meal! Modern, gourmet take on traditional southern food. I had delicious smoked chicken, and a cheese and bacon 'pizza'. The ambiance is fun, too - you'll have a good time.
My group had a mixed reaction to the cocktail offerings.
While the food is fantastic, there are two things to beware of:
- The portion sizes vary dramatically. Some of the appetizers are huge, and some of the main courses are small. Ask the waiter before you decide - some may be sated after having two courses of appetizers (the appetizers seemed to have more 'flavor' than the main courses as I glanced over the menu, so you might want to do this anyway).
- The food is RICH and HEAVY. Pace yourself!
Ok, let me just start this review by saying that I cannot STAND Bobby Flay. I find his personality very off-putting. So, you can imagine, I wasn't breaking my back trying to get to this restaurant. But it was a work lunch and my colleague picked it...
So, here we go. First thing I noticed when we walked in was how cold it was in there. The AC was kicked up high - though it was only about 68 degrees outside thanks to this freakishly cool summer - and I would say that it was about 65 degrees inside. So, we were all freezing.
Second, the service was slow. Now, I'm all for a leisurely paced meal, but over 2 hours for apps and entrees?!? No way. Especially not in the middle of a business day.
The one thing that I was pleasantly suprised about was the serving size. I ordered the NY Strip and was nervous that it was going to be like 20oz. But no, it was a much more manageable size, I would guess about 10-12oz and cooked to perfection (which for me is medium-rare).
We had great company which is why the lunch wasn't a total drag, but I won't be going here again any time soon. Well, not if I am doing the choosing...
As a gluten-free diner, I come to this with a different perspective. I like everything and am very flexible in ordering, but cannot eat any wheat flour whatsoever. I asked the host and the server for a gluten-free menu, something that many establishments are providing for their growing number of GF diners, and there is none.
The bartender had, behind the bar, a set of index cards with the recipes printed on them and allergens listed at the top. When I chose the stuffed squash blossoms (rice flour! yay!) he told me that the ingredient list is incomplete and, indeed, the recipe calls for wheat flour. Another recipe had Worcestshire sauce, which usually has gluten, and it did not enumerate wheat as an allergen.
This is a big, scary, red flag for me and it really makes me worry that I'll get sick no matter what I order. I chose mussels and fries after confirming that the fries aren't battered. The fries were very tasty and the chipotle mayo was divine. The mussels were flavorful but very gritty. I don't know if I was getting bits of shell or sand but I had three or four times when I thought I'd break a tooth. Shrimp cocktail with tomatillo sauce was very good!
I had high hopes for Bobby Flay's bold flavors (I think bland food is a waste of calories) but our experience was blah. I caution anyone with food sensitivities to steer clear until Bar Americain can get its act together and accommodate special diets appropriately.
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