As I alluded to in my previous post, Leah and I decided to do one last last fancy dinner in NYC before moving out. Seriously, this time was the last.
I was having a craving for steak, so we looked at a few best-of lists and settled on Hawksmoor, a steakhouse that only opened in 2021. Their menu seemed like a nice modern take on the traditional steakhouse format, with a strong-sounding cocktail program, which always helps get us in the door. We ended up having a great time despite a few annoyances, and I would recommend Hawksmoor to anyone looking for a steakhouse that goes above and beyond the century-plus old traditional experience.
Hawksmoor
109 East 22nd St, New York, NY
We arrived a few minutes early, so our table wasn't ready. We were told we could have a seat at the bar, which we did, only to be called to our table barely a minute later. In our brief time there, we felt that the bar was very nice and worth visiting on its own.
Some shots of the beautiful restaurant interior, which apparently used to be an event space used by presidents and other dignitaries. We thought it had a sort of old bank or train station vibe (in a good way). There were several chalkboards hanging throughout the restaurant listing specific in-stock cuts of beef - as they were ordered, the servers came around and crossed off what was no longer available.
Our server, who seemed very inexperienced, came by and asked us if we had ever been to the restaurant before. We said no, and then she promptly proceeded to read half of the menu to us out loud. Seriously, she said, "We have X and it's prepared in Y fashion and comes with Z" for like nine different things on the menu. We said that we had never been to the restaurant before, not that we had never been to ANY restaurant or heard of a restaurant or had ever seen a menu before.
Next she asked if we would like bread and butter for the table, to which was said sure. Closer inspection of the menu after she left revealed that there's a $5 charge for bread and butter. We would have still gotten it, but a bit annoying to be offered something that almost every other restaurant provides for free without being told there's a charge.
Anyway...the bread was great but we could have used more butter.
CocktailsSour Cherry Negroni - Fords Gin, Martini Rubino Vermouth, Sour Cherry, Campari
Ginza Highball - Johnnie Walker Black Scotch, Apple, Verjus, Lemon Verbena, Soda
These two opening cocktails were fabulous and set the stage for a wonderful meal. I've said before that I greatly prefer a negroni with a spin to it rather than the traditional version, which I always find cloying, and this sour cherry version fit the bill perfectly. My highball was a delightfully complex yet refreshing combination of flavors, with the mildly sweet and sour verjus tying it all together.
Oysters
Dressed - Scotch Bonnet Mignonette
Charcoal Roasted - Bone Marrow, Breadcrumbes
We opted for three each of Hawksmoor's prepared oyster options. Both were superb, though I enjoyed the raw ones just a bit more since they were more "oyster-like".
Ash-Baked Beets
Pickled Fennel, Horseradish, Hazelnuts
Leah and I both zeroed in on this lighter sounding dish from the long list of very heavy appetizers. After two bites, I declared it the best beet dish I had ever eaten. It might have been the best thing we ate for the whole meal.
Potted Beef & Bacon
Yorkshire Pudding, Onion Gravy
This was essentially beef rillettes - shredded meat slow cooked and preserved in its own fat, most often seen with duck or pork. The idea here was to spread the beef on the puddings and top with a bit of the gravy. Delicious, though we both agreed the gravy was extraneous. I also would have appreciated a bit of crunchy finishing salt on the plate to sprinkle on each bite.
More Cocktails
Night Nurse - Dewars 12-Year Scotch, Beeswax, Honey, Ginger, Laphroaig Scotch
Mandarin Paloma - Los Siete Misterios Mezcal, Mango, Mandarin, Passion Fruit Kombucha, Champagne
My Night Nurse came from the "50 Years of NYC Bar Life" section of the menu, which purported to celebrate and reinterpret some of the most famous drinks invented in NYC over the decades (e.g. the Cosmopolitan, the Apple Martini, etc.). It's known far and wide that the Penicillin - created in 2005 by bartender Sam Ross at NYC's Milk & Honey - is one of my favorite cocktails of all time. Hawksmoor's version advertised itself as a mellower riff on this instant classic, which it was. It was fine, but the removal of the "bite" of the Penicillin also removed the magic. Leah's Mandarin Paloma was very tasty, reminding me of a fancy screwdriver. The best part was the spiced orange garnish.
Steak
16 oz Ribeye
Roasted Bone Marrow
Creamed Spinach
Atlas Carrots, Cider & Mustard
Garlic Portabella Mushrooms
Peppercorn Sauce
Béarnaise Sauce
I felt like we ordered incorrectly with the steak, and for all our server's insistence on guiding us through the menu, I'm surprised in retrospect that she didn't suggest something like a rib chop or porterhouse. But Leah and I both love a ribeye and that's what we ordered, not knowing it would in fact be a boneless ribeye. The steak was flavorful, but a little chewy; as I have found at virtually every steakhouse I've ever been to, the steak is never the best part of the meal.
I found the spinach a little offputting - it lacked salt and was basically a purée, which reminded me of eating baby food. The carrots were the heroes of the table, with a nice texture from the fried carrot tops, and lots of flavor from the mustard. The mushrooms were good too and went nicely with the steak, as mushrooms do. The sauces were also both delicious, though unfortunately our leftover peppercorn sauce leaked out of the flimsy paper cup to-go container, making a mess in our take-home bag after we left.
Of course, the bone marrow was outrageously delicious - we had both saved some of our $5 bread to eat it on. Again, some crunchy salt would have been appreciated though.
Even More Cocktails
Amaro Coretto - Amaro Ramazotti, Cognac Dudognon, Mr. Black Coffee Liqueur, Espresso
Full Fat Old Fashioned - Elijah Craig Bourbon, Salted Brown Butter, Extra-Aged Rye
These two late-meal cocktails came perfectly with dessert time. Leah will order any cocktail with coffee in it, so I knew as soon as we saw the menu that she would get the Amaro Coretto, which was very good, as was my Old Fashioned.
Peanut Butter Louie
Peanut Butter Mousse, Milk Chocolate, Salted Caramel Ice Cream
In keeping with their theme of riffing on other famous culinary creations, many of the desserts were plays on famous confections originally invented elsewhere, like this spin on the Louie XV dessert from the same-named 3 Michelin Star restaurant run by Alain Ducasse in Monaco. I am a sucker for creamy desserts like mousse and pastry cream, especially when paired with a crunchy textural element, so this landed extremely well for me.
Sticky Toffee Pudding Sundae
Milk Ice Cream, Sticky Toffee Sponge, Caramel Sauce
We're nuts about sticky toffee pudding and couldn't resist ordering this version. It was outrageously good, just barely beating the Peanut Butter Louie as my favorite dessert.
Grand Rocher
70% Cru Udzungwa Chocolate, Hazelnut
Obviously an homage to the gold-foiled Ferrero Rocher chocolate hazelnut candies, we were interested to order this. I'm glad we did, but it was a tiny bit disappointing, as it was very heavy and gloppy - the center of the half-dome was filled with chocolate and hazelnut pudding which kinda just blended together into a mess on the plate. It was rich and decadent, but also very one-note. I also normally despise gold leaf, but if ever there were a place for it, this was it.
Tributes
Salted Caramel
Peanut Butter & Jelly
Old Fashioned
How many homages are too many? At what point are you just ripping off others' ideas? I suppose individuals have to decide for themselves, though I can't argue if the results are delicious, which these take-home candies inspired by Rolos definitely were.
Completely unbeknownst to us, we walked out into the middle of the tail end of a Manhattanhenge event. 23rd St is one of the best places to view it, so we took a moment to navigate the crowd and enjoy the spectacular sunset, which cast everything in a pink and orange glow. What an amazing end to the evening!
