As soon as the placement of the well-known Versailles nightclub, Empire Steakhouse has stored all the trimmings … [+]
Time was when New York was awash in glamorous supper golf equipment whose meals mattered lower than their swank: the Hawaiian Room with hula women; the Persian Room with two dance orchestras; El Morocco, with its well-known zebra stripe banquettes; and Versailles, which had a rhumba band led by Desi Arnaz, a palm reader named Doris and visitor stars onstage like Bob Hope, Martin & Lewis and the incomparable Edith Piaf. When the enchantment of such soigné watering halls wore skinny within the Sixties, the premises have been both closed or recast as extra severe eating places. Versaille’s operators, Nick Prounis and Arnold Rossfield, bumped into federal tax troubles and between the afternoon and night service shuttered the place and offered the constructing. After a number of extra house owners Versailles has now turn into a first-class steakhouse with all its former trappings intact, not least a mural of Piaf herself belting out her Parisian road songs.
Russ, Jeff and Jack Sinanaj are Montenegrins who lived out the American Dream by opening excessive finish … [+]
The Empire Steakhouse is run by the redoubtable Sinanaj brothers, Montenegrin immigrants who rose by means of the ranks of New York eating places to make their dream of bankrolling their very own a actuality. Now, Jack, Jeff and Russ Sinanaj have two Empires in New York (and one in Japan), in addition to Jack’s Steakhouse in Manhattan and Chazz Palminteri’s Ristorante in White Plains.
The bar up entrance at Empire Steakhouse is dazzling and is aware of how one can make beneficiant cocktails.
Empire’s East facet department has a surprising bar and lounge up entrance, then you definately enter upon an enormous room ringed with tufted grey velvet banquettes above what was as soon as the dance flooring, now full of spacious, well-set eating tables. The lighting is ok, particularly on the white tablecloths that exhibit friends and meals at their greatest. The wine checklist is extraordinarily complete for any connoisseur’s style (although the wine glasses are thick-lipped), and the service employees, as in any respect the Sinanaj eating places, is rarely officious, at all times cordial and fast-paced.
Tuna tartare with greens and toast.
It’s a giant menu within the beneficiant American custom of steaks and chops homes, starting with an array of seafood appetizers that embrace jumbo shrimp cocktail ($27.95) and jumbo lump crab meat cocktail ($27.95), and so they’re not kidding once they say “jumbo.” The “Empire’s Sizzling Platter” of shrimp scampi, stuffed mushrooms and baked clams is an effective purchase at $27.95, as is the sesame seared tuna ($27.95), which is fantastically seasoned and really, very contemporary. Grilled octopus is first charge, served over creamy white bean purée with garlic and chili oil ($26.95). the Maryland crab cake with roasted pepper sauce ($27) comes as a quite flat browned patty. Completely crisp fried calamari ($19.95) are wonderful, and, sure, they provide scorching Canadian bacon by the slice ($8.95).
There are three soups, French onion ($13.95), lobster bisque (($19.95) and one of many day ($12.95), in addition to a number of seafood pastas that features a bountiful merchandise known as “A Bronx Tail” ($59.95) piled with plentiful lobster tail meat, clams, shrimp and a lightweight spicy tomato sauce over housemaid fettuccine.
Sirloins, ribeyes, area mignons, porterhouses and different cuts of beef are all USDA Prime at Empire … [+]
The choices for beef are myriad, all constituted of USDA Prime, from a porterhouse for 2 ($127.95) that can simply feed three, which is another choice at $191.95 or for 4 at $255.95. There’s steak au poivre made with filet mignon ($62.95) , a sirloin ($60.95) and the now common tomahawk ribeye with bone ($135.95), in addition to a Cajun bone-in ribeye ($70.95). The menu additionally now presents American wagyu in case you’re keen on that overrated beef. When you choose lamb, there’s a beneficiant double rack with brown mint sauce ($57.95), although I want they nonetheless purchased American quite than Australian lamb.
Like most New York steakhouses the kitchen at Empire does nicely by seafood like broiled Chilean sea bass ($47.95). The steak fries ($13.95) and residential fries ($14.95) are the perfect facet.
A traditional wedge of New York-style cheesecake.
Desserts, made in home, are huge and a desk of 4 want solely order two. Of specific curiosity are the apple strudel, the chocolate ava cake, the pecan pie and the crème brûlée, which go together with an extended checklist of dessert wines.
Empire’s 30-page wine checklist is in truth wealthy in each class, with 22 wines by the glass of each crimson and white, most at a really affordable $16.50, together with a slew of half-bottles, magnums and huge format bottles that supply the perfect worth on the checklist. Nice to see New York State labels together with a Montenegrin crimson known as Plantaze Vranac.
The Sinanaj brothers’ Empire Steakhouse on the West Facet with the identical menu and is right for pre-theater. However the East Facet Empire presents a singular and historic venue whose swank and glamor makes girls need to costume accordingly. Males: listen!
EMPIRE STEAKHOUSE
151 East 50th Road
212-582-6900