So we ended up at Blackstone’s in Greenwich. Here is my review.
We were a large group, so before dropping $800+ for dinner I wanted to do a little due diligence. I had narrowed my choices to Blackstones, Benjamins and Frankie & Johnnies. They all serve dry-aged prime steak and they all age their beef on-site (22-28 days). I ruled out the chains (Mortons, Ruth Chris, BLT). All 3 options had a mix of great and not-so-great reviews. I remembered that we had a Groupon at Benjamins last year and I wasn’t impressed with the environment (one large room with a bunch of round tables, and it all looked a bit tired; also looked like a catering hall) and the service wasn’t great (although it seems diners with Groupons don’t get good service at a lot of restaurants). So I decided to try Blackstones and next time I’ll give F&J a shot.
The steaks were excellent – we had the porterhouse, rib eye and the NY strip. All had the funky dry aged taste (especially the porterhouse) which you only get with a proper dry aging for at least 3 weeks. And they were tender, and (mostly) cooked to order. The porterhouse was slightly overcooked - it arrived rare but then continued to cook in the sizzling butter/rendered beef fat on the hot platter, so some pieces were medium-rare. Also with the porterhouse the filet will always come a bit more cooked as it’s smaller. But overall the steaks were excellent. I dry age my own steak at home (I buy prime 20-pound primal cuts of porterhouse or ribeye and age them in a dedicated fridge) so I have I pretty good sense of what to look for. Surprising how many well-known steakhouses serve un-aged (or under-aged, or wet-aged) steak.
The sides were fine - the typical potatoes, spinach, mushrooms, etc.
Service was OK.
Ambiance very nice – it’s a modern space with comfortable chairs which is a nice change from the typical stuffy steakhouse
Wine list – they were out of a few bottles that I wanted. Prices were high.
Overall, very happy and we would go back.
I’ll try F&J in Rye next time and will try to post a review.
