Prime Meats

»Prime Meats Report

We were able to get seated within 10 minutes last night around 7:30pm, as a party of four, and had an excellent meal.

Started with the Vesper Brett meat place. Absolutely adored their house-made landjager and the smooth, silky chicken liver pate. The pastrami calve's tongue converted a few non-tongue fans amongst us, and the housemade pickles were excellent, especially the red onion.

The...+READ We were able to get seated within 10 minutes last night around 7:30pm, as a party of four, and had an excellent meal.

Started with the Vesper Brett meat place. Absolutely adored their house-made landjager and the smooth, silky chicken liver pate. The pastrami calve's tongue converted a few non-tongue fans amongst us, and the housemade pickles were excellent, especially the red onion.

The handmade pretzels were pretty good too, served with room temperature butter and mustard. We also asked for an additional side of spicy mustard, which was good. I do prefer the pretzels at Cafe Katja and Sigmund more, though.

Unfortunately, the steak tartare was not quite as good. Served with parsley, anchovy, capers, shallots, Tabasco, Worcestershire, mustard oil & quail egg, the texture and taste of the meat was excellent but we thought the proportions were off. We were dining with friends who are frequent guests at Prime Meats, and they thought the steak tartare was too salty and had too many capers that night (but promised it was typically better).

For my main, I had their pork chop, which is going in my book as one of the top in the city alongside Torrisi and Babbo. Cooked perfectly, wonderful tasting meat. Very juicy and flavorful. I also chewed on the crispy edges of the bone a bit. Served with an apple cider gastrique, brussels sprouts, and a mix of local potatoes (including some purple ones). Great! I also tried a bite of my friend's Beef Sauerbraten & Braised Red Cabbage, which was good but not my thing.

Meanwhile, my husband devastated the Prime Meats Burger, eating the entire thing, and most of the fries, too. (OK, he had some help.) 1/2 lb. Creekstone Certified Black Angus, house-made sesame roll & fermented dill pickle, lettuce, tomato, onion & hand-cut French fries, plus he added blue cheese and bacon to the burger. I thought the texture and taste of the burger (cooked medium rare) was excellent, but the blue cheese and bacon were a bit unnecessary; the men of the group disagree vehemently. Apparently this is a burger that brings out strong passions amongst men! The burger was very, very good though.

We finished with the Mast Brothers chocolate mousse, served with whipped cream, and some crushed hazelnuts and salt, a nice, light(er?) end to the meal. And some refreshing Underberg bitters, as a digestif.

Service was great and very friendly. They even offered to charge my husband's dead cell phone! Cocktails were good, too, especially the Friend of the Devil. Smith & Cross, Carpano Antica, Cocchi Americano, Mezcal, Angostura bitters. All in all, an excellent neighborhood place, and crave-worthy (but heavy).-COLLAPSE / REPLY (by kathryn, created December 5, 2011)

Prime Meats is not in the slope, but I often go there in the late afternoon for drinks and snacks/oysters, since it's near me. I don't drink Martinis, but they make nice cocktails, so they should make a decent martini.
The food (and the oysters) are good, but there is a high faux lumberjack quotient and sometimes the service crosses the line into surly. Also, unless you get there before 6, it...+READ Prime Meats is not in the slope, but I often go there in the late afternoon for drinks and snacks/oysters, since it's near me. I don't drink Martinis, but they make nice cocktails, so they should make a decent martini.
The food (and the oysters) are good, but there is a high faux lumberjack quotient and sometimes the service crosses the line into surly. Also, unless you get there before 6, it might start filling up.

Another possibility if you're willing to come to this area is clover club, which is fairly fanatical about it's cocktails and has appy type snacks like deviled eggs. it's expensive, but so is prime meats, tho clover club may be a bit more.-COLLAPSE / REPLY (8 Replies) (by missmasala, created October 21, 2011)

»Anyone had the Côte De Boeuf?

What did you think? Worth it? REPLY (by evesleaves, created July 27, 2010)

»Dull food, misfiring cocktails -- better chicken at Chez Oscar, better burger at Siggy's

We were disappointed by Prime Meats where we ate for the first time recently. Sam Sifton's rhapsodizing in the NYT had led me to expect something utterly enjoyable.
It wasn't. The chicken was soggy, not very flavorful, the skin flaccid. It was served on a boring pillow of mashed potatoes which seemed to be composed of about 1/2 butter. The stewed greens to the side were also severely over-laden...+READ We were disappointed by Prime Meats where we ate for the first time recently. Sam Sifton's rhapsodizing in the NYT had led me to expect something utterly enjoyable.
It wasn't. The chicken was soggy, not very flavorful, the skin flaccid. It was served on a boring pillow of mashed potatoes which seemed to be composed of about 1/2 butter. The stewed greens to the side were also severely over-laden with butter or oil. The hamburger was close to flavorless, too and soft, almost mushy (and still pink inside, though we'd asked it to be cooked medium-well). French fries were delicious, but no one in this day and age needs or wants to be served such an enormous mound of fries -- a smaller serving s next to a small salad of lightly dressed greens would be much nicer. The trout salad was tasty, but nothing you mightn't find in a good deli case almost anywhere. As we walked away, I remarked that I felt as if I'd had dinner at a Bob Evans.
By contrast, the free-range roast chicken at Chez Oscar's in Fort Greene last week was to die for. So much flavor, and the most delicious, crispy skin. It was a generous serving, on an imaginative and addictive sort of galette of turnips and potatoes, I think, next to diced beets and little bits of pancetta? I'm still thinking about it.
The tasty organic burger at Siggy's in Brooklyn Heights beats Prime Meats' all hollow, too, and is $3 cheaper.
Also, the drinks at Prime Meats are neither cheap ($12) or very interesting, despite being strenuously original.
We liked the hunter's sausage, though, and were intrigued by the other cured-COLLAPSE (by brooklynista, created July 11, 2010)

»the Frankie experience, for better or worse

Some people really like the Frankies' (sp?) experience, but after eating at these places a few times, I have just come away feeling like the food somehow lacks soul. It's a little too "themed." There's sort of a feeling that there are enthusiastic chefs and owners, but not really a chef, if you know what I mean. Let's face it, wurst is the Williamsburg of NY cuisine in a certain way, and they're...+READ Some people really like the Frankies' (sp?) experience, but after eating at these places a few times, I have just come away feeling like the food somehow lacks soul. It's a little too "themed." There's sort of a feeling that there are enthusiastic chefs and owners, but not really a chef, if you know what I mean. Let's face it, wurst is the Williamsburg of NY cuisine in a certain way, and they're tapping into the artisinal thing -- which is normally great, but....meh. Obvoiusly other people like it more than I. One thing to note is the steak is aged for quite a long time..(.a bit too much, for my taste) so make sure you like the rancio flavor or order something else.-COLLAPSE (by wishbeaune, created March 11, 2010)

»Thanks...Great holiday dinner

We were very lucky to happen on to Prime Meats thanksgiving special while making plans after a last minute decision to spend the holiday in the city. Not a big fan of turkey, I was convinced that I'd opt for the steak instead, but after a glowing review of the t-day special from the bartender, I couldn't resist. It was delicious, perfectly well thought out without fanciness, nicely cooked and...+READ We were very lucky to happen on to Prime Meats thanksgiving special while making plans after a last minute decision to spend the holiday in the city. Not a big fan of turkey, I was convinced that I'd opt for the steak instead, but after a glowing review of the t-day special from the bartender, I couldn't resist. It was delicious, perfectly well thought out without fanciness, nicely cooked and just what you'd want for a "homey" holiday out. AND it was served with, literally, the best stuffing I've ever had in my life! The atmosphere was relaxed, friendly and unhurried, and the staff was pleasantly understanding and helpful with my girlfriend's gluten allergy concerns.

Lastly, our dinner was VERY reasonably priced, particularly compared to the other specials we were finding (who wants to pay $85 for a turkey dinner?!?!?

I haven't been to Prime Meats to try their regular menu, but will definitely be back to try it. Thanks Prime Meats for a nice thanksgiving!!-COLLAPSE (by malarosa, created November 29, 2009)