RESTAURANT REVIEW: RICARDO STEAKHOUSE

OMG! Grilled Meat! 

Personally, Im not really the biggest fan of the east side part of town here in NYC, so naturally a lot of the things I like aren't remotely located there. Something damn near great has to happen for me to even think about swiping my metro card or even accumulating cab fare for that ride across town. Not that its a bad place because its really not, its just not my cup of iced breve dirty chai latte!  So when I did swipe my metro card to head over to the east side recently it was for something great, my birthday dinner with my partner in crime at Ricardo Steakhouse. I have heard so much about this restaurant and read good reviews about it, so I added it to my 2012 list of new places to go at the beginning of the year. Ive been trying to stick to my guns on covering new places and I never heard anything bad about Ricardo's, and a few celebrities dine there so I was like hey, lets head over there and see. 


We walked in on a rainy sunday evening around 7:30 and this place was packed! We didn't make a reservation but if we had a larger party we would have needed one. Exposed brick walls, an open kitchen, bar, candle light, and an outdoor patio are all and more of what you will find here nestled in Ricardo's.  We were actually seated quickly which meant a faster way to look at the menu and eat! Catching up with my bestie who I havent seen in weeks, we have our own language we have developed over our 12+ year relationship. Our eating language consist of "you get this I get that and we eat it" .. Thats it! Looking around at all of the occupied tables everyone had a mixture of sangrias and margaritas, and who doesn't love the 2 beverages more than I do! Over a (strong!)raspberry sangria and warm grilled bread on our table we dined on the following after the jump... 



DINNER: 


~Sautee Shrimp - Butter x Garlic x Herbs x White Wine 
~Ricardo Special Platter - Grilled Skirt Steak x Grilled Pork Chop x Rice and Beans x Sweet Plantains 
~Grilled Lamb Chops - Garlic Spinach x Marinated Roasted Peppers x Mango Salsa 
~Side order of sweet plantains 
~Ricardo's House Flan 


First off I love the gynormous entree plates Ricardo's uses. The plates take up your entire place setting and I love non-traditional plates and flatware, so that won my heart automatically. Our shrimp appetizer was ok, nothing to get excited about but I did like the shredded herb/greens and tomato salad that came along with it. I recommend they turn that into a actual salad! Now for what I love in life more than false fiber jet black volumizing mascara and text messages, was the meats we selected. The bestie had the special platter and I had the grilled lamb chops. As we swapped and sticked our forks and steak knives in each others plates, never missing a beat in our conversation, this is where the real goodness came in at. On the special platter side, the grilled pork chop was slightly dry which made us frown, but the grilled skirt steak was cooked to a perfect medium and that saved this plate. I didn't even go back for more steak because it was so tender that one more bite I would have needed a side order. The spoonful of black beans I had were bland and with a few shakes of salt they could have came alive. My lamb chops were also cooked to a perfect medium rare like I ordered them, and perfectly cooked meat really does make me happy. The garlic spinach was great and so where the red peppers but the mango salsa wasn't needed. The mango's were not sweet so it was giving me the un-needed garnish effect...but the sweet balsamic like jus on the bottom of my plate made up for the mango's. Our plantains were just the way we like them seeing as how she and I can both survive on plantains and be just fine in life, so our meat and plantain needs for the evenings were met exceptionally well! The dessert portion of our meal, was a hit or miss. I love flan but I really love authentic flan and this I didn't love. Sometimes restaurants just dont have good desserts but have a really good well rounded menu, so you really dont even miss the need for dessert. 


Just because I wasn't a fan of a couple of things I tasted that evening, heres why I WILL  be a repeat customer at Ricardo Steakhouse. I love the lively, hip, young, and upbeat atmosphere of this popular restaurant that sits in such a rugged urban setting. You will definitely catch me here in the summer dining on the outdoor patio, sipping frozen margaritas and sangrias and chomping and gnawing away on grilled meat... All the while doing it fabulously of course! 


RICARDO STEAKHOUSE 
2145 Second Avenue 
New York, N.Y. 10029
212.289.5895 
http://www.ricardosteakhouse.com/