Scott and I went to the Home-Opener Yankee Game this week which was totally sold out with 55,000 people at Yankee Stadium. He got the tickets from MLB who work with his company on the video game of the same name. The game started well with Jason Giambi hitting a three run homer in the first inning. It then went down hill fast on less than stellar pitching from Chien-Ming Wang - last year's wunderkind. It even included an unexplainable lapse by fan favorite Bernie Williams who "wandered" off second base on a short fly ball to left field. The early chants of B-E-R-N-I-E for Williams decision to return as the DH, turned to brief BOOs as he was put out for an inning-ending double play. He later described it as a "brain cramp".
Everything turned around however, after the "seventh-inning stretch" when the Yankees came roaring back. Finally, they were ahead 7-5 on a homerun by Derek Jeter, the team captain and most popular player. The chants of "DER-EK JE-TER" continued through the end of the game and onto the subway. We also saw Mariano Rivera pitch his first save of the year. Overall, it was a wonderfully exciting game for the huge crowd and everybody left happy.
Scott and I left feeling all pumped up and decided we needed STEAKS! (This must be the testosterone! cdel) To me, the best steakhouse in New York is Sparks. Others may be prettier, but none have the combination of perfect steaks and decent ambiance (a steakhouse can't be too nice and still be called a "steakhouse" rather than a "restaurant" that serves steaks).
Sparks serves the traditional 16 oz. NY strip steak with traditional sides of homefries, mushrooms and a green vegetable. They also serve lamb or veal chops and some fish - including a 3-6 pound lobster! As an aside, in all the years I've been going to Sparks (over 20) I've never seen anyone but a Japanese tourist eat the lobster - it's huge, but they seem to feel it's a right of passage to say that they've had the lobster at a NY steakhouse and then complain how big the portions are!
We were in "men's night out" mode after the ball game so I started with scotch and a shrimp cocktail while Scott opted for bourbon and clams on the half shell; this was followed by steaks with the usual sides. Having been gone all day, we felt badly so we invited Christina and Jory (who was busy) to our "boys night". Since Chris isn't a "real" man she ordered a salad and sliced steak - she has no sense of tradition. The steaks were absolutely wonderful--even hers. They age their own beef and grill it at just the right temperature for a perfect seared black outside and medium rare inside. No one makes a better NY stripsteak. Peter Lugers, in Brooklyn, another wonderful spot does a fabulous porterhouse but Sparks in king of the NY strip.
Sparks is a NY institution. I've seen Muhammad Ali, H. Ross Perot, Paul Castellano, Woody Allen, Donald Trump and innumerable other greater and lesser lights there and I've taken every out of town visitor there for a quintessionally NY meal. The only downside is the crowd. The bar is a mad-house, it's never quiet and you always need a reservation.
Sparks Steak House
East 40s 210 E. 46th St.(bet. 2nd & 3rd Aves.)
Manhattan, NY 10017
212-687-4855
Zagats says...
You get to watch wheeler-dealers wheel and deal at this "manly man" Midtown meat market where everything's big, from the steaks flavors and the wine list to the dining room and the noise level; it's a prime example of how cholesterol should taste, but bring your checkbook and a carefree attitude to deal with the frequent waits since people are dying to eat here.
Subscribe to:
Post Comments (Atom)
No comments:
Post a Comment