RESTAURANT WEEK 08: Kobe Club

A ceiling of swords, points down. Kobe Club is one of those New York experiences (albeit newish to the scene) where its combination of red meat, leather, and faux danger attracts the best of the smug B&Ters for a drink at least. In fact, the Lincoln Tunnel seems to funnel directly in here, as I witnessed during my restaurant week dinner here with my roommate.

After following last year's juicy feud between NY Times' Restaurant Critic Frank Bruni and China Grill's Jeffrey Chodorow, I was so tickled by the hilarity of it all that I knew I HAD to pay a visit to ground zero Kobe Club.

Flanked by a bad-mannered Astoria couple and tables of polo-wearing groups with Jersey accents, our 8pm dinner (score 1 for me on awesome reservations) quickly became an exercise in carnivory. Our choices:

1. Tuna Tartare with creme fraiche, ponzu, citris, mustard-chili oil, and sesame wonton crisps (we both ordered this)
   
2. Japanese Wagyu 10z chopped sirloin with Vidalia onions, roasted bacon, and chive mashed potatoes. Glass of Argentinian Cabernet Sauvignon. (Dgenale had the American hangar steak with roasted onions and garlic)
3. Assorted fresh berries with cream (Dgenale had the Classic Creme Caramel)

For the most part, these items also featured on the regular menu (except my sirloin was 2oz less than the menu one). I totaled it up to compare with our $35 restaurant week cost, and each of us would have paid about $105 for our meals. Granted the service was excellent, but the meal was so heavy it could only sit well with the clogged arteries of the B&T.