Dylan Prime

I went out of my comfort zone today by going to a steakhouse. Granted, Dylan Prime probably isn't your old style New York steakhouse although the philosophy may be more common nowadays. Situated on Laight Street in Tribeca, it definitely has a downtown trendy vibe. Upon inspection, it is filled with the same wall street types that dominate any of New York's steakhouses.

At 8pm, the place was full with the exception of one two-top...ours. The crowd did make for a pretty noisy restaurant. I'd been here once before several years ago. The main part of the menu has your steak options (ribeye, porterhouse, strip, etc), then your sauces which were $2 each, then your crusts which were $3 each. Craft started this trend of putting together your own dish but steaks are expensive enough without adding another $5. I'd seen the menu before but the waiter didn't bother to explain anything to us. It would have been nice if he'd at least asked if we'd been to the restaurant previously.

We skipped appetizers and went straight for the main courses. I ordered the "Bacon Chop": smoked pork belly on the bone with bbq baked beans with a sunny side up quail egg and brussel sprouts. My wife ordered the surf and turf. The portion size of the pork belly was way more than I expected. I love pork belly but this dish was just way too much fat for one sitting. It was adequate but it's hard to compare to the pork belly from Tailor. The roasted brussel sprouts were cooked just right. Again, too many but I suppose that's a rare complaint from a steakhouse patron.

The surf and turf on the other hand was terrible. Since there was no suggestion on the sauce, there was no sauce. Both the filet mignon and the lobster were overcooked. It seemed like they had perhaps been sitting under a heat lamp since they were dry. The consolation was the lobster and white truffle mac and cheese side that we ordered. With crusted cheese on top, this dish was amazing. At $16, I'm sure we didn't have real white truffle shavings but the flavor was there.

Feeling full at this point, I had an espresso and we called it a night. Perhaps we didn't give this steakhouse a chance by ordering straightforward steaks. However, at that price point, I thought it could have been better. Still, the place was packed and you can't argue with success. If it ain't broke, why fix it?