I had an opportunity to visit this restaurant for an event. They have another location in SOHO, also, they are a part of LDV Hospitality group. They have few restaurants under the group, like Scarpetta, Lugo Cucina Italiana, Paramount Bar & Grill, and more. And that is just in NYC.

The first thing we saw when we walked in was a set of knives mounted on the wall. Interesting… Then a long corridor to the right, leading to the restaurant space.

The corridor was classy and elegant. It was dimmed so I lit up the photos. The corridor leads to a bar area. The other end of the corridor to exit, there was a large picture on the wall that was kind of interesting.

The bar is pretty dim, I tried to lighten up the photos so you could see the inside. The space was elegant and classy, dark with some accent of red here and there. They had a fireplace to the left, I am not sure if it is a working one or decorative one, but I love the look of an old (or new) fireplace anywhere.

 

Addition to a bar counter seating, they had a large island with comfortable chairs around it. Then, to the right was a nice lounge section with low tables and sofas. With most of all the furniture being black or very dark, it creates relaxing and somewhat mysterious atmosphere.

 

There is a dining room to the right of the bar. It was much larger than I thought. It was again elegant, classy and sophisticated look. The nice comfy chairs in the middle of the room were in vibrant red. The accent of red is carried out here nicely, and has much more presence in the dining room. The furniture on the both sides of the red ones are black and darker colored furniture. The event started early evening so the dining room was still quiet.

Our event was off to the side space, so not to disturb the main dining area or the bar. They brought out Popcorn and Soft Baked Pretzel Bites. The popcorn was just ordinary, no-flavor popcorn. Nothing special. The pretzel was good, soft and chewy, moist and tasty.

We had their special cocktail for the event, Bumbling Buck. They said it is one of their popular cocktails. It is made with absolute, grapefruit, cointreau, honey and ginger. It was pretty good, sweet but not sugary sweet, but with the flavor from honey. Good ginger flavor and fruity, I liked it. They also had red and white wines, Cabernet Sauvignon and Sauvignon Blanc from Kenwood Wineries of Sonoma County. They were very good, rich and flavorful.

We also got to taste Lagunitas IPA, light and easy to drink. Hoppy and beautiful golden color.

Then they brought out their complimentary bread which is called Everything Biscuits. I heard they were amazing, so I was super happy when they brought out mini-version of the biscuits. The actual ones you get when you are dining here are much bigger. They are served with fresh veggie cream cheese butter spread.

They were fluffy and flaky, warm and packed with flavor! I see the reason why they are so popular. The biscuit itself was delicious, but the veggie cream cheese butter spread added even more flavor that went perfectly with the biscuits. It was amazing! I loved this much more than everything bagel. It is interesting how popular a complimentary bread can be…but then again, I absolutely love the complimentary bread at STK (you can read about it here: http://www.foodlovergirl.com/stk-midtown/).

Next sample was Steak Tartare, made with dry aged egg yolk and tabasco on a grilled country bread. Sorry for the not-so-good photos, it was not easy to take photos before everyone went for it and took it off the tray… It was fresh and tasty. Too small of a portion to get a proper taste, but it was a good little sample, mix of crunchy bread and soft tartare was fun.

Then we got OG 1024 Hotel Caesar Salad Bites with Parmigiano Reggiano. It was much more interesting I thought it would be. Super fresh, the lettuce was crisp and crunchy, and very flavorful!

After that, we got to see a live demonstration. They brought out 40 oz. Prime 28-day Dry Aged Porterhouse Steak. The chef came out and explained a little bit about the sauce that he was going to make to cook the steak with. Then he lit it up on fire! Wow! Well, the truth was the steak was actually mostly cooked, the chef added a finishing touch by pouring the bubbling sauce on the steak.

The steak soaked up the tasty jus and it looked pretty amazing. The chef seemed very happy with the result as well. I was waiting for the tasting part of the demo…

And yes, we got to taste it! They cut them up in smaller pieces so that everyone can have a bite. It was very juicy, tender and super flavorful. The chef did a good job! It was really tasty, I was glad to have a little taste!

They also brought out New York City Cut 20 oz. Bone-In Ribeye with pastrami spices and smoke. As many ribeye steak would be, it was fatty. I don’t really like fatty part of the meat, so even thought it was tender and tasty, I didn’t like it as much as I liked the Porterhouse.

Then it was time for desserts. And it was dessert galore! They brought out bite sized desserts such as cookies, brownies, and mini-cupcakes. I got a coconut cupcake, chocolate cupcake, s’mores tart, and a cookie. Oh my goodness they were amazing! The coconut cupcake was the best, even thought I am not a big coconut lover. The cream was so creamy and velvety, cake was moist and elegantly sweet, it was great! The cookies were amazing too, I was thinking “it’s just a cookie” but my goodness, their cookie was super delicious! Moist, soft, and each bite was a delight!

Their bathroom is located at the corridor by the entrance. Which is kind of good, you could go to the bathroom as you are leaving.

The inside was roomy and had good amount of lighting. The first room (?) had sinks and some chairs with tables for touch ups of your make up and what not.

Then there are a few toilets in the next room. They had a nice black and white photos in there. Even though it is just a bathroom, they made it very elegant and relaxing. It was clean too, which I really appreciated.

 

Overall, everything we got to try was tasty. I missed a sample of crab cakes, which I was super sad about… When the event was coming close to an end, I asked one of the staffs if they are bringing out any more crab cakes. He told me “I will check for you” and quickly went back to the kitchen. I was expecting an answer like “I don’t know” so this gesture was very impressive. He came back and told me very apologetically that they are not going to bring out any more food of any kind. I thanked him for checking for me, he was very polite and considerate. We had a good time at the even hosted by American Cut. I would like to visit one of their other LDV Hospitality group places to see different offerings too. It is always exciting to find a new restaurant to try out! Thank you American Cut for a tasty evening!

American Cut Midtown – 109 E 56th St, New York, NY 10022