Serious Eats: New York
Bar Menu at Michael Jordan's Steak House in Grand Central
Last week I ate lunch at Michael Jordan's Steakhouse in Grand Central Terminal. When I walked in through the bar I noticed the seriously delicious sounding bar menu—so delicious that I tried to order a couple of items off it when I was in the restaurant's main dining room. No can do, I was told; it's only available after 3 p.m. So Robyn Lee, Grace Kang, Kathy Chan, and I ended up hitting the bar last Friday afternoon as the clock struck three—just for the food, of course.
Thick-cut french fries fried in goose fat ($7), always a capital idea, were almost swamped by too much Gorgonzola cheese sauce. Ask for it on the side.
Ipswich clams were deftly fried and were a great bargain at $6. These crunchy bi-valves are reason enough to miss your train.
The grilled cheese and roasted bacon and tomato panini ($7.50) was nothing special, but the thick slices of roasted bacon definitely helped.
MJ's bar burger special ($9.95) was nicely charred, came medium rare as ordered, and was just the right size for me. It came with fine house-cured pickles, but not fries.
The barbecue spare rib slider ($4.25) sounded better than it tasted—like a not very special sloppy joe.
The garlic bread ($9) came disguised as focaccia Lincoln Logs, only these Lincoln Logs tasted really good. The Gorgonzola fondue was not a fondue at all, just a solid, tangy cheesy sauce.
So don't kill yourself trying to make that 3:05 train from Grand Central. Hit the bar at Michael Jordan's instead—just for the food, of course. Order carefully and you'll score just like Mike.
Michael Jordan's Steakhouse
Grand Central Terminal, North Balcony
23 Vanderbilt Avenue, New York, NY 10017 (at 43rd Street; map)
212-655-2300
theglaziergroup.com