Bistro Le Steak - Conquering the Upper east side

Spending 5 hours pounding the pavement on the upper east side of Manhattan to get a meal may seem insane, but when the goal of the project is to get fed, one must not give up. After about 3 hours of rejections ( I need to look at your blog first and i'll get back to you), it became about conquering the upper east side.

Having just spent the last month mostly in the east village where i was greeted more with an open kitchen, the east side started to feel like a chore.

5 hours later, and almost on my out the neighborhood, Nikki at Bistro le Steak, invited me into his restaurant. "Can i buy you a drink? and ""Welcome to my home." He seemed rather amused by my tale of pitching and rejection to get myself fed and my assertion that i think people might be less generous on the upper east side.

I sat at the bar, and the bartender, whose name i never got, poured me a glass of chardonnay. It didn't seem like the bartender and I were going to become bffs. Professional, however. Nikki was off greeting patrons.

Its website describes it as a Parisian style steak house and indeed you will find things like frogs legs and escargots on the menu. The interior is very bistro like. I ordered the onion soup gratinée as an appetizer and the sirloin steak for the entrée. There was an option of a naturally braised sirloin steak. The cheese on the soup was abundant. The steak came with fries and a sauce which i think was bearnaise and was juicy and thick. I asked the bartender if it came with vegetables. He said no. I ordered a second round of bread. All was very good.

I WAS DESSERTED -

When time for dessert, i inquired about a menu but my bartender said "that's crossing the line". Had i offended someone?

5 hours of pitching and no dessert, the upper east side was not going to earn the name the supper east side.

The meal however was very good and it was generous of Nikki to offer it.

As i said goodbye to him, thanking him, leaving Le Steak, i was still trying to squeeze dessert out of him. I was halfway out the door, "so, what do you have on your dessert menu?" i asked. "Okay, thank you, goodbye," he said half smiling.

I took a peak at the dessert menu. Your standards: chocolate mousse, valrhona chocolate cake, creme brulée, chocolate truffle sundae, lemon tart, white chocolate cheese cake and the dessert du jour: profiterolles.


Bistro Le Steak
1308 3 rd avenue at 75 th st.
NY,NY
212-517-3800