Bowery Meat Company is Weirdly Worth the Money

Last year, I spent a week on a yacht touring some of the islands of Greece with my boyfriend and three of his friends. One of those friends was visiting NYC last week from Romania, so I wanted to take her someplace new and well-rated. A co-worker happened to mention Bowery Meat Company to me that very week, and not only had the New York Times given it two stars, but it had meat right in the name.

The inside was all warm woods and mid-century designs with space age sconces on the walls and Chef Josh Capon waltzing around the dining room in shorts and a chef’s coat, holding a slab of meat in his fist. When I’d looked at the menu before making the reservation, it somehow seemed reasonable, someplace you would just go with three of your friends on a Thursday night to catch up. But faced with the choice of what to actually order, it suddenly seemed insane. Two deviled eggs for $18? A burger for $24? A side of onions for $11? How could I have forced my friends into this?

But then the food started arriving, and it was really, really good. My boyfriend had the wagyu meatballs, which were sitting atop a cheesy polenta that I gave myself permission to have one bite of. And then three more. My Chinese sesame pork belly was sweet and crunchy, the plate full of everything I’d need to make spicy lettuce wraps with pickled vegetables. The New York strip was topped with a shallot that melted under my boyfriend’s fork, while my 14oz ribeye was piled with blistered shishito peppers. I pay about $20 for 14oz of organic grass fed ribeye from my local frou-frou grocery store and didn’t want to be okay with this $48 version . . . but then I was. It was just delicious, with all of the fat rendered perfectly and a nice char on top. I had to admit that dry-aging does matter, and it turns out I don’t have a temperature-controlled room set aside in my apartment for that. Fine, Bowery Meat Company. You win.

Plus, I have to say, the $11 onions were mouthwatering. It was truly just a dish of grilled spring onions, but they were buttery and browned and so salty I forgot I was supposed to feel bad about not ordering one of the more classic artery-clogging sides like the sour cream & onion hash brown that sounds so, so delicious, someone please get that and let me watch you eat it.

Throw in a few $17 cocktails and a complimentary salted caramel ice cream bon-bon on top of it all, and you have a really, really expensive casual dinner. But one that you won’t regret, at least until you get that dry-aging room in your house.