Happy New Year Michelin Countdown: 0 (food)

0!
It's new year's eve today and already 2011 in Hong Kong. Happy new year!

I hope 2011 brings everyone their bliss. It doesn't have to be a Michelin starred meal. There are many happy meals to be had all over. One example is Keens Steakhouse, one of the oldest dining institutions in NYC. It's worth a trip just for the history alone, but they also happen to be one of the better steakhouses in the city.

The LOBSTER SALAD had much of the meat of half a small lobster, along with a whole bunch of greens and a nice light dressing. We were rather surprised by how well composed this salad was, with the lobster, dressing, and greens going well together taste-wise and texturally.

The MARYLAND CRAB CAKES had good crab flavor, although the texture had more stringy and less lump crab meat than I would have liked. Originally they brought me the lump crab meat cocktail instead, but they were very nice about it and whisked it away quickly, bringing me what I had actually ordered.

The MUTTON CHOP is the signature dish here and it is magnificent. Good lamb flavor, large portion, and they have real mint jelly, not the random green stuff.

The DOVER SOLE was also quite a sizeable portion. They brought it whole and offered to fillet it, but my friend was fine eating around the bone. He enjoyed it very much.

My entree was the KING'S CUT PRIME RIB, and that is indeed a cut fit for a king. It was humongous, juicy, and meaty. Because it isn't aged, however, some might feel that the meat comes underseasoned, as there is just so much of it.

Our sides included HASH BROWNS, CREAMED SPINACH, ROASTED CAULIFLOWER WITH GARLIC, and BRUSSEL SPROUTS WITH PARMESAN (we nixed the bacon). My favorite was the cauliflower which had a delightful garlic taste. I liked the creamed spinach also, but thought that the spinach was chopped too fine. The brussel sprouts, while not mushy, were too soft for my liking, and I think that we could have had a better potato option than the hash brown.

We all saved room for dessert, and we all got variations of the same thing. First up was the HOT FUDGE SUNDAE, with real hot fudge sauce. It was nice and thick, not some Hershey's syrup pretending to be fudge sauce.

Next was the BUTTERSCOTCH SUNDAE, again with real butterscotch sauce.

My dessert was the COFFEE CANTATA, which I think has the best of everything. It's essentially the same as the hot fudge sundae, complete with that lovely thick fudge sauce. The only difference is that it comes with delicious coffee ice cream instead of vanilla, and some raspberry sauce.

I'm looking forward to putting 2010 behind me and am quietly optimistic about 2011. Have a happy new year and continued good eating! I expect my next major meal post will come at the end of January, when I revisit Eleven Madison Park, still my favorite restaurant in NYC.