Having lived on the Upper East Side for 38 years, I am thrilled whenever a new restaurant opens that I can walk to and know that I will find “eats” that are fun and different. I have a new “love” in the neighborhood that provides the best of seafood and steak in a classy yet relaxed atmosphere. The staff is wildly efficient and friendly and they seem to genuinely love what they do.
A really shining new culinary gem on the Upper East Side is Catch ‘N Chop located on the SW corner of 90th and Third. This is a spot that specializes in both freshly caught seafood and prime meats as you can probably tell from the cute name! Catch ‘N Chop takes the place of Parlour steakhouse and a long line of great restaurants that were here in the past few decades. Everything looks so pristine that I would be willing to eat off the floor here–although this might be NYC’s cleanest restaurant, I suggest that you actually order food to be eaten at a table, LOL! Pictured above is one of the a la carte customized seafood plates (you can choose lobster tales, lumped crab meat and several types of oysters and clams). I strongly suggest getting the crab meat as they pile it on very generously! Also pictured are the lovely lemon potatoes which has a touch of Yuzu (an ingredient used liberally at Catch ‘N Chop), burrata with an array of wild greens (including arugula and radicchio), watermelon and heirloom tomatoes, and this week’s mystery dessert special that features a dark chocolate mousse cake with crunchy seeded house-made bark, toasted nuts and vanilla gelato.
There is a huge array of wine, beer and signature cocktails with clever names that are truly enticing. I partook of The Master Cleanse which combines pueblo viejo reposado, habanero honey, lemon and star fruit. Catch ‘N Chop’s Old Fashioned is already becoming a legend and is created with all first class ingredients: piggyback rye, scotch, Pedro Ximenez sherry, bitters and shlso. There are four types of espresso cocktails with the Espresso Martini taking the lead–it’s made with Reyka vodka, Galliano espresso liqueur, Fallernum and espresso.
As for the steaks (which you know are what I live for), Catch ‘N Chop serves an ultra large prime dry aged Porterhouse for two that is one of the most popular items. I have a soft spot for ribeye and the one served here is a super generous 20 ounces; I enjoyed every juicy bite so much that I was closing my eyes with every bite. I teamed this gorgeous piece of prime beef with creamed spinach, which is in a class of its own thanks to the face that there more spinach than cream and that there is a tiny bit of oozing Gruyère cheese on top. Did I fail to mention that I also had onion rings which are done in the “skinny style” and fried just so perfectly golden? (You can see them on the right above.)
A top favorite among the fish dishes is the seared halibut which served is sitting on a bed of beet risotto and sided with roasted mattake mushrooms. Every dish at Catch ‘N Chop is presented beautifully, almost like the food should be framed instead of eaten. The halibut is a rare case of being flavorful and healthy. Other favorites of the health conscious are the yellow fin tuna tartare (topped with avocado, soy sauce, yuzu and sesame rice chips), grilled whole branzino (made with white wine, saffron and lemon), charred octopus (with romesco, capers, piquillo pepper and scallions), and Farro Island salmon (served with risotto and seared bok choy).
There is a gorgeous secret glass enclosed side section of Catch ‘N Chop which is particularly romantic and fun for people watching. I strongly recommend the downstairs room for private events even though it will shortly be used when the upstairs is full of guests as well…the remodeled original 100-year-old fireplace and bar are really nice touches. (I believe that this spot was a popular Yorkville neighborhood bar decades ago when the Ruppert Brewery was across the street.) For more info on this must visit eatery, go to: www.catchnchop.com. Be sure to sign up for their newsletter while on their site so you can get special offers and notices about events!
