Grand Central Terminal, America’s greatest railroad nexus, deserved a great American restaurant. Brand-new Palladino’s Steak & Seafood is it.
The space was sadly dark after a kitchen fire destroyed Michael Jordan’s Steakhouse seven long years ago. Now, walk past a blue millwork bourbon bar and the main dining room on the north and west balconies boasts views of the terminal’s throbbing, vaulted concourse. Amidst the grandeur, you can almost hear the whistle of the long-gone Twentieth Century Limited.
The carpeted, white-tablecloth luxury of David Rockwell’s design with Art Deco accents evokes the glamour of the streamliner era as well. Banquettes and booths, velvet-upholstered in green and blue, are so comfy you don’t want to leave.
The house has been packed day and night since it opened a few weeks ago — remarkable, considering that owner Joe Palladino’s name is little known in New York, although he was born in the Bronx and was an NYPD cop before he moved west to launch restaurants in Texas and Las Vegas. (The dining room’s blue trim is meant to reflect his past vocation.)
The menu by chef Sam Hazen, formerly a prime mover in the Tao empire, is worthy of the setting. It’s a something-for-everyone lineup, from a cute little $25 burger to a $260 olive-fed ribeye.
Hazen turned out so many excellent dishes, it was hard to keep track of them. All are from the classic American steakhouse stable but with enough tweaks to set them apart from the herd.
Shrimp cocktail ($34) is served two ways. The cold pair catch fire with Holy Schmitt’s cocktail sauce; the hot ones are butter-poached. They’re equally succulent. Dover sole goujonettes ($62), lightly battered to a golden turn, put an elegant twist to fish and chips.
But it’s a steakhouse, and the cuts I had placed in the league of Daniel Boulud’s great La Tete D’Or.
Prime rib carved on a tableside trolley is sometimes more spectacle than a hungry diner wants, but Hazen’s boneless number from an Iowa ranch is slow-roasted and herb-coated with just enough peppery crust to set off the beef’s lush, underlying flavor. Served with classic horseradish sauce, the $125 giant was more than two of us could finish.
The same care went into the 24-ounce prime “cowboy” steak ($112). The meat, cooked perfectly medium-rare, was properly “rested” for fifteen minutes before carving to promote the absorption of juice, resulting in deep, mineral-rich flavor uniformly spread throughout the cut. A brushing of butter, pepper and Balinese sea salt completed the package and a trio of sauces — tangy, chimichurri and au poivre — were icing on the cake.
Our only minor disappointment was a $72 “steakhouse board,” a fussy little plate that included a solitary shrimp, filet mignon tartare, a slider and marrow, none of which blew us away.
Truly sweet was a giant wedge of seven-layer chocolate cake ($28), star of the dessert lineup. It was the rare version of the overworked staple where the layers actually tasted different from one another, thanks to alternating bands of dark, milk and Dulcey (blond) chocolate — all of them soaked in La Colombe coffee
The holidays are a great time to visit Grand Central even if you’re not chasing a train, and Palladino’s is the crown jewel in the terminal’s culinary collection that includes the sparkling Grand Brasserie and the historic Oyster Bar downstairs.
But this is Palladino’s moment. Sip some bourbon from the bar or wine from the great list and you might even hear the 20th Century Limited to savor with the steak.
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