Review: Mesa Grill, New York City

After watching Bobby Flay on Iron Chef America and Throwdown, I've been looking forward to the day when I could visit one of his restaurants. So as soon as I got to Manhattan, I was headed for lunch at Mesa Grill on 5th Avenue. I'll be using the Iron Chef judging scale (10 for taste, 5 for plating, 5 for originality)



I started with an appetizer: Goat Cheese "Queso Fundido" with rajas and blue corn tortilla strips. (10.50)


My first impression was that it seemed small, but it was surprisingly filling. The cheese was incredible, and the dish was deep enough that I felt like there was more than enough cheese.

Taste: 10
Plating: 5
Originality: 5

The appetizer was perfect and beautifully set. Also, goat cheese in a southwestern dip? Very original. A perfect 20 out of 20.



For my main course, I ordered the Mesa Burger with Southwestern Fries. The burger comes standard with double cheddar, grilled vidalia onion, and horseradish mustard. (14.50)


I ordered the burger medium, and it was cooked perfectly. Great tasting beef and again top quality cheese. The bun didn't fit the burger and was too stiff. The bun starting falling apart right away.

The fries were heavily seasoned, almost too much, but not quite. And there was fresh cilantro chopped on the fries, giving them a special taste. But the fries were not very crispy.

Taste: 9
Plating: 5
Originality: 4

All the flavors were wonderful but with mushy fries and a stiff bun, I couldn't give him a perfect score on taste. The presentation was again wonderful with the use of a cast iron crock for the fries, matching the cheese dip. The cilantro was a unique touch on the fries, but there was nothing out of the ordinary on the burger. 18 out of 20.

Which brings the total score to 38 out of 40.

It was a pleasure eating there and I wouldn't hesitate to go back or try a different one of his restaurants.