The latest NYC influencer buzz revolves around the just-opened SoHo restaurant from the team behind Catch, a clubby seafood spot in the Meatpacking district that was unbearably hip in the 2010s—the restaurant equivalent of a Herve Leger bandage dress. I must admit to falling for its charms during my early twenties, and there’s a reason it’s still around, even if the food is not that reason. The Corner Store is a similarly trendy follow-up, featuring elevated American comfort food classics and a swanky atmosphere. (The website features a longer-than-usual list of the types of attire that are not permitted.) It’s cooler than most of its patrons, and it knows it.
The Corner Store, professing to be a temple to NYC classics, is basically a steakhouse, with a bit of an elevated Applebee’s vibe thrown in (see also: Hillstone). The interior feels very classic steakhouse: oak paneling, forest green banquettes, walls covered in art. The menu features classic highbrow appetizers (shrimp cocktail, oysters, tartare) and fun lowbrow ones (gourmet pizza rolls, spinach and artichoke dip). For entrees, there are plates like French dip, lobster frites, and a few different steaks, plus some of the usual steakhouse side dishes.
The cocktail menu also deserves some attention. In line with the swanky old school vibe, it features seven different martinis, some of which are available—for three times the price of the regular martinis—as “tableside martini service”. Tempting—I do love dinner theatre—but they also had my all-time favorite cocktail in the non-martini section, and whenever I see it, I order it. Usually dubbed a pornstar martini, here this vodka, passion fruit, and vanilla creation is called a “pornstar royale,” and it had to take precedence over an elaborate martini. When I was ready for a second drink and wanted something savory, I figured I’d forgo the fancy martini service in favor of a regular one, not wishing to have a bar tab nearing $100. Like the pornstar royale, the tomato martini was excellent, and in a world where money, my liver, and hangovers didn’t exist, I would have been delighted to try the dirty martini service and the sour cream and onion martini as well.
Nearly all the appetizers seemed, yep, appetizing. The steak tartare would be an appealing choice if we weren’t planning on ordering steaks for our mains, and the tuna tartare also always tempts me, but it’s rare for one to impress me at this point (it did in Amsterdam). So we settled on the pizza rolls (too fun not to try) and the mini lobster roll with caviar (if you’ve been reading for a bit, you know I’m a slut for caviar). I can’t believe I’m writing this sentence, but the pizza rolls were excellent. Never one to reach for the Totinos during sleepovers as a child, I was shocked at how much I enjoyed the deep-fried, pillow-shaped empanada filled with molten cheese and pepperoni. If boasting “five cheese” is a food cliche, it actually seemed like an asset here, with a flavor far more interesting than a plain mozzarella. All the good classic pizza flavors were there, with enough oregano and red pepper to keep it interesting, and served with hot honey and ranch that enhanced the experience. A Torino’s truther, upon tasting these, would be walking with their tail between their legs.
Next up was the tiny lobster roll, which comprised a buttery brioche bun filled with a mayo-based creamy lobster salad, topped with Kaluga caviar. This was wonderful, with a generous helping of dill making the lobster salad memorable and interesting, and the caviar providing some additional saltiness. It was a great two bites (roughly ten dollars a bite). I would love to order this as a full-sized entree.
When choosing an entree, I was torn between my preference for filet over other cuts and my desire to try the undeniably intriguing “disco style steak frites.” Luckily, I have a fiancé who loves steak too, so we figured I’d get one and he’d get the other.
Some advice that may be obvious to you but was not to me: never order a filet and a reasonably priced skirt steak in the same meal. The filet was an exemplar of the genre: as tender as anything, it was even better than the one I tried at—of all places likely to perfect a French cut of steak—La Renommée in Paris. While I would have preferred a classic maitre d’ butter (especially a blue cheese one…), the truffle butter it was served with was enjoyable (if a little unsubtle in its truffle flavor).
The steak frites, on the other hand, was not as good. Its au poivre sauce was very creamy but less peppery, making it very palatable but a little less interesting than other au poivres. The skirt steak itself, while flavorful, was tougher than preferable — but having eaten a bite of filet immediately beforehand is hardly the ideal circumstances in which to try a tougher cut (hence the lesson I learned). That being said, “disco steak frites” is a cute idea, and the two sauces on the fries was a fun touch (though peppercorn aioli and more au poivre sauce is hardly a replacement for gravy).
What I’d do? Get the (yes, spendier) filet, and get a side of the fries with all the sauces if you’re into that—but the fries themselves, while totally satisfactory, were unmemorable and a tad too dark. (With the words “hand-cut French fries” in as large a font as they are on the menu, they should be better.) Personally, I never love a good filet more than when it’s paired with a gorgeous pommes purée— my favorite way to enjoy my favorite cut of steak — so I ordered a side of mashed potatoes and a side of spinach to accompany the plain filet. The spinach was less greasy than in many other preparations, which I found to be an attribute while my fiancé thought it a fault. The mashed potatoes were indeed buttery as the menu claimed, but they were unfortunately the slightest bit grainy. (I never should have tried Joël Robuchon’s pommes purée this early in my potato-eating career; I’m spoiled for life.) Would I have held them to such an exacting standard if the filet itself hadn’t been wonderful? Perhaps not.
Reader, at this point in the review I must I confess I failed you. I chose not to order dessert. A menu of soft serves and an apple hand pie (“it’s like the McDonald’s one but elevated,” a served gushed) just didn’t really appeal to us. While it does work with the elevated comfort food vibe, none of these were actually what I wanted to eat after a meal that did actually involve caviar and filet mignon. A few simple French desserts would not go unappreciated here.
A brief note on service: it was speedy, maybe even too speedy. It was pleasant. The server refused to upsell us (on a $300 wagyu porterhouse, for instance, or a $40 tableside martini service). The manager was hanging around, endearingly if a little anxiously, to greet diners and solicit feedback—when we went, it been open less than a week!
My conclusions: Restaurants where you can get several varieties of meat and potatoes are a dime a dozen, but restaurants of that kind that put this much thought into their menu items are a little rarer. While it wasn’t one of the great meals of my life or even this year, it was a very satisfying meal with some creative and fun moments. I’d liken it most closely to Monkey Bar, 4 Charles’ more relaxed Midtown sister.
If you’d like to cosplay Mad Men and sit in a low lit, oak-paneled room where you can get a great steak dinner or a solid version of the always chic NYC happy meal, The Corner Store is the place for you. It’s a chance to see and be seen and to eat some satisfying food that won’t make you think too hard.
TL;DR: WHAT WE ATE
Loved: lobster roll with caviar, four cheese pizza rolls, filet mignon, cocktails
Liked: mashed potatoes, spinach
Should have skipped: disco steak frites