South City Prime

By Author: John Tang
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Should you trust guys who run seafood joints to open a serious (and seriously playful) steakhouse? At South City Prime, you can go all in.

When was the last time you had cotton candy? Probably when you were a kid or perhaps gave in to one of your own kids. If you dine at South City Prime, the final thing that will be brought to your table, gratis, is a colorful cone of cotton candy. It's the perfect parting shot. Not only does it capture the imaginative, witty, slightly wacky spirit of the restaurant, but darn if the stuff doesn't taste good.

It's made of spun sugar, of course, but it melts in your mouth almost instantly, unlike the spongy stuff you may have pleaded for as a kid. And it sure beats after-dinner mints and even petit fours.

There's no doubt that South City Prime works, at least at this stage of its young life. More intriguing is why its assortment of motifs work. The wood-slat exterior was inspired by a rustic steakhouse in Japan. Inside, the look achieved by Manhattan design firm ANYK is posh, louche, almost tongue-in-cheek, yet pampering. You almost expect to see Dean Martin shoo-bee-do across ...
... the lounge or greet guests in the dining rooms.

The main dining room, which overlooks the Passaic River on one side and has a glass wall of wine on the other, shimmers with iridescent gold draperies and plush ultrasuede chairs. A mirrored, sixties-ish center room features tufted ivory leather banquettes and ceiling, a glimmering glass chandelier, and a fireplace that looks like an aquarium set into the wall. Instead of swimming fish, the fireplace is filled with dancing gas flames.

An even larger glass-enclosed inferno, eighteen feet wide, dominates another dining area near the bar, decorated in blood red and black. There also are private rooms in back.

Partners Errick Paragioudakis, Graeme Dorras, and his son Joshua Dorras are veteran restaurateurs. They own the seafood-centric South City Grills in Rochelle Park, Mountain Lakes, and Jersey City. Two more South City Primes are scheduled to open this year in Montvale and in Jersey City's Westin Hotel, under construction on the Newport waterfront.

We love steakhouses, but they can be so stuffy, says Paragioudakis. We wanted to serve top-drawer steaks in an exciting environment that says ‘come out for a big evening.'

The menu (and the tabs) are indeed big, but the style and comfort of the setting and the sumptuousness of the food deliver value. Executive chef Scott Kappmeier offers some excellent seafood appetizers, including richly layered sushi rolls and super-fresh raw oysters du jour.

The five-ounce pan-seared crabcake is all meat, and the ahi tuna tartare is pleasingly layered with avocado. Classic oysters Rockefeller—with chopped spinach in champagne sauce, served on a bed of rock salt—is as good as you'll find in the French Quarter of New Orleans, and that's saying something. (Don't bother with the lackluster deviled eggs or the soft Kobe beef meatballs in bland tomato sauce.)

The main event, of course, is steak. The steaks are all prime beef, aged 21 days, cooked to a light, crusty char in a 1,500-degree radiant broiler. They stay wonderfully juicy and flavorful inside. The intensely beefy porterhouse for two, a 40-ounce behemoth, requires a mere shake of salt at the table. The well-marbled ribeye, or cowboy steak (so named because the bone supposedly made a convenient handle for hungry cowpokes), may be the tastiest cut on the menu. Thick, velvety filet mignons of lean Angus beef are served as 8- or 12-ounce medallions or as a 14-ouncer on the bone. Buttery Wagyu beef is available, either American-raised at $36 for a 10-ounce sirloin, or the genuine article from the Kobe region of Japan at $90 for 4 ounces (with each additional ounce adding $20 to the tab).

Steaks are offered with an array of sauces and toppings, some complimentary but most extra. Truffle butter, made with shavings of Italian black truffles, barely ranks as an indulgence at $3. Heart health permitting, two sides beg to be ordered: a trio of whipped potatoes (lobster, mushroom, and garlic) and ricotta gnocchi, topped with fresh ricotta, cream, a drizzle of tangy balsamic syrup, and a flurry of Parmesan.

One deservedly popular dessert is baked Alaska, a retro confection of chocolate sponge cake heaped with dulce de leche ice cream, whipped meringue, and Valrhona chocolate sauce. Fun? You bet. And your waiter hasn't even brought your cotton candy yet.
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