A PREVIEW OF KO PRIME

The KO in KO Prime stands for Ken Oringer. His new venture, a steakhouse that took over the space of Spire, opened just 3 weeks ago. Not much has been written about it (it just opened after all), but the handful of reviews on Chowhound have been pretty positive. We (Leah, Elisabeth, Tom and I) were able to check it out last night, courtesy of Leah and a Daily Candy party. Leah had been invited to the party, and I crashed (not very difficult at these type of events) mainly cause Leah knows Ken, and we are both friends with Jamie, the former chef at Eastern Standard and current chef de cuisine at KO Prime.

When we arrived, the place was pretty packed, but we quickly spotted the display of charctuerie and snagged ourselves some seats. We snacked on small bites during the time we were there, so of course, this can't be a full assessment of the place. So first for the surroundings. I was told that the space was small and that was right on. The main dining room we were was probably 1,000 sq feet. There was a neighboring bar area, but really, there couldn't have been more then 20 tables in that space. They decorated with chic steakhouse themed decor: antler chandeliers, cow's hide rug and chairs also covered in cow hide.

Even though Ken Oringer is the consulting chef here, it was nice to see that he allowed Jamie's character to shine through, and many of the classics served at ES are also present at KO Prime. I've already read on Chowhound that Jamie is serving bone marrow. But he also has his usual variety of homemade charcuterie. Elisabeth, Tom and Leah snacked on plates full of stuff, while I hoarded things for them.

Of course, I would be out of luck on sampling many of the items at KO Prime, since I don't eat red meat or pork, so here a quick listing of what we did try:

Lobster Bisque: full of lobster flavor, but far too salty.

Salt cod fritters: Served with a dollop of ketchup, it was similar to the ones served at ES, but for some reason, more yellow and again, way too salty.

Tuna tartare "burrito": Pieces of tuna tartar wrapped in a thin, flaky crust. My favorite item of the night; the tuna had a nice texture and didn't taste fishy at all. Just clean and served with a delicious, savory sauce.

Shrimp ceviche on a plantain chip: I got the last one. Not very memorable, and I'm not a fan of plantains, but ate it cause I was hungry.

Mini burgers: Tom had a few of them. Everyone felt the patties were flavorful, but the buns were too big and there was just too much bread. Perhaps it was because these were the mini versions. Maybe the bigger version is different?

Kuamamoto oysters: Tiny little guys. Tom said they had alcohol in them, so he wasn't a big fan. I gave him mine.

Steak with caramelized onion on a stick: Doesn't everything taste better on a stick? Tom said he liked this a lot. (Despite the fact that his caramelized onion fell off).

There was one really nice server who kept bringing us stuff. (I think it's because she was Asian and we were the only group of Asians there. Though according to Leah, I'm not Asian- long story). So we had a fun time. The food wasn't spectacular (SALT ALERT!), but they were just little bites, and after it's been open a little longer, we'll make a trip back and I'll give you a full review.