Mo’s New York Grill

Steak House Restaurant in New Rochelle.

January, 2011

Mariano Rivera is a great closer.  He rarely fails to shut the door on the opposition when brought into a baseball game in the ninth inning.  He has great stuff and he can keep it up for twenty or so pitches.

When such an iconic figure, as Mo surely is, goes into business, whether a restaurant or whatever, the expectation is that the quality for which he is known will travel with him in whatever he does.  Sadly that is not the case with this restaurant.  We liked the décor, the wait staff was pleasant enough, and the staff’s jerseys emblazoned with #42 was a nice touch.

But a restaurant is about food, presentation and service.  A burger place doesn’t have to have the best cole slaw, and a taco shop need not excel in hot dogs.  But a steak house must have good steaks and Mo’s does not.  Perhaps they start out good in the cooler, but the cook – and he or she is definitely not a chef – does not match even an average backyard barbecue amateur.  The salad was swimming in a nothing-special dressing and the presentation was matter-of-fact, like your mother or wife slapping it on the plate without garnish of any kind.  And at these prices I want garnish.  As real chefs know, we eat with our eyes.   The wait staff were nice, but a bit clueless, and it is apparent that Mo expects to survive on his name alone.  He has been here for four and a half years and I have to guess that were it not for his name it would not have lasted this long. 

Several patrons wore Yankees caps and shirts, and it is clear that they wanted to bask in some of the Mariano Rivera cachet.  I understand that, and whomever guided Rivera into the restaurant business did too.  It is unfortunate that his adviser did not factor the restaurant business into the cachet.