Restaurant Examiner: Burgers are the “Prime” Attraction at The Prime in Hastings-on-Hudson
Eleven burgers appear on the menu at The Prime in Hastings-on-Hudson plus dishes ranging from traditional pub fare to an eight-ounce filet mignon with onion rings and peppercorn sauce ($32). The Prime was opened in November 2013 by brothers Mike and John DiMiceli.
“The Rockefeller Center is our best selling burger — an old favorite enjoying new popularity,” said Mike DiMiceli. “It comes with Swiss cheese and crispy bacon and is priced at $12.50.”
Burgers cost the same at lunch and dinner and are accompanied by lettuce, tomato, raw onion and shoestring fries. The choices:
- Rockefeller Center.Bacon and Swiss cheese ($12.50)
- 5 East 51st Street.Beef ($9.95) or with cheese ($10.95)
- Empire State.Chili and cheddar cheese ($12.95)
- St. Patrick’s. Avocado and blue cheese ($12.95)
- Radio City. Mushrooms, Swiss cheese and caramelized onions ($11.95)
- Little Italy.Marinara sauce and mozzarella cheese ($11.95)
- 645 Fifth Avenue.Veggie burger ($9.95)
- Grand Central.Turkey burger ($9.95)
- 520 Madison.Gorgonzola cheese and bacon ($12.95)
- N.Y. Pretzel.Spicy horseradish, hot mustard, pretzel bun ($10.95)
- The Prime.Ten-ounce beef burger with lettuce, tomato, onions, pickles and house-made sweet pepper relish ($15.95)
Non-menu specials are offered on weekends only. “The most popular of the specials,” Mike DiMiceli said, “is angel-hair pasta with shrimp, followed by prime rib and meatloaf.”
The brothers were the proprietors of The Primeburger, a Manhattan institution that closed in 2012 when the building in which it was located was sold. The Primeburger was on East 51st Street across the street from St. Patrick’s Cathedral. It was recognized by the James Beard Foundation in 2004 as an “American Classic Restaurant.”
Tony DiMiceli, the brothers’ dad, bought The Primeburger in 1976 and retained its name. Later, Mike and John took over running the business.
During the years that the DiMiceli’s operated The Primeburger, not one drop of alcohol was ever served out of respect for the world-famous church across the way. The Prime, however has a full-service bar.
Sandwiches and wraps cost from $7.95 to $12.95 (at lunch or dinner, the price is the same) and come with a choice of French fries or salad. The slider choices are beef with cheddar cheese; pulled pork; chicken with pepper jack cheese; and Philly cheese, priced at three sliders for $9.95. Wings cost $9.95 for ten or $16.95 for twenty.
Salads range from $4.95 for a house salad to $13.95 for a buffalo chicken salad with crumbled blue cheese, Romaine lettuce and ranch dressing. The list includes Caesar, Hastings Cobb, beet and goat cheese.
Starters include fish tacos, chicken tenders, Mozzarella sticks, spinach and artichoke dip, nachos, calamari, chili, mac-and-cheese and soup.
Ribeye steak was recently added to the entrée list which also includes New York strip and hanger steaks, chicken, salmon, crab cakes and pasta.
The weekend (Saturday and Sunday) brunch has omelets from $9.95, French toast with bacon ($8.95), Belgian waffles with chicken ($10.95), pancakes ($8.50), Eggs Benedict ($9.95), Maryland crab cake sandwich ($10.95), bagel with cream cheese and lox ($12.95) and hanger steak and eggs ($14.95).
During brunch, two hours of unlimited Mimosas, Bellinis or Bloody Marys are available at a cost of $15.
Mike and his family are residents of Ardsley and John and his family live in Thornwood.
The Prime can seat 80; it has 30 additional seats in the bar area and 25 more outdoors on the front patio when weather permits.
It is open seven days a week. Lunch is served Monday through Saturday beginning at 11 a.m. Dinner is served every evening from 5 to 10 p.m. Weekend brunch is available from 11:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. The bar closes on Monday through Saturday at 2 a.m. and at midnight on Sunday.
Live entertainment is usually offered on Friday or Saturday evenings. A schedule appears on the restaurant’s Facebook page.
The Prime can accommodate private parties up to 100 people and offers catering services.
The Prime, an American Grille, 19 Main Street, Hastings-on-Hudson; 914-478-1147.
