Restaurateur Michael Stillman's affordable steakhouse Quality Eats has opened up its second Manhattan location and it's right in my neighborhood, the Upper East Side. With neon lights of a wine bottle pouring and knives that animate on the restaurant's robin's egg blue façade that is tattooed with white outlines of animals, striped aprons with the word "quality" scrawled across them, plastic floral trays, and plates with the words "Quality Meats" with the "M" scribbled out, it's that playful breath of sophisticated trendiness that the neighborhood so desperately needs.

The word steakhouse has that connotation of being a kind of restaurant where you know you are going in to spend a fuck ton of money. This is not that. The restaurant is able to lower the pricing of their steaks by using traditionally less popular cuts of beef (click the button below to get their full menu). The entire menu is filled with incredible finds so make sure to branch outside of that steak section. I know it's a steakhouse, but the raw bar is not to be missed. Their Hamachi Tostada has that perfect ratio of fish to addictive tostada crunchiness. Ooh, and then there's the Charred Watermelon—do not skip it! Oh man, I know you're not going to believe me but get it and you'll see why I'm so passionate about you trying it. Ok, the last one you have to try is the Grilled Nueske's Bacon cause it sits in a super rich chunky peanut butter and jalapeño jelly.

Don't you dare leave before getting dessert. I know it's the Upper East Side, aka the neighborhood for "I'll have a salad and a bucket of wine" but the dessert menu is incredibly innovative. I'm talking about their Rugelach & Apricot Cheesecake Swirl Ice Cream and their Black And White Cookie Tart with a cookie and cream ganache—so New York and so amazingly addictive! There's so much to rave about, but really, go check it out for yourself. You'll love! 

Disclaimer: I don't often write features when I go to influencer dinners but this wasn't my first experience eating at Quality Eats and I know the level of expertise and service, so I felt comfortable doing so. That said, I thought it would be fun to incorporate a little behind the scenes of what these events look like. Check out the video below to see it for yourself.