Affy's Premium Grill

A rude start led to disappointing food. The first hopeless thing was the service. There was no one to greet or seat us when we entered the restaurant. Spent a few minutes without attention and eventually walked all the way up to the kitchen to ask the host that we need a table for two. Anyway, he seated us and brought the menu. We were treated to an inexperienced waitress who barely acknowledged us and never smiled. She was in a rush to note down the order and move on. In fact she stepped away (to speak to a co-worker) twice, while taking our order. We ordered chicken wings for appetizers and two types of steaks for the main dinner. She said the appetizers will come right away but the steak is going to take 40 minutes. The appetizers came after 30 minutes. When I asked why was this so late, all she said was "this is how my kitchen works". I was like what does that even mean, they should have sent this earlier, and as I was speaking she walked away. Instead of apologizing, instead of checking herself why the appetizers were taking so long, she just didn't care and walked away as I was speaking. The waitress made us feel really bad by her uncaring attitude. Okay, now the food, it lacked quality. The Rib Eye steak was greasy and in fact tasteless. It had no seasoning. The meat that they used didn't feel like a prime cut or good quality. It was thin, long, chewy, and had no marination. It was just swimming in gravy in a dull and depressing way. The sides weren't that great either. The rice was dry, the baked potato was over baked, and had a rough skin. It had no aesthetic appeal. They just cut the potato in half and dipped cheese in it. Overall, it was a miserably disappointing experience. The food was a mere shadow of what we were expecting. The server could have been friendly and the poor lighting and long waits made it worst.

This is a slightly more upscale halal restaurant serving typical grill/American fare. The restaurant is fairly decent sized and good for larger parties and families. It's located on a somewhat shadier stretch of Coney Island Ave, and though street parking is available, it's smarter to leave the 1966 Lotus Elan S2 at home. Affy's starts you off with complimentary freshly-made spicy salsa and thin crispy tortilla chips. This author tried the poutine ($5), which is probably the only place outside Canada you can try a halal version of this fantastic side dish made of French fries covered with melted cheese and gravy. It sounds terrible and, it is for your arteries, but it's absolutely delicious and worth trying for the poutine-naive. The Super Loaded Burger ($10) had a slight off-flavor which came as a surprise considering Affy's usual high standards. The Chicken Parmesan Primavera ($14) is a dish of penne doused in a creamy cheese sauce and topped with breaded chicken. Although a bit too far on the cheesy side, it earns high marks for the crispy chicken and full-on flavor of the sauce. Though this author has not tried the ribs at this Affy's yet, he can testify to the stellar quality of the BBQ Beef Back Ribs at the MIssissauga location. A half rack is $20 and a full rack is $35. Whether the NYC branch replicates the success of the MIssissauga location remains to be seen. Overall, Affy's earns 5/5 stars for quality and value. There is no other halal restaurant serving the same quality of grill-house fare in NYC.

We ordered the following main items: New York Strip Steak with Cajun Lemon Butter Filet Mignon Top Sirloin Stuffed Cajun Chicken Breast Fish and Chips Everything was absolutely delicious. I expected perhaps one of the items to be a hit but each one was terrific. I can\'t wait to come back here again. One tip: If it\'s a cold night dress warmly. The front door does not form a seal when it closes so the place remains fairly cold inside.