The next restaurant on our list is 4 Charles Prime Rib. Opened in 2016, this West Village hotspot has become notorious for its impossible reservations. So again, how did I get one? I emailed them two months in advance, practically begging for a table for my birthday. The things I do for food.

Although I was elated to visit TATIANA, 4 Charles has been my most coveted restaurant for years due to its incredible cheeseburger with thick cut bacon and a runny egg, which I’m sure has crossed your TikTok for you page at some point. 4 Charles is also the highest rated restaurant on Beli (a trendy food app used to rank and review restaurants) with an average rating of 9.6 from over 26,000 reviews. 

We started off with the little gem salad (we needed to have something a little light, you’ll understand in a minute). 

This salad was truly one of the most incredible salads that I’ve ever had. I actually enjoyed eating it (and that’s something that I don’t think I’ve ever said about a salad). Mounds of fresh, crunchy little gem lettuce layered with creamy avocado and a lemon vinaigrette, topped off with micro slices of green onion. The creamy salad dressing on the side was also a welcome addition, balancing out the acidity of the vinaigrette and amplifying the creaminess of the avocado. 

Next up: the 10 ounce double wagyu cheeseburger with thick-cut bacon and a runny egg. 

The moment I had waited years for was about to arrive: the waiter walked over and performed an almost sensual egg cutting ceremony before coalescing the burger and splitting it in half. I blinked and my half was gone. The fat from the wagyu and overly thick bacon dripped down half of my hand as I devoured each bite. I’ve never had a cheeseburger so rich, indulgent, and intense. Unfortunately, this was the best burger that I’ve ever had, although it’s not something that I could eat every day (I mean I could, but I would most likely die after my fifth bite of my fourth burger).

We also ordered the bone-in ribeye steak, which was seared to perfection. Unfortunately, the meat was just a little rare for a medium rare steak (it probably needed another 30 seconds), and the bearnaise sauce was also lukewarm. The crust and juiciness of the steak made up for some of its shortcomings, but it was quite disappointing to not even have warm sauce. 

If you ever have the privilege to get to eat at 4 Charles Prime Rib, please don’t skip the sides. The truffle mac and cheese is possibly the best mac and cheese that I’ve ever tasted: the pasta is cooked to a perfect al dente, the sauce is impossibly creamy, the truffle flavor is elegantly subdued, and the top is unbelievably crispy. The street corn elote was another great addition: piping hot corn served in a spicy, creamy sauce, garnished with cotija cheese and cilantro. I ended up dipping my steak into this sauce more than the béarnaise sauce, and I can’t say that I didn’t enjoy it.

Of course we had to get dessert here too. We ordered the chocolate cream pie: a generous slice of rich chocolate pie with an Oreo crust and a hefty scoop of whipped cream on top.

Obviously, this was incredible. How bad can a rich, creamy, thick chocolate filling over a buttery oreo crust finished off with enough whipped cream to fill an entire bottle be?

I may have had the most decadent meal of my life at 4 Charles Prime Rib; the burger was undoubtedly the best I’ve ever had, the mac and cheese was nothing short of incredible, and the chocolate pie only exacerbated my indulgence. Maybe next time, I’ll actually order the prime rib.