But at $35/#, one better have an expense account, cause they just go
down way too easily. 3# later, I'm still thinking what's for the main
course.
That's right, we are doing it Big Willie Style down here in Miami.
Thursday, March 15, 2012
Florida Stone Crabs
But at $35/#, one better have an expense account, cause they just go
down way too easily. 3# later, I'm still thinking what's for the main
course.
Wednesday, March 14, 2012
Tuesday, March 13, 2012
Monday, March 12, 2012
Hearty Japanese Breakfast
The best rice from Niigata, Miso Soup, Salad, Grilled Fish, Croquette,
Tamago, Yakisoba, Sausages, Kimpira Gobo and 2 glasses of OJ.
I'm a happy camper.
Tuesday, March 6, 2012
Saturday, March 3, 2012
Legend Bar & Restaurant - Review
Intro
Legend Bar & Restaurant - Dude Grade A-
88 7th Ave
Btn 16th and 15th St
New York, NY 10011
Phone: (212) 929-1778
I was in the mood for some Szechuan food and one of my co-workers from Chengdu recommended this place for Szechuan eats. My former go to joint was the great Wu Liang Ye in Midtown, but this place one ups it for me. This place has such a great balance of flavor and the food is pretty spicy, but not spicy enough where you can't taste anything else. I haven't had a WTF moment for chinese food in the states in a long time, but I was pretty blown away by this place.
Like I said, my new go-to restaurant for Szechuan food. Although I still love Wu Liang Ye, heading to Chelsea is much more pleasant than heading to the nightmare that is the theater district.
Legend Bar & Restaurant - Dude Grade A-
88 7th Ave
Btn 16th and 15th St
New York, NY 10011
Phone: (212) 929-1778
I was in the mood for some Szechuan food and one of my co-workers from Chengdu recommended this place for Szechuan eats. My former go to joint was the great Wu Liang Ye in Midtown, but this place one ups it for me. This place has such a great balance of flavor and the food is pretty spicy, but not spicy enough where you can't taste anything else. I haven't had a WTF moment for chinese food in the states in a long time, but I was pretty blown away by this place.
Our Menu
Dan Dan Noodles Cheng-Du Style *
Solid texture and chew to the noodles and delicious flavor. I dug the Wu Liang Ye version better for the flavor, but the wife loved this a lot.
Beef And Ox Tripe In Chili Sauce **
The wife and I always order this dish and surprisingly a lot of places eff this up. Most places generally add way too much szechuan peppercorn which adds that buzzing sensation on your tongue (not heat, but like a weird chemical reaction). This place does it right and the flavors are so spot on - rich, a little vinegary, a little spicy. Tripe is incredibly tender and flavorful and there's a lot more beef here than you normally see at most restaurants.
Sichuan Cucumber *
Again, we've had this from other places where it's extremely salty, sweet, and too many peppercorns. This is perfectly refreshing - nice and crispy with a little salt and sugar. Perfect accompaniment for the spicy food.
Fried Lambs With Cumin ***
This was a big wtf moment for me. Think crispy chicken parm coating for texture, with tender and insanely flavorful lamb, and seasoned beautifully with cumin, chiles, and chinese celery. It's friggin phenomenal and so addicting. I generally don't like celery, but it's a perfect match here - great texture and almost bright/refreshing flavor.
Chengdu Fish And Pickled Veg ***
The waitress recommended this dish and we indifferently agreed. Man - this was another big wtf moment for me. Fish soup was so rich, yet light and insanely flavorful. Add the pickled veg and chiles and you had a phenomenal broth. The fish also was incredibly fresh, sweet, and perfectly poached. I was at 90% capacity and I still had 2 full bowls of this that made me disgustingly uncomfortable afterwards - still worth it.
Dan Dan Noodles Cheng-Du Style *
Solid texture and chew to the noodles and delicious flavor. I dug the Wu Liang Ye version better for the flavor, but the wife loved this a lot.
Beef And Ox Tripe In Chili Sauce **
The wife and I always order this dish and surprisingly a lot of places eff this up. Most places generally add way too much szechuan peppercorn which adds that buzzing sensation on your tongue (not heat, but like a weird chemical reaction). This place does it right and the flavors are so spot on - rich, a little vinegary, a little spicy. Tripe is incredibly tender and flavorful and there's a lot more beef here than you normally see at most restaurants.
Sichuan Cucumber *
Again, we've had this from other places where it's extremely salty, sweet, and too many peppercorns. This is perfectly refreshing - nice and crispy with a little salt and sugar. Perfect accompaniment for the spicy food.
Fried Lambs With Cumin ***
This was a big wtf moment for me. Think crispy chicken parm coating for texture, with tender and insanely flavorful lamb, and seasoned beautifully with cumin, chiles, and chinese celery. It's friggin phenomenal and so addicting. I generally don't like celery, but it's a perfect match here - great texture and almost bright/refreshing flavor.
Chengdu Fish And Pickled Veg ***
The waitress recommended this dish and we indifferently agreed. Man - this was another big wtf moment for me. Fish soup was so rich, yet light and insanely flavorful. Add the pickled veg and chiles and you had a phenomenal broth. The fish also was incredibly fresh, sweet, and perfectly poached. I was at 90% capacity and I still had 2 full bowls of this that made me disgustingly uncomfortable afterwards - still worth it.
Rating System
--- What the F - in a bad way | (no stars - poor to average) | * Good | ** Great | *** What the F – in a good way
Overall Restaurant Experience
- Food (A) – My new go-to Szechuan restaurant. This reminded me of a much more refined version of Thai cuisine hitting all these notes of savory, salty, sour, spicy, and sweet without being overpowering in any of those flavors.
- Service (B) – Server recommended great dishes for us and the food came out pretty quick. They are busy as hell there, so don't expect smiling faces - it's all business getting you in and out.
- Atmosphere (C+) – When you first walk in, you are greeted with a crowd of people waiting for the tables hovering over the tiny bar. Not the most relaxing entrance, but you notice more than half of the joint are Chinese people speaking Mandarin which is always a good sign. Much nicer looking place than your standard Chinese joint - nice modern lighting with dark wood floors and bright yellow walls. We got there on a Friday at 7pm with no reservations and we waited 30 minutes before getting a table for 2.
- Price (A) – $16-20 an entree for phenomenal Szechuan food. 100% worth it in my opinion.
Like I said, my new go-to restaurant for Szechuan food. Although I still love Wu Liang Ye, heading to Chelsea is much more pleasant than heading to the nightmare that is the theater district.
Friday, March 2, 2012
Mapo Tofu alla Porthos
oldie but goodie from the repertoire.
My take on Mapo Tofu.
All I need is a bowl of steaming white rice and I'm a happy SOB.
Monday, February 27, 2012
Ten Ten - Review
Intro
Ten Ten - Dude Grade: B+
1010 Fleet Street
Baltimore, MD 21202
Phone: (410) 244-6867
Restaurant number two chosen by Charissa and Bruce and it was another delicious choice. More comfort food done extremely well which is always right up my alley. Ten Ten is definitely another highly recommended place by this dude.
Definitely highly recommended by this dude. Another place I wouldn't mind going back to visit.
Ten Ten - Dude Grade: B+
1010 Fleet Street
Baltimore, MD 21202
Phone: (410) 244-6867
Restaurant number two chosen by Charissa and Bruce and it was another delicious choice. More comfort food done extremely well which is always right up my alley. Ten Ten is definitely another highly recommended place by this dude.
Our Menu
Crab Cake Sandwich (special) **
We were wanting some crab cake on this trip and bummed that it wasn't on the menu, but we were quite lucky that crab cakes were on the daily specials. This thing was perfect in my opinion - tons of large lump crab that was incredibly sweet and fresh. Crispy on the outside, light and not weighed down by an abundance of bread crumbs. Duck fat fries were pretty friggin awesome also - huge potato flavor and delicious with the crisp herbs.
Local Greens Salad *
Sultans, carrots, butternut squash, spiced pistachios, honey-balsamic-tarragon vinaigrette
This was the last restaurant for us over the long weekend, so I was in need of leafy vegetables as we basically had none on this trip. This totally hit the spot - bright and crunchy and interesting enough with the different textures.
Grilled Shrimp and Grits ***
Maple braised greens, crispy pork belly, organic three cheese poblano grits
I like shrimp and grits, but this was a wtf dish for me since I was not expecting much from it. More delicious than the shrimp and grits I've had in South Carolina. Grits were incredibly flavorful and great texture (a little tighter than a risotto). The shrimp was perfectly cooked as well - nice smokey char flavor and sweet/juicy.
Date Ice Cream, Tangerine Vanilla Sorbet, Red Beet Sorbet **
Beet sorbet doesn't sound good, but it's delicious - huge beet flavor and only naturally sweet - not pumped up with sugar. The tangerine vanilla brought me back to my childhood with a creamiscle like thing going on. Even the date ice cream was a standout with an almost caramelly thing going on due to the dates.
Gingerbread Sponge Cake *
Brandied Tangerines, Butterscotch Custard, Crunchy Praline
A fun combo especially with the butter scotch custard and pralines.
Crab Cake Sandwich (special) **
We were wanting some crab cake on this trip and bummed that it wasn't on the menu, but we were quite lucky that crab cakes were on the daily specials. This thing was perfect in my opinion - tons of large lump crab that was incredibly sweet and fresh. Crispy on the outside, light and not weighed down by an abundance of bread crumbs. Duck fat fries were pretty friggin awesome also - huge potato flavor and delicious with the crisp herbs.
Local Greens Salad *
Sultans, carrots, butternut squash, spiced pistachios, honey-balsamic-tarragon vinaigrette
This was the last restaurant for us over the long weekend, so I was in need of leafy vegetables as we basically had none on this trip. This totally hit the spot - bright and crunchy and interesting enough with the different textures.
Grilled Shrimp and Grits ***
Maple braised greens, crispy pork belly, organic three cheese poblano grits
I like shrimp and grits, but this was a wtf dish for me since I was not expecting much from it. More delicious than the shrimp and grits I've had in South Carolina. Grits were incredibly flavorful and great texture (a little tighter than a risotto). The shrimp was perfectly cooked as well - nice smokey char flavor and sweet/juicy.
Date Ice Cream, Tangerine Vanilla Sorbet, Red Beet Sorbet **
Beet sorbet doesn't sound good, but it's delicious - huge beet flavor and only naturally sweet - not pumped up with sugar. The tangerine vanilla brought me back to my childhood with a creamiscle like thing going on. Even the date ice cream was a standout with an almost caramelly thing going on due to the dates.
Gingerbread Sponge Cake *
Brandied Tangerines, Butterscotch Custard, Crunchy Praline
A fun combo especially with the butter scotch custard and pralines.
Rating System
--- What the F - in a bad way | (no stars - poor to average) | * Good | ** Great | *** What the F – in a good way
Overall Restaurant Experience
- Food (B+) – Excellent food with the only minus point being the risotto my wife had was a little too solid for my liking.
- Service (C) – Server was relatively new, so she forgot the specials and was sometimes slow to come around in the beginning. She did much better throughout the meal and the food comes out quickly.
- Atmosphere (B) – Walking into the back of what looks like an entrance to a condo, you walk into this wine bar looking area. There's brick wall, wood floors, and an exposed ceiling to give you that urban wine bar feel - relatively dark in there also. We were there on a Sunday night at 7pm and all tables were taken with couples both young and older.
- Price (A) – I did the three course menu (since the items I wanted were on there any way) for $32 - an incredible steal for the quality of food they're cooking there. Prices off the regular menu are around $22-23 per entree.
Definitely highly recommended by this dude. Another place I wouldn't mind going back to visit.
Sunday, February 26, 2012
Saturday, February 25, 2012
B Bistro - Review
IntroB Bistro - Dude Grade: B+ (Brunch)
1501 Bolton Street
Baltimore, MD 21217
Phone: (410) 383-8600
The wife and I decided to make a trip down to DC / Baltimore to see some good friends we haven't seen in a while. One group of friends, Charissa and Bruce, outdid themselves with two great restaurant picks - one being B Bistro. This is a nice cozy joint that does some very solid cooking. Like - if this was in NYC, I would include this in our rotation of restaurants to revisit. Excellent stuff and great times as always with Charissa and Bruce.
Our Menu
Rabbit liver pâté **
housemade marmalade, pickles, grilled bread.
This was pretty damn delicious - light, fluffy, creamy, smooth, and really rich flavor. This coulda been chicken liver though, since it tastes pretty much the same. Still damn delicious with the marmalade and the crispy grilled bread.
Crispy pork belly **
fried egg, Enrique’s tomatillo sauce.
Food porn overload for me - bright and acidic tomatillo sauce, rich silky egg yolks, and crispy melt in your mouth pork belly. Even the fries were spot on - loaded with potato flavor, perfectly seasoned and nice and crispy.
Sorbet **
Meyer Lemon, Grapefruit, Blood Orange
After all the rich food, we wanted a great palate cleanser and this was spot on delicious. Great texture and bursting with citrus flavor - favorite being the blood orange. Also, loved how this wasn't too sweet either.
Pot De Creme *
Good chocolate flavor, light, and almost fudgey in texture.
Rabbit liver pâté **
housemade marmalade, pickles, grilled bread.
This was pretty damn delicious - light, fluffy, creamy, smooth, and really rich flavor. This coulda been chicken liver though, since it tastes pretty much the same. Still damn delicious with the marmalade and the crispy grilled bread.
Crispy pork belly **
fried egg, Enrique’s tomatillo sauce.
Food porn overload for me - bright and acidic tomatillo sauce, rich silky egg yolks, and crispy melt in your mouth pork belly. Even the fries were spot on - loaded with potato flavor, perfectly seasoned and nice and crispy.
Sorbet **
Meyer Lemon, Grapefruit, Blood Orange
After all the rich food, we wanted a great palate cleanser and this was spot on delicious. Great texture and bursting with citrus flavor - favorite being the blood orange. Also, loved how this wasn't too sweet either.
Pot De Creme *
Good chocolate flavor, light, and almost fudgey in texture.
Rating System
--- What the F - in a bad way | (no stars - poor to average) | * Good | ** Great | *** What the F – in a good way
Overall Restaurant Experience
- Food (B+) – They're really doing some great things here and next time I'm back in Baltimore I would love to check out their dinner menu. Everything seems right up my alley.
- Service (B+) – Server was friendly and offered up some good suggestions. Food came out at a good pace.
- Atmosphere (B) – A cozy place that seats maybe around 30-40 people. Nice and bright with tall ceilings. We got there around 11ish with reservations on a Sunday and all the tables were already full.
- Price (B) – Prices were very reasonable, average was around $12-16 and based on the quality of the food it was totally worth it.
I wasn't expecting much since there's soooo many bistros out there, but I was extremely happy how good it was and like I said - if this was in NYC, I would definitely be a repeat visitor.
Tuesday, February 21, 2012
Stir Fried Noodles
The wife loves her some noodles and stir fried beef, so I decided to whip up some quick stir fried beef noodles.Some Notes:
1) I did a pseudo Italian style job on the noodles. Cooked it till 1-2 minutes before it was fully finished (still chawky), rinsed it in cold water, and then boiled it in the finishing liquid so the noodle absorbs the sauce. You still get a nice chew to the noodle this way and the noodles get uber flavorful absorbing the sauce.
2) Sauce was meaty, a little sweet, and a little sour which was friggin delicious. Oyster sauce, hoisin sauce, soba tsuyu, sesame oil, and a tiny dash of black vinegar.
3) Used skirt steak which turned out phenomenal. Seared on both sides, then cut thinly across the grain and finished in the sauce. You get huuuuge beef flavor which you normally don't get with stir fried beef noodles. I also dug the texture of the beef as well - tender enough, but a pleasant chew.
4) I added some sliced snowpeas which added some crunch, sweetness, and color. Pretty damn addicting.
Tuesday, February 7, 2012
Sunday, February 5, 2012
Super Bowl 2012
I had some people over for the Super Bowl (great game) so I decided to rock an Italian American meal. There were three families over with kids so I figured it would make plenty of sense. Good times and pretty damn fun food.
Our Menu
Garlic Bread
Parmiggiano-Reggiano, Olive Oil, Butter, Garlic, Chicken Skin and Parsley
I love chicken skin and this abomination confirmed my belief that chicken skin is delicious on just about anything. The surprising thing was one of the kids was a huge fan of this - definitely a future foodie.
Mutz and Smoked Mutz Salad with Onions and Roasted Peppers
A classic deli combo in salad form.
Sunday Ragu
St Louis Pork Ribs, Chicken Thighs, Chuck Steak, Meatballs
Cooked the ribs, chuck steak in my standard braise for 3 1/2 hours. Throw in the chicken the last 45 minutes. Meatballs cooked in the oven and added to the sauce in the last 20 minutes. Skim the fat and top with extra virgin olive oil and parsley. Everything turns out so damn delicious but the pork ribs were mind blowing - huge flavor and uber tender.
Fettuccine in Sunday Sauce
Tossed the pasta in the sunday sauce above. The key is to reduce down the sauce even more and toss in any reserved tomato juices to brighten up the sauce at the end. Pretty damn fun.
Garlic Bread
Parmiggiano-Reggiano, Olive Oil, Butter, Garlic, Chicken Skin and Parsley
I love chicken skin and this abomination confirmed my belief that chicken skin is delicious on just about anything. The surprising thing was one of the kids was a huge fan of this - definitely a future foodie.
Mutz and Smoked Mutz Salad with Onions and Roasted Peppers
A classic deli combo in salad form.
Sunday Ragu
St Louis Pork Ribs, Chicken Thighs, Chuck Steak, Meatballs
Cooked the ribs, chuck steak in my standard braise for 3 1/2 hours. Throw in the chicken the last 45 minutes. Meatballs cooked in the oven and added to the sauce in the last 20 minutes. Skim the fat and top with extra virgin olive oil and parsley. Everything turns out so damn delicious but the pork ribs were mind blowing - huge flavor and uber tender.
Fettuccine in Sunday Sauce
Tossed the pasta in the sunday sauce above. The key is to reduce down the sauce even more and toss in any reserved tomato juices to brighten up the sauce at the end. Pretty damn fun.
Knife Sharpening
does a sharp knife enhance your knife skills and ultimately
presentation, a dull knife is one of the most dangerous tools in the
kitchen.
A knife that doesn't perform to expectations can slide off course and
cause sever injury.
Remember to periodically sharpen your kitchen knives and if you don't
know how, take it in to a specialist. They charge on average $10 a
blade. A small price to pay for finger or two.
Monday, January 30, 2012
Pseudo Cioppino
After my trip to the Bay Area, I wanted to try and make a pseudo cioppino for the parents. The flavors were pretty delicious, but I should have followed Tadich Grill's method of cooking the seafood outside of the broth to keep the pieces in tact. I aimed to incorporate more flavor so I tried cooking it in the broth which shredded up all the pieces. Still hella delicious though...Ingredients
1 onion diced
1 fennel bulb diced, fronds saved
6 cloves garlic minced
3 cups Fish Stock
1 cup Clam juice
1 28 oz can crushed tomatoes
White Wine
Olive Oil
12 Cockles
12 Mussels
1 Branzino Head
1/2 pound cod filet
12 Shrimp de-veined, shells reserved
Salt and Pepper
Extra Virgin Olive Oil
1 Baguette
Parmigiano-Reggiano
1) Sautee the vegetables in a stock pot in extra virgin olive oil over medium heat until soft - onions, fennel, 1/2 garlic for about 5-10 minutes.
2) Add the white wine to deglaze for 5-10 minutes.
3) Add the fish stock, tomatoes, shrimp shells, and clam juice and cook for 30 minutes. Remove shrimp shells and squeeze out extra juice back into the pot.
4) Make the garlic bread. Blitz together butter 3 cloves minced garlic. Smear garlic butter over baguette split in half, season with salt and pepper, and top with parmiggiano reggiano. Cook in a 350F oven for 10-15 minutes until golden brown.
5) Cook the fish, mussels, and clams in a separate saute pan over medium high heat adding the cioppino broth. To be picky you can cook each individually to the perfect temp. Mussels till they open, reserve. Clams till they open, reserve. Then fish for 8 minutes in the saute pan. The last couple of minutes poach the shrimp in the stockpot and add to the sautee pan. Add it all back to the saute pan and warm through. To plate, serve the seafood with some broth (not a lot) top with extra virgin olive oil, and fennel fronds. Enjoy with the garlic bread!
Roast
to savor the process as well as the edible result.
Air Chilled Chicken from Pennsylvania.
Simply seasoned with Herbs de Provence and Roast.
Hn you have a superior bird, no butter or lemon/bouquet garni necessary.
Wednesday, January 25, 2012
Tuesday, January 17, 2012
Fiore's Deli
Moving out to the burbs, we were pretty damn lucky finding tons of delicious ethnic foods - mexican, japanese, chinese, turkish, etc. - not the watered down versions you find in most suburbs. However, the one thing I miss the most is the Italian sandwiches of Hoboken. It doesn't get any better than Fiore's Deli (414 Adams Street, Hoboken, NJ 07030) where they make their own mozzarella on site (or "mutz" by the locals). They have some delicious specials like the roast beef|gravy and the insanely addicting virginia ham|honey mustard gravy.
But, as a purist, I dig the mutz on a roll. The mutz here is perfect - it's juicy, has great milky flavor, perfect texture, and is nicely salted. All the sandwich places near me serve dry mozzarella that don't have that great milky flavor.
But, as a purist, I dig the mutz on a roll. The mutz here is perfect - it's juicy, has great milky flavor, perfect texture, and is nicely salted. All the sandwich places near me serve dry mozzarella that don't have that great milky flavor.
Monday, January 16, 2012
Wayfare Tavern - Review
IntroWayfare Tavern - Dude Grade: C+
558 Sacramento St, San Francisco 94111
Btwn Montgomery & Leidsdorff St
Phone: (415) 772-9060
During our short stay in San Francisco, we wanted to stop by the Wayfare Tavern - Tyler Florence's joint in the financial district. I'm a fan of his original Tyler Ultimate shows where he travels around the world trying to find the ultimate version of a dish. Also, I was searching around the internet and there seemed to be a positive buzz about this place. My only concern was after going to the lights out "Fremont Diner" this place wouldn't match up. I was 100% spot on although they do similar American comfort food (Wayfare a lil fancier), Fremont Diner is on another level.
Our Menu
Popover *
Instead of bread they serve these fun popovers to start your meal. These had great flavor, but the texture wasn't as light and airy as I would expect - crunchy, but a little heavy and doughy. Still pretty fun though.
Monterey Bay Sardines **
roasted garlic, parsley butter, herb bread crumbs, lemon
These were awesome - sardines were so friggin flavorful and the topping perfectly complemented the flavor of the fishies. Pretty damn addicting and satisfying.
Organic Fried Chicken
buttermilk brine, roasted garlic, crisp woody herbs, lemon
I was looking forward to this the most and I recognized this from his tyler's ultimate show where he went to Cesare Casella's joint Beppe to have the lemon fried chicken. Unfortunately, this was a big swing and a miss for me. Fremont Diner hit the nail on the head hitting every criteria for the perfect fried chicken for me. Wayfare's has a soggy crust (egg based only I think) and the chicken is dry as well. The crust is fun with herbs and lemon, but still a pass for me. On a side note, it is pretty damn tasty cold in the morning.
Grilled Bone-In Pork Chop *
black pepper spaetzle, braised cabbage, spiced apple pulp, grained mustard cream
I love me some pork chop and this is decent. Spaetzle is solid and the combo of all the components are pretty fun. The one thing that seemed weird is the pork tasted like deli meat ham - not sure if this was due to the cure/brine, but that wasn't what I was looking for. More of a straight pork flavor. The Hudson House in Nyack, NY serves up what I consider the perfect pork chop.
Sticky Toffee Cake **
This was my favorite dish of the night. Moist toffee cake and delicious with the sweet dates. Even though I was relatively full after all that protein, we still killed this toffee cake since it was so damn delicious.
Popover *
Instead of bread they serve these fun popovers to start your meal. These had great flavor, but the texture wasn't as light and airy as I would expect - crunchy, but a little heavy and doughy. Still pretty fun though.
Monterey Bay Sardines **
roasted garlic, parsley butter, herb bread crumbs, lemon
These were awesome - sardines were so friggin flavorful and the topping perfectly complemented the flavor of the fishies. Pretty damn addicting and satisfying.
Organic Fried Chicken
buttermilk brine, roasted garlic, crisp woody herbs, lemon
I was looking forward to this the most and I recognized this from his tyler's ultimate show where he went to Cesare Casella's joint Beppe to have the lemon fried chicken. Unfortunately, this was a big swing and a miss for me. Fremont Diner hit the nail on the head hitting every criteria for the perfect fried chicken for me. Wayfare's has a soggy crust (egg based only I think) and the chicken is dry as well. The crust is fun with herbs and lemon, but still a pass for me. On a side note, it is pretty damn tasty cold in the morning.
Grilled Bone-In Pork Chop *
black pepper spaetzle, braised cabbage, spiced apple pulp, grained mustard cream
I love me some pork chop and this is decent. Spaetzle is solid and the combo of all the components are pretty fun. The one thing that seemed weird is the pork tasted like deli meat ham - not sure if this was due to the cure/brine, but that wasn't what I was looking for. More of a straight pork flavor. The Hudson House in Nyack, NY serves up what I consider the perfect pork chop.
Sticky Toffee Cake **
This was my favorite dish of the night. Moist toffee cake and delicious with the sweet dates. Even though I was relatively full after all that protein, we still killed this toffee cake since it was so damn delicious.
Rating System
--- What the F - in a bad way | (no stars - poor to average) | * Good | ** Great | *** What the F – in a good way
Overall Restaurant Experience
Food (C+) – Decent comfort food, but nothing to write home about. The drinks did kick ars though. The picture to the right is the stage coach (Rye, Amaro, Blood Orange Liqueur, Bitters.), a take on the manhattan but waaaay more delicious.- Service (B) – Server was friendly and offered up some good recommendations. They were on top of their game getting drinks filled right away. Food came out a very solid pace.
- Atmosphere (B) – Felt like an old school upscale bar which I definitely dig. Place was absolutely mobbed for a Thursday at 5:45 - first floor is the bar area with the dining on the second floor. The place looked like a combo of half tourists (prolly due to Tyler) and half financial district groups. It is pretty dark though.
- Price (C) – Not terrible. $22 for the fried chicken and $29 for the pork chop. However, the food isn't that great for the price.
I wanted to like this place, but there's gotta be a ton of other places that do this style of food better.
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