Archive | February, 2009

Brooklyn Brunch

26 Feb

Mike and I met at the Atlantic/Pacific stop in Brooklyn with the goal of brunch and a movie.  We didn’t do good enough brunch research, so we wandered around the streets towards the Boerum Hill area until we happened upon something interesting. 

The choice of the day was Jolie; a cute little French place with their very own Jolie postcards on the tables.


The decor was interesting: Red, White, and Black (my favorite combo) with pictures of french and pop art on the walls.


I decided on one of my favorite meals: Eggs Norwegian.  It was an english muffin with smoke salmon, poached eggs, spinach, and hollandaise sauce.  Now the hollandaise definitely beat The Highline Cafe’s version from the previous weekend, however, the rest of the the meal was lackluster.  Nothing that bad, per se, and at least the eggs were cooked to perfect runniness, however, the smoked salmon was nearly tasteless and the rest… just okay.  The fries were perfectly crispy, however.

Mike ordered the Open Faced Croque Madame with toast, ham, and a sunny side up egg with swiss cheese (I prefer gruyere on my Croque’s personally).  It was also decent, but nothing amazing.

We left with full bellies on our way to see “Taken,” which wasn’t half bad!

Total Nom Points:  6 out of 10

Updates

25 Feb

NYC Nom Nom… now with a brandy new graphic layout and, even better, the ability to leave comments!

If there is something you’d like to see, let me know.

Del Posto

20 Feb

Last night I had the pleasure of being spoiled with a night out at Del Posto.  I had been hearing great things for a long time, so I was excited to finally get to try the brain child of such culinary icons (Joe Bastianich, Lidia Bastianich and Mario Batali).  My first impression upon entering was WOW!  The restaurant was decorated beautifully, with artful lines and shapes. There were really beautiful balconies on the 2nd level that we had the pleasure of dining on.  We all commented made us feel like we were sitting at some grand opera.  (Since I only had my iPhone with me, I have one picture to contribue and the rest will come from Google Images)



The wine list was over 60 pages long, and we were happy that one of our hosts had a someliere in the family and she selected for us (and selected well! Though I have no idea what we drank).  Our group decided to go with the 5 Course Menu where we all picked an Antipasta, then shared a selection of 2 pastas, then picked our own entrees and desserts.  I went with:

  • Antipasti: Vongole (raw clams) Marinated with Fried Roman Artichokes & Minted Lentil Dressing.  As a lover of artichokes, this did not dissapoint.  Like all artichoke dishes, however, it left me wishing there were more archies on the plate.
  • Pasta/Primi (for the table): Baked Ricotta Nudi with Swiss Chard Ragu & Fonduta AND Garganelli Verdi al Ragù Bolognese. Both were phenomenal and the perfect portion (individualized for each of us).  The Garganelli was especially tasty for a dish that can easily turn out quite boring. 
  • Entree/Secondi:  Sliced Duck alla Scappi with Sweet Pumpkin Polenta, Trevisano & Campari.  I have no idea what half the ingredients were, but it was cooked to perfection and had an amazing balance of flavors. 
  • Dessert: Buckwheat crepe (AKA Crespelle) with apples and cooked pumpkin: It was good, but not GREAT.  I wanted more pumpkin flavor.

Overall the meal was delicious, but the atmosphere is what really made it.  While I really liked it, I don’t know if it would be up there with my favorites, and I certainly didn’t love it.  Glad I got to go and try it out for myself, however!

Total Nom Points: 7 out of 10