Archive | June, 2011

Benjamin’s Steak House (White Plains, NY)

14 Jun

 

I haven’t exactly been wowed by the food in Westchester, NY so far, so when Mike’s dad recommended a steak house that recently opened in White Plains, I didn’t expect much. Our destination: Benjamin’s Steakhouse (turns out there is also one in NYC).

Sometimes going in with no expectations is the best way to go.

We started with a salad that had delicious sliced apples and cheese with a vinagrete.  Fresh and perfect.

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Mike and I split the T-bone and both “mmmmm”ed and “yummm”ed our way through it.  The car was excellent.

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And it was so perfectly cooked.

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Other steaks around the table were just as delicious

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As was the fish

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And all the sides

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Dessert was a nearly perfect pecan pie (with a less than optimal crust… but we’ll forgive them this slight miss)

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We were all very impressed by Benjamin’s and would not hesitate to go back or try the one in NYC.  We were all very pleased with our meals.  Just keep in mind, these are NYC Steakhouse prices.

Total Nom Points: 7 out of 10

 

 

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Florida Noms: Chardonnay (Palm Beach Gardens)

6 Jun

 

 

Our Florida trip was going to end with taking in a pre-season Mets game in Port Saint Lucie.  As we drove up in torrential down-pouring rain, I had a feeling the game wasn’t going to happen.  Sure enough, just as we were passing the Palm Beach area, the game was cancelled.  Since we were flying out of the West Palm Beach area airport, we decided to kill some time at the movies and the mall.  What else are you supposed to do in a Florida beach town in the pouring rain?  After a lovely indoor day, we had about 3 hours before our flight and found ourselves in search of a nice place to have dinner.  A few cross-checks via Yelp and OpenTable sent us to Cafe Chardonnay in Palm Beach Gardens.

Here is a peak at the menu:

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This place was having a bit of an identiy crisis.  It was called a cafe, had a cheesy graphic logo that looked like it was made in MS Paint, was decorated sort of high end French and sort of street cafe, and had an elegant sounding menu.

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We started with Warm Almond Crusted Goat Cheese to share.  It came with figs and a raisin bread.

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And it was fantastic.  The goat cheese was perfect, the figs were a great sweet compliment, and I liked that they crisped up the raisin bread so everything spread well on it.

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Mike had a wedge salad.  The blue cheese was chunky and very good.

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Then he had the Prawn “Scampi” over fresh linguine.

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We both agreed that it was just okay.

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I made a combination of specials (to avoid peppers) with the Sea Bass over the side dishes that were originally to come with the crab crusted flounder.

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Braised artichokes, mushrooms, gnocchi…  all the makings of a great dish.  But it just wasn’t.  It was okay, but also lacking.  (Is there a lack of flavor problem in Florida?)

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I was kind of surprised that the entrees were just bland, but dessert looked promising.

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We chose the pecan pie.

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AND the cheesecake (hush… it was “vacation”)

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Both were totally “ehh.”

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I think the best description for this place was “ehh.”  Everything was just “ehh.”  Which basically described most of our “high-end” Florida dining experiences on this trip… “EHHH”

Total Nom Points: 6 out of 10

 

 

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Florida Noms: 32 East (Delray Beach)

3 Jun

On our free evening in Florida, Mike and I decided to check out Delray Beach.  Now THIS was more like what I was expecting from Boca.  It was a beautiful walking downtown that ended in the ocean.  A combination of fantastic looking restaurants, touristy shops, high-end boutiques, and LOTS of people.  It was alive and kicking even on a Sunday night.

We checked out a few restaurants, and 32 East tickled our fancy with some really interesting sounding dishes.  It also had a nice look to it.

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We couldn’t help but try the antelope skewers.  I mean, how often do you get to try antelope?

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They were gamey and good in all the right ways.  And it came over some baked fruit which was delicious.

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Then we checked out the crispy truffle (fried) raviolis, which sounded quite good but were a little… bland.  Lacking in truffle flavor.  Bummer.

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Mike got the sword fish was good… but not great.

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I got the scallops which were also good… but not great.

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They heavily sauced the plates but the sauces were overall just lacking in flavor.

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This place had all the necessary pieces to be GREAT.  It had a great sounding menu, creative dishes, excellent aesthetic, and great placement in the town.

But it just wasn’t great.  It was just okay.  I’m not sure what went wrong.  Under-seasoned? Product that just wasn’t as fresh as it could have been?  I’m just not sure… but it was a let down.  Don’t get me wrong… it wasn’t bad at all. In fact it was quite good… it just didn’t live up to the expectation that the ambiance and menu led to.

Total Nom Points: 6.5 out of 10

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