Archive | September, 2011

The Breslin

19 Sep

I had been hearing buzz about The Breslin for quite some time, so when we were in the neighborhood and Mike suggested we see if they had any open seats, I was completely game.

They have an open kitchen in the back, and I was particularly amused by their decorations, which included “stuffed heads” that looked like stuffed animals and, as you can see in the picture below, pig toys hanging from meat hooks.

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Everywhere you looked there was something clever and cute.  (Look closely below to see the cute stuffed animal zebra “mounted head”)

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Mike and I started with the Terrine Board, which had guinea hen with morels, pork pate, headcheese, rabbit & prune, and liverwurst, and was served with pickles, piccalilli, and mustard. (Or at least I THINK that’s what it was).  Whatever it was… it was GOOD.



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Even the bread they served it with was perfectly crunchy.


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We then tried the scrumpets with mint vinegar.  I cannot for the life of me remember if these were pork or lamb, but it didn’t much matter.  After much Googling, there does not appear to be a definition of scrumpets really out there.  So let me define it simply by describing what these were…


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Slow cooked, melt in your mouth, juicy meat encased in a breaded, crunchy, fried (but not greasy), case that tasted a bit like heaven when you bit in.  There you go.  Scrumpet: A taste of heaven


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We also had to try the burger, since everyone kept talking about how awesome it was.  It was a lamb burger with feta (we got the cumin mayo on the side).


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It needed no cumin mayo.  It was perfectly cooked, perfectly juicy, perfectly charred, and perfectly delicious.


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The dessert menu was called “Evening Puddings” and was a great selection of delicious sounding desserts.


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We chose the dark chocolate brownie with salted caramel ice cream and brown butter bourbon sauce.  YUM YUM YUM. I want to go back and try more of these (ok… and the breakfast menu… and more off the dinner menu)


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This was a fantastic meal.  It’s one of those places that I’m kind of glad isn’t next door, or else I would be a lot fatter.  Everything was cooked to perfection with great ingredients and clever pairings.  Absolutely delicious.  And if you go, get the Scrumpets!


Total Nom Points: 8 out of 10




 


 

				
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Junior’s Cheesecake

	
		16
		Sep
	

	

	

		
 


There are a few “chains” in New York that are either near and dear to our hearts and make us proud to say that we, as New Yorkers, lay claim (Nathan’s, Nobu, Shake Shack) and some we don’t want anyone to know we started (TGI Fridays, Sbarros, Planet Hollywood).  Junior’s is somewhere in the middle, but I would say more on the positive side.  Who doesn’t like Cheesecake?


Though I’m not sure if MGM Foxwoods as the only location out of NYC qualifies it as a chain, we’ll go with it.


A friend of mine and I decided to check out the Junior’s in Times Square.


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I had only had the cheesecake, so it was time to try some real food.


This place is HUGE.  And it looks somewhere between a hospital and a diner.  Everything is shiny.


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We started with a cup of matzo ball soup.  The broth was tasty and the matzo ball was dense without being TOO dense.  I prefer mine a WEE bit more crumbly, but this was a very good one.


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My partner in crime got a tongue sandwich.  It was delicious.  As good as the tongue from Katz.


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I don’t know what I as thinking, but I got the sandwich called “Something Different.”  It was brisket of beef on potato pancakes with apple sauce. Woah nilly!  This was plum-diddly-umptious!  The beef and the potato pancakes were both great ,and made for quite the awesome combo.  I’m sure it was a heart attack on a plate, but it was worth every bite.


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We then ordered the Devil’s Food Cheesecake, which was layered with ganache, devil’s food chocolate cake, and, of course, cheesecake.  It had delicious chocolate chips on the outside and every bite was delicious and decadent.  Between the 2 of us, we couldn’t finish half.  


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It was mid-cheeseake that we looked up at the TVs and saw a completely atrocious site…


A workout video.


Playing in Junior’s.


Oh the humanity!


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Juniors: Worth the hype. Delicious, true to the deli concept, and awesome cheesecake.  There are a million other places to go in NYC, but if you’re looking for a quality diner-style meal before a Broadway show, you really can’t go wrong here.


Total Nom Points: 7 out of 10




 


 

				
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Il Punto- Take 2

	
		14
		Sep
	

	

	

		
 


We had been to Il Punto (on the corner of 38th and 9th) once before.  It was decent, but not some place I was chomping at the bit to go back to, however.  But when Mike’s family suggested we do a family meal there, we were game.  Hell… it’s hard to beat a place right on the corner!


We started with the artichokes, as we did last time.  These weren’t as good, and the sauce I loved last time seemed changed.


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We then ordered “Paper Thin Slices of Wild Boar” which came with mesculin, marinated eggplant, cherry tomatoes, and drizzled with pear vinaigrette.  This was good, but resembled roast beef a little too much to feel very special.  Still tasty though.


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I’m a bit foggy on what was ordered, but this may have been some sort of salad with meat and potatoes? Hmm. Not positive.


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This was the Salmone Alla Brace, which was grilled atlantic salmon served in a nest of julienne vegetables and roasted potato.


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Next was a Lombatina Al Vincotto: A grilled tender rib veal chop with red wine reduction, drizzles with vincotto, sprinkles black turffles, mashed potatoes and swiss chard.  This was pretty good.  Probably the best thing on the table. However…I have no idea what happened to the truffles.


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Someone also ordered a fish.  This may have been a special, because I can’t find it on the menu.  I know it’s not easy to bone a fish, but this one looked a bit like it had been through a war when it came out.


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Mike got the Bisteca Di Manzo Arrostita: char grilled sirloin steak with roasted potatoes and vegetable. This was pretty good.  Well cooked at the very least, though missing the fantastic char that, in my mind, sets steak apart.


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I got the special of pasta with beef and vegetables with shaved truffles.   I need to stop ordering shaved truffles.  They never taste as rich in flavor as I want them too.  This basically tasted like a small diced stew over over-cooked noodles.  Disappointing.  Fair at best.


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Overall consensus was pretty poor on Il Punto.  It was fine… but for the price, it should be much more than fine.  (Most entrees were $25-$30)  I probably won’t go back, but it’s just fine if you need an option in the area.


Total Nom Points: 6 out of 10 (a full Nom Point lower than last time)




 


 


 


 

				
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