Tag Archives: calamari

Restaurant Week – Winter 2015: Pera

3 Mar

Restaurant Week is back in NYC.  It started a couple weeks later than last year, but it came just in time, as we have all worn thin with the freezing cold and need an excuse (any excuse) to brave the cold for good food.

The first stop this year was Pera, a Mediterranean restaurant near Grand Central and the Library/Bryant Park that I have passed many times, but have never had a good excuse to try.  Restaurant Week provided as good an excuse as any to have a meal there with my sister.

It was quite crowded, but not at all loud.

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We were provided with two Restaurant Week menus as well as the regular menu.  How these were different, I am still not sure:

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We started with the Crispy Portugese Calamari, which also came with sliced sausage. It was also supposed to come with a paprika yogurt and hot peppers, but since both my sister and I share the same peppers allergy (capsaicin to be exact), we had to forego those parts. But it was quite tasty without, both the calamari itself, which was fried a bit heavy but not at all greasy, and the sausage slices.

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My sister chose to go with the pan-roasted Atlantic salmon with grilled vegetables and eggplant ragu.  I think the ragu was kept off due to the peppers allergy, but she enjoyed the dish.  I tried a bite, and even though I’m not a salmon fan, this was pretty good.

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I got the Wild Mushroom Bucatini with porcini cream sauce, swiss chard, oyster mushrooms, and parmigiano reggiano.  While it photographed quite poorly, it was actually quite tasty.  Nothing too memorable, but it’s hard to go wrong with bucatini and mushrooms.  I did have the distinct feeling, however, that I could have just as easily made this myself.

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Dessert was a sampler of 4 treats (even though the menu listed it as a trio).  We had a piece of baklava, a mini apple tart, dark chocolate mousse in a dark chocolate cup, and I think a coffee mousse.  All were good, but nothing outstanding.

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Overall our meal here was pretty good, but I wasn’t really blown away by anything. This Restaurant Week experience didn’t give me motivation to want to come back again, but it’s a solid choice.

Total Nom Points: 6.5 out of 10

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Love Lane: Mattituck, LI

5 Jan

After our wonderful adventure exploring the wineries in Long Island, Lori suggested we do dinner at one of her favorites, Love Lane Kitchen.

We didn’t have reservations, so they told us it would be about 30 minutes.

Luckily, right next door was Love Lane Market… and I love me a market. (I think they may be owned by the same people, but I’m not positive)

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They stock their shelves with great ingredients, many of which I am familiar with and some new ones.  It reminded me of a little Eataly.

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But with a bit more personal touch.

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I have this odd love for these types of chairs. I THINK the top is what they use to form horse saddles, but I could be making that up.

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Even their tiled floor was cool.

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I REALLY wanted to try the rotisserie duck, but we wouldn’t be able to eat it before I was off on a trip. Lori and her ABF got on though and said it was great.

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They even had a selection of homemade pastas.

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And homemade mozzarella.

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As well as a wood fire pizza oven in the back.

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This is the type of market that I wish would open up near me in Manhattan.  But it was just perfect in this little Long Island town, on Love Lane.

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As soon as we got out of the market, Love Lane Kitchen was calling our names.  We sat down and immediately dove into some delicious, fluffy rolls.

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We began with a calamari salad.  It’s refreshing to have calamari that isn’t fried and this was delicious, with a dressing that brought out all the great flavors.

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Mike, shockingly, got the cheeseburger.  Since it was devoured before I even remember picking up my fork, I’ll assume he enjoyed it.

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Lori got the skirt steak.  I tried some (without the sauce) and it was juicy and perfectly cooked.  It also had a nice char on it, so the flavor was great.

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Lori’s ABF chose the short ribs.  Oh these were good.  They were so tender and the sauce was a perfect compliment.

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I went with the pork belly with a slow cooked egg.  This was cooked to perfection, with both crunchy bits and the melty soft fats that make pork belly oh so good.

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And boy oh boy do I love eggs. It was on top of a radicchio (I think) which is usually a bit too bitter for me, but with the sweet of the pork and the egg yolk, it was delish!

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As if we weren’t indulgent enough, we split THREE desserts.  We got the cheesecake, the apple pie, and the chocolate pecan pie.  All three were good, but nothing was outstanding.  And I was too full to even look at another bite.

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Though the pumpkin cheesecake did just keep on calling out to me… “just one more bite!”

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Love Lane Kitchen was a perfect end to a perfect day.  Great, home style food cooked with love and attention.  Everything was scrumptious and I would love to go back to try more.

Total Nom Points: 7 out of 10

For Lori’s take on our meal at Love Lane Kitchen, visit her blog here.

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