Tag Archives: Restaurant

Bar’rique Take 2

1 Nov

 

After a great meal at Bar’rique a few months ago, I decided to go back to try it again when I met a friend for dinner.

My friend got the pea soup, which she said was very good.

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I had the pork belly appetizer, which as just delicious. The peach sauce on it was a great sweet (but not too sweet) compliment to the fatty pork belly with ta great crisp on top.

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I then tried the Skate special.  I am a BIG fan of skate, however, too often it is overcooked or not fresh enough and it just doesn’t taste right.  I always hesitate for a bit before ordering, but after such positive past experiences here at Bar’rique, I decided to try it.

I’m glad I did. It was perfectly cooked and had that great sweet flavor of skate with a very slight crispness from the breading.  It wasn’t over-breaded and it had a slight lemony flavor.  It was really fantastic, and even the little side salad was dressed in a delicious vinaigrette.

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This place continues to impress, and I look forward to going back again soon!

Total Nom Points: 8 out of 10

 

 

 

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Zen Palate

29 Apr

Back to lunch options West of Midtown West (though this one is encroaching on Hell’s Kitchen really), Zen Palate is a mostly Thai place with 3 locations in NYC (Union Square, Upper West Side, and Theatre District).  We went to the Theatre District one on 9th Ave at 46th Street.

Each lunch special starts with soup and a springroll.  I believe this one was a broccoli potato soup.

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The spring roll was surprisingly flavorful.

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We also ordered kebabs.

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And steamed vegetable dumplings.  (Which I thought were quite good)

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For our entrees, I was impressed with the portion size. 

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Even the curry dishes that came with rice was a full bowl of food.

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Other coworkers also got a spicy seafood mixed meal.

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My coworker went super healthy that day and ordered steamed veggies and rice.

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I went almost as healthy and got steamed veggies with steamed seafood and rice.  The veggies were surprisingly fresh, however, I found the seafood a bit chewy and obviously frozen.  Next time I’ll probably get it with just shrimp.

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Overall, we were all pretty pleased with this place.  Thai restaurants are a dime a dozen in this area (some people even call it “Thai Town” or “Thai Row”).  I wouldn’t recommend the seafood mix, but if you’re just eating veggies, these are good ones.

Total Nom Points: 6 out of 10

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Philly Noms- Naked Chocolate

27 Apr

This was supposed to be in line with all the previous Philly posts, but it looks like this one got left off.  Sorry about that!

We were on a quest in Philly to find a dessert place.  We checked through Yelp and found a recommendation for Naked Chocolate Cafe.  We walked in to find many fun things to try.

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And cases filled with treats.

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We decided to try a sampler of their filled chocolates.

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I was especially excited to try their St. Germaine filled perties.

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We also tried an assortment of the other flavors…

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The chocolates themselves were beautiful.  Each one with their own touch of design…

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We also sampled some gourmet hot chocolate, including one with salted caramel.

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I would say that the chocolates were absolutely stunning, but the taste isn’t quite up the par. They were all tasty, but the chocolate itself wasn’t as flavorful as I would have liked and I had a hard time distinguishing between the flavors once I bit in.  I am also a complete chocolate snob, however, so I think I have very high expectations for homemade chocolates.

It was a fun place to go, however, and I think the hot chocolate alone was worth it.

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