Tag Archives: salmon

Restaurant Week Summer 2013: Kutsher’s TriBeCa

3 Aug

We went to Kutsher’s TriBeCa when it first opened and had a pretty good meal with pretty lousy service.  Looking back on our last meal, a lot has certainly changed in the food, and our service this time around had no faults (and was actually quite lovely with a friendly waitress).

The space fits well in TriBeCa with a modern, industrial look.

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The restaurant was not busy at all, but it was a Tuesday night.

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The menu is quite large, but the Restaurant Week menu, while limited, had a good selection from around the big menu.

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I saw that they had homemade Apple Pie soda on the menu and had to try it. Sure enough, it tasted like apple pie you can drink.  I really enjoyed this.  (Mike wound up making up his own drink by combining this with bourbon. It was awesome).

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One of our friends started with the wild Alaskan cod gefilte fish. Gefilte fish is something typically relegated to Passover dinners where kids turn their noses up at it with exclamations of “ewwww” while many adults secretly can’t wait for Passover to come again just to have a reason to eat it. Gefilte fish is typically described as a fish cake, but that really doesn’t explain it at all. It’s a wet lump of fish parts, basically.  It took me years to even agree to try it again, and now I actually enjoy it.  But not more than once a year.

ANYWAY… back to our meal.  The combination of the gefilte fish with beets was nice, but the horseradish (typically served with gefilte fish) was a bit much for me. I’m really not a fan of horseradish, however, and everyone else enjoyed it.

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I got the latkes, which last time were only fair.  Comparing this to the picture from last time shows VAST improvements.  These were crispy and the bits of potato that were hanging off reminded me of potato sticks.  Last time they were a bit soggy whereas this time they were crisped up nicely with a great potato mixture inside.  The apple sauce on the side was also thick and nicely flavored.  I wish the sour cream was a bit more sour, but it was still good.

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Mike ordered off the Restaurant Week menu to get the crispy artichokes because he knows I absolutely love artichokes.  Last time, we LOVED this dish.  This time, it was pretty good but not as great as last time.  The crispy parsley was missing and the artichokes didn’t have enough crisp. But I never would have faulted this dish had it not been so outstanding last time.

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Both of our friends got the salmon off the Restaurant Week menu.  They both enjoyed this very much.

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I got the brisket off the Restaurant Week menu.  I was having some camera trouble and it looks like I somehow failed to save a picture of it!  (Damn)  It came over a BBQ sauce that was quite good and the meat was flavorful without being overly fatty.  I have a problem where all brisket is compared to my grandmother’s brisket, which means all brisket is fair at best.

Mike went off the Restaurant Week menu to get the burger.

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This came with a fried onion ring filled with cole slaw on top of a cheeseburger and latkes on the side.  It was a bit big once the onion ring was on top, but he said it was a nice juicy burger.

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We also got some matzo crusted onion rings on the side.  These were well seasoned and the matzo crunch was nice.

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For dessert, our friend got the coconut cake which he loved so much he refused to share it (just kidding, he offered, but not convincingly).

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And I got the rainbow cookie ice cream cake. I loved this in theory, but it was missing the signature almond flavor that make rainbow cookies so good.  The ice cream inside was also a bit lacking in flavor.  It would have been nice if this had been strongly almond flavored to bring it all together.

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One nice thing that Kutsher’s TriBeCa did is give out a “Dine Again Card.” This was the first time I’ve seen this, but it was a nice touch and really brings the entire purpose (in my opinion) of Restaurant Week full circle.  The goal is to get you to try a new place (or try a place again that was so-so in the past to give it a second shot) with the hope that you will come back.  Why not give people a reason to?

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As far as Restaurant Week goes, I wouldn’t say this was my favorite meal. But I think it was a good value for what we got and I’m glad we got to try it again and see that the kinks have been ironed out (at least on a Tuesday night).  I enjoyed it and would happily return (especially for free latkes!)  This is the perfect place to bring the family when they’re in town. A little fancy, but a little bit of home and what we all grew up on.

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)

 

 

 

 

Florida Noms: Stonewood Grill and Tavern (Wellington)

1 Jun

 

 

For a dinner with Mike’s family, we went to Stonewood Grill and Tavern in Wellington, Florida.  It’s a small chain across Florida with one location in North Carolina.

It reminded me of an Outback but without the Australian theme.  The salmon looked great and was enjoyed by all who ordered it.

 

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A few of us got steaks, and all were quite tasty with good char.

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Char is key in my opinion.  A good char can lift the quality of even a bad steak, and these were quite good.

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The baked potato came with a lovely set of fixins.

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The lamb chops were also artfully plated and delicious.

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Overall, I thought this was a very good dinner for a “chain”-type place.  I would prefer Outback, simply for the sweet potatoes, but this was still tasty and had a big enough menu for everyone to find something they liked.

Total Nom Points: 6.5 out of 10