Tag Archives: shrimp

Kefi: Restaurant Week Menu

31 Aug

 

We were on the Upper West Side and in need of a place for dinner.  I had heard very good things about Kefi, and realized they were still running their Restaurant Week special.  This Restaurant Week menu had a lot of items off the regular menu, and I realized the regular menu was also very well priced.  

Mike started with the Kefi salad.  It had feta cheese and was dressed very well.

 

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I chose the grilled octopus with bean salad.  Now this… this was a show stopper.  I like octopus just fine, but it’s never something I LOVE.  This octopus?  I wanted to take it out to dinner, buy it wine, and beg it to come home with me at night.  It was perfectly grilled, with a bit of char, and not a hint of chewiness.  If this is what octopus always tasted like, I would probably eat it exclusivity.

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For our entrees, Mike got braised lamb shank with orzo.  The lamb shank was tender with full flavor and an awesome sauce.  I usually would have been very jealous of this entree, but mine was even better.

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I got the shrimp, orzo, feta, tomato, and spinach.  It was all baked into a delicious bowl of amazingness.  It reminded me a bit about very adult mac & cheese made Mediterranean style. It was sensational.  I was stuffed half way through but wanted to finish every last bite and lick the plate.

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For dessert, Mike got ice cream. One was toasted sesame and the other was maple walnut.  Both tasted homemade.  Delicious!  

 

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I chose the chocolate mousse and halva with sesame ice cream. I love halva and as thrilled to have it in the dessert.  The mousse was delicious and rich, but I had eaten so much of the previous food that I really didn’t have room for it.  

 

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Overall, Kefi was a surprise and a delight.  I cannot believe people are flocking here in herds. Especially after I learned that it was opened by Michael Psilakis and Donatella Arpaia.  With heritage like that, and food this good, Kefi should be packed every day. But it wasn’t. So go there. Now.  Before the secret is out!

And bring me back some of that octopus.  

Total Nom Points: 7.5 out of 10

Total Nom Points: 7.5 out of 10

 

 

 

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Artichokes and Truffles Sauce: Gilt Taste

1 Aug

 

 

I have been shopping with Gilt for a while.  They have some great (and some not so great) deals on fashion and home goods.  They used to be a bit too pricey all the time, however, they have lowered prices and now have designers making (sometimes less quality) goods right for them.  You need to be smart in what you buy and do your research to make sure you’re really getting a good deal, but I have found some EXCELLENT items.

I was excited when they announced a new division: Gilt Taste.  It’s goal was to focus on foodie type items.  It reminds me of an upscale food market.  I love browsing through it, but I can’t say that many things have caught my eye to say “I need to buy this now!”  Impulse shopping for food items is not something I do in the same way that I do for, say, shoes.  (I will definitely be shopping there for my next dinner party, however!) But right in the beginning, one thing caught my eye.  I didn’t say anything, so imagine my surprise when Mike said he had a surprise for me and placed in my hand, this…

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Artichokes and Truffles sauce!  Two of my very favorite things, in one can.

We decided to make a scampi type dish with is with fresh pasta, scallops, and shrimp.

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It was delicious!   I was hoping for a bit more pop of truffle flavor, but it was delicious and such an easy way to make a gourmet style  meal.

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YUM!

If you want to sign up for Gilt Taste, check out this link.  I’m currently eyeing a cured meats sampler and a gourmet sea salt!

 

 

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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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