Daniel

Can you guess whats inside? The roast beef is just awesome.. Cut thick, they have to do it in house.. Smoked turkey, some of the better chopped liver, and some coleslaw.. They came to my house 20 minutes after I ordered.

Here are some of the dishes.. Nonna's Lasagna: Pasta with duck sausage and truffle cream.. We ate it for awhile before I remembered Dumplings: Veal chops: There was pancetta on top.. We got two orders of this.. Good stuff... Chocolate chip ice cream with sour cherry.. Made at the restaurant. "Napolean" A little almond a little coconut Oh baby:

Unwrapping it.. Slicing of the hams.. The sequal: The guy is ready to go.. Noone else showed up to the party yet 7 lbs of lamb stuffed with lamb peas and bacon and then rolled up.. I am just so happy.

Yikes, sorry about that..

It was a nice place.. The four of us had a really nice dinner there.. It was right by the Douglaston Train Stop.. We parked in the outdoor lot right across from the restaurant and they validated our ticket when we left.. The place has been around for over 20 years..It has an old school feel to it.. There were older male waiters.. Ours was from Italy.. Place is a little expensive but the food is of high quality.. First, a nice bread basket was brought to the table.. There was Italian Bread and some Facaccia sp? too. We started out with a bunch of apps.. We ate family style although the restaurant is not set up that way.. Cesar Salad, Tomato Salad, and Duck Eggrolls .. I know what you are thinking about the duck egg rolls. They were good, they werent called egg rolls but you get the idea.. Had confit of duck inside, it was a nice starter to have on the table.. The Cesar Salad was particularly good.. Had a nice anchovy presence and I liked they added capers.. Tomatoes in winter I thought??? but, they wanted to order it.. It turns out I was impressed and I think a good measure of the restaurant.. They tomatoes were heirlooms.. Not grainy at all and as good of a tomato you are going to get in New York some months. Next came the Pasta.. We ordered a Taglietelle with duck sausage, foie gras and truffles.. It was a very rich sauce.. Really good.. The also offer half portions of any pasta dish.. We also ordered Nonna's Lasagna. This was a Bolognese Lasagna.. It was very good.. Tasted very strongly of parmesan.. We also ordered a half order of there special pasta.. It was a spinach and ricotta dumpling served in a red sauce.. They gave us four golf ball shaped dumplings.. Good stuff. For meat we had a big ol veal chop and these Crispy Bread Bay Scallops served in a garlic parmesan sauce.. They were served with this garlic parmesan sauce.. I loved these little guys.. They were cooked really well. Crispy on the outside, juicy on the inside.. Not too much breading either.. For dessert we had there Napolean? I was confused as to why an Italian Place would call something let alone serve something called a Napolean.. It was like a lobster claw covered with zabayon and whipped cream combination.. This is just over the top good! It aint pretty, it aint classy, its a big ol mixture of whipped cream and eggs. So yeh, I would tell you to check this place out.. I am not gaga over the place, but if it was in my hood, I would go there for sure. You can tell its a locals kind of place.. The manager is in a suit saying hi to the regulars, its a real nice feel..

Having a lot of people over tomorrow. Final totals are in the 40's.. Dishwasher just went down + NYC Apartment = Yikes

Are you serious! I am going to be in Atlanta in Jan and after looking through all the reviews, decided I had to eat here.. Oh well, back to planning.

42-05 235th St., Douglaston, NY Phone: (718) 631-0300 Leaving in minutes to meet some people here.. Anyone have a quick feeling about this place?

Thanks Hathor, Look what was waiting for me when I arrived home from work! Complete with hoof. I offer you one of the centerpieces

Yeh, I dont think New York is saturated by any means.. I just think that places need to serve a purpose.. Here is my quick Theory.. An expensive restaurant needs to have customers.. Who goes to an expensive place.. Either business folks not paying, rich people eating there daily meals, a couple out for a special occasion or romantic dinner, or people looking for awesome food and service.. So, if these places start to stray from there roles, they are left out in the cold.. Here are my catagories for why people are eating at expensive restaurants.. 1)Expensive new place which is hot and hard to get into.. Morimoto was one 2)Expensive regular place were they have there Rich Regulars and business people.. 21 club comes to mind or LCB 3)Special Occasion/Romantic expensive places One if By Land 4) Four Star expensive places Per Se.. A place like March for example didnt fall into any of these catagories.. I had gone through out the years and was not taken back by the food, or the room.. It was just an ok experience that required me to wear a suit.. It must have had a group of rich regulars that kept the place going.. Anyway, I think there is plenty of room for high end dining and plenty of money in Manhattan..

I again will say that I dont like the place.. I am not saying that anyone else cant like it, it has nothing to do with your class, your character, or who you are as a person.. Its just one man's opinion, please allow me to have it with out being further attacked by the Pro-Chain Police.. The bottom line is, the quality of the food at Olive Garden obviously had nothing to do with people getting sick, it was the dirty people who eat there.. I am just kidding...Please I am really just kidding..

I will try my hardest for photos.. Almost a 100 percent there willl be photos.

Antipasti Bruschetta *Ricotta and Orange Marmalade *Roasted Beet and Parmigiano Reggiano *White bean and white truffle puree Cheese *Big ol brick of Parmigiano Reggiano *Ricotta Salata *Gorgonzola Dolce *Tartufello Senese Nuts and Olives *Marinated Sicilian Olives *Marcona Almonds *Pistachios Cured Meats *Seranno Ham Leg "Self Serve" *Sweet Coppa *Italian Brasiole *Hot Sopressatta Vegetables *Marinated Mushrooms *Marinated Judean Artichokes Fish *Shrimp Cocktail *Alici White Anchovies *Frutta Di Mare *Fried Bait Fish Tempidi with Lemon *"Traditional" Caviar Pie Primi *Lasagna Bolognese Al Forno *Pasticcio di Maccheroni con la Parmacotta & Ricotta - Baked Pasta with Parmacotta Ham & Ricotta Secondi *Arista alla Porchetta *Stuffed Leg of Lamb Contorni *Broccolli Rabe Soffriti *Braised Fennel with Butter and Parmigiano Reggiano Dolci *Dark and White Chocolate Mousse Cake *Maple & Mascarpone Cheesecake *Chocolate Chiffon Cake *Cookies *Chocolate

Hey thanks Kevin, I am doing one rolled Porchetta and one Leg of Lamb..

"vodka tossed heirloom porterhouse steak with a durian bavarois " Thats an intersting combo.. Is an heirloom porterhouse the result of a lot of inbreeding?

So should these principles carry over to say lamb.. I am roasting a leg of lamb on Xmas Eve.. Like a 6-8 pound bone in.. What you do with that bad boy!

Wow thanks for the suggestions Divina... All sound great.. The carpaccio will definitely be another time..

amen to that. ← Really, I can honestly say that my meal at Olive Garden was the worst Italian Meal I have ever had.. Although growing up in New York and Jersey and mainly eating at friends houses and local restaurants, I have not had too many bad Italian meals..

Where did you get your proof box.. When you were talking about them over thanksgiving I looked what one was up.. They are all like in the 1,000 dollar range, no?

Yes, and in fact it's traditional in Piemonte at Christmas: Fresh pasta Anchovies finely chopped into a paste Garlic Parmigiano Reggiano Lots of freshly ground pepper Not highly packed. Invest in a can of Sicilian salt-packed anchovies--like the one photographed in Molto Mario. (I think you said you have that book.) ← That is a good idea Pontormo..

Dessert is the only thing we dont have to do.. However we might make a couple of things.. I will look into your zabaglione cake for sure..

don't know about this but you could consider cannelloni - like in Vongerichten's Simple to Spectacular, with scallops and zucchini - same idea, less pain and more presentable... ← Thanks I have the book so i will check that out now!

I should really just start over and tell you where I am.. We are a few days away and stuck on a few things.. Here is how it will break down.. Mind you, it was going to be a sit down, now its buffet style.. We got a little more realistic and decided most likely we are going to be drinking and whatever and want to spend as little time in the kitchen as possible.. Appetizers out for guests- 1.Brushetta a)Ricotta and Orange Marmalade b)Roasted Beet and Parmigiano c)White bean and white truffle puree 2.Cheese plates a)Two lb Brick of Parm b)Ricotta Salata c)Gorgonzola Dolce D)Tartufello Cheese (truffle cheese) 3. Nuts and Olives a)Marcona Almonds in Sunflower oil b)Pistachios c)Sicilian Olives 4. Cold Cuts a)(Sorry to the Prosciutto peoples) I purchased a whole 17 lb seranno from Latienda with the stand so people can slice there own. b)Copa c)Breasola d)Sopressatta 5. Vegetables a)Marinated Mushrooms b)Artichokes Marinated 6. Fish a)Alici Marinated in vinegar b)Shrimp Cocktail (Eh who doesnt like shrimp cocktail) c)Frutta Di Mare d)Fried Bait Fish served cold with lemon Now here is where the problems are coming in.. All of the above food is going to be out and there is nothing I have to do.. I have a person there to help with the party so she will be doing a lot of the throwing out plates and whatever.. The pasta dish is where I will have to do some work.. Which is just throwing pasta into hot water.. We were thinking ravioli's with salt cod but that will be too much work taking care of the delicate ravioli.. So we were thinking of doing a lasagne of some sort.. Most likely a Bolognese and some sort of Spicy Mussel with Spaghetti or something.. Where the sauce has already been made and all we need to do is heat up the sauce with mussels on the stove.. 7.Pasta a)Lasagna? b)Spaghetti with mussels? 8.Entree Here is another problem.. I am thinking the easiest thing for 35 people would be a roasted leg of lamb.. I would do two.. Perhaps two completely different styles.. I would take the lamb out and have it rest while I finished the Lasagna perhaps? a)Two styles of roasted lamb 9.Sides for the Lamb a)Broccolli Rabe Soffriti b)Baked Fennel with Parm c)Squash I have taken your suggestions before and if there is anything I am missing please tell me.. I am disappointed that there is no salt cod in my menu.. Or a big baked shrimp dish.. Also making octopus is really so easy.. I am serving it in the seafood salad but was also thinking of just serving it in a sauce too.. If anyone can fit them in or make suggestions I am all eyes!

Hey guys.. Just finishing up the menu over here.. We are trying to do a seafood pasta with not a lot of work.. Is there such thing as a good seafood lasagna?