rozrapp
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Posts posted by rozrapp
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Gaetano's, an Italian trattoria-style place on Wallace St., just off Broad St., is a favorite of ours. Very good thin crust pizzas, well-prepared pastas, etc. Moderate prices.
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And I don't think it's the Woodlands place either, as I remember it being a stand-alone restaurant. Nothing attached to it in anyway.
We stayed at the Woodlands for several nights two years ago. (The exact name is Woodlands Resort and Inn.) It's on a huge property -- 20 acres, if I recall correctly -- which is located about 3-4 miles off Interstate 26, in Summerville, SC. Once on the property, you have to drive a bit to get to the main house. So, I suppose the restaurant could be considered "in the middle of nowhere." However, unless things have changed recently, the restaurant was not a "stand-alone." It was on the ground floor of the main house where all the accommodations are located. Btw, in addition to the Woodlands being a member of the Relais & Chateaux group, last year, the restaurant was awarded "Relais Gourmand" status.
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They can't be aiming for four stars -- not while they let old guys in tracksuits eat there, at least (as was the case on my visit... to think I was worried *I* would be underdressed!).
In her long review of Blue Hill at Stone Barns, Andrea Strong includes a hilarious description of a "wardrobe issue" that befell her dining partner.
http://www.andreastrong.com/belly/belly_vi...7cc509b8fae6426
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I have to admit I didn't know what lontong was. A Google search showed that it is a Malay dish - rice steamed in banana leaves.
Pan,
To be perfectly honest, I only asked about ingredients where they directly affected me; for example, when I couldn't figure out what the crunchy item in the eggplant dish was. Since the veal was my husband's choice, even though I had no idea what longtong was, I never asked about it. With the explanation you've provided, it now makes sense to me why the punctuation on the menu after the word longtong was actually a colon, not a comma. I'm going to correct my post.
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Last Thursday afternoon, my husband and I were trying to decide where to go for dinner. On our short list was Kalustyan's Cafe. Actually, it was a very short list, there being only one other "nominee." Since we had eaten once at Masala Café, we had been interested in seeing how things had changed. I then happened to log on to eGullet and -- what a coincidence! There was the Kalustyan’s thread right at the top of this board. (Of course, another big coincidence was Bruni’s Diner’s Journal entry the very next day.) When I read what Ned wrote about his positive experience, I mentioned it to my husband, and the decision was made. We called for an 8:30 reservation. No problem.
The sign during the restaurant's temporary closure had read, "Closed for Renovations." When we arrived, we expected to find a refurbished interior; however, we couldn’t detect any changes in the decor. There is banquette seating along the walls, free standing tables in the front area, and bar in the middle of the room just to the left of which is the kitchen, where chefs in action were partially visible from where I sat.
We were greeted warmly by the receptionist and shown to our table. The restaurant was about half full, and the noise level was on the high side. Our server arrived with menus and the wine list. He asked us what kind of water we preferred. As always, we chose "Chateau Bloomberg," and our glasses were filled promptly. After looking over the menu, we had some questions about some of the terminology and ingredients listed. Our server, who was very knowledgeable about all aspects of the menu, provided the necessary explanations.
We began with the Curried Tamarind Chicken Puffs (aka samosas) with Cilantro Yogurt Sauce. ($8) Three medium-sized puffs lined were lined up on a rectangular plate, all perfectly deep-fried a golden brown with not a hint of greasiness. Also on the plate was a little cup holding the sauce. The filling combination of chicken and spices was delicious, and we happily dipped pieces of the puffs into that tasty sauce. No argument with Ned and Bruni here. An absolute winner and an excellent beginning!
From the breads, we chose the cheese kulcha, which arrived piping hot in an attractive black metal holder. Although this bread was o.k., I thought there was not enough cheese flavor. The cheese kulcha we recently had at Tabla Bread Bar was far and away superior. I think Kalustyan's version could use more cheese.
For the main course, my husband had the Vindaloo of Braised Veal With Lontong: Banana Leaf and Bamboo Rice Cake. ($17) He loved everything about this dish. I tasted the veal, and it was delicious. So, again, everyone is in agreement on this one. I chose Poha Crusted Wild Striped Bass With Eggplant Stew. ($18) Poha, our server informed me, is a type of rice, and it made for a very crispy crust on the top of the fairly thick, tasty fillet. It sat atop a generous portion of stew that was composed of three types of eggplant -- American, Japanese and Thai -- and mixed into the stew, along with tomatoes and various spices, was some diced Asian Pear, which added a lovely crunch. There was an element of spiciness to the stew, but it was not at all overpowering. A fabulous dish!
Looking over the dessert menu, we decided that the weird combination of ingredients didn't appeal to us. I wasn't altogether surprised about this because the consulting pasty chef at one time worked at Compass, and I didn't care for his desserts there.
The prices of appetizers range from $7-$10. Two appetizers can be had in main course size portions: the Shrimp for $19 and the Chicken Tikka for $16. Main courses range from $15-$26, the steak being the most expensive and a lobster dish @ $20. All the desserts are $7, all the breads are $3, and sides -- Raita, Chutney, Mango Papaya Salad and Basmati Rice -- are $3 each.
From the wine list, my husband ordered a glass of Chardonnay for $8 and a Merlot for $7. Our total bill with tax and tip was a well worth it to us $78.
We will definitely be going back.
Changed punctuation after word longtong.
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AAAHHHH!!!!! That's not at all what I thought you were talking about. But now I see...of course those things work. Can you refill the canisters on your own or do you have to buy replacements every time? Because that's where it could get expensive.
Canisters cannot be refilled. They sell a box of 8 canisters for $79.99. That would be $10 per canister. The informatin on the site says that each canister is supposed to last for about 20 bottles. My husband says that's pretty accurate. Math has never been my strong suit, but doesn't that come out to about $.50 per bottle? There is also a box of 12 for $99 -- which brings down the cost some more. Also, my husband rarely finishes a bottle in one week. It's usually more like several weeks. He keeps these saved bottles in a small wine rack in our kitchen (we also have a wine frig for unopened bottles), and the wine does not go bad.
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Thanks for the report, Ned. I just checked their online menu on menupages.com, which shows this place to be a bit upscale for the neighborhood, particularly for dinner (starters $5-13, mains $14-24).
One question: What is "very vindaloo"?
Also, their dessert menu doesn't seem to be online. Do you remember any desserts?
Pan,
Re: the menu on menupages. "Kalustyan's Masala Cafe" is the previous (first) incarnation of the restaurant. We had one dinner there -- quite good -- and the menu shown on menupages is the Masala Cafe menu. As Ned indicated, the restaurant was closed for a while and has re-opened as simply "Kalustyan's Cafe" with this new chef and a totally new menu.
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Have you considered getting a "Wine Keeper"? It's an easy-to-use system where you pump nitrogen into the wine bottle, thereby keeping the wine drinkable for two to three weeks, maybe even a month. I don't drink wine, but my husband sometimes likes to have a glass or two with dinner at home. He buys full bottles and, using this system, no wine goes to waste.
Do those things really work? I've always been a little suspect of them
Absolutely! My husband has been using it for years, and it works beautifully. He purchased the basic system from The Wine Enthusiast. You can see it here:
http://www.wineenthusiast.com/shopping/pro...B8-8635567FB4CA
He has extra Stopper Dispensers, so he can have several bottles preserved at the same time. And he keeps a supply of nitrogen-filled canisters.
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BTW... forgot to mention, if anyone is interested, Pure Food and Wine will be on CNN tonight at 7pm - Anderson Cooper's show "360" - they came and interviewed us about the restaurant and about raw food and took footage of a lot of the food in the garden as well as some of the prep in the kitchen. The show focuses on celebrity lifestyles I think, so they fit it into that context somehow. :)
This hour-long show is, basically, a news program and this week, they're running a lifestyles series regarding different health-related diet "fads." Tonight, it was about the raw food diet. The segment came on the last quarter hour of the show and lasted maybe 5 minutes. I was expecting to hear some discussion of Pure Food & Wine and its menu, to see some nice shots of the interior and the garden, etc. However, if you blinked, you would have missed the quick reference to the restaurant, the shot of what I think was the lasagne, and two quick glimpses of prep in what I presume was PF& W's kitchen since they were interspersed during the general report and no mention was made as to where the kitchen shots were taken. (Was that you, Sarma?) What a disappointment!
Tomorrow's topic: the bottled water craze. -
It's rare that my wife and I will drink a full bottle at dinner any more, and I'd rather finish a 1/2 and be done with it than have an open bottle get skunked while it sits in our fridge.
Have you considered getting a "Wine Keeper"? It's an easy-to-use system where you pump nitrogen into the wine bottle, thereby keeping the wine drinkable for two to three weeks, maybe even a month. I don't drink wine, but my husband sometimes likes to have a glass or two with dinner at home. He buys full bottles and, using this system, no wine goes to waste.
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Wow, I didn't even know they closed. I ate there three times, and all three were truly terrific. I am curious also as to why they closed...
it was in the times the other day i think.
i think bobby flay is taking over the space (which i find quite nice...the space, not mr. flay) next year for a latin-influenced restaurant.
Tommy, You are correct that there was an article about it in The New York Times. It was in the Metro section on Saturday, July 3rd, but it's no longer available on line without paying a fee.
As I recall, the article indicated that the restaurant owners decided to close it because they wanted a complete change of cuisine and, to that end, they were bringing in Bobby Flay. Also, Bill Telepan, JUdson's chef, was quoted as saying that he has no immediate plans. I commented to my husband that, since Katy Sparks has left Compass, and they are in need of a good chef (we never did manage to get to JUdson ), maybe they should contact Telepan. 
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Welcome to eGullet, Cokie!
La Pinsonniere, in Cap-a-l'Aigle, is a member of the Relais & Chateaux group. Although it has been quite a number of years since we stayed and dined there, I would be surprised if the food is not as good now as it was then.
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Has anyone mentioned Via Emilia, on Park Avenue South between 19th and 20th, and virtually next door to Patria? Scruffy, cash-only, no reservations, cheap and with some of the freshest, most authentic homemade pastas in the city. Its lasagne and tortelloni are particularly noteworthy.
Albie, I agree with everything you say about Via Emilia except for your use of the word "scruffy." I think a better choice to describe the ambiance would be "plain."
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Oy! I'm beginning to think that my husband and I have some sort of spooky kiss of death for Compass chefs. Last fall, just after we had an excellent meal there, Mark Andelbradt left. Two weeks ago, we finally got to try Katy Sparks' food at a pre-ballet dinner, and now she's upped and left.
I never did get around to writing up a report. Not that it really matters now, but the meal overall was quite good. My lamb main course, in particular, was stellar.
While I know there have been complaints about service since Compass opened, we have never had any problem in that regard. During this last dinner, it was excellent. In fact, our server really put himself out when our daughter, who was supposed to meet us at Lincoln Center, surprised us when we were having dessert by showing up at the restaurant. We were seated in a booth that could seat four, so she slipped in beside me. She said she could go for something small, and our server couldn't have been nicer about discussing the different appetizers with her, having a bread basket and butter brought to the table, and seeing to it that her order was expedited. When he brought our goody bags containing those outrageously delicious scones, he included one for her.
I've always been a fan of Compass and hope they weather this latest departure.
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We had lunch at Sawadee today. The space is quite large with pleasant décor – lots of dark wood and a lot of plants, some real and some not – and a good-sized bar on one side. (They have a liquor license.) Not too surprising that at 2 p.m. on a Wednesday afternoon, there were not many diners. We were given a table for two at the front of the room. Only one of the doors at the front was open, but it provided sufficient cooling even though the a.c. was not on.
We were first given lunch menus. There were lots of dishes listed, as well as a 2-course lunch special for $10.95. However, there was no section listing appetizers, and I love appetizers. When we asked our server about this, she said that this was the quick lunch menu, and if we wanted the regular menu, she would bring it. So, we turned in our lunch menu and perused the regular menu, which was almost the length of a novella. After my husband and I chewed over the possibilities, we put in our order.
For appetizers we had vegetable spring rolls, chicken satays, and steamed dumplings. The 6 little spring rolls were delicious -- perfectly fried, not a hint of oiliness, and with a tasty sweet and sour dipping sauce. The 4 satays were nicely grilled and came with two accompaniments: a luscious peanut sauce and a little bowl of lightly pickled chopped cucumbers and red onions. My husband wanted the steamed dumplings (6) and, while he was happy with them, I would have preferred them fried. To me, steamed dumplings taste like stuffed cotton. However, the spicy -- but not too spicy -- dipping sauce made them much more palatable to me.
We had two main courses: Pad Thai and Gaeng Massamam. The Pad Thai here combined the rice noodles with shrimp, roast pork, tofu, green onions, ground peanuts, bean sprouts, and minced fried egg. We both thought it was super – the best version we’ve had. The Gaeng Massamam is, basically, a stew of broiled potatoes (both white and sweet), onions and mushrooms sautéed with peanuts and choice of meat – my husband chose beef – in massam curry. It was served with white rice. We discussed the level of spice with our server, and she said that the kitchen would not spice it up unless we chose to have it that way. Since I don’t like things too spicy, we decided to go with no extra spice, and my husband would add extra spice at the table. I wasn’t that crazy about the stew – I thought the beef was a bit tough, though I liked the sweet potatoes and the sauce had nice flavor -- but my husband was pleased with it. Portions are very generous, and we took home some leftovers from both dishes.
We did not have dessert. My husband had a beer. The bill, with tax and tip, came to $47.
Daniel mentioned a singer on Friday nights. According to a couple of billboards that we noticed near the door on our way out, they have jazz on Friday, Saturday and Sunday, and the names of the performers and dates were listed. No singers during our lunch, but the very large flat-panel t.v. above the bar was tuned to soap operas on Channel 7. I could have lived very nicely without One Life to Live. Despite that, we both enjoyed the meal and will definitely come back sometime.
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Thanks for the info, Daniel. We generally go out to dinner either mid-week or Sunday, so I guess we'll be missing the singer.
I called the restaurant and was very pleased to learn that smoking is not allowed. Also, they are closed on Monday. -
Daniel,
Could you please give us the street address and phone number?
Thanks.
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My husband, the sweetbreads fanatic in our house, has had them at Veritas as an appetizer and says they were terrific. According to their web site, a sweetbreads preparation is on the current appetizer menu (updated 6/16/04).
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Hi Sarma,
The food at your restaurant sounds unusual and delicious. We always loved dining in Verbena's garden, so we're looking forward to doing so again soon.
Will you be having a web site?
I wish you and your partners success in this new venture.
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...what and where is this Sweatmans?
Sweatman's, one of the places for barbecue, is located in Holly Hill, SC. As Howard88 mentioned, it's only open on Fridays and Saturdays.
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Okay, so now I'm confused... I thought raw meant that nothing was cooked. Rolls? Cookies? Lasagne? All these un-cooked versions or am I missing something obvious?
On her web site, Andrea Strong talks about her pre-opening taste of some of the foods and states, "The raw menu—vegetables, fruits, seeds, nuts and sprouted grains that are not heated above 118 degrees...." So, it would appear that "raw" is not necessarily raw. I don't know where that leaves the bread and cookies.
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Where might I be able to find an up-to-date menu for Bouley? I have a reservation for the 31st of July, and I wanted to know what to expect. Thanks a bunch.
You can have a look at the menu posted on menupages.com.
http://www.menupages.com/restaurantdetails...=23&cuisineid=0
I don't know if it's entirely up-to-date, but I do see dishes listed that seem very much like some described by eGulleteers who just dined there. Of course, items could change by the end of July.
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Daisy 17 and Egator, We have been to Veritas many times and have never tipped the sommelier separately. However, we always tip 20% on the total bill.
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I also enjoy Gus's Fig on (I think) 28th just east of 8th Avenue - near Fashion Institute of Technology. I believe the FIG stands for French, Italian and Greek. It's a low key place with a Mediterranean influenced menu. Not a huge wow factor but good food and generally easy to get a table.
You're not going to be able to enjoy Gus's Figs again because it closed about a year ago. (And not that it matters now, but it was on 27th St.)
Single Item Food Places in NYC
in New York: Dining
Posted
I think you may be thinking of Just Pickles, which has two stores, on E. 28th St., at 5th Ave., and on E. 33rd St., at Madison Ave.