Pluckemin Inn Unveils New Menu

There's a new man behind the curtain at our favorite stomping ground these days ~ the Pluckemin Inn. Chef Andrew Lattanzio has brought out a new menu that Alan and I were both excited to try. He got to give it two shakes eating there both Monday and Friday while I tried it once.

The good news? Some really nice changes are gracing the pages of the menu these days! On Friday we waited for a table in the tavern, killing time with a glass of wine. Once seated in the very busy bar section of this beautiful restaurant, we went to work picking out our evening fare.

I started with a half dozen oysters on the half shell which were from Maine, super fresh and served with a lovely mignonette plus lemon and lime. There was also a cocktail sauce but I stuck with the vinegar based sauce as my accompaniment. Second course I went with one of the new salads...Boston lettuce, bacon, blue cheese, shaved onion and buttermilk dressing. Yummy! And for my third course I had the dish Alan raved about from earlier in the week - the Aquarello risotto with Jonah crab, marscapone, lobster jus and herb salad. This was just a perfectly prepared dish with all the creamy, lushness of a superb risotto. I couldn't have been more happy and just about licked the dish clean.

Alan started with a recommendation from the restaurant manager, Tal and ordered the Nantucket Bay scallop crudo with Mangalista lardo, Uni, green apple, watercress and mustard sprouts. A bright, light and fresh dish with the acid from the apple providing a nice compliment to the scallop - this dish was a winner all the way around!

For his second course Alan had the romaine hearts with anchovy, parmesan and a traditional caesar style dressing. And lastly he went with another recommended dish - the fusilli with mangalista pork ragu. A lovely, fulfilling dish with that sense of comfort, this was another winner!

Can't wait to go back and try the rest of the new dishes and congratulations to Andrew on a successful new menu!

Burger Joint, Le Parker Meridien NYC

Alan and I had a rare opportunity to meet for lunch in the city last week. Looking around at our choices, we quickly decided it was a perfect day to head over to 56th between Sixth & Seventh Avenues to the Le Parker Meridien hotel for a burger. Now prior to meeting Mary & Steve, we never heard of the Burger Joint tucked away in this midtown hotel. But with much animation, they described this as one of the must try burgers in the city so it's been on our list ever since.

The first thing to note about the Burger Joint is that it's quite literally hidden away. Even knowing it was tucked into an obscure corner down a little hallway, we still couldn't find it and had to ask for directions from the concierge. Sure enough it's behind a long red curtain, down a dark little hallway and only marked with a small neon sign of a hamburger.

We got there right at noon - luckily - since this place is quite small. Getting a seat wasn't a problem when we arrived, but there was a line by the time we left our little, rundown booth. It's got the feel of a biker sports bar combo and looks like it's not been updated since 1974. The menu consists of three things: hamburger, cheeseburger and grilled cheese. They offer french fries and an assortment of beers, shakes  (after 1:30pm) and wine (hello, is this Taylor's Refresher?!?).

We ordered cheeseburgers with lettuce, tomato, ketchup and mayo plus I added mustard to mine. They cook to order and we got them done medium. We split an order of fries and a diet Coke. The bill came to $21.00 - we paid and grabbed a booth to wait for our lunch. It only took maybe five minutes before our order was up.

This is a no fuss, no muss kind of place. The burgers themselves were on the small side if you compare them to a Shake Shack or Five Guys. But the taste was very good - nice blend of bun to meat to condiments. I would have liked the burger to be a little juicier and a little bigger, but overall it was pretty good. I'd go back and get two of them and maybe order it medium-rare. The fries were better than decent so overall, a win. If you can find it and deal with the lunch crowd (go early) it's worth it!

FAIL: Martha Stewart's Egg, Prosciutto & Lemon in Baguette

Sometimes recipes just aren't that good. And here's one of them. After seeing Martha Stewart on the Today Show telling Matt Lauer what an incredible combination lemon, parsley & Parmesan are, I downloaded her recipe to give it a try. And while on paper (and TV) it looked pretty good, the results weren't there. The teaspoon of lemon zest overpowered the entire sandwich. You couldn't taste the eggs, cheese or prosciutto at  at all. It took a lot longer to cook than the time listed in the recipe. And while it looked good, it lacked any redeeming qualities.

But we learn a lot from failed recipes. A few takeaways that I will keep...the idea of baking something inside a hollowed out, fresh baguette is a good one. So perhaps we'll try a cheesy ham sandwich, a meatball sub or a chicken Parmesan this way since the bread did crisp up beautifully and it's a nice presentation.

I am sharing the recipe here.

Recipe: Lemon, Parsley, and Parmesan with Bread, Prosciutto and Egg

Martha Stewart Living, January issue

Ingredients

·         1 baguette (15 inches long)

·         5 large eggs

·         1 teaspoon finely grated lemon zest

·         3 tablespoons whole milk

·         1/4 cup roughly chopped flat-leaf parsley leaves

·         1/2 cup grated Parmesan cheese

·         Coarse salt and freshly ground pepper

·         4 slices thinly sliced prosciutto (2 ounces)

Directions

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Slice ¼ inch off the top of the bread, and hollow out bottom, discarding the crumb (soft interior) of the loaf. Cut top into 1-inch pieces, and set aside.

In a medium bowl, whisk together eggs, zest, milk, parsley, and parmesan. Season lightly with salt and pepper. Stir in ½ cup bread pieces.

Place hollowed-out bread on a parchment-lined baking sheet. Place prosciutto slices along inside of bread to cover. Slowly pour egg mixture to the brim. Bake until eggs are puffed up and cooked through, 30 to 33 minutes. Slice into 2-inch pieces. Serve immediately.

Boulud Sud, NYC

This past week was an outing of our Manhattan Ladies Dining Club. Patty chose the restaurant this time, picking the eight month old, new Daniel Boulud offering at 64th and Broadway called Boulud Sud. This is the first of Daniel's restaurants to have a Mediterranean flair with a menu very different than his core French eateries.

Our first dinner of 2012, Patty and I were joined by Mary and Traci for a 6pm reservation in the thick of a packed dinner crowd. But before I get on to the food and wine, a few notes about the ambiance and patrons. I arrived early (really wanting to get out of the office) to have a drink (or two) at the bar. It's a pretty nice size bar with comfortable stools around a metal, square-shaped counter and open air feel. It's somewhere I could see meeting for a libation even if I wasn't having dinner there. They do offer a bar menu of small plates in addition to drinks. I started with a glass of Alfred Gratien Rose and it was as bright, fruity and complex as I remembered. Very nice. And around the time I was having the second or third sip of my bubbly, it started to dawn on me that there was a very specific demographic showing up in droves for their early reservations. I was the youngest person in the house (not counting staff) by at least twenty years...in many cases, more like thirty years. The tables were filling up quickly with very well dressed seniors that the charismatic bartender said were there for the pre-theater price fixed menu.

My dinner companions started to arrived one right after the other and we collectively ordered glasses of Pierre Paillard, Cuvee Daniel Brut to start the evening. This is another very nice champagne with a medium yellow color, moderate length on the finish and a creamy taste. We were soon shown to our table...right in the middle of the dining room.

One thing to note if heading over to this restaurant - if you dine before 6:45pm you have to order the three course price fixed tasting menu. They do offer a lot of options and you can add side dishes and supplemental courses, but it is more limited than if you come later in the evening. For us, this format worked very nicely. We only added one supplement course (you'll see why) and otherwise stuck to the three course menu.

For the first course Mary & Patty ordered the Octopus a la Plancha with Marcona almonds, arugula and Jerez vinegar. They both seemed to like this course...I tried it and thought the flavors meshed well together and enjoying the uniqueness. The texture of the octopus was flakier and more tender than I would have guessed it would be and I loved the arugula.

Traci chose the raw Tuscan kale salad with cranberries, pine nuts, Pecorino Romano and balsamic vinaigrette. And while some might find this course a little simple, the two bites I tried were really good. Kale has a bit of a bitter taste that was softened wonderfully by the cranberries and vinaigrette. Add to that the welcomed saltiness from the cheese and I found I was a little jealous that it wasn't the course I ordered. Luckily Traci embraces the idea of sharing!

For my first course I went with an unknown dish; the charred Sepia with wild mushrooms, micro greens and melted fontina cheese. Sepia is another word for cuttlefish and has a texture similar to octopus or the body of squid. The fish had a very nice flavor with an obvious grilled type smokiness that was complimented by the earthy mushrooms and the silkiness of the cheese. A different, interesting and overall well blended dish that I normally wouldn't have ordered. I was pleasantly surprised.

With our first and second courses we ordered a bottle of champagne. The bottle of NV Laherte Freres Rose from Chavot was gorgeous dark pink and seriously lovely on the nose. Distinct fruit, like cherries came forth right away but also with a bit of that bready-toast underneath. And the taste delivered what the nose promised. This was a full bodied, complex and still nicely acidic with a medium length on the finish. It left you wanting to take that next sip and went very well with our first two courses.

When we were getting ready to order our dinner our server informed us of a special being offered that evening - and only for just a few more days. They had Alba white truffles and were in the last week of the season. The truffles were being offered, shaved, over your choice of either a traditional Parmesan risotto or a creamy, house made linguine. The truffles were priced by the gram and they were suggesting 8-10 grams per dish. After doing the math and realizing that would be not only a hell of a lot of truffles, it would also be $200 per dish. We we opted for a 5 gram shaving and ordered both dishes to be shared by the table.

Now if you've ever eaten at a Daniel restaurant and had his signature risotto with truffle...you know that it's one dish that basically defines perfection. Creamy, cheesy and softly salty and covered in luscious, fragrant, gorgeous white truffles - it's the best you'll get anywhere. That is, until we tried the pasta. Holy Crap - what an amazing, heavenly blend of decadence and happiness. These were two of the best dishes I've had.

Unlike the truffle tasting at Stage Left earlier, there was no doubt where the truffles were on these two. And that's just 5 grams! Can you imagine if we went with the suggested 10 gram serving? (maybe next time).

After this course, I was in food Nirvana. Still having our main courses yet to come, we all decided to order different glasses of red wine as an accompaniment. The champagne went fast...not a drop left in the bottle.

Reds:

Jenn: 2008 Cotes de Rhone, Coudoulet de Beaucastle

Mary: 2006 Piemonte, G.D. Vajra Barolo Albe

Traci: 2005 Crianza, Senorio de P. Pencia, Rioja

Patty: 2009 Napa Valley, Chad Cabernet Sauvignon from Red Hills, Lake County

Main course:

Traci & Patty ordered the chicken Tagine with turnips, spinach and preserved lemon. So nicely cooked and a rather large portion, this was a very nice dish.

Mary ordered the hanger steak with wild mushrooms, olives and crushed potatoes. Lovely in it's presentation and cooked to a perfect medium-rare, it was a good course but lacked excitement. As Mary put it...good, but it was steak.

For my entree, I took a chance on the house made chestnut ravioli with celeriac, black trumpet mushrooms and castlemagno cheese. The consensus at the table was that this was best of the four entrees with it's delicate pasta shell, creamy, luxurious filling and deep woodsy flavor of the mushrooms. A winner, no doubt. I was super happy with this dish.

To finish up the evening were the dessert courses. Patty and I ordered the selection of three cheeses with breads and traditional accompaniments. Mary got the Pomme Rosemary of brown butter cake and almond ice cream. Traci topped off her dinner with the lemon tart with cassis compote and almond ice cream.

Overall, a really nice evening - - great food and great company. It's the best food experience we've had for our dining club. I look forward to going back to this restaurant again sometime soon!!

Zagat's rating: 23-24-24

Jenn's rating: 90

Thomas Keller's Mussels with Saffron & Pomme Frites

For New Year's Eve, as is tradition in our house, we made a prime rib for the main course (shout out to Flannery's in California for their California Reserve Prime Rib...best rib EVER). And as usual, we choose a seafood precursor to kick off our celebration. This year our choice was Thomas Keller's Moules au Safron et à la Moutarde (Mussels with Saffron & Mustard) and his Pomme Frites (French Fries) from his Bouchon restaurants.

Not particularly difficult, you do need to prep the potatoes in advance so allow plenty of time. The mussels cook very quickly so it helps to have one person frying up (the second time around) the frites while you work on the mussels in order to serve everything together hot and crunchy! Also, we strongly recommend the use of an oil / candy thermometer to help regulate temperature during the frying process. Thanks to Susan & Rich for letting us borrow theirs. We have since ordered our own from Williams-Sonoma for future french fry making.

One final note before I post the recipe...Thomas Keller's recipe results in hands down THE BEST mussels I've ever had. We were amazed at how incredible they came out and how easy it was to replicate his restaurant offering. You'll see that this recipe uses Garlic Confit. Don't skimp - this makes a huge difference!

Mussels with Saffron and Mustard (Moules au Safron et à la Moutarde)

From Bouchon by Thomas Keller (Artisan, 2004). © 2004 by Thomas Keller.

Ingredients

• 12 tablespoons (6 ounces unsalted butter)
• 1/2 cup minced shallots
• 24 cloves Garlic Confit (recipe follows)
• 1 tablespoon plus 1 teaspoon minced thyme
• 1/2 teaspoon kosher salt
• 1/4 teaspoon freshly ground white pepper
• 1/4 cup Dijon mustard
• 2 cups dry white wine, such as sauvignon blanc
• 4 pinches saffron threads
• 4 pounds small mussels, preferably bouchot
• 1/4 cup plus 2 tablespoons minced Italian parsley
• Freshly ground black pepper

Garlic Confit:

• 1 cup peeled garlic cloves (about 45 cloves)
• About 2 cups canola oil

Instructions

1.       Melt the butter in a large pot over medium heat. Add the shallots, garlic, thyme, salt, and white pepper, reduce the heat to low, and cook gently for 1 to 2 minutes, or until fragrant. Add the mustard and wine and bring to a boil. Reduce the heat and simmer for a minute or two, then add the saffron, cover the pot, and remove from the heat. Let the broth steep for at least 5 minutes. (The broth can be allowed to sit for a few hours at room temperature.)

2.       To Complete: Rinse the mussels under cold water; scrub them if necessary to clean them. Pull off and discard the beards.

3.       Bring the broth to a simmer over high heat. Add the mussels and stir to combine. Cover and cook for about 2 minutes, or until the mussels have opened.

4.       Toss the mussels with the parsley and a few grindings of black pepper. Serve immediately in large shallow bowls, with some crusty bread.

Garlic Confit

Makes 2 cups

At the restaurant, garlic confit is used in so many preparations that we consider it to be a pantry staple. It's such a great flavoring device for everything from shellfish to mashed potatoes, or to be stirred into soup or spread on a baguette for a tartine. The oil the garlic is cooked in can be used as well.

1.        Cut off and discard the root ends of the garlic cloves. Place the cloves in a small saucepan and add enough oil to cover them by about 1 inch—none of the garlic cloves should be poking through the oil.

2.        Place the saucepan on a diffuser over medium-low heat. The cloves should cook gently. Very small bubbles will come up through the oil, but the bubbles should not break the surface. Adjust the heat as necessary and move the pan to one side of the diffuser if it is cooking too quickly. Cook the garlic for about 40 minutes, stirring every 5 minutes or so, until the cloves are completely tender when pierced with the tip of a knife. Remove the saucepan from the heat and allow the garlic to cool in the oil.

3.        Refrigerate the garlic, submerged in the oil, for up to a month.

Thomas Keller's the World's Best French Fries (Pommes Frites)
No matter where you are, really, nothing beats a great fry and who better than Thomas Keller in Bouchon to give us his secret for the best version ever. Watch out: they are seriously addictive! Keller says the russet potato is the best for fries because of its high starch content and its shape.

Large russet potatoes (2 per person), washed
Peanut oil for deep-frying
Kosher salt

Set out a large bowl of cold water. Using a potato cutter, a mandolin, or a knife, cut each potato into sticks 1/4 inch thick and 4-1/2 inches long and place in the water. Discard any cuts that are irregular; they'll cook unevenly. When all the potatoes have been cut, change the water several times until the starch has been rinsed from the potatoes and the water remains clear. (The potatoes can be refrigerated in the cold water for several hours.)

For the first frying: Fill a deep fryer or a large heavy pot with 3 to 4 inches of good peanut oil for the best flavor and heat to 320°F.

Remove the potatoes from the water and drain well on paper towels. Place a handful of potatoes in the hot oil, using a basket insert if you have one; shake the basket a few times or stir the potatoes. Do not crowd the potatoes; there should be at least twice as much oil as potatoes. Fry until the potatoes are cooked through, 5 to 6 minutes; they shouldn't be any darker than a very pale gold. Remove the fries from the oil and drain on paper towels. Repeat with the remaining potatoes. (The blanched potatoes can be held for 2 to 3 hours at room temperature.) Reserve the oil in the fryer or pot.

For the second frying: Reheat the oil to 375°F. Add one portion of the fries at a time and fry for 2 to 3 minutes, or until the potatoes are a deep gold with a crisp exterior. Quickly drain on paper towels, sprinkle with salt, and serve.

Alan paired the mussels & fries with a flight of 1995 vintage Champagnes (Bollinger, Salon, Tattinger and Krug). The course is savory with wonderful, fresh flavors (and those fabulous, salty fries) that just go gorgeously together with bubbles!

Truffle Tasting Menu, Stage Left, New Brunswick NJ

The week between Christmas and New Year's is a favorite one with lots of time to see friends and eat some great meals. With Susan & Rich, we decided to try the White & Black Truffle tasting menu at Stage Left in New Brunswick, NJ. With a 7pm reservation, there were already a decent number of people seated when we arrived but we were still shown to one of the best tables. Right next to the fireplace in one of the small dining rooms. Stage Left has a lovely ambiance with soft lighting and a muted decor. It comes off as romantic and special.

Our hopes were high - the four of us have spent many a dinner eating truffles together and generally agree they are perhaps one of the greatest edible items to ever come out of the earth. In fact, speculating about training Mya & Bacchus (the Lahey bulldogs) to locate truffles has come up on more than one occasion. But that's an inside joke you might not appreciate until you meet the Lahey bulldogs...

Anyway, we all ordered the special tasting menu with one additional item thrown in. In addition to the truffles, the restaurant was also offering wagyu beef served rare on a sizzling 500 degree stone for patrons to cook to their preferred doneness. We asked to have one portion of that special served as our last course before dessert.

Stage Left has the highest food rating in New Brunswick and is ranked highly overall for the state of New Jersey according to Zagat. But it doesn't have the consistency of a good New York City restaurant nor the warmth of service of a Pluckemin Inn or favorite local sushi places (Yumi & Shumi). One of the areas they are missing the mark is their wine list. Sizable with over 1,000 bottles represented, the list is fiercely skewed towards Italians with scarcely anything else represented. And the pricing was off the mark; being high for even well reputed restaurants. So finding a bottle of champagne and a red to go with dinner was harder and took longer than we'd have liked.

One other wine note - once a champagne was picked (rose, Roger Coulon, non-vintage) it couldn't be served to us for a noticeable amount of time as is wasn't cool enough. Not having a large champagne list, they should be able to manage the storage and temperature of their bottles better, in my opinion. I really don't like to have to wait for my bubbles.

But onto the food!
The amuse-bouche served to us goat cheese on raisin, pecan bread with mango. A nice bite with good contrast between the tang of the goat cheese and the sweetness of the fruit. But we found it interesting that they served it on the same bread that was a table side option along with sourdough. We'd come to find out later they seemed to have very little depth when it comes to bread & pastry.

First Course:
Anson Mills White Polenta with nested Suydam Farm Egg Yolk and White Truffles.

This course struck me right. It was lush and creamy with noticeable truffles (you could see them and you could taste them). The egg was well incorporated and enhanced the overall flavor. This was my favorite dish of the evening and I think it went perfectly with the champagne. Alan didn't have the same reaction...he thought it was good, but not memorable.

Second Course:
Dayboat Scallops with Black Truffles

This dish was lovely and very fragrant. The scallops were cooked nicely. But it's the first course that it became apparent that this dinner wasn't going to be TRUFFLES, TRUFFLES everywhere. I had to deconstruct my dish to find the little black truffle pieces. It felt more like essence of truffle than nice big shavings. Nonetheless, the dish was really good. The leeks and scallops went nicely together and the broth was wonderful. I did have to ask the server to please bring me a spoon. Who wouldn't want a spoon to scoop up all that broth?

Third Course:
Open Ravioli of Lobster, Crab and White Truffle

The lobster and crab sat in the middle of this open, delicate pasta and swam in a thick sea of cream. Here again, the truffles were hard to find and even harder to taste. That being said, I truly enjoyed this one. It was decadent and really good, if a bit heavy in the stomach.

Fourth Course:
Duck Breast with Duck Confit and Cipollini Onion Tart and Black Truffles
(no picture)
I don't recall this dish well...except to say that the duck was nicely prepared and served medium rare. The duck confit and onion was in a round pastry tart that was looked and tasted suspiciously store bought and frozen. I didn't eat the tart and accompaniments but was asked by our server if I wanted to take home the leftovers (with no duck, odd question). I was also hitting the food wall thanks to the previous course.

Fifth Course (our addition):
Filet of Wagyu Beef

The four of us split this course (there were eight pieces of beef like the one shown above). The idea - the beef is served on this 500 degree sizzling stone and you take off the meat or leave it on to your particular level of doneness. I kept my beef pretty medium rare and did enjoy the interactive quality of the course and the meat itself.

Sixth Course:
Barely Buzzed Cheese Tartlet with Truffle Honey

See the pastry pictured above? Exactly the same pastry as was served with the duck course. That's just not cool for a restaurant serving a menu at this high of a price point. I had no interest in this course at all...took one bite and stopped. It didn't make any sense to me and the flavors weren't meshing.

Seventh Course:
Black Chocolate Truffles

This final course was four truffles - elderflower, espresso, Irish cream and a pumpkin spice with salt. They were okay...sort of looked like something you get at the Godiva store but hey, the chocolate was pretty good.

It was a memorable night because we got to spend a nice leisurely evening with two of our favorite people but I was disappointed in the dinner overall. And at over $600 per couple, they missed on too many dishes and too many service points to get my vote of confidence. In the past the four of us have done the truffle tasting menu at Nicolas in Red Bank and I for one, will be voting to go back there next year.

Zagat: 27-24-26
Jenn's Rating: 81

La Mezzaluna, Princeton NJ

Between Christmas and New Year's we had the fortune of joining Mary & Steve for a night out in Princeton. They selected a restaurant they had tried earlier that was surprisingly good. And, it's BYO so we were excited to join them! (http://www.lamezzaluna.com/)

We started off our evening down the street with a drink at Mediterra before walking over for our 6pm reservation. Mezzaluna is located on Witherspoon Street in Princeton among all the shops and restaurants. It's a little place that was practically empty when we walked in and we were seated in a booth immediately. The ambiance is nondescript with standard issue booths along the sides and wooden tables in the middle. It probably seats fifty to sixty people in total.

After a quick conference, we decided we'd start with two appetizers to share for the table, then order salads and our entrees. The appetizers we chose were the calamari with marinara sauce and the pumpkin ravioli with brunoise of squash, coriander cream and sage brown butter.

The calamari was slightly chewy and the pieces were all body, no tentacles but the light, almost tempura like batter and marinara sauce were very good. The pumpkin ravioli were delectable with the sage butter really bringing out the best in this delicate pasta. Really super dish.

For salads, Mary, Steve & Alan all went with the warm, braised duck salad with crisp goat cheese, butter lettuce, toasted almonds and agro dolce vinaigrette. It was solid / good... not great but pleasant enough. I ordered the grape tomato salad with mixed green, Gorgonzola and balsamic vinaigrette. The salad was a simple one but I love the fresh combination of ripe tomatoes, cheese and a tasty dressing. This one made me happy.

For entrees, both Mary & I ordered the rigatoni with pancetta, shallots, grape tomatoes, vodka and a blush cream sauce. And you might think that sounds like a basic, every day penne a la vodka sauce but I have to tell you...this is hands down the BEST vodka sauce pasta dish I've ever had. I loved it and practically licked my plate clean.

Alan went with one of the specials of the evening - a spicy seafood pasta dish. When it arrived, I think we were all surprised at how large the portion was and how completely loaded it was with all kinds of shellfish. It had lobster, scallops, shrimp, clams, mussels and octopus in a red sauce over linguine.

Other than the dish really not being spicy at all, it was quite flavorful and the shellfish was cooked nicely - a good choice, no doubt.

And finally Steve ordered the pappardelle with wild boar in a vegetable ragout based on having tried it the last time they were there and really liking it. The boar was nice and tender (cooked for a long, long time, no doubt) and the pasta was fresh. It was a filling dish with a great taste profile.

We ended the evening with sugar dusted, semi-sweet chocolate ricotta fritters. One serving came with four fritters which was a perfect last bite after a completely enjoyable meal. And with the BYO policy (we had a Barolo and a California Pinot), the bill was $112 a couple - an inexpensive pleasure.
Be sure to check this one out if you're in the area.

Zagat's Rating: 19-17-19
Jenn's Rating: 82