Minetta Tavern, NYC

We had dinner earlier this week with Brian & Molly - wonderful foodies who are putting a pretty good size dent in the Manhattan (and Brooklyn) dining scene by themselves. The choice was Minetta Tavern and I have to say, I was pretty excited by this one. A Michelin one star located at the intersection of Minetta Lane and McDougal Avenue in Greenwich Village, it is self described as "Parisian steakhouse meets NYC tavern".

Alan and I arrived about twenty minutes before our reservation and grabbed stools in bar area. It's a familiar decor with that bistro feel and lots of tables crowded into every nook and cranny. On this particular night, a Tuesday, by 6pm it was bustling with the after work crowd. By the time we left at 8pm it was hard to navigate through the throng of bodies to get out the door.

We started the evening off with cocktails to go with our appetizers and moved to a bottle of red (of which I didn't get the name) for our entrees. One of fun things about Brian & Molly is their total willingness to share food. As a table we ordered two appetizer and three entrees - one of which was meant for two.

I don't have pictures of the first course. Oxtail & Foie Gras Terrine with poached leeks off the regular menu and a Crudo of Hamachi with citrus and avocado from the specials menu. These were both really, really good. The hamachi was light and refreshing. We all only got a bite of it and I'd wished there was more - it was quite good. Complete opposite end of the spectrum was the terrine that was earthy and rich. Also excellent but being significantly fuller, I was happy we were all sharing.

For dinner we readily agreed to order the house specialty - the dry aged Cote de Boeuf for two with roasted marrow bones and sucrine lettuce salad.

This picture doesn't capture how mouthwatering this dish looked (or how large it was). Cooked to absolute perfection, the beef was so succulent and full of that satisfaction only red meat can achieve. We ate every single morsel from the plate and off every bone. The bone marrow too, scraped out of the inside and slathered over the beef was the epitome of decadent. What else can I say - GO HERE AND ORDER THIS DISH. You will not be disappointed, or hungry. We ordered two side dishes. One, these yummy, salty but ultimately forgettable fries and spinach that was a bit lackluster.

We ordered two other dishes; poulet fermier roti or roasted free range chicken with braised chard and pommes aligot. And a halibut from the specials menu with chanterelles.

The chicken was very good. I'm now a full-fledged convert. Chicken from a good bistro is worth ordering - it's often some of the best chicken you'll ever have. They can achieve a perfect crispness to the skin while maintaining real moistness in the meat...even the white meat. I also loved the potatoes pureed in this dish along with the chard.

The halibut on the other hand turned out to be the redheaded stepchild of the dinner. By itself, quite good. Eaten after either the beef or the chicken and you are reminded quickly that fish can't compete with red or white meat when it comes down to depth of flavor, richness or density that often results in a feeling of comfort. Poor halibut...you deserve better. I hope many a vegetarian order and love you.

The food was really, really good. I was happily impressed that the caliber started high and maintained that quality throughout the dinner. Also on the plus side were attentive and amusing wait staff that kept the pace enjoyable. On the negative side this establishment was loud. I mean, really loud. It was hard to hear the person across the table from you. Also, the tables are smooshed in there so you do get up close and personal with just about everyone else in the room. The tables are a bit on the small side. This posed a bit of a juggling act when the entrees arrived and were competing with the small amount of space already inhabited by water glasses, wine glasses, bread and bread dishes.

But let's be honest - when the food is good and the company fun, things like noise and space become non-issues. Great experience all around!

Michelin: One Star
Zagat: 23-21-20
Jenn's Rating: 88

Ninety Acres at NATIRAR, Peapack NJ

Last week I was taken out to dinner by a friend and co-worker. Given her choice of a few good restaurants near our Berkeley Heights office, she picked Ninety Acres at the Natirar estate in Peapack-Gladstone. A gorgeous location, the Ninety Acres culinary center sits atop a long, long, long and winding road through green, rolling hills. A little hard to navigate at night, the road is more narrow then makes one comfortable especially when trying to avoid both the bountiful wildlife and on-coming traffic. But the view is beautiful and well worth the adventure.

We arrived a bit early to have a drink at the large bar - starting off with glasses of Polyez-Jacquemart brut rose, non-vintage. Not an overly floral champagne, it was medium in color with a nice touch of complexity and medium finish. I liked it for sipping but realized it would have been even better with salty snacks. Too bad there weren't any offered on the bar (hint hint).

After drinks we were seated ten feet away from the bar at one of the tables in the space between what is obviously bar/lounge and what is equally obviously main dining room. We were kind of in the middle at a table for two up against a support beam. I mention the beam because it became a source of both amusement and distraction all evening as the wait staff felt it necessary to wedge themselves between me and the post to serve our table and the one next to us. A little odd - both tables were accessible from their opposite sides without having to suck it in and squeeze each time to pass through.

After the usual time of concentrating on the menu and me trying to get a feel for how many courses I'd be able to talk my dining partner into we settled on two and a half; appetizers, a shared middle course and then entrees.

We opted for a half bottle of red wine with dinner since both of us needed to drive home. The bottle of choice this time was a Châteauneuf-du-Pape Vielles Vignes 2008, Clos St. Jean. Nice bottle, easy to drink and it went well with our entire dinner.

To start we ordered the poached Egg with pancetta, yukon potatoes and brussels sprouts. We also ordered the organic risotto with guanciale, fennel, parmesan & ricotta.

The poached egg was killer. Both the pancetta and a nice strip of bacon cooked but still chewy added saltiness. The potatoes were presented as chips which was a nice surprise. Really great dish.

The risotto on the other hand was something else trying to disguise itself as risotto. Where was the rice? This dish was mostly cheese and vegetables with a creamy sauce that perhaps once used to be a grain. The flavor profile wasn't well developed and I found myself thinking how disappointing it is to be disappointed with a sub-standard risotto (since I super duper LOVE risotto, it really bums me out when it's not great, or even good).

For the next course we were swayed by the description of their special appetizer of the evening, a Jersey tomato dish with red onion and fresh ricotta cheese in an oil dressing.

I'm a sucker for ripe tomatoes and feel that it's just about the greatest thing New Jersey has going for itself. That and the corn on the cob in the height of summer. So when the tomatoes are at the peak of the season and showcased in a simple preparation, I'm usually pretty happy. This dish didn't let me down. Super fresh, nice tang from the red onion and a tart yet creaminess from the ricotta brought it all together. Good one!

For our main dish we both ordered steak. Right off the bat I should say that I knew this was risky. I really don't like ordering steak in a restaurant as I'm totally frustrated by how many places just get it wrong (and by how many times my husband and our grilling friends get it right making the comparison all that much more poignant). But my lovely, gracious and fun dinner companion does not eat fish. Since we'd been sharing dishes all night, I didn't think it appropriate to bring something to the mix that she wouldn't want to try. And besides, on paper - steak always sounds like a great, mouthwatering option.

She ordered the pan roasted, grass fed bone-in strip steak with fingerling potatoes & Natirar steak sauce. I ordered the Niman Ranch naturally raised ribeye with rosemary sea salt & peperonata. For side dishes we went homey and asked for the mashed potatoes and the macaroni & cheese.

We requested both steaks to be medium-rare - they came out closer to medium but not enough to get pissy about. Both steaks were simply prepared and were tender enough...I just wish I could understand why some steaks are literally dripping with juicy flavor and you can't help but make those little sounds of happiness with each bite while others are just so blah. These leaned towards forgettable.

A super big miss was the macaroni and cheese. Seriously? You shouldn't be allowed to mess up mac & cheese. You can pretty much make it from a box and satisfy 75% of the American population (myself included). This one was bland, runny and used a very small elbow shape that seemed tough. I sanity checked with both my dining partner and Alan who tried the leftovers the next day; just not good. The mashed potatoes on the other hand - awesome!!! I really could have eaten the entire serving.

And we topped off our evening with dessert. I know, I know - you know I am not a fan of dessert. It's all looks, no flavor in all but the fewest of instances. But our server, who was quite attentive I will add, did a pretty good job selling the special of the evening, a S'Mores pie.

Pretty, right? But you know what - no flavor. The marshmallow on top was near impossible to cut (sticky mess) and the chocolate-graham pie underneath was dry and flavorless. This dish would have benefitted enormously from having a Hershey bar nestled in between, partially melted. This was practically inedible.

In summary Ninety Acres still hasn't reached it's potential. Being that it's been open now for two years, I'm wondering if it ever will. On the plus side the service was light-years ahead of where it was last time we were there and the wine list remains diverse and friendly. When we ordered dishes that featured the locally harvested ingredients and things at the peak of their season we faired much better. I wouldn't say don't go - I would just suggest that you don't get your hopes up too high.

Jenn's Rating: 80
Zagat: 25-28-23

Nobu 57, NYC

With Alan away in Atlanta for a few days, us ladies planned a day out in the city with lunch, drinks, spa and more drinks. After tossing a lot of ideas around, we settled on sushi. We amassed an impressive list of highly rated sushi places around midtown and started the process of finding out which ones are open for lunch on a Saturday. You know what? Not very many.

But we did get a reservation at Nobu 57. It was only a block and a half from the Peninsula Hotel where we'd be spending time at the spa so all seemed good. We got there just in time for our 12:30pm reservation. They escorted us upstairs to be seated in the main dining room and a roomy booth near the sushi bar. I love the decor - bubble motif on the walls, wood and lots of muted orange and brown colors. It's a large space that comes off as intimate...you can hold a conversation with your friends without either an echo or having scream.

We ordered a bottle of Schramsberg 2007 Brut Rose to start as well as appetizers. Susan & Mary ordered a couple of Nobu tacos - single bite raw fish wrapped in a small crunchy tortilla. They choose assorted fishes - Big Eye tuna, lobster and Yellowtail. I ordered the lobster Inaniwa pasta salad. The tacos were very good - fresh little bites. The cold lobster salad was fantastic. The noodles had such a nice, bright flavor and the lobster was cooked just past opaque. The entire dish had a citrus component that I loved and went very nicely with the rose.

For lunch we all ordered the same thing - Bento boxes. Served as three courses with a Miso soup first and then the box broke into two courses with six total components, this was the most sophisticated Bento I've ever seen. In the first box was Yellowtail Tartar, Sashimi Salad and Assorted Sushi. In the second box was King Crab Amazu Ponzu, Black Cod with Miso and Ribeye Anticucho.

I really liked the sashimi salad, seared and served as a salad with a ginger dressing. The fish was excellent. The middle course in this first box, the Yellowtail tartar with caviar was the only component I didn't like. It was overwhelming and hard to taste the fish. I'm not sure what the sauce it was sitting in was but I didn't care for it at all. And lastly was the sushi (fatty tuna, white tuna and salmon) plus a spicy tuna roll. The sushi was excellent as well - loved the white tuna. And the roll was as expected, good. 

The second Bento course had the king crab amazu ponzu that I loved. Lightly crisped, so sweet - fabulous! The black cod seared with Miso was good - flaky and savory. The last component was the Ribeye sitting over sticky rice with pepper and lime. This one was also very good. Great flavor, some spice and the rice became saturated with the spices.

During our Bento boxes we ordered a bottle of red wine. Pinot Noir, Hamacher 2008 from the Willamette Valley. It was quite light and perhaps not overly memorable on it's own, it did got well with our lunch.

It was a fun lunch - not pretentious or stuffy in any way. Service was good, the pace unhurried. The food was good and in some cases, great. It wasn't cheap - $195 a person (with two bottles of wine). I'd consider it more of a special occasion place to go but wouldn't hesitate to recommend Nobu 57 to someone looking for upscale Japanese in midtown.

Jenn's Rating: 85

Zagat: 26-23-23

Benoit Bistro, New York City

Last week I met up with a friend and former co-worker to catch up and have lunch. We picked Benoit Bistro on 55th Street between 5th and 6th Avenues - right down the block from the Peninsula Hotel.

A traditional French bistro, the menu is filled with staples like escargot, foie gras, cassoulet and pate. We started off immediately with two glasses of Caravelle Rose (and proceeded to order four more) while we perused the menu.

Table side they have a little card of hors d'oeuvres for sharing - small plates. We checked off three including a tasting of Mayo Eggs (one a version of deviled and the other a mini eggs Benedict); seared Daurade tartar and crispy pied de cochon with tartar sauce that were delectable. And I loved the Daurade - so fresh!

For our lunch we decided to split a Heirloom tomato salad with red onion and basil and then share the roast organic chicken for two with garlic cloves and pomme frites.

The salad was very simple and so nice. There's no doubt we're in the middle of tomato season in the Northeast and the Heirlooms are incredibly sweet. I loved the red onion to give an offset to the sweetness and we had no trouble polishing off this course quickly.

 When I told Alan we were coming to Benoit for lunch he recommended the chicken for two if Megan was on board. She was and Oh My God am I happy we ordered this dish. They presented us with the entire chicken all golden brown and juicy table side before whisking it away to be broken down and arranged in this lovely pan. Is the picture making you hungry? It should be - one of the BEST chicken dishes I've ever had anywhere and more than that, it could go up against many of the standby bistro dishes and come out on top. Simple preparation to perfection seems to be the name of the game at this Alain Ducasse restaurant and they mean business. Incredible. Go and order the chicken!

The fries were pretty damn good too...we ate all of them. Every single whole and little broken piece from the bottom of this generous serving.

For dessert we ordered off the pastry trolley (oh yeah, a trolley baby!) and selected a lemon tort and a chocolate ganache covered lava cake. Both were good - I think Megan liked them more than I did but if you've ever read this blog or know me you know I'm not a huge fan of dessert.

I put this pretty high on my list - service was exactly what I expect...attentive yet fading nicely into the background. Never had to wonder if my water would be filled or look far to ask a question but nor did they interupt the flow of our conversation. The food was fantastic and simple - a nice change from some of our more formal experiences. I really liked it - so go try it!!

Jenn's Rating: 89
Zagat: 21-21-20

Crystal Tavern, Crystal Springs Resort

Our final meal before leaving Hamburg, New Jersey was lunch in the clubhouse tavern. We had already golfed all morning and were particularly hungry as the four of us waited for our burgers. These burgers were recommended to us by Jeff so the excitement was building...

Alan, Steve & Rich all ordered the Kobe beef burgers that came with Brie, truffle aioli, arugula, carmelized onions and steak sauce. To that Steve added a fried egg to his and there might have been an additional order of bacon thrown on one of the burgers. While we didn't get a picture of theirs, all served with fries - the consensus around the table was extremely positive. Damn good burger!

I ordered the Meyer burger with lettuce, tomato, bacon and American cheese on a seeded bun and a side salad. Cooked beautifully to medium rare, I thought this was one of the better burgers I've had in past year. Big and juicy, lots of flavor and a very ripe tomato all worked together. The bun was large enough to help keep things in place and held up against the running juices. I devoured mine and would tell anyone that it's a great lunch option!

Susan & Mary were with us but had already had lunch once that day in the Chef's Garden. They made do with a shared order of hummus and pretzel bites.

Overall, service was a bit slow (compounded by how really hungry we were) but the food was worth the wait!

Susan's Lobster Rolls

For our weekend at Crystal Springs, Susan & Rich assembled a fresh, non-mayo lobster salad for building lobster rolls that I thought was close to outstanding. They cooked and deshelled the fresh lobsters the night before. The only edit I think we agreed on was that the avocados needed to be a bit more ripe....

Can't tell you exactly what's in it unless Susan shares the recipe. There was lobster, avocado, arugula, tomatoes and other stuff. It sure was good!!

Salad being made:

And then being eaten:

Restaurant Latour at Crystal Springs Resort

This past weekend Alan, myself, Susan, Rich, Mary & Steve went up to Crystal Springs Golf & Spa Resort in lovely Hamburg, NJ to eat, drink and be merry. During our stay we made reservations to have dinner at the highly rated, Wine Spectator Grand Award winning Restaurant Latour.

A word or two about the resort...first, it's in the middle of nowhere. Seriously, boondocks. But once you're there, what a lovely, fun place. And it's huge with two massive hotels, spas, seven golf courses, umpteen restaurants & pools all over you can definitely stay occupied for a few days. The rooms were large and clean with full kitchens and plenty of space for lounging around. Our one bedroom suite with outdoor fireplace had room around the dining table for six and an outdoor table that fit the same. This is very conducive for bringing your own wine and munchies and having an in-room party which we did the first night.

For the second night we got all dressed up and walked (inside) the hundred yards and one elevator ride up to Restaurant Latour. This was nice - it was raining cats and dogs outside Saturday evening. Upon entering the restaurant, my first impression was that it was quite small. Intimate might be the better word since it felt comfortable, not cramped. We were greeted right away by our host who showed us to a table smack tab in the middle of the nicely, if understated, dining room.

Being a Grand Award winner we were interested in ordering off the wine list. Being Alan's belated birthday weekend, we also had a few special bottles of our own that we brought with us. This worked out well since they were very gracious and accommodated us doing both throughout the evening.

The menus came around with two choices - the chef's tasting menu and the ala cart, three course menu. Again showing themselves to be flexible and pleasant our head server assured us that we could get the three course menu and add a few extra dishes into the mix. As a group of people all willing to share, it meant that we could basically try 80% of the menu.

Along with a bottle of Beaujoie Rose champagne that Susan & Rich brought, we also went with a sommelier recommendation an opened a Grand Cru from Burgandy Mazis-Chambertin, Girardin, 2000. The amuse busche they started us with was a canape of salmon on brioche. Very nice, well balanced.

For the food, first courses ran and spectrum...
Steve & I ordered the duck appetizer with asparagus spring rolls, mixed greens and pork lardons. I really enjoyed this dish - there was a lot going on and I tried the pieces together as well as by themselves...each one holding up as a flavorful bite individually while coming together nicely with complimentary textures. It was also a very pretty dish - visually appealing with a great aroma. If only I had known that my very good dish would pale in comparison to what else was going on around the table.

Alan ordered the Hood Canal Oyster Strudel with large pearl tapioca, Ossetra caviar and creme fraiche sabayon. This was my original choice but I waned...once I got a bite of it I realized my mistake. WINNER! An incredible combination of warm, creamy tapioca and sauce layered over the succulent oysters and salty caviar. Seriously good.

Mary & Rich both ordered the gorgeous Tuna Nicoise Nest of seared tuna lardons, Idaho potato nest, hericot vert, organic greens, Long Island duck egg and Parmesan vinaigrette. Let me see if I have any words left to describe this masterpiece...FAB-U-LOUS!! The runny yolk over seared tuna and the crunch of the beans was perhaps perfection in a dish. The Parmesan dressing gave the salt and the organic greens a bit of herb and pepper to round out a seriously good dish.

Not to be outdone, Susan ordered the special of the evening, the Maryland soft shelled crab with peanut potatoes, papaya pecan beurre noisette and micro arugula. Now maybe I'm biased but I truly believe soft shell crab is basically manna from heaven in disguise. With the crunch from the battered crab and the bitterness of the arugula matched with the sweet of the papaya this was just a great partnership of flavor. I should have just kept her dish when it came my way during the plate swapping portion of the course.

Next up for the group was course one and a half where we requested two dishes to be put on the table for sharing. These two were the dishes we all collectively agreed must be had by all. They were the risotto and the pasta.

Sorry that the pictures start getting a bit on the darker / redder side...we made the decision to not use a flash so as to not disturb anyone elses dining experience. And thank you Mary, for taking them all with your iPhone and then figuring out how to send them to me!!

First up here is the black truffle risotto with spring leeks, sweet English peas and carnaroli rice. Our server shaved the truffles over the dish at table and was quite generous allowing a wonderful waft of aromatic bliss to engulf the table. Risotto at it's best conjures something that I can only describe as a feeling of home. Warm and happy. This did exactly that - cooked to perfect al dente with the little firmness in each bite of rice and a creaminess that you look forward to with each forkful. Very, very nice course. The pasta was an Yukon Gold potato agnolotti of marscapone-enriched pasta, Perigord black truffle, zucchini pearls and white truffle oil. A lighter pasta with still that luxuriousness of the truffle, it was well received around the table but paled a bit next to the risotto. I think it was Rich that commented that if tried by itself it was really good.

Not sure when it all happened, but there was another bottle of wine added to the fun. This one a Grand Cru Charmes-Chambertin, Louis Jadot , 1999. As well as a bottle of our own that we brought to dinner, a 2006 Scarecrow. Not to be biased - while I really liked both the Burgandies and thought they went well with the dishes, the Scarecrow is in a league of it's own.

Next up were the entrees.
I ordered the sweet butter braised Maine lobster with whipped yukon gold potatoes, haricot verts and a black truffle Burgandy pan sauce.

Shelled and arranged beautifully, this course was all that lobster should be. Warm, sweet, cooked just a moment past opaque and swimming in some kind of butter sauce. This one with truffle. So it was a happy, happy dish. I would go back and just order the lobster again and again and again.

Mary & Steve both went with red meat and ordered the 28 day dry-aged New York sirloin with creamsicle sweet potato puree, wild mushroom medley, white straw asparagus and crisp fried ramps.

Both their plates were cleaned and sounds of happiness could be heard from both sides of the table. The comment back was that it was a good dish...perhaps not fantastic, but solid.

Alan ordered the day-boat roasted monkfish with lobster knuckle, Nantucket Bay scallops, Humic Island razor clams, saffron scented panisse, organic pea shoots and cioppino broth.

This was a nice course but what I think we're learning is unless you're at Daniel, Per Se or Le Bernadin, the fish probably isn't going to be the dish that blows your mind. Nice flavors, lots of things going on but lacking that depth that so many of the other meat dishes offer.

To that point, Susan ordered what I believe was the winner of this round...the grass-fed, Canadian veal porterhouse with potato pave, foie gras stuffed first harvest morels, Sherry citrus glazed carrots and a natural pan jus.

Were you wondering how you could possibly one-up a porterhouse on the grill from Hind & Fore? We might have found the answer...veal. A level of tenderness that you  just can't get from any other meat, this one had all that plus that flavor that as soon as it hits your mouth you basically smile and sigh at the same time. Excellent.

And to round out dinner was Rich's choice of the quartet of Moscovy Duck. Confit leg, black forbidden rice, butternut squash and red currant gastrigue.

Rich was excited to see forbidden rice on the menu - it's rare. And I have to admit, I think this is the first time I've ever tried it. The duck was cooked to the right grade of medium rare while the confit leg was pull off the bone tender. All around a nice dish.

And from there, we moved onto dessert. The order included a quartet of sorbets with a bing cherry that was fantastic; a few orders of the coffee and donuts that won rave reviews; the odd and not at all good creme fraiche parfait; a chocolate-chocolate dessert with a molton lava cake and chocolate ice cream that I think was the best one on the table and really, really good Meyer lemon tart.

The experience was a wonderful one. Between having a great group of friends that are as equally "foodie" as they are winos and comedians, it made for a fun evening. Add to that an excellent wine list with a top notch sommelier who made some great choices for our table. Plus the food lived up to the hype as one of New Jersey's best rated restaurants year after year. Was it the gastronomical perfection that can be found at a few New York and California (and Chicago) establishments? Not quite - but it got as close as anything I've been to outside of those areas. We all highly recommend the trip - it's worth it.

Jenn's Rating: 94
Zagat: 27-26-27
Wine Spectator: Grand Award