Admittedly, we've been avoiding this place. Tom's parents had been here a few years ago and didn't particularly care for the place so we put it off. Tonight, however, I didn't make the plans--we celebrated Kelly's bachelorette here and I'd say it was a nice dining experience.
We all started with a round of martinis and other assorted alcoholic beverages (I don't know why I keep trying martinis, I think it is because I hope I'll like them someday but I really just don't care for the straight up vodka taste). We did not order apps because we had some at our previous location, so on to our entrees--I could not even begin to remember what everyone had but it will suffice to say everyone seemed to enjoy what they ordered. For myself, I figured I'd go with something different, something Mediterranean considering that is the cuisine they are known for, so I ordered the special--Pastichata (slow cooked veal over rigatoni in a plum tomato sauce)--Melissa ordered the same and we both felt that the veal was very "beefy" in taste, not at all what we expected, however the dish was enjoyable. Dinners came with family-style bread and salad as well. We were all full and didn't order dessert but the staff came out with a complimentary piece of baklava--I was so excited to have this and I now am making it my mission this summer to attempt it because it was so good!
Overall, the evening was a success! Kudos to Melissa for planning a lovely evening for the bride-to-be!
www.laskara.net
Monday, May 16, 2011
4/23/11-Taste Restaurant & Lounge, North Haven, CT
We hadn't heard much about this place, but we had a deal and it's not too far from us, so we popped in on this dreary Saturday night. The space is small but beautifully decorated with gorgeous paintings of dress mannequins done by the waitress we had tonight! Her talent is astounding and it is wonderful that she is able to showcase her work (and sell it).
We started with the pork potstickers, served with a ponzu dipping sauce--the sauce was lovely, really complimented the potstickers, nicely plated as well. Then for our entrees--we both chose pasta dishes, which unfortunately I cannot remember the description of--however, I do remember that we both enjoyed our dishes and the main point we walked away with from Taste was portion size--everything was perfectly portioned and we left feeling satisfied and craving dessert instead of overstuffed and unable to move! This place is worth a look if you're in the area and unsure of where to go.
www.tastenorthhaven.com
We started with the pork potstickers, served with a ponzu dipping sauce--the sauce was lovely, really complimented the potstickers, nicely plated as well. Then for our entrees--we both chose pasta dishes, which unfortunately I cannot remember the description of--however, I do remember that we both enjoyed our dishes and the main point we walked away with from Taste was portion size--everything was perfectly portioned and we left feeling satisfied and craving dessert instead of overstuffed and unable to move! This place is worth a look if you're in the area and unsure of where to go.
www.tastenorthhaven.com
Thursday, April 21, 2011
4/9/11-Max's Oyster Bar, West Hartford, CT
I am really trying to make an effort to try different kinds of seafood, even though I have been almost completely adverse to it up until recently. For me, it is more likely that I'm going to try it if someone I'm with orders it and lets me have a bite, so I was super glad that Sheri and I were going out for lunch at Max's Oyster Bar so I could steal a bite from her!
I love dining in West Hartford, you really can't go wrong; that goes for the Max Restaurant Group too, where I've never had a bad meal. Today's lunch was no exception. To start, I was intrigued by the Hot and Salty Point Judith Calamari--Coriander batter, nuoc mam cham dipping sauce--Sheri mentioned that the dipping sauce reminded her of a thai fish sauce, and it did have that vinegary taste to it.
Sheri has been here before and told me exactly what she was getting--the Seafood Sampler, filled with an assortment of shellfish, oysters, clams, mussels, snow crab claws, shrimp and other market crustaceans, perched on a mountain of shaved ice with creative accompaniments. I finally got brave and tried a mussel with a remoulade sauce at her recommendation--with the sauce, it wasn't half bad! The texture was a bit weird for me, but I got over it and the sauce totally made up for it! I also tried one of the colossal white shrimp--I happen to like shrimp but the taste of these was so strong and it was cold that I really didn't care much for it, but it did allow me to try the dipping sauces that were provided on her plate. For my own lunch, I decided to go with the San Francisco Style Crabmelt--Sourdough bread, blue crabmeat, dill aioli, gruyere cheese, old bay french fries--I loved the concept and the overall taste was nice but where this dish fell flat for me was that the sandwich was so heavy that the bread became soggy and the sandwich was very hard to handle. I think I would have preferred this dish with lobster, since it would be lighter. The old bay seasongin on the fries was a nice touch though! I enjoyed that very much.
Overall, another successful outing with Sheri--I am so glad to have a friend who enjoys the good things in life as much as I do!
www.maxrestaurantgroup.com
I love dining in West Hartford, you really can't go wrong; that goes for the Max Restaurant Group too, where I've never had a bad meal. Today's lunch was no exception. To start, I was intrigued by the Hot and Salty Point Judith Calamari--Coriander batter, nuoc mam cham dipping sauce--Sheri mentioned that the dipping sauce reminded her of a thai fish sauce, and it did have that vinegary taste to it.
Sheri has been here before and told me exactly what she was getting--the Seafood Sampler, filled with an assortment of shellfish, oysters, clams, mussels, snow crab claws, shrimp and other market crustaceans, perched on a mountain of shaved ice with creative accompaniments. I finally got brave and tried a mussel with a remoulade sauce at her recommendation--with the sauce, it wasn't half bad! The texture was a bit weird for me, but I got over it and the sauce totally made up for it! I also tried one of the colossal white shrimp--I happen to like shrimp but the taste of these was so strong and it was cold that I really didn't care much for it, but it did allow me to try the dipping sauces that were provided on her plate. For my own lunch, I decided to go with the San Francisco Style Crabmelt--Sourdough bread, blue crabmeat, dill aioli, gruyere cheese, old bay french fries--I loved the concept and the overall taste was nice but where this dish fell flat for me was that the sandwich was so heavy that the bread became soggy and the sandwich was very hard to handle. I think I would have preferred this dish with lobster, since it would be lighter. The old bay seasongin on the fries was a nice touch though! I enjoyed that very much.
Overall, another successful outing with Sheri--I am so glad to have a friend who enjoys the good things in life as much as I do!
www.maxrestaurantgroup.com
3/26/11-Lanie's Cafe, Loudonville (Albany), NY
Whenever we travel, we try to ask locals where to dine out. After looking at the suggestions in the hotel guidebook, we decided to go down to the front desk to ask where they would recommend. We were steered in the direction of Lanie's, a restaurant not too far from where we were staying. Since this was a Saturday night and we didn't have a reservation, we waited about 45 minutes for a table but it definitely was worth it!
When we were seated, we looked around at the plates on other tables--not only did everything look and smell amazing, the portions were huge! We decided to forego the appetizer and just stick to entrees. All of the dinners come with their salad bar, which was fresh and full at all times, along with italian bread and a block of cheddar--not sure why, but hey, we'll go with it! Tom decided to try the Surf and Turf Pasta--Medium-rare 5 oz. filet mignon skewer served atop sauteed shrimp and scallops tossed in a spinach tomato scampi sauce over choice of pasta--the filet was cooked perfectly and the chef was not shy about the seafood! I had the veal saltimbacca--An egg-battered cutlet of veal stuffed with cappicola and fresh mozzarella, baked and served in a sweet, light marsala butter sauce--this dish was huge and so so good! Neither of us could finish our entrees so we took the yummy leftovers home with us! I would definitely return here next time I'm in the area!
www.laniescafe.com
When we were seated, we looked around at the plates on other tables--not only did everything look and smell amazing, the portions were huge! We decided to forego the appetizer and just stick to entrees. All of the dinners come with their salad bar, which was fresh and full at all times, along with italian bread and a block of cheddar--not sure why, but hey, we'll go with it! Tom decided to try the Surf and Turf Pasta--Medium-rare 5 oz. filet mignon skewer served atop sauteed shrimp and scallops tossed in a spinach tomato scampi sauce over choice of pasta--the filet was cooked perfectly and the chef was not shy about the seafood! I had the veal saltimbacca--An egg-battered cutlet of veal stuffed with cappicola and fresh mozzarella, baked and served in a sweet, light marsala butter sauce--this dish was huge and so so good! Neither of us could finish our entrees so we took the yummy leftovers home with us! I would definitely return here next time I'm in the area!
www.laniescafe.com
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