Category: Restaurants

Tidy Tidbits: Eating Around

JWF 2 Comments

FORMAL DINING

Back in the day, as they say, both my grandmothers set a formal table.  Particularly for dinner.  Starched white linen tablecloths were the norm along with starched napkins and a napkin ring.  Using the ring meant that the napkin could be identified as yours and re-used several times.  Flatware was real silver and there were silver salt and pepper shakers, or, in the case of my maternal grandmother’s setting, little salt cellars with tiny spoons.  They were such fun to toy with—despite my mother disapproving look.  

When I was growing up, my mother had standards for her dinner table as well.  We ate in the dining room together, all six of us, almost every night. The highly polished blonde wood table wore a tablecloth (a color or patterned) or placemats, and we used my parents’ wedding silverware.  In a concession to modern times and four kids, the napkins were usually paper except on holidays and special occasions.  One cardinal rule was that you never cleared the table (and we kids took turns doing this) until everyone had finished eating.  This was drilled into us, probably more than any other dictum—except “get your elbows off the table, just as fast as you are able.”

Today’s restaurant staff seem never to have learned to wait until everyone is finished—or have conveniently forgotten.  Is a shortage of clean dishes in the kitchen prompting this snatching of plates before everyone is done?  It is rude and makes the lone eaters feel rushed and singled out.  In my recent dining experiences, even better restaurants aspiring to fine dining are guilty.  Whenever possible, I put a halt to the early removal of plates, but more restaurants should slow down their wait staff and let the meal play out in a more leisurely fashion.

ELEGANT ITALIAN DINING IN SARASOTA

Friends introduced us to CasAntica in downtown Sarasota which we had probably passed many times, but never really noticed.  The restaurant is in an historic house with an outside patio, small dining rooms throughout, and a rooftop garden.  We ate in a quiet alcove near the bar which happened to be unoccupied except for the bartender.  The menu includes homemade pasta dishes, veal, chicken and fish entrees, and a selection of salads and other appetizers.  The salads are large so sharing a tricolore (arugula, cherry tomatoes and shaved Parmesan) was the right move.  The Chief Penguin and I ordered veal preparations, veal piccata and veal saltimbocca, and both were luscious. The best veal we’ve had in this area.  Our friends ordered the salmon and were equally pleased with their choice. Definitely a place to return!!

Salmon Piccata at A Casa Tua

ITALIAN FARE IN OUR BACKYARD

Since its move farther up Cortez Road, A Casa Tua, is practically next door.  This unprepossessing Italian restaurant is family owned and has just seven tables, so reservations are recommended.  The menu offers a nice selection of pastas, chicken and salmon entrees as well as a rack of lamb, along with appetizers and salads.  The Chief Penguin and I snagged a table the other evening and really enjoyed the salmon piccata and the ravioli of the day stuffed with broccoli and sausage in a thick tomato sauce.  The C.P. also sampled and was wowed by the special appetizer of three long plump sardines baked with lemon Mediterranean style.  And the Caesar salad was a most generous portion with plenty of shaved Parmesan.  Overall, a welcome addition to the local dining scene!

SARASOTA FAVORITE

Burrata Salad

We have dined at Bijou Cafe in downtown Sarasota near the opera house several times recently. It’s always excellent and is one of our longtime favorites. I usually order the chicken cutlet with sautéed spinach or the Carolina trout with almonds and veggies. This time I tried a new salad of burrata, heirloom tomatoes and strawberries which was colorful and delicious!

Note: Photos ©JWFarrington (some rights reserved). Header photo is the ravioli of the day at A Casa Tua.

Manhattan Dining: From Low to Haute

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DINING OUT IN MANHATTAN

We ran the gamut on our recent visit to Manhattan from lunches at diners to meals at moderate and splurge-worthy restaurants.

We were initially dismayed to see that the Lenox Grill on Lexington had closed.  While it wasn’t the best diner in the world, it was reliably good, convenient to where we wanted to be, and never so crowded you couldn’t get a table.

Here are some notes on where we did eat most recently.

DINER LUNCHES (Upper East Side) 

E & J Luncheonette

This old-fashioned diner on 3rd Avenue is probably the best one we tried.  We’d eaten here in the spring and it was very popular.  They serve a satisfyingly good grilled bacon and cheese, with the usual cole slaw and optional French fries.

Nectar Café

This cozy, I’d call it snug, little place operates on a cash only basis and you wonder where they’ve tucked away the kitchen!  But, if you don’t mind being cheek by jowl, then the food is very good and the service friendly.  I liked my tuna salad sandwich on multi-grain toast.

Gracie’s Corner Diner

Don’t bother.  This large diner on E. 86th Street has an extensive menu, and perhaps it was because I was tired of sandwich and so-so salad fare, but I was decidedly underwhelmed. Like so many diners, quantity was the byword here, bypassing true quality.  I ordered a green salad with grilled chicken on top, huge with a strange house dressing on the side and lots of chicken, but with little flavor.  The corn beef Reuben was open face and smothered with a thick layer of cheese and, frankly, didn’t look that appetizing.  The CP didn’t eat much of it either.

Gina Americana

This little hole-in-the-wall burger joint boasts a row of American flag posters in frames and other flags around its walls.  Bypassing all the varieties of burger meat and toppings, we opted for items from the Mexican Connection section of the menu.  The guacamole was excellent and the chicken quesadilla and the chicken taco very good—the only surprise was the lack of any salsa or hot sauce whatsoever!  Lime wedges came with the taco and the guacamole.

 

MODERATE DINNER FARE  (Upper East Side unless noted)

Island

Embracing a New England nautical flair, Island is a very popular spot for locals and the occasional hotel guest from down the block.  They cater nicely to folks of all ages, even kids.  We dined here two nights and found the chicken paillard, chopped Cobb salad, and fried calamari all to our liking!  The calamari was all rings and perfectly cooked.  The Cobb salad was not the usual mass of large pieces of lettuce and great gobs of avocado and chicken, but rather a nice melange of chopped greens with the chicken, avocado, bacon and blue cheese in appropriately sized small pieces.  The sum was definitely greater than the parts!

Little Frog

Very friendly French place and reliably good.  We like the charming and urbane maître d’ (who think is also the owner).  The cheese fritters were a wonderful starter, the salads are good, and the braised short ribs were sublime!  Perfect for a chilly evening.

 Table d’Hote

Snug little restaurant on the Upper East Side about the size of a tearoom and very popular.  We enjoyed lunch here so much we returned for the perfectly executed comfort food dinner!  Little gem romaine salad with an oregano vinaigrette and then roast organic chicken served with silky puréed potatoes and some mini carrots all in tarragon jus.

Jing Fong  (Upper West Side)

This Chinese restaurant on Amsterdam sports dim sum on its sign, but the night we were there there were no carts, just what was on the menu.  To be fair, the menu includes a wide variety of dumplings, a number of which our large group sampled.  They were good.  We also ordered a chicken and vegetable dish, beef and onions, steamed buns, and for the two kids, several orders of soup dumplings.  Very busy on a Friday night so best to make a reservation.

Via Carota  (West Village)

I consider this a very special place even though it isn’t at all fancy.  In fact, it’s almost rustic with its wooden floor and wooden tables and chairs with the menus rolled up in a back pocket.  We eat here at least once every time we come to New York and dig into several must-have dishes:  grilled artichokes, and either Meyer lemon risotto or the chicken with lemon.  All the pastas are delectable, the salad is a perfectly tangy mound of greens, and it’s hard to go amiss with any dish you order.  They don’t take reservations so we often arrive unfashionably early, whether lunch or dinner.

Pascalou

Disappointing. We really wanted to like this French restaurant as the menu was very appealing.  Our waiter had a twinkle, our table upstairs was quiet, and everything was going fine.  The first courses, salad for me and pate for him, were acceptable, but then the service deteriorated.  It was almost an hour between courses and one entrée had clearly been cooked the day before, and the other wasn’t quite done the way I had requested.  The place was full so I hope others had a better experience.

 

SPLURGES

Paola’s

A traditional white tablecloth Italian restaurant serving both lunch and dinner.  It’s another popular Upper East Side dining venue and reservations, at least for dinner, are essential.  Salads are fresh and tasty and the pastas and veal shine.  I’m especially fond of the veal-stuffed agnolotti dusted with black truffle.

 Boulud Sud 

This is Chef Daniel’s (as in Boulud) Mediterranean restaurant and it’s an elegantly simple dining room offering impeccable service.  We’ve had lunches here in the more distant past, and this trip went for the prix fixe dinner before going across the street to Lincoln Center.  Everything was delicious from my saffron linguini with lemon and bottarga to the grilled dorade on a red pepper emulsion to the  light chocolate gateau with an oval of sorbet.

Cosme

Superb Mexican-influenced cuisine on 21st Street.  The dining room is what I’d call chic industrial with high ceilings, exposed metal, and light wood tables and finishes.  Most of the dishes on the menu are not familiar so you, like us, might need some translations.

We tucked into the herb guacamole (chunky style with an aromatic bunch of herb leaves) to go with the slightly astringent margaritas.  We then followed with branzino that was light and delectable and the house specialty, duck carnitas, basically a whole duck deconstructed and then put back together under the skin and served with two sauces and blue corn tortillas.  For dessert, we ordered the meringue filled with corn mousse (very different, but quite tasty) and a combo of a pastry ball and a ball of orange sorbet.  This restaurant is definitely pricy so be prepared to spend a lot, but it’s definitely worth it!

 Note:  All photos by JWFarrington except for header photo of an E&J sandwich from foursquare.com

San Francisco Interlude

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SAN FRANCISCO
OLD HOME WEEK AT THE ACADEMY
The Chief Penguin and I had the great pleasure of returning to San Francisco and the California Academy of Sciences for the 10th anniversary celebration of its new building. Ten years ago, when he was the Chief Penguin of this wonderful museum, we sat on the since named Patterson Plaza, and celebrated the opening of Renzo Piano’s airy, light-filled creation. The mayor and other dignitaries were there to bless the occasion, the sun burst through the clouds, and butterflies were released to the sky. It was a glorious day and the line for entry wound down the sidewalk and around the building for almost a mile. 

This time, besides the expected speeches, we were treated to songs from the San Francisco Boys Choir and testimonials from two youth. The 10 year old girl was an infant when the new academy opened and has been visiting since those early days. She loves the place and shared her enthusiasm for it and her goal of becoming an academy scientist. A 15 year old young man spoke eloquently about his experience as a Careers in Science intern, his involvement with the planetarium, and his plans to become an astrophysicist. Both were memorable demonstrations of the importance and power of the academy’s education mission!  A champagne toast on the Living Roof, the scattering of seeds there, and a reunion lunch with former colleagues and friends rounded out the day.  

The next day we returned for tours of the new Giants of Land and Sea exhibit and Big Picture as well as a showing of the newest award-winning planetarium show, Expedition Reef.  I was pleased to see that exhibit labels are now in four languages and that there were so many informative interactive screens in Giants.

I’ve been through the redwoods several times, but was in awe of the giant slice of an 800 year old redwood tree that came down in a storm; for me, it was the highlight of that exhibit.  Big Picture, the annual exhibit of the winners of the Academy’s photography contest, is now five years old and better than ever. I particularly liked the shot of the mother flamingo’s feather encircling a baby whose nose is just poking through.

Watching the planetarium show, I gained an greater understanding of the role played by coral reefs around the world and why it’s critical to work to preserve them.

And if you think this is all a plug for going to the academy, it is!  I’m shameless about promoting it.

DINING BY THE BAY 
Lest you think we didn’t do anything else in our short visit, we also ate very well!
Pizzeria Delfina. Upon arrival we started in our old neighborhood and had lunch at this pizza place off Fillmore. Old favorites, insulata tricolore and the sausage pizza, were as good as we remembered!

Coqueta.  This restaurant on the Embarcadero is another one we love, and we had dinner here our first night. Their menu of tapas always pleases and we had some of our usuals—-chicken croquettes, meatballs, patatas bravas, smoky potato chips, and a couple of cheeses.

Potatoes & Chips at Coqueta

Mel’s Drive-in Diner.  On busy Lombard Street, Mel’s serves as hearty a breakfast as you could want in a setting complete with jukebox and crayons and balloons for kids.  A complete array of omelettes plus bacon, sausage and toast.  Our waitress was friendly and the place has an inviting vibe.

A16.  On Chestnut Street, a short walk from our hotel, A16 is the sister restaurant to SPQR and a more casual place. Lots of pizzas on their menu plus salads and some slightly different pasta dishes. The panzanella salad was excellent and the simple long pasta with ragu perfect comfort food. Have to admit that the fusilli with walnuts was a bit oddly flavored, but worth trying. For dessert, we settled on a plate of small cookies which provided the requisite amount of sweet.

Pacific Catch. This Bay Area chain serves excellent fresh fish alone, in sandwiches, tacos and poke, and atop salads or rice bowls. Located a short walk from the Academy, it’s long been a lunch favorite for staff. I and the C.P. both dined there separately with former colleagues, and I had the hard choice of either the taco plate or the grilled salmon sandwich. The sandwich won out.

Zuni Cafe.  An old standby downtown (40 years young), but still excellent, was the venue for our last dinner. We were joined by a good friend and, while none of us ordered their famous roast chicken, we liked very much our heirloom tomato and Caesar salads, fritto misto, simple risotto, and a made-to-order veggie plate.

Note: All photos by JWFarrington.

 

Re-Entry: Maine to Florida

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LEAVING MAINE

Our last day in Maine we spent in Portland.  We had a lovely time at Petit Jacqueline over lunch of quiches and crepes with my cousin and his wife, re-visited the local independent bookstores, walked around Munjoy Hill, and then had dinner at Drifters Wife.

Foodies, and others, will know that this restaurant made the Top Ten Hot New Restaurants list as put forth by Bon Appetit.  Portland itself was named the food city of the year by the magazine.  I made our reservation before the top 10 list was final and my choices were 5:15 pm or 9:30.  Guess which one I picked?  Seriously, this wine shop (it’s still in the front of their space but set back so that I really didn’t see it until we were leaving) morphed and became a wine shop plus a wine bar with a small food menu.  

We both tried some different wines and the food was inventive and fun.  Beside their salami and very good sourdough bread with dulse butter, we sampled the corn and watermelon salad and the bacon, cabbage, and peach combo, followed by the half chicken served with greens.  For dessert (we broke our own rules about skipping this course) we tried the malabi, a Persian soft custard with blueberries that was delectable.  

Given their new fame, the place was jumping; there were couples standing and waiting for an available table while the two owners were back and forth seating folks and checking glassware at the bar (he seemed to always have towel in hand).  It’s all hard surfaces with nothing to muffle the sound, so it got louder the longer we were there.  Knowing that, it’s still a place I’d go to

if you are open to a different dining experience.

 

 

HOME AGAIN

We arrived home on Saturday night about 7:00 to an empty larder.  It being Labor Day weekend, we didn’t know if our favorite local restaurants would be crowded.  We arrived at Tide Tables about two minutes after they closed and went on to our favorite standby, Cortez Kitchen.  They were busy and THC, two guitarists with amplification, were playing and singing.  A happening place. 

Our favorite waitress smiled at us, we ordered coconut shrimp and the spicy shrimp roll to go with our wine, and prepared to wait for the food.  Initially, I was blasted by the sound of the music duo, but as I sipped the wine, I began to chill and get with the vibe.  This place is what we call our “biker bar” as it attracts a range of ages, lots of locals and some snow birds, but definitely those who arrive on their big wheel bikes.  In so many ways, it was the right place for re-entry into our Florida life.  Like Drifters Wife it was loud, but, other than that, so very different!

 

 

 

ON THE BIG SCREEN

Crazy Rich Asians

This is a perfect end of summer film.  A rom-com (romantic comedy for those not up to the latest slang), it’s fun, lovely, and has a happy ending.  I’ve made several visits to Singapore over the years, and having experienced the island’s culture and beauty, probably predisposed me to like the film.  Touting an all-Asian cast, it was the no.1 hit at the box office last week, out performing even Mission Impossible.  See it to be entertained, ignore or put up with the “catty girl” scenes, and settle in for a tropical delight.  Nothing too heavy, just enjoyable.

RECENT READING

#20    This Time Might Be Different by Elaine Ford

This book of short stories is by a Maine author.  While I haven’t yet read all of them I’m counting this as book #20 and the last one in my personal summer reading challenge.  With a subtitle of “Stories of Maine,” Ford matter-of-factly and succinctly presents the somewhat bleak lives of folks living in mostly rural poverty there.  Events more often happen to these people than being planned.  The stories perfectly capture that state’s physical landscape and are affecting to read.

Note:  All photos ©JWFarrington (some rights reserved)