Jump to content

Serious Eater

Member
  • Posts

    6
  • Joined

  • Last visited

  • Days Won

    2

Everything posted by Serious Eater

  1. Exposed to a flurry of press releases announcing the opening of Café Riggs, claiming that it is a destination restaurant and not "just" a hotel restaurant, we decided to give it a try for lunch. After all, there was CityZen 'in the good old days'. The room was very pleasant indeed, with high ceilings, comfortable seating, low noise level, pleasing table linen and tableware. Reception was friendly and efficient, serving staff professional. For one starter we had a cold crab, pickled celery and mustard salad on top of a crab-flavored custard, reminiscent of chawanmushi except that the custard was very rich indeed. It was spectacular. For the other starter, a broccoli salad with a sesame-garlic vinaigrette and toasted quinoa to add some crunch. It too was very good, and we would definitely order both dishes again. For a main course we had Arctic char which, blessedly, was not overcooked, with super-crisp skin, couscous, a slightly-saffron-flavored broth, and slivers of snow peas. Good, and we would get it again. And a vegetable main, crispy sunchokes on top of freekah with mustard greens. The sunchokes were excellent, however the freekah with mustard greens was a good concept that needed perhaps some acid insofar as it became tedious after a few bites. For dessert, their version of palet d'or, a chocolate-hazelnut confection. The traditional concept was good, of course; the components were good; but it was poorly presented with crumbling edges. French patisserie is really marred by sloppy presentation. A destination restaurant? Well, not now; perhaps in the future. We will return: we kept saying "my, that looks good" as servers brought dishes to other tables. There is nothing wrong with a great burger and crispy french fries.
  2. Dinner at Maialino Mare last evening was very good indeed. The room is pleasant, high ceilings, large windows. Noise level was acceptable even after the restaurant filled a few minutes after the photograph attached was taken. Tables are a good size, not the usual postage stamp. Chairs were comfortable. Tableware was 'upper scale trattoria'. Service was outstanding, as is the case with the Danny Meyer restaurants in New York: reception, food service and wine service. The wine list was extensive and offered good options at a wide range of prices. We began by sharing an order of spaghetti with lobster, the pasta and lobster perfectly cooked and the sauce with an incredibly intense lobster essence. Next, swordfish also perfectly cooked with a white wine sauce. Someone in the kitchen has had classical training with sauces. And skate Milanese. We love skate but rarely order it in restaurants since it is not robust and has to be perfectly fresh. We interrogated General Manager Morgan Dillon who assured us that we would enjoy the dish, and in the event it was excellent: sweet skate, tasty garlic-herb coating complementing. To accompany, the very best fried artichokes we have ever had, including in Italy. Dessert. Apple crostata with an almond cream, pastry tender and flaky, hot from the oven, with genuine whipped cream. Yum. Torta della nonna, a lemon custard topped with toasted pine nuts, with an almond crust. Also yum. Blessedly, neither was too sweet; more 'Paris' than 'Rome'. We will certainly return. Any hesitation? Well, the food was without risk; was perhaps a bit timid in concept albeit perfect in ingredients, preparation and presentation. Because it's a new restaurant? Because it's a hotel restaurant? Perhaps chef will cut loose after a while. After all, to thrill some people you have to take the risk to offend some people.
  3. We were not eager to eat at The Imperial, largely because the PR made it seem like a drinking establishment serving some food rather than a restaurant serving some drinks. Irrespective and for reasons irrelevant we went to an early dinner. Entering, our preconception was reinforced insofar as the main dining room consisted of a few tables adjacent to the bar, as pictured. Then our impression began to change. Service was totally professional: none of the usual 'small plates we will serve when we want instead of when you want'; comfortable seating; and not too noisy even for a Saturday evening. We began with scallop crudo, with perfect ingredients, perfectly prepared and presented, albeit not all that interesting; and steamed oysters, the same. The meal took off with the larger small plates. Grilled shrimp with toothsome farro, brunoise of fennel, in a complex bouillabaisse broth with saffron -- all delicious; but what sent the dish over the top was the caraway toast. The caraway elevated the dish from very good to memorable. And we had steelhead vol-au-vent, the puff pastry filled with a fricassee of leeks and sunchokes, topped with smoked trout roe. There were a number of other dishes on the menu we want to try, so we will go back, sometime, to the Imperial.
  4. i Ricchi does not get much attention. Perhaps because it is not a new restaurant, having served customers for thirty years? Perhaps because it serves traditional Tuscan dishes without 'a twist'? Probably 'yes' to both. If a restaurant has lasted for three decades they must be doing something right, given the half life of restaurants. And dishes which have been refined, improved, perfected for a couple of centuries can be really delicious. After, sadly, forgetting about i Ricchi for a decade or so we have had excellent lunches there recently. i Ricchi is a high end Italian restaurant: professional but friendly service; quiet, at least at lunch; large (by current standards) tables widely spaced, with tablecloths; good wine selection -- and wine by the glass which is in good shape; relatively comfortable seating. The food has been consistently very good -- the quality control is admirable and not universal. From one recent lunch (pictured): a delicious bread service; rigatoni strascicate -- classic Tuscan sugo, parmigiano; tortelloni -- spinach, ricotta & sage butter; corvina (perhaps sautéed a moment longer than we would have preferred, but nevertheless delicious) with cannellini beans & zucchini and pine nut salsa; costoletta alla Milanese -- pan-fried veal chop, arugula, plum tomatoes. i Ricchi has become a go-to place for lunch with guests.
  5. It took us a while to warm up to Punjab Grill. They seemed to be trying too hard, with their over-the-top decor, dishes with multiple sauces when one would do, with multiple garnishes when one or none would do. Were they over-compensating, and for what? We have decided that if we overlook all of that Punjab Grill is actually a very good high end Indian restaurant. In terms of atmosphere it is relatively quiet; tables are large and far apart; tableware, e.g. linen, is of good quality. Service is good, wine selection and wine service is good. And then there is the food. We find it to be comparable to high end Indian restaurants in New York -- although below the level of, sadly lamented, Tabla -- and for that matter in India, albeit a bit below the Michelin-starred high end Indian restaurants in London. At a recent meal we had gol gappa, perhaps the best we have ever had since they were not overly sweet (pictured); Hokkaido (well, maybe from Hokkaido...) scallops, perfectly prepared on the knife edge between cooked and raw, with cauliflower puree (pictured); kathal kofta, or jackfruit dumplings, a so-called signature dish and rightly so (pictured); rarha lamb, a lovely lamb shank virtually fat free, moist and tender along with a mincemeat curry sauce (pictured); and garlic naan and missi roti, the latter made with chickpea flour not all that commonly available (pictured). But the key question is: how does it compare to Rasika and Rasika West End? The food at Rasika and Rasika West End is in fact better. However, after twenty or thirty meals at Rasika a little variety is nice.
  6. We went to a friends-and-family dinner and the restaurant was already polished and professional. Menu, wine list, food and wine service, and atmosphere (comfort, decor, noise level) seemed like an informal Tail Up Goat. Every dish we had was delicious, and we would order every one again: scallops, perfectly cooked, with kumquats and celery; meatballs, polenta with citrus, and pine nut picada (photo attached); pasta with Sea Island red peas and collards; pasta with broccoli, lemon, gouda and spicy chili breadcrumbs for crunch; apple tart and basil with a caramel sauce; winter squash crostata with whipped cream and mint (photo attached). We liked that the desserts were not overly sweet. So, a winner. Reveler's Hour or Tail Up Goat? Both.
×
×
  • Create New...