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trillian68

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Everything posted by trillian68

  1. Sorry to have vanished, but things ... you know how it goes. Apparently the real estate market is still alive and well in MtP, because we’re outta here. As for our soon to be new home, two trips to the region have yielded the following: Shock at the wasteland of fast food joints and chain restaurants. (As well as horror at the lack of retail shopping opportunities. No Nordstrom, how is that possible?) In that vein, my first visit to Burger King since childhood. A toddler is my defense. But then a SECOND visit to BK for reasons I don’t care to get into. Several stops at Dunkin Donuts (not a bad thing). An eh dinner at Emperor’s. At first I was excited by the fairly interesting menu but couldn’t get over the depressing, diner-like room (not diner in a good way) and greasy food. A light lunch at Café Illium in Troy. Pretty good black bean soup with a spicy kick to it. Quaint room. We’ll see. A fun, very good dinner for 4 at Café Capriccio. Starters included the simple but great beans/greens soup, the homemade ravioli (can’t remember what it was that night but wonderful), and a pretty standard antipasti platter. We moved on to 3 pastas: calamari/ink sauce, chingale, and puttenesca. All good, but the real stand out was the eggplant lasagna – surprisingly delicate and fresh but then unfortunately served with a load of veggies and mediocre polenta turning it into a massive amount of food. A+ was the house organic wine which, had we not enjoyed so much of it so much, I might remember what it was. Overall the restaurant was warm and lively and the food quite good, so I expect we’ll be back often. A very good solo dinner at the bar at Tosca (Troy). I felt compelled to get the much touted Dover sole “flown in from England.” The fish was fine, but the lightly steamed but still crunchy baby root vegetables were truly fabulous – perfectly fresh and perfectly cooked. The restaurant was really hoppin’ too, surprisingly busy (to me) for a Thursday evening given that the rest of downtown Troy was a ghost town. A great experience was lunch for 2 and a toddler at DeFazio’s (Troy). Lunch??? Silly us, the door was open and there were 3 guys behind the counter so we assumed they were open for lunch. Nope. I must have looked as disappointed as I felt because the owner offered us a stromboli that he had just taken out of the oven. Now, my husband and I have had our share of 'bolis in Philly, but this was completely different and so much better. The dough was a bit more like pastry than typical pizza, and the meats were a real explosion of flavor. Really outstanding, but I may have just been charmed by the whole experience. So, we’re moving this week and, as soon as we can find a sitter, will be heading to McGuires. Haven’t found a house yet, so we're taking an apartment in downtown Troy for the time being to get a better feel for the area and wait for a house we love. I've heard good things about the Troy farmers' market and Larry Schepici is opening a gourmet market soon if not already, so that's promising. Thanks to everyone for your comments! I’ll try to report back once we settle in, explore the food scene more (such as is it), and build that kitchen that is undoubtedly in our future. Cheers to all, Trisha
  2. You just wandered into my hubby's dream kitchen! He's lobbying hard for an Aga, and I have to say, I'm warming to the idea. I'm laughing to keep from crying. C'mon, there's GOT to be a decent restaurant up there. (Note the lowering of standards.)
  3. Bleaker than I thought. Maybe it's time to invest in the kitchen of my dreams? I do look forward to your recommendations!
  4. OMFG. Just learned that we're moving to the Albany area and I've never even been there ever. Besides helping with the urgent need for school district recommendations and such ... Where will we eat??? I'm sure we'll occasionally haul ourselves up to Saratoga Springs and places as far afield, but I'm really looking for local spots in Albany (or Troy?). And if anyone is looking for a fabulous house in MtP, PM me. Argh.
  5. Has anyone taken the Indian class with Somchet Chumpapo? I've been experimenting and working from cookbooks for a while but could use some in-person expert guidance. (And DARN YOU Heritage India for AGAIN refusing to deliver to Mt. Pleasant! DIY = power.)
  6. Raisins. Taste and texture skeeve me out. I'll sit and pick out every last one from a muffin or granola. Drives the hubby crazy. I don't have a problem with any other dried fruits though. Anything with the taste of licorice. That used to include fennel but I've been working on getting over it. Okra. Dear god - I shuddered just typing it. Oozy yuckiness. Blech.
  7. I have to follow up because I couldn't believe it when I saw reverbbrad's other post. By coincidence, we had made a reservation at that other restaurant and canceled (with plenty of notice!) because I was having second thoughts and wanted to go somewhere more relaxed and, oh look! Dino has an 8:00! Wow, I'm so glad I went with my instincts and then got lucky with the time. It's really true -- Dino is a special place.
  8. RW at Dino! We went last night, for the first time in way too long. The place was rockin' and even better than we remembered. Dean brought us a bottle of De Conciliis Donnaluna Aglianico, which was delightful and versatile and didn't break the wallet. His enthusiasm for the wine made the experience even better. We started with the fabulous burrata - I (unsuccessfully) tried to hide the last bit of the hubby's share behind the basil leaf so I could have it to myself - and the dreamy polenta. I strongly recommend the polenta with the mushrooms, which had just enough acid (balsamic?) and meaty texture to be the perfect counterpoint to the creamy polenta. My lasagne was rich and good but perhaps not the best choice given the ghastly heat outside and what, at that point, was a rapidly decreasing amount of available space in my belly. My husband was the big winner of the evening with the whole bronzino, perfectly fresh and lightly finished with lemon and capers. When the Nutella crepes arrived, I groaned and then almost cleaned the plate. I'm a Nutella fanatic, but what really wowed me were the crepes themselves - light, delicate texture and taste. We left stuffed silly and wondering why we're such morons not to go more often. (I have to add that I nearly swooned when a waiter passed by with a trayful of steak orders. I'll have to fast in anticipation, but mmmm next time ...)
  9. Or do as I did for lunch today, the chilled thai-chili tomato soup AND the bluefish with tomato marmalade. Both were delightful and delicious.
  10. Oh no! I saw it on the menu on the website (in my obsessive anticipation of returning to New Heights) and had to wipe the drool off the keyboard. Has anyone had the veal breast, and if so, thoughts? If not (and I'm almost afraid to ask) has anyone seen it on the actual menu? Of course, I could always choke down some softshells, if need be.
  11. My husband and I finally got to Beck on Friday night too. We arrived a little early for our 7:30 reservation, so we carved out a little space for ourselves at the bar, which was packed shoulder to shoulder, and ordered some drinks. I'm not a big beer drinker, so I got a Bavik which went down smooth and fast. The front of house staff were all very friendly and accurate in when we could expect to be seated, which ended up pretty close to our reservation time. Our waiter, although pleasant enough, wasn't terribly helpful in describing the dishes we asked about. But, the courses were timed well and we didn't ever feel rushed. Plus, he kept the beers coming. As for the food ... we decided to share the mussels in white wine as our starter. Both the mussels themselves and the liquid were ok, not great. Maybe we should have tried the fennel and chorizo which looks fantastic in txaggie's photo. I thought the frites were wonderful, but I could see how they would lose their charm if they cooled down - they didn't. I was hooked on the red mayo in the middle. I ordered the choucroute en croute, but I don't know why. It looked impressive, but there's a difference between mild and tasteless ... and the filling wandered into tasteless. Maybe the cabbage could have been sharper in its seasoning, or it needed some mustard on the side for a good schmear now and then. The pork tenderloin had been the other dish I considered, so I'm eager to try that next time. The BIG WINNER of the night, however, was the skate my hubby ordered. The texture was wonderful and the coating was crispy and light. Delish. Despite my not so subtle hints, I couldn't get more that a little taste. None of the desserts appealed to us much, so we decided to try the cheeses. Disappointing. Our waiter had no clue what the cheeses were, and the plate seemed to have been arranged much earlier (the cheeses had that sitting out on the party buffet too long texture). They were all goat, but I'd say only one out of the three was any good or interesting. Too bad I don't know what it was. So ... a mixed bag in terms of the food, but overall we had a GREAT time. And it seemed like a lot of other people were doing the same. I go out expecting to at least have fun, but unfortunately some restaurants seem to work hard against that. Not Beck -- friendly staff, relaxed vibe, lively crowd, good grub. I'm looking forward to going back, armed with some better intelligence on what to order. One complaint: after 3 beers and a coffee, having to fight through the bar crowd to get to the restrooms ... that's just mean.
  12. Wow. I've boycotted this place from the get-go because of the New Haven thing, which has really bothered me too. I don't know a lot about a lot ... but I AM from New Haven, born and raised and all that. Plus, I'm Nabl'dan (sp? seriously), first generation from around Naples, for anyone pining for a little Sopranos tonight. I take my pizza seriously. (Sally's, Pepe's, Modern ... all good, but I'll let you know exactly which camp I'm in once I get to know you better.) All that said, your posts, Joe H, have actually given me hope. I'm going to withhold prejudice, put any comparison to NH out of my mind, and maybe give Comet a try. Go crazy. Still open, right??? BTW ... broken record ... hee.
  13. I am newbie, hear me ... well, just hear me. I too have had good experiences at Rice. Yummmm beef. It's a nice spot for lunch, if you find yourself in the neighborhood. Unfortunately, the food isn't so great delivered for some reason.
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