Tuesday, March 31, 2009

B&H Dairy

B&H Dairy
127 2nd Avenue

Since first hearing about B&H during my freshman year at NYU I have come back time and time again to experience one of my favorite breakfasts in the city. A long counter, a handful of tables, and an open grill is you're looking at when you enter this dining institution that has been around for decades. Granted, I'm pretty skeptical about any place that is vegetarian, but it only took one visit to land B&H on my breakfast staples list.

The signature offering is their homemade challah, served with almost all of orders, though certainly worth the extra buck as a side. The bread is fluffy with a crusted exterior and it has just a hint of sweetness. It's from this humble beginning that the french toast is made. Dipped in an egg wash and thrown on the grill, it's quintessential comfort food and with three large pieces for $5.00, it's one of the cheapest breakfasts out there. Cheddar omelets for $5.00 and served with potatoes and, of course, challah, make it a perfect compliment for a dining partner ordering the french toast (split 'em both and you're in for a filling and incredibly inexpensive breakfast). Other offerings include a fresh juice bar, soups that are always very popular and borscht, which my girlfriend has stopped by for on more than one occasion.

French Toast, Cheddar Omelet, Potatoes:


French Toast & Cheddar Omelet:


Perhaps the best way to describe the true atmosphere at B&H is to mention that for lunch one day during college with a couple of my friends, a Tums commercial was being filmed at the restaurant. After singing "Tum tum tum tum. Tum tum tum tum tuuuuuuums" we returned to our three orders of french toast. Sure, it looks like a dive and there's usually one guy who's taking care of your table, your order and grilling your food, but if you go just once, you'll make it a point of going back again. Classic neighborhood joint with comforting, inexpensive food. A winner in my book.

Monday, March 30, 2009

Blue Apron Foods

42-43. Blue Apron Foods
814 Union Street between 7th and 8th Avenues (Park Slope, Brooklyn)



Logistically, it’s great when one location offers two items from the TONY list. Located just around the corner of 7th avenue on Union Street, lies Blue Apron Foods, a small gourmet foods shop, offering everything from cheese to olive oil to chocolate to chorizo. After a quick browse around the store, I was guided to the two items on the list, Askinosie chocolate and palacio mild chorizo.





Askinosie chocolate, named after owner Shawn Askinosie, bills itself as the first small batch chocolate maker in the US to press their own cocoa and as the only maker of natural cocoa powder. After removing the biodegradable packaging which just felt a little pretentious, I was left with a chocolate bar with generally the same dimensions as your standard Hershey bar. The similarities stop there. The 70% dark chocolate bar has a deep flavor with earthy, fruity tastes mixed in. While I wanted to simply eat the entire bar at once, I couldn’t help but let each piece melt and enjoy the flavors just a bit longer. The 52% milk chocolate trades off the intensity of the chocolate for some more pronounced fruit flavors. Sure, for $7.50 I can’t imagine buying these often, but it’s certainly worth it for the chocolate fanatic in your life.





The Palacio mild chorizo at only $1.50 per piece is considerably easier on the wallet. While each sausage is only about 4” in length, it packs a smoky and spicy flavor into each bite and a few seconds in the microwave made the flavors come out even more. The only problem I had was that it was incredibly oily and slid across my plate which made slicing through the natural casing a fairly difficult task. If Blue Apron Foods wasn’t so far away, I could definitely see myself picking up a few pieces more often.

Wednesday, March 25, 2009

Beer Table

41. Beer Table
427B 7th Avenue between 14th and 15th (Park Slope, Brooklyn)



My first trip into Park Slope was for a friend’s Halloween Party last year and as I walked passed Beer Table, I noted to my girlfriend that I would want to come back to check it out. After its spot on the TONY list was revealed, my roommate and I headed down to Brooklyn to sample the 13th Century Grut Bier ($13) from their extensive list of bottles that start at $11 and go all the way up to $95, with draft selections rotating daily. On Tuesdays, Beer Table offers a 3-course menu that changes often for $25 with an optional beer pairing for an additional $15 and with only 24 cramped stools around 3 wooden countertop tables we were lucky to wait only a few minutes before being seated. The Grut Bier had pronounced ginger and rosemary flavors that made for a smooth and savory beverage. An order of pickled fennel gave us something crunchy and vinegary to enjoy with the beers. While it’s not the cheapest place, it’s certainly worth going to for a new beer or to try their Tuesday night dinners.



Text from the Grut Bier label:
"Before the German Purity Law "Reinheitegebot" of 1516, it was common practice to use any kind of different spices, herbs, fruits and other plants to provide balance to beer. Hops was not yet well known at this time. Grut Bier has roots in many cultures and each culture had its own "special ingredients": Egyptians, Native Americans, Arabian Tribes, Gualles, Germanic Tribes and the Vikings. This interpretation of traditional Grut Bier is spiced with bay leaves, ginger, caraway, anise, rosemary, and gentian. It is brewed with water, wheat and barley malt, pollinated wild hops and fermented using top fermenting yeast."

Monday, March 23, 2009

Nizza

40. Nizza
630 9th Ave between 44th and 45th



Scrolling through the list of options on Seamlessweb while at work on a Friday night, I noticed that TONY list restaurant Nizza offered deliveries through corporate accounts. Not about to pass up an opportunity to sample an item from the list for free, I placed an order for the sage socca ($8) which the restaurant describes as a “crispy chickpea pancake cooked in the brick oven with sage, onions, and pecorino.” The pancake arrived in a pizza box and was about 10” in diameter, that’s one sizable pancake. While not as crispy as I would have liked (it was delivery after all), the sage and pecorino made for a satisfying appetizer that is big enough to share. The pancake itself was a little dry, and I could have gone for more pecorino and onions but the pancake makes for a pretty good appetizer to nosh on while sitting at the bar.

I also ordered the broccoli bruschetta with avocado and walnuts ($7.25) which I took two bites of and threw out (again, hopefully this is because of the delivery). The ingredients just didn’t work together and it was pretty messy to eat. The mushroom & fontina crochette ($5.50), however, was probably my favorite appetizer that I ordered from Nizza. Small, one-bite fried spheres of cheese, rosemary and mushrooms were flavorful and gooey. The entrée selections are interesting enough with grilled tuna, pork scallopine and lamb shank to make me want to order a whole meal, but if I’m looking for a place to have a glass of wine and an appetizer before a Broadway show, I would definitely keep Nizza in mind.

Sage Socca Part 1:


Sage Socca Part 2:


Mushroom & Fontina Crochette:

Sunday, March 22, 2009

Tehuitzingo

Tehuitzingo
695 10th Ave between 47th and 48th

Tehuitzingo is a small Mexican grocery store with a microwave-sized window in the back that opens to a kitchen where authentic tacos and tortas are served up to hungry midtowners and local residents lucky enough to stumble through its doors.





After hearing about it on Midtownlunch.com, my friends and I stopped by to grab a quick dinner. I ordered three tacos, beef tongue, goat meat and roast pork, which cost anywhere from $2.00-2.75 each. Adding some lime and hot sauce from the various condiment selections offered, my dining companions and I grabbed some stools and dug in. Served atop a double serving of corn tortillas, each taco offers plenty of food (two tacos would have been plenty but I wasn’t complaining). The goat meat was tender, the roast pork was fatty and slightly crispy and the tongue had a nice char on the outside. The one concern that we all had though, was that everything was a little dried out, though I didn’t think this was anything that couldn’t be fixed with a little hot sauce. While I thought that the tacos were the real winner, my dining companions were more partial to the order of chips and guacamole that we ordered as a last minute addition after hearing the people behind us talk about how good they are. Freshly made to order (both the chips and the guac), the guacamole was creamy and at only $3.00 was a steal.



While I’m still convinced that Tacqueria y la Fonda offers the better taco, and the selections required some added hot sauce, Tehuitzingo offers some of the best Mexican that midtown has to offer and is definitely worth the walk.

Saturday, March 21, 2009

Kefi

Kefi
505 Columbus Avenue near 84th street

Having dined here this passed Sunday, I was excited to see that The New York Times Wednesday food section included Frank Bruni’s 1-Star review of Kefi, a Greek restaurant owned by star chef Michael Psilakis and restaurateur Donatella Arpaia. Originally opened as Onera, Psilakis transformed the space into Kefi to allow for significantly more tables over two floors of dining space (NY Magazine reported that over 130 seats were added). The spot has become one of the more popular restaurants in the area, a fact made all too clear when we were told that our 6:00 reservation would only be held for 15 minutes since all of the tables in the gargantuan restaurant were booked. After being escorted downstairs and seated at a table towards the back, my girlfriend, her father and I placed our orders. Warm feta, grilled octopus and crispy cod to start, with branzinos and a lamb shank to follow.

The crispy cod ($7.50) was coated in a light batter and served over mashed potatoes which sounds like a fancy way to say fish and chips substituted with mashed potatoes, but it still managed to be light and I was able to actually taste the fish instead of just batter. While it was definitely a nice appetizer, the other two really did it for me. When octopus is done well, it can be very tasty, and Kefi knows how to transform a tough piece of octopod into something soft and flavorful. Served with a bean & chickpea salad ($9.95), this is octopus at its finest. Forget the chewy rubber band mess prepared at too many places and redefine what the dish really tastes like. Our last appetizer, warm feta ($6.95) offers a plate of tomatoes, capers, anchovies, peppers, olives and warm feta with pita slices for dipping. It’s simple, flavorful and has anchovies and feta. I’m always up for that. The warm feta makes for a great appetizer to share and I would definitely order it again at a table or waiting at the bar.

Crispy Cod:


Grilled Octopus:


Warm Feta:


While Kefi also offers souvlaki sandwiches and pastas (which they dub “macaronia”), the entrée selections looked too good to pass up. The grilled branzino ($16.95) was delicate, accented by a drizzle of olive oil and accompanied by roasted potatoes, tomatoes and a hot pepper (a cousin of the pepperoncini?) that still had the fiery taste but without any of the burn. While the branzino will satisfy anyone’s craving for fish, I opted for the braised lamb shank with orzo ($15.95). Tender meat that fell off the bone, stewed tomatoes, and a generous helping of rich orzo made this a dish worth coming back for.

Grilled Branzino:


Lamb Shank:


As if the food onslaught wasn’t enough, we indulged ourselves with orders of walnut cake served with walnut ice cream ($7). Though the edges of the cake were a little dry and needed to team up with a sliver of the ice cream for texture, the dessert had a carrot cake spice to it which is always a welcome treat.



Though the quality of service seemed to diminish as the meal went on, the food, the prices, and the atmosphere make Kefi a great place to go to with your parents, a date, or anyone that lives on the Upper West Side.

Wednesday, March 18, 2009

Salumeria Rosi

38-39. Salumeria Rosi
283 Amsterdam Ave between 73rd and 74th



Cesare Casella was the chef and owner of Maremma, a Tuscan-Italian restaurant in the West Village which my girlfriend and I enjoyed tremendously. We were pretty upset when we heard that Cesare was closing Maremma but I understand the allure of opening a grocery store selling Italian meats. When I visited the store to pick up TONY's recommended Prosciutto di Parma ($6 per quarter pound), the small eatery was bustling with customers lined up at the counter and all the dine-in seats taken. I picked up some Porchetta Toscana ($4 per quarter pound) and with the Finocchiona that my girlfriend had picked up for me, I was ready to see what Cesare had to offer.



Dubbed "the Ferrari of Italian pork products", the prosciutto was mild flavored, soft, fatty with an almost cheesy consistency. I could probably sit and eat a good pound of it, slice by slice and it would be one of the best charcuterie plates ever. While, I preferred the prosciutto to the finocchiona on its own merit, I would probably choose the finocciona for a sandwich. Finocchiona ($4 per quarter pound) is described as “a zippy, Tuscan-style salame, seasoned heavily with fennel, or finocchio. The salami is thinly slice and each piece is full of salty, meaty flavor and pieces of fennel. A quarter pound is probably enough for 1-1/2 sandwiches and is a bargain for $4.00. While certainly a solid option, the porchetta toscana clearly fell behind the other two champions of salami. Skip the processed meat from the grocery store and pick up as much salami as you can from Cesare.


Prosciutto di Parma & Porchetta Toscana:


Finocchiona:

Tuesday, March 17, 2009

Russ & Daughters

Russ & Daughters
179 E Houston Street

It’s no secret that it’s easier to make better food with better ingredients. Fresh mozzarella, homemade tomato sauce, and fresh basil go into a better slice of pizza. Pat LaFrieda beef and Murray’s cheddar go into a better hamburger. Ghirardelli chocolate goes into a better cake than Hershey’s. A bagel with cream cheese and lox is no different.

I have a hard time thinking about a meal that I enjoy more than bagels with different kinds of smoked fish and salads. Whitefish, sable, salmon, tuna. I’m pretty happy with any of these comfort foods. With Ess-a Bagel and Murray’s, I had the bagel part covered. For the lox, I set out to Russ & Daughters, Manhattan’s cathedral of smoked fish which opened in 1914 and fresh off of announcing extended hours as reported by TONY's The Feed. While I made the mistake of going at around noon on a Saturday and was subjected to a 30 minute wait for my number to be called, it gave me just enough time to figure out what I was going to order and to snag a free sample while I was at it.

Russ & Daughters offers 9 different types of smoked salmon, each looking better than the next. I managed to try a piece of the Balik which they quote as the “filet mignon” of salmon. More sashimi than lox, it has a rich flavor, not salty, and I would be quite pleased if I received a piece of this kind of quality salmon in a nice sushi spot. For $48/lb though, I think I’ll stick with the “ground chuck” of salmon. I decided to get a ¼ pound of two different kinds of salmon, belly lox and Norwegian. The belly lox ($32/lb) is not smoked, but cured in a brine that adds an intense salty flavor and makes for a softer flesh. If you’re going to eat a slice by itself, you’d better like salt, but on a bagel with cream cheese and tomato, the saltiness is muted slightly and if you’re looking for an intense flavor from the salmon, this is the way to go between the two. The Norwegian ($26/lb) is the least expensive of the smoked salmons, and while it’s certainly better than anything one could get ordering lox in a restaurant, it didn’t offer much flavor and was hard to bite off a piece without pulling the entire slice.

So many of the other offerings looked too enticing for me to leave with just the lox. I opted for some chopped herring salad ($10/lb). I’m a big fan of herring and this definitely hit the spot and a ½ pound of this stuff is a lot. I sat down with some crackers and a fork and managed to take it down in a couple of sittings. An intense fish flavor combined with a hint of sweetness from chopped apples made this a winner.

I came here for the lox, but if I returned for just one thing, it would be the whitefish & baked salmon salad ($13/lb). I left with a ¼ pound which is enough for a generous helping on a bagel. Whitefish salad is certainly not for everyone. The flavor is pretty distinct and even a small taste can be a bit overwhelming, but for those that are fans, I strongly recommend trying the whitefish salad at Russ & Daughters which adds baked salmon in a move that pushes the salad to the next level. They offer any of their smoked salmons as part of a sandwich on homemade bagels and even offer a sandwich called the Super Heeb ($10.45). Whitefish & baked salmon salad, horseradish cream cheese and topped with wasabi infused flying fish roe. Sounds like a plan.

Monday, March 16, 2009

Irving Mill

37. Irving Mill
116 E 16th Street between Irving and Union Square West



I pass Irving Mill almost every morning on my way to work and have always been impressed by the menu. Chef Ryan Skeen, former chef at Resto, has certainly made a name for himself in New York, representing the city as a candidate for the James Beard rising star chef of the year award. Skeen shares his passion for all things pork by including menu items such as pork toast with egg salad and caviar, crispy pig’s ear salad and a selection of sausages and pates. Time Out New York’s item at Irving Mill is the burger ($15) which blends ground sirloin, flap-meat and a touch of pig fat. Recently introducing a recession special, I ventured in on Monday nights where $15 nets a burger, fries and one of two rotating draft beers.

On tap were two Sixpoint ales though I only remember that one was light and one was dark (sounds like McSorley’s). The lighter ale was still slightly too bitter for my liking but enjoyable nonetheless. I’m not gonna lie, I was at first disappointed with the size of the burger. It’s small. For $15 I expected something bigger than a $5.50 double shake shack burger and even after the fries I was still hungry. Though I can see why people are excited about the burger, slightly crusty on the outside, fatty and juicy on the inside, topped with melted cheddar, I would still prefer a burger from the trifecta (shake shack, burger joint, corner bistro). What Irving Mill offers that the others don’t, however, is options and atmosphere. Sure, the burger on its own isn’t better than the others, but you certainly can’t get a charcuterie plate from a bistro, a pistachio crusted snapper from a joint, or tortellini with sweetbreads from a shack. Your friend doesn’t want a burger and you do? Go to Irving Mill. On a Monday. $15 is still too much for the burger, but if I rationalize it that I’m spending $6 on a beer, then the burger becomes only $9 which is right in the ballpark. As long as the Monday night specials keep going, Irving Mill offers a solid burger for a reasonable price.





Sunday, March 15, 2009

Midtown Lunch Post

The holy grail of food blogs, Midtownlunch.com, posted a link to my write-up of Sophie's Cuban. Ridiculously awesome.

Friday, March 13, 2009

Katz's

Katz’s
205 E Houston Street

Not going to even try. Great food, great atmosphere, a bit pricey, but worth coming to. Some gratuitous pictures of a corned beef / pastrami sandwich below:




Thursday, March 12, 2009

Sugar Sweet Sunshine

Sugar Sweet Sunshine
126 Rivington Street

With Amai Tea & Bake House, and Sweet Revenge already marked off from the TONY list, my girlfriend was nice enough to bring me cupcakes from one of her favorite spots, Sugar Sweet Sunshine, a bakery on the lower east side serving homemade cupcakes and layer cakes. At $1.50 each, it’s priced below Magnolia’s $1.75 similar-sized serving and well below the larger in size Sweet Revenge’s cupcake at $3.50. I was treated to two cupcakes, hand delivered to my office on a rough day at work (isn’t she sweet?), one coconut cake topped with satin buttercream, the other, a chocolate cake with chocolate almond buttercream. While the flavors sounded exciting, I was pretty disappointed. The coconut cake tasted like it came from a mix, and the frosting, though smooth, doesn’t compare with a Magnolia creation. The chocolate cake with chocolate almond frosting was noticeably better as the frosting incorporated an almond paste that added a sweet and nutty flavor, but the cake still fell victim to the store bought taste. Given its proximity to Sugar Sweet Sunshine, I would rather spend the $3 on a whoopie pie from Cake Shop.



Wednesday, March 11, 2009

Ippudo

36. Ippudo
65 4th Ave between 9th and 10th



The East Village has become something of a ramen mecca, with at least five different noodle shops within a few blocks of each other. Ippudo opened their first location in NYC after having considerable success with a chain of ramen shops in Japan and after trying a number of times to get a table, I succumbed to the waiting list and put my name down to join the masses. An hour and a half later my table was ready.

We sat at the bar to get a close-up view of the food being prepared and if the food was going to be anything like the décor, we were in for a great experience. Large booths surround communal wooden tables with plenty of viewing areas into the kitchen. We each ordered the Akamaru ramen which the restaurant describes as “new recipe, ramen noodles, thicker pork broth, berkshire pork chashu, cabbage, scallions.” What they forgot to list was something that added a pasty, slightly gritty taste (MSG? Miso?) that rendered the broth mediocre at best. The noodles were soft and slightly chewy, and the pork was tender and flavorful, but I just couldn’t get over the broth. It doesn’t even come close to Momofuku Noodle Bar.

I think that of all the items on the TONY list so far, I was most disappointed with Ippudo. Maybe it was because the hour and a half wait built up unrealistic expectations or that my recollection of Momofuku Noodle Bar placed Ippudo unfairly up against an unbeatable comparison, but whatever the reason, I can’t see myself returning to pay $16 for inferior noodles even without a wait.

Tuesday, March 10, 2009

House of Brews

House of Brews
46th Street between 8th and 9th (multiple locations)

In search of a viable alternative to the sit-down lunch where a burger and a beer at an Irish bar around the corner will wind up costing upwards of $20, I managed to convince my co-workers that a walk to House of Brews for the $10 burger and beer special was worth the 10-minute walk. After several jabs at me for suggesting a place that necessitated walking just to save a few bucks, we were told that from a fairly extensive beer list, the options for the beer special were limited to Yuengling, Bud Light and Checker Cab. I ordered a Checker Cab Blond Ale, made by the Chelsea Brewing Company ($6.50 without the special), and was pretty impressed with my first taste of a Chelsea Brewing Company beer (certainly better than the Bud Light that I assumed would be the only option). House of Brews also offered a 2-for-1 special on Stella’s ($6.50 each) for those that opted out of the burger lunch special.

In an effort to convince my coworkers that it is worth the walk, I will acknowledge that the burger was nothing special, and at $13 for dinner would be a clear disappointment. However, a cheeseburger, fries and a beer for $10 at House of Brews gets you food that is pretty much on par with anything offered from an Irish pub at a fraction of the cost. Sure, it doesn’t offer the same feel of a pub, and the place was eerily empty, but for me, it is certainly worth the walk and is clearly a viable lunch option for those that work closer to restaurant row.

Monday, March 9, 2009

Sophie's Cuban

35. Sophie’s Cuban
369 Lexington between 41st and 40th (Various locations)



I was fortunate to convince a number of my coworkers to come with me to Sophie’s, as they are usually reluctant to accompany me on any of my food excursions (save for a select few). We arrived to a bustling yet orderly theater in which tables available for a sit-down lunch were juxtaposed to two lines for take-out (one for sandwiches only, the other for their various platters). After quickly learning the rules of the game, we split up into the respective lines. I ordered the fried pork sandwich and the Midtownlunch sandwich challenge entry, the pernil with a twist to share ($6.00 each).

The fried pork sandwich, voted top sandwich for 2008 on Midtownlunch.com offers chunks of fried pork, sweet plantains and stir-fried onions, served on a toasted hero roll. The pork is tender, the plantains are soft and sweet and the onions add the perfect amount of crunch to the sandwich. I’m actually very tempted to go get one now as I’m writing this. It’s that good, and I’m almost embarrassed that I’ve never gotten one before. Taste. Value. Creativity. To me, these are the most important criteria by which midtown lunch foods should be judged. The fried pork sandwich from Sophie’s Cuban has not only conquered the trifecta, but vaulted itself into midtown lunch and sandwich royalty.

The “pernil with a twist” sandwich marks another strong entry into the Midtownlunch challenge. It uses roast pork which is almost like a pulled pork, plantains, onions and a green sauce which tastes like an offshoot of guacamole. If you find that the fried pork sandwich is too dry, I would definitely suggest trying the pernil with a twist instead, though for me, it’s all about the original. My coworkers sampled the platters ($8.00) which offer generous portions of juicy turkey marinated in a spicy tomato sauce and served with a choice of two sides (rice, beans, plantains, fries). For those that are used to ordering stir-fry from any number of places for lunch, I would strongly suggest switching up the routine with a platter. After Sophie’s, I have a feeling my coworkers will be willing to come with me to lunch again.

Outside of Sophie's


Pernil with a twist


Pernil with a twist


Fried Pork Sandwich:


Turkey Platter:

Saturday, March 7, 2009

The Sunburnt Cow

The Sunburnt Cow
137 Avenue C near 9th Street

My friends from out of town wanted something for dinner that they couldn’t get in D.C. Having already gone to Katz’s and with plans to hit up Artichoke and Ess-a bagel before they left, we decided to go to Sunburnt Cow, a bar / restaurant on Avenue C that I had read about in a number of articles, serving Australian food and $20 open bar specials. When we first entered, we were led into the bar area, dark and semi-uninviting for a dinner (it is a bar after all). But passing through a lounge area, we were led to a porch-like back room with a few tables surrounded by exposed wood paneling and covered in dark lighting. Not bad.

For $16, Sunburnt Cow offers a choice of any appetizer, entrée and dessert. Sold. I started off with an order of the fried calamari, served atop chopped kiwi and jalapeno. Sure, it was a decent appetizer but the execution was way off. The combination of kiwi and jalapeno works well, but how am I supposed to eat it? There was no way to get everything together in one bite. It would have been nice if they pureed the kiwi and jalapeno into a kind of dipping sauce for the calamari. That’s something I would order. My friend ordered the shrimp cocktail which coated baby shrimp in a mayo-based sauce. Also not a winner.

Fried Calamari with kiwi & jalapeno:


Shrimp Cocktail:


For my entrée, I split an order of Barramundi and an order of the Roo Bangers and Mash. The barramundi fillets were served in a Thai broth with veggies and noodles. More soup than entrée, the barramundi was pretty fishy, though the broth was pleasantly spicy and full of fish sauce which added a nice salty balance. I couldn’t help but pick up the bowl and drink the remaining broth. The ‘roo bangers are made from, you guessed it, kangaroo, served with mashed potatoes. I was looking for a more gamey flavor but it actually tastes pretty similar to rabbit (i.e. like chicken though the meat is more fibrous). In the end though, it doesn’t compare well to bangers and mash from London. My other friend ordered the skirt steak which I think was the real winner of the evening. The sauce complemented a tender medium-rare steak and for $16 with appetizer and dessert is probably the way to go.

Barramundi:


Roo Bangers & Mash:


Steak:


The dessert options included sponge cake cubes covered in chocolate and coconut, a pavlova which consists of meringue and cream mixed with fruit, and a date pudding. Opting for the date pudding, I was rewarded with a warm serving of sweet and flavorful pudding. The pavlova was light and serves those who like a more refreshing end to their meal.

Sticky date pudding:


Pavlova:


As our meal came to an end, we were surprised to find that from the empty dining room at 8pm had emerged a waiting list for tables, and while it could just be a function of the fact that the service was fairly slow, I was forgiving, one because there was only one waitress for a good number of tables and two because all employees had an Australian accent. In the end, I was pretty disappointed with the choices that I made, but if I came back and ordered a different appetizer, the steak and the date pudding, it’s probably worth the $16.