Wednesday, April 29, 2009

Back Forty

Back Forty
190 Avenue B

I first read about Back Forty when I was searching online for new hamburger spots to try. A recipient of Time Out New York’s Best Eats award for 2008 (the award plate is prominently displayed near the entrance), Back Forty caters to the locavore diner, with ingredients from local farms and beer selections from Northeastern breweries.

Though we were unaware that the restaurant even offered a happy hour, we managed to go on a Sunday night, where all drinks at the bar are half price. With most beer options normally priced around $6-7 and cocktails at $10, we didn’t need much convincing to sit at the bar (they also have a garden out back when the weather improves that looks like a great summer spot).

We started off with an order of the recommended pork jowl nuggets ($4). Small cubes of what is mostly pork fat, crispy on the outside and fatty on the inside, are placed over a jalepeno marmalade that provides much of the flavor and heat (not recommended for those who do not like spicy foods). For three to an order, they certainly weren’t cheap, and even though they were good, I can’t justify the price tag.

Pork Jowl Nuggets:


A Captain Lawrence pale ale later, and we were ready for what we came for, the grass-fed burger ($11). I topped mine with heritage farms bacon ($2), she topped hers with cheddar ($2), and we split an order of rosemary fries ($2), which I would strongly recommend ordering. The restaurant doesn’t suggest ordering their burgers more than medium, as the grass-fed beef tends to be less fatty than the usual burger meat. Though the patty was juicy and plump, which made it a very good burger, my medium-rare order was cooked slightly on the rarer side (not a big foul), the bacon didn’t really add much to the dish, and I would still prefer one from shake shack anytime. We finished the meal with an order of their pecan brownie topped with vanilla ice cream ($7), which was pretty simple and for $7 I expected a dessert that is more than something I could easily make at home. That being said, I would be happy to come back with a locavore who is interested in trying some of their other offerings or anyone that enjoys grass-fed beef, as long as it is happy hour.

Burger:


Burger with Bacon closeup:


Brownie:


Know of another restaurant that offers food specials at the bar? Interested in going? Post a comment!

Tuesday, April 28, 2009

Royale

Royale
157 Avenue C

My roommate had told me about Royale when I lived in the West Village last year, and though I was reluctant to make the trip across town to Avenue C, Royale has solidified its spot on my list of top summer hangouts. Disguised as any other bar, the porch out back is one of my favorite places to go on a warm summer evening, since it feels like you’ve been transported to someone’s backyard deck. As if cans of porkslap and plenty of beers on tap weren’t enough, Royale offers a burger that challenges (perhaps successfully) the burger trifecta (shake shack, burger joint, corner bistro). The royale with bacon $8.00 is a perfectly charred, medium-rare patty, juicy and flavorful, manifesting images of the corner bistro burger (though Royale’s is slightly larger). Some fries and beer battered onion rings later ($3 each), I can only hope for another warm night to return soon.

Royale with Bacon:


Fries & Onion Rings:

Saturday, April 25, 2009

TONY - Halftime Review

TONY Summary

At the half-century mark on the TONY list and I thought it would be appropriate to take some time and reflect upon the quest, think about the highs and lows and try to provide some insight to anyone trying to determine what is the best of the best from the list. As it is with my inability to choose between members of the upper echelon of burger greatness, I find that the best way to sort out the winners is not to rank each place, but to sort the restaurants into tiers. With that in mind, I present to you what I consider to be Tier 1, mind you that they are in no particular order:

1. Artichoke Slice from Artichoke Pizza
2. Chicken-liver bacon sandwich from JoeDoe
3. Bacon peanut brittle from the Redhead
4. Hot buttered rum from Little Branch
5. Sticky bun from Amy’s Bread
6. Panelle from Ferdinando’s Focacceria
7. Wylie dog from PDT
8. Fried pork sandwich from Sophie’s
9. Calzone from Anthony’s
10. Prosciutto from Salumeria Rosi



Notable Mention (Tier 2): Porchetta sandwich from Porchetta, Sliders at Little Owl, Whoopie pie from Cake Shop, Pie in a Box from Park Avenue Winter, Herring salad from Café Katja

Still have about 40 or so left and I hope that what is now Tier 1 will be bounced to Tier 2. Some of the items that I’m most looking forward to include goat at Cabrito, foie gras ravioli at Scarpetta, face bacon at Blue Hill and duck-fat fries at the Harrison.

Want to come with me to one of the remaining places on the list? Think that my tiers are wrong? Want to suggest something for the 2009 AmuseMyBouche list? Post a comment!

NJ Transcript TONY List Article

NJ Transcript wrote an article about my quest through the TONY list. Check out the story by clicking on the image below!

Wednesday, April 22, 2009

Lucali

50. Lucali
575 Henry Street

Having been told that Lucali, a popular pizza joint in Cobble Hill, fills up rather quickly and that tables are hard to come by, I made sure to show up at 6pm, just when they open. What I hadn't realized is that people start to show up at 5pm and when I asked for a table for 5 people, I was told that they could do a table at 8:30. Two and a half hours?! I'll take mine to go, thank you.





A la TONY, we ordered one with pepperoni and hot peppers and after paying an absurd $32 for a pie that barely serves 3, we snagged an area around the corner to sample the famous pizza. Sure, it had fresh basil and a nicely burned crust but I'm not sure what the big deal is and could never imagine waiting so long for their pizza which isn't even in the same league as Artichoke. Patsy's, Grimaldi's, Lombardi's are all better options. Head around the corner to Ferdinando's for some panelle instead.




Tuesday, April 21, 2009

Dinosaur Bar-B-Que

Dinosaur Bar-B-Que
646 W 131st Street

There aren’t many restaurants worth traveling to that are north of 120th street. With so many restaurants in the city, many have trouble traveling very far in search of a great meal. But for those that are willing to brave the journey and suffer through wait times that often exceed two hours, there are wonderful food splendors that wait, and they are covered in barbecue sauce. It’s not that I am not willing to be convinced otherwise (trust me, I would love to be), but having tried Blue Smoke, Hill Country, and Virgil’s, Dinosaur is my overwhelming favorite spot for barbecue in NYC (*Disclaimer: I have yet to be to Fette Sau which I have been told could offer Dinosaur a run for its money).

Born from humble beginnings as a biker joint in Syracuse, Dinosaur quickly spread to Rochester and opened up its third location to wondrous praise in Manhattan. Since my first visit a few years ago, I have spread the gospel of Dinosaur to all that would listen in an attempt to find dining partners as often as possible, and after sampling its offerings on numerous occasions, have yet to leave with anyone disappointed.

Any trip to Dinosaur will undoubtedly be met with a substantial wait, as even during offpeak hours I have waited up to an hour (the most I’ve waited is almost two and a half hours). During the warmer months, the restaurant offers tables outside that are first come first served, and while the wait might be a bit shorter, there is no one managing the line so be prepared for some territory disputes. The best thing to do is grab a seat at the bar and order a flight. Beer flights ($6) contain four 4oz. servings of any of the 23 beers that they have on tap; a perfect choice for the first beer of the night to allow you to make a more informed choice for the next beer.

For something to snack on while waiting, order their chicken wings which made Yelp’s list of best eats in 2009 (don’t think I’ll make it to all of those spots this year). Served 6 or 13 to an order, they come tossed in a “spicy” barbecue sauce or in a garlic parmesan sauce. Don’t choose, just order some of both. They’ll get eaten. Incredibly plump with moist tender meat that falls off the bone, I have been tempted to just make an entire meal out of just the wings. While tabulating the total number of wings to order, a friend from Syracuse noted that he would be eating 13 himself. Champion.

Chicken Wings:


The restaurant offers a full menu at the bar, so if you can grab seats and avoid the wait, go for it. We did this the last time we were there and by the time we left, our table had still not yet been called. Entrée time, and there are so many choices to consider, but for first timers, there’s only one way to go, the Tres Hombre ($18.95). Served with ¼ rack of ribs, pulled pork, brisket, two sides and corn bread, it offers the best way to sample the best of Dinosaur, all on one plate. The pulled pork is tender and the brisket has beautiful pink smoke rings (though it can be a bit dry at times), but what separates Dinosaur is the ribs. With meat that falls off the bone and killer sauce that doesn’t overwhelm the dish, I make sure to get ribs every time I visit. Finish off the plate with some mac & cheese and baked beans and you’ll be stuffed. Doesn’t get any better than that.

Tres Hombre:


Ribs:


With plenty of platters under my belt, I’ve moved on to some of the other offerings. The Cuban sandwich ($10.95) adds pulled pork to the traditional sandwich mixing crunchy with tender and sour with savory. What I’ve been ordering most often, however, is the "Pork-Sket" ($13.95), a brisket sandwich topped with cole slaw, jalapeños, and yes, pulled pork. As my friend who eats 13 wings says, it’s a “man’s sandwich.” There’s nothing like a giant pile of barbecued meats on one roll with some spice and crunch from the jalapeños. Needing to have some ribs also, I make sure to split the sandwich and a ½ rack with a dining partner to create my own platter.

Pork-Sket:


Next time you’re looking for some of the best barbecue that NYC has to offer, make the trek, it’s worth the wait.

Know of another barbecue place that you think challenges the throne? Interested in joining me next time I go? Post a comment!

Monday, April 20, 2009

Captain Lawrence

49. Captain Lawrence Liquid Gold
Captain Lawrence Brewery (Pleasantville, New York)

Yes, the TONY item is liquid gold beer at Bierkraft, which is in Park Slope, not Pleasantville. But after calling Bierkraft, a boutique beer store that fills growlers and confirming that the liquid gold beer on the list is, in fact, Captain Lawrence liquid gold beer which I had already sampled at PDT and purchased a growler from Whole Foods, I didn’t think that a trip to Bierkraft would suffice the “quest” aspect of the TONY list (Those unfamiliar with a growler should note that it is merely a jug used to transport beer and contains about five bottles). With thirsty bellies and a yearning for adventure, a couple of friends and I made the hour long hike up to Westchester to sample the best of Captain Lawrence straight from the brewery, which is open Friday and Saturday afternoons and is half a mile from the nearest train station.



As we arrive at the parking lot at the commercial warehouse facility we are greeted by several beer fans who have purchased a number of growlers and seemed to be having a pretty good time drinking at the picnic table outside at 3 in the afternoon. The brewery invites guests into two rooms, the tasting room and the brewery. Without a liquor license, the brewery is unable to sell beer for consumption on the company’s premises. However, the tasting room can offer samples of their beers on tap, 2 samples of each of 6-7 the beers at 3oz a sample sounds like a good deal to me.

Liquid Gold: Of all the beers I tasted, this one was clearly my favorite and it’s obvious why this made the TONY list. A balanced, golden ale with a bit of spice and smooth flavor. Thankfully, it is served at a few bars in the city so I won’t have to make the trip again just to get some.

Espresso Stout: A dark, creamy guiness-like beer with a strong coffee flavor. Not really what I’m into but I can certainly appreciate the texture.

Xtra Gold, Pale Ale and IPA: What sticks out most about all of the Captain Lawrence beers is a focus on bringing out the flavor of hops. The pale ales are no different. Both have intense hops flavors with the accompanying bitterness and for a guy that isn’t really big on pale ales, I still found myself going back for that second sample. The Xtra Gold is a trippel ale with a 10% ABV sticker. Less bitterness than the pale ales, but plenty of hops aroma and taste.

Smoke From the Oak: Aged and carbonated using different barrels including wine, rum, bourbon and brandy, Captain Lawrence introduces beers that take on a hybrid characteristic. The seasonal variety offers beer that is aged in barrels that contained Merlot and Pinot Noir. Having trouble deciding between a glass of wine or a beer with dinner? Go for some Smoke from the Oak.

Though I could be quite content just staying in the tasting room all day, after sampling each of the beers, we were given a tour around the brewery by Scott Vaccaro, owner and head brewer of Captain Lawrence. It’s a pretty small operation but it was a great experience to be able to hear about the process and talk about beer.

On the way out, we picked up a number of bottles of the Smoke from the Oak ($10 each) and I grabbed a beer glass ($5) to add to the collection. Perfect trip out of Manhattan on any Saturday afternoon. Can’t wait to see what the rum barrel aged beer will taste like…







Saturday, April 18, 2009

Sugar Sweet Sunshine Redemption

After being quite unimpressed last time I tried their cupcakes, I was reluctant to grab another one, but after being convinced by my girlfriend that these were, in fact, better than Magnolia, as she claims, I gave it another try. While it's not at Magnolia level, I'm glad I went again, as their pumpkin cupcake had a homemade cream cheese frosting and just the right amount of spice. For a LES cupcake spot, it's worth a visit.


Friday, April 17, 2009

Return to Nicky's

Gone for a few days but wanted to post a couple pictures from Nicky's since the original post was buried and I didn't have my camera yet. Enjoy!

Nicky’s Vietnamese Sandwiches

150 E 2nd Street between A and B

I had read about this place on a number of cheap eats websites and had wanted to try it for quite some time. Nicky’s is a small space that sells Vietnamese sandwiches, all served on baguettes with pickled carrots, cucumber, cilantro and mayo. All of the sandwiches are $5.00-5.50 including sardine, chicken and pork chop sandwiches with their specialty being the classic Vietnamese which comes with pate, Vietnamese ham and roasted ground pork and can be ordered regular or spicy. Feeling particular brave I chose the spicy and sat down at one of 2 tables. As my friend noted, one sandwich is not enough to fill you up but two is too many. Ideally I would come here and split 3 sandwiches with someone else. The classic was well worth the wait with the pate and vegetables providing most of the flavor and the ham and ground pork adding consistency. The baguette was fresh and the ratio of veggies to meat was just about right. The only problem that I had was that I thought I could take down the spicy sandwich which was slightly out of my heat tolerance. Nicky’s sandwiches are a steal at $5.

Traditional Vietnamese Sandwich:


A close-up:


Portobello Mushroom Sandwich:

Wednesday, April 15, 2009

Clover Club

48. Clover Club
210 Smith Street (Cobble Hill, Brooklyn)

From the pictures on the website, I was somewhat concerned that a jeans and sneakers sporting group of six wasn’t going to be invited in. While our group sat around a leather couch, the room gave off an elegant library feel that made me want to talk in a British accent saying “Yes…indeed” as I held a cigar. Clover Club offers an extensive cocktail menu with plenty of seats at the bar, and though the atmosphere could be confused as being pretentious, the servers were welcoming. Yes, we went in the late afternoon, but that’s as good a time as any to sample the Harvest Punch, TONY item # 47 and grab some appetizers. Though we all knew that there was more food in store, the offerings sounded too good to pass up. Free-range chicken wings with Indian spices, mac & cheese with bacon, lamb burgers? Too tough to pass up.

Served in a large punch bowl with a block of ice in the center, the Harvest Punch bowl ($45) offered two ½ glasses per person. Made with apple cider, cognac, and rum, and topped with cinnamon and apple slices, the punch was sweet, with an apple cider finish that balanced the liquor perfectly. Like the hot buttered rum from Little Branch, I could be quite content to sit around for an afternoon with some friends and finish off a bowl… or two. The food which ranged in price from $9-13 was just as tasty. The wings were plump and flavorful though not spicy and served with a yogurt sauce. The mac & cheese was sharp, though not enough bacon, and the lamb burger was served with homemade potato chips fried in duck fat. Good food, good drinks, good atmosphere, good service, good company. Well worth trying out on a late weekend afternoon.

Harvest Punch Bowl:


Single Glass of Harvest Punch:


Indian Spiced Free-Range Chicken Wings:


Lamb Burger:


Mac & Cheese

Tuesday, April 14, 2009

LaBeleca

La Beleca
200 W 40th Street between 7th and 8th

Feeling particularly gluttonous for lunch, I opted to scan the archives of Midtownlunch to guide me in my mealtime decision. As I jotted down a number of potential contenders on my notepad, I eventually settled on a chicken parm hero. While Midtownlunch has decisively named winners for best street meat, Chinese and Mexican options, it has been challenged to determine a winning chicken parm hero. Subjecting myself to an experiment of this sort was something I was willing to do.

One of the contestants for top honors is La Beleca, a small pizzeria just a few blocks from my office. Finding a willing coworker to join me on this task was a simple exercise and we decided to order one chicken parm hero and one eggplant parm hero, priced at $6.00 each.

It’s not that there was anything particularly wrong with the sandwich, the bread was nicely toasted, the ratio of bread to filling made the sandwich easy to eat, and the eggplant showed no signs of bitterness, but there wasn’t anything remarkably good about it either. I can’t imagine that a mediocre chicken parm is the best that midtown has to offer, and despite the enormous amount of calories that my coworker and I had consumed, we agreed that after eating an entire sandwich, we were still hungry.

Perhaps it was because my expectations were unreasonably high after having such a satisfying experience with the only other parm sandwich recommended by Midtownlunch (the calamari parm sandwich from Lazarra's), but the heros were not up to snub, and if I’m going to splurge on something heavier for lunch, I’ll look to Sophie’s for a sure winner.

Chicken Parm Sandwich:


Eggplant Parm Sandwich:

Monday, April 13, 2009

Ferdinando's Focacceria

47. Ferdinando’s Focacceria
151 Union Street (Carroll Gardens, Brooklyn)

I know that when my friends and I go on food tours, we aren’t exactly what the restaurant owners want since we take up space and only order a couple of items. Knowing that we aren’t going to be the night’s biggest customer makes it all the more appreciated when servers and owners go out of their way to maintain the same level of service as if we just spent a fortune (I’m looking at you Café Katja and JoeDoe). To say that the owner of Ferdinando’s Focacceria was welcoming is an understatement. After explaining that we were there for the panelle (of course), he began telling us about how he moved from Sicily and engaged the group while we waited for our food to be ready.



Ferdinando’s Focacceria is another spot that makes the TONY list worth it. It’s a place I would never have traveled to but what they serve is worth going even further than the 45 minutes or so that it took us to get there. The panelle sandwich ($5) which is no small item, is made using deep-fried pancakes made with chickpea flour (panelle) topped with fresh ricotta cheese and served on a home-made toasted Italian roll. The crispy panelle acts as a perfect balance against the creamy richness of the ricotta while I could think of no better vehicle for transporting food to mouth than the soft, warm homemade bun. As if to show that Ferdinando’s is no one-hit-wonder, the potato croquettes ($5) were crispy on the outside and soft on the inside, with a likening to hash browns done wonderfully. Ferdinando’s offers an inexpensive, filling and delicious meal and I will certainly be coming back soon.

Wednesday, April 8, 2009

Petite Crevette

46. Petite Crevette
144 Union Street (Carroll Gardens, Brooklyn)





Crossing the overpass across the BQE, we were led onto a small, quaint block that housed two TONY spaces around the corner from each other, Petite Crevette and Ferdinando’s Focacceria (see the post on Fernando’s next week). Petite Crevette, meaning “little shrimp”, is, in fact, quite petite and with a party of six traveling around Brooklyn we asked for our selections to go so as not to crowd their space. The menu is hand-written on the wall just above the counter displaying fresh seafood. Though all of the selections sounded very enticing, we ordered the TONY-recommended corn and crab chowder ($8) and after finding some plastic spoons at a nearby bodega we were ready to sample. On a scale from Manhattan clam chowder to New England clam chowder, the soup was probably a 20/80 split as it was creamy but not as thick of a stock as New England clam chowder tends to be. Yes, it’s pretty much just corn chowder with pieces of crab in it and for $8 I would have liked some more fresh seafood, but it’s still a quality offering. Rich and creamy with a considerable amount of corn for texture and flavor, the soup is big enough to share and is probably too rich for one person to finish an entire serving anyway. With the entrée selections as compelling as they are, I could definitely see myself returning for some cioppino and another corn and crab chowder.

Monday, April 6, 2009

Cubana Cafe

45. Cubana Cafe
272 Smith Street (Carroll Gardens, Brooklyn)



Cubana Cafe was the first stop on a six-TONY-restaurant food tour of the Cobble Hill area. Traveling with a group of six enabled us to sample a wider variety of menu options at each of the locations. We ordered the sopa de mariscos from the TONY list, camarones de coco and a shrimp quesadilla (after all, we didn't really want to fill up on the first place on the tour).



The sopa de mariscos ($6.50) combines shrimp, mussels and calamari in a "spicy" tomato broth. Though it sounded like something that I would love, I found the broth to be pretty bland. Where was the spice? I can respect that for $6.50 there was a pretty generous serving of shellfish and plenty of soup, but even after the group had its fill there was still plenty left over, a rare sight if I'm at the table. Luckily the other shrimp dishes we ordered were much more enjoyable. The camarones de coco ($6 - shrimp coated in coconut and fried) were crispy and the mango relish served as a sweet and tangy compliment, though only three shrimp came to an order. At Cubana Cafe, the consensus favorite was the shrimp quesadilla ($8) made with avocado, tomato, chipotle salsa and served with a side of chickpea salad. Creamy, refreshing with added texture from the fresh seafood. While everyone was pretty disappointed with the sopa, the other menu items and dishes that we saw passing by looked great. I could definitely see myself coming back to try some of their $10 entrees and a mojito.

Sopa de Mariscos:


Camarones de Coco:


Shrimp Quesadila:

Sunday, April 5, 2009

Posting on Slice

Last Friday I saw that Serious Eats blog Slice, which is dedicated to pizza, posted a link to AmuseMyBouche's post about Anthony's!

Saturday, April 4, 2009

Levain

Levain
167 W 74th Street



As if Momofuku and Jacques Torres weren’t enough, my Internet surfing for the best cookie in NYC led me to Levain Bakery on the Upper West Side. Triumphant in its Throwdown against Bobby Flay and featured on numerous television shows, Levain (named for the French word for a leavening agent) is best known for their fist-sized, fresh-baked cookies. Coming in at a $3.75 price tag, they cost more than twice a cornflake marshmallow cookie and well over a Jacques Torres chocolate chip. Not being able to choose between the four selections, I did what any normal person would do and got one of each. These are their stories:

Chocolate Chip Walnut:


The anchor of the group. When people talk of Levain cookies, this is what they are talking about. This juggernaut of baking packs tons of chocolate chips and walnuts into a gooey mixture that is soft on the inside and firm on the outside. Getting one fresh from the oven is a winning proposition. If you prefer a softer chocolate chip cookie, this is the choice over Jacques. If you prefer a cookie that is just oozing with chocolate and is a little crispier, head down to visit the chocolate man.

Dark Chocolate Chocolate Chip:


Brownie-like in texture with melted pools of semi-sweet chocolate make this a wise choice for those that want a deeper chocolate flavor. What I appreciated was that although the actual dough was dryer than I would have liked, the melted chocolate balanced out the texture and made for a nice complement.

Oatmeal Raisin:


I’m a big fan of oatmeal raisin cookies, just not this kind. Though my girlfriend was a fan, I found the flavors to be pretty muted. I wanted more brown sugar, more cinnamon. The dough itself needed to be sweeter and the whole thing just wasn’t up to par with the other choices.

Dark Chocolate Peanut Butter Chip:


Take one dark chocolate chocolate chip cookie and substitute peanut butter chips for the chocolate chips. It’s a tough choice between this one and the chocolate chip walnut for top honors (though I would be happy to sample again to determine a winner). Loaded with peanut butter chips, fans of peanut butter treats will adore this cookie. Peanut chocolate chip ice cream is my go to, so this cookie was a perfect fit for me.

Is $3.75 too much to pay for a cookie? Probably, but it depends on the context and if you’re a cookie freak it’s certainly worth a trip uptown. I’m not sure that I can justify just stopping in for a cookie whenever, but I can easily see myself skipping dessert at a nearby restaurant in favor of a couple cookies from Levain. Whether thinking about grabbing a couple before heading into a movie or for an after-dinner treat, the decision isn’t whether to go, but how many cookies to get.

Thursday, April 2, 2009

Fred's

Fred’s
476 Amsterdam Avenue @ 83rd Street



My appreciation for restaurant.com gift certificates is well documented (Tacqueria, Joshua Tree), so when I was looking for a place to grab dinner before seeing a movie, my searching through restaurant.com led me to Fred’s restaurant, a spot on the Upper West Side serving classic comfort foods like roast chicken, meatloaf and mac & cheese with some seafood and pasta dishes to round out the menu. Named after a black Labrador retriever, Fred’s keeps the dog theme going throughout the restaurant with nearly every square inch of wall space dedicated to photos of dogs that patrons submit. After doing some due diligence online, I found that their recommended dishes were their meatloaf and the mac & cheese, and with the gift certificate in hand, I opted for the meatloaf, while my girlfriend ordered the red snapper off of the daily specials menu.

While the meatloaf ($16.95) topped with a thick mushroom gravy was plenty filling, it tasted like there was a lot of filler in the meat, almost processed. I want my meatloaf to be falling apart. I want to know that this is baked meat in loaf form. Not something I would order again. The red snapper ($19.95), on the other hand, was well seasoned and cooked appropriately. Nothing special, and definitely something that one could make themselves, but it wasn’t bad either.
Meatloaf:


Snapper:


For $10 a person, it’s tough to complain, and after hearing good things about their mac & cheese, I would be tempted to give Fred’s another chance, especially when their outdoor tables are open, but I don’t think I can justify coming here without a gift certificate.