Disappointing

I've been reluctant to write negative reviews on this blog. Each time I start an entry, I hear that little voice in my head saying, "If you can't say something nice, don't say anything at all." But finally a friend made the point that my positive reviews will be more meaningful if people know that I don't think all meals are great. So, here goes:

I'm not impressed with Vintage Tavern.

There, I've said it. I've admitted that I don't like the restaurant that most people consider to be the best in Suffolk. It's not that the food is bad; it's just that, for the price, the food should be better. The service, the presentation, and the ambience (dark wood, lush seating) are all great, but the food doesn't live up to the hype IMHO.

I wish I could say that I've only been there once and that since I didn't have a great experience, I'll give it another try sometime. But no, I've been there twice, and I don't want to pay that much again, just to find out that third time's not the charm. Perhaps I should, but why, when our favorite Italian place is right around the corner?

The most recent meal I've eaten there was back in March, the Saturday evening of Suffolk Restaurant Week. My parents were visiting from Savannah, and we wanted to take them out for a nice dinner.

What I Ate:

• Tasting of American Bacons – one regular, one spicy, & one maple syrup – these were actually pretty good, but then again, it's hard to mess up bacon
• Carolina Shrimp and Stone-Ground Grits – If shrimp & grits are on the menu, I order them, and these simply weren't the best I've ever tasted. The grits were too firm, like they'd been sitting under a heat lamp for too long, and there weren't very many shrimp (only 3-4 small ones). No spice, either.
• Crème Brûlèe – bland, not a good consistency; Topher's crème brulèe is much better!

In general, all the dishes were bland. They didn't need more salt; they just needed more flavor. The only really bad dish was my mom's Chesapeake Bay Flounder, which was overcooked to the point of being mushy. For a place that's gotten rave reviews from so many people, it was disappointing.

Garden Delight

This weekend Topher and I went to NC to visit his parents for Father's Day. They have a little garden in their backyard where they grow tomatoes, eggplants, strawberries, lettuces, jalapeño and green bell peppers, herbs, and sunflowers. They sent us home with a bag of tomatoes and peppers, so tonight we had a delicious salad with fresh cherry tomatoes for dinner. Yum!

Reading List for June 14-18

2010 Dietary Guidelines
On June 15, the USDA Center for Nutrition Policy and Promotion issued the advisory report Dietary Guidelines for Americans 2010.

Here's coverage on the guidelines from the Des Moines Register, and here's Marion Nestle's response.


The Gulf Oil Spill
The Economist
Oysters after the Deepwater Horizon
No mo' po'?
The gulf supplies most of America’s oysters, but for how long?

TIME
Gulf Oil Spill Threatens Local Seafood Industry


The Raw Milk Debate
The New York Times
Crying Over Raw Milk

The Economist
Arguing over unpasteurized milk
Raw milk
The people v. pasteurization


And finally, are you a "super-taster"?

Gluten-Free Italian on the Upper West Side

Anne (my good friend and maid of honor extraordinaire who I visited in NYC this past weekend) had to work at Alice's Tea Cup on Saturday afternoon, so I had a few hours to kill by myself. I went to see a play -- Manhattan Theatre Club's production of Donald Margulies' "Collected Stories" starring Linda Lavin and Sarah Paulson -- did some shopping at Columbus Circle, and then read for a while in Central Park.

When Anne got off from work at 8pm, we were both starving, and she suggested an Italian place on the Upper West Side called Sambuca. The real draw for her was their gluten-free menu (she has a wheat allergy).

I haven't tasted a lot of gluten-free foods, and although I tried desperately, I wasn't able to get her a gluten-free cupcake at my wedding last spring. So I was surprised by how well the chef at Sambuca was able to mimic the texture and consistency of real bread and pasta.

They serve their entrees family-style, so we shared a plate of gluten-free (tapioca/rice) ravioli filled with spinach & ricotta cheese, and I sipped a glass of 2008 Montepulciano d'Abruzzo with mine. Sure, the ravioli didn't taste 100% like the real thing, but it was awfully close. And Anne loved it: It was the first time she'd been able to enjoy pasta in years!

Ladies Who Brunch

Manhattan

On Saturday morning Anne and I planned to enjoy a leisurely brunch on the Upper West Side at Good Enough to Eat, a few blocks from Alice's Tea Cup, the cafe where Anne works. Unfortunately when we arrived at GETE, the line was already quite long. There was no hostess to take our name or tell us how long the wait might be; we were just supposed to stand outside in a line on the sidewalk and wait.

Anne and I didn't wait very long. Diagonally across the intersection of 83rd & Amsterdam, another cafe had a banner hung on their railing that read, in huge letters: BRUNCH. Good marketing, no? We glanced at their menu and decided to give Fred's a try.

The food was delicious, the waiters very friendly. They let us linger, talking over our (constantly refilled) coffee cups long after we had finished eating. And linger we did, for almost three hours!

What We Ate:

• Raisin toast with whipped strawberry butter - that butter smelled (and tasted) incredible!
• Anne - omelet with artichokes, sundried tomatoes, & brie, served with mixed greens and potatoes; coffee & a mimosa
• Me - omelet with spinach, mushrooms, & goat cheese, served with mixed greens and potatoes; coffee & red sangria - the goat cheese was just oozing out of it :)

The Scoop:

Fred's is located at 476 Amsterdam Avenue at 83rd Street. Brunch is served on Sat-Sun 10am-3:30pm.

Brooklyn

On Sunday morning, after attending church at Brooklyn Tabernacle (quite a cultural experience!), we brunched again -- this time with Anne's friend Gretchen and her sister Madeline. Walking through Cobble Hill, we must have passed a dozen adorable cafes with chalkboard easels propped on the sidewalk outside their doors, colorfully proclaiming their brunch cocktails and World Cup specials. Verde and Apartment 138 caught our eye, but we ended up at Sweet Melissa Patisserie.

From the front there doesn't appear to be much (if any) seating room inside, but the host led us straight through the patisserie/cremerie shop to a patio garden out back, filled with umbrella-covered cafe tables.

What We Ate:

• Madeline - Smoked Trout & Potato Croquette w/Poached Eggs, Sour Cream, and Mango Salsa
• Gretchen - Banana Rhum French Toast (made from a croissant) w/Bruleed Bananas, Sweet Cream & Bacon - because it was made from a croissant, this French toast was much lighter and less filling than the typical dish
• Anne - Three Scrambled Eggs served with salad, potatoes, & applewood bacon
• Me - Omelet w/Spinach, Caramelized Onions, & Gruyere, served with salad, potatoes, & toast - I know, it's basically the same thing that I ordered at Fred's the day before, but what can I say, I love good omelets!
• To drink - coffee, and two rounds of mimosas for the table!

The Scoop:

Sweet Melissa Patisserie has two locations in Brooklyn: one in Park Slope, the other in Cobble Hill. The Cobble Hill location is open M-R 7:30am-10pm, F 7:30am-12am, Sat 8am-12am, and Sun 8am-10pm.

Thai in Brooklyn

I spent this past weekend in NYC with my good friend Anne, and we had a delicious time!

It all started last Wednesday afternoon when Topher called and told me that work was sending him to Bath, England, for four days. After I stopped being jealous, I decided to look online for cheap flights to NYC and texted my good friend (and fabulous maid of honor) Anne to see if I could visit her in Brooklyn. Two days later I was in the Big Apple.

On Friday evening while Anne was in NJ for a few hours, I went out to dinner with her friend/roommate Gretchen & Gretchen's sister Madeline. They were in the mood for Thai, so we started walking down Court Street to find a place that looked good. I was amazed: In just 3-4 blocks, we passed at least half a dozen great-looking Thai places, including Joya. I'm not sure we have that many Thai restaurants in all of Hampton Roads!

We ended up at Ghang. The staff wasn't that great--we had to flag down our waitress to get drink refills and, finally, our check--but the food was good. I ordered Panang curry chicken with carrots & bell peppers, with a glass of the house pinot grigio. The curry was a little more spicy than I usually like it, but that night I didn't mind the burning tongue & drippy nose--the spice actually felt good. Maybe my heat tolerance is improving; if so, Topher will be thrilled.

Later this week: brunch spots in Brooklyn & Manhattan, and gluten-free Italian on the Upper West Side!

Reading List for June 7-11

I've decided to add a weekly "reading list" to this blog. Each Friday I'll post links to interesting food-related articles that I've read in the past 5-7 days. Enjoy!

The Economist
Diet and the evolution of the brain
Fish and no chips: The wonders of docosahexaenoic acid (DHA)

The Economist
Nutrition in schools
Fighting the flab: The struggle to feed more children, more healthily

The New York Times
Vital Signs - Nutrition: Study Examines a Diet from TV Ads
By Roni Caryn Rabin

TIME
Tastes Like Chicken: The Quest for Fake Meat


This last article was a little disturbing to me, especially the following quotes:

"The gases ... from chickens and pigs and cow, and from the manure lagoons that big farms create, are playing a part in global warming. So the idea of fake meat has never been more alluring. What if you could cut into a juicy chicken breast that wasn't chicken at all but rather some indistinguishable imitation made harmlessly from plant life?"

"Who knows? Maybe one day you'll order a chicken fajita at Chili's that is made with soy. You almost certainly won't notice the difference, but the planet will."

Alluring? Most definitely not (at least not to me)! I won't notice the difference? Yeah, right. The problem isn't the chickens themselves, but the way they're raised -- on huge industrialized farms, where they're force-fed, pumped full of steroids & hormones, and kept in cages all day.