Kefi is a nice family restaurant on the upper west side that just recently moved to a bigger space, which I assume, was to accommodate its many adoring fans. By “family” restaurant, I mean to say that it’s not a fancy date place or a girl’s night out destination. Normally I try to stay close to home, so don’t head north, but luckily for Kefi, I was going to a concert uptown. Two years ago, I went on a wonderful honeymoon-like trip with one of my best girlfriends. So, I can say I have had my fair share of Greek salads, entrees, the works. Maybe that was the cause of my slight disappointment in Kefi, after hearing the rave reviews from friends and family. Or, maybe it was the fact that my Greek boyfriend (did you see My Big Fat Greek Wedding? He’s nothing like that…except for the name!) wasn’t overly enthused either. Guess, as the saying goes, nothing beats grandma’s cooking!
We started with the Meatballs, Roasted Garlic, Olives, Tomato and the Greek salad. My Greek boyfriend told me that they tasted just like his grandma’s! I find that pretty impressive. Considering that the only meatballs I have had since starting to eat meat again are the frozen chicken meatballs from Costco, these were a delightful treat! They were soft, plump and flavorful. The Greek salad was quiet a disappointment. It was more like a chopped Italian salad. The dressing was overwhelming and the chopped lettuce fennel (I think that was fennel?) just made the dish look sloppy. In Greece, the salads have large slices of fresh cucumbers and tomatoes with a light dressing, if anything.
Next we tried the Sheep’s Milk Dumplings, Tomato, Pine Nuts, and Spicy Lamb Sausage. These were kind of like the Gnudi @ Spotted Pig but bigger, softer and… ok not really like them at all. They are very soft and smooth. I don’t even know how they can make food items that feel like you are eating silk (ignoring the taste of fabric…). The sausage was a step too spicy for my palate. But, it was a good contrast to the dumplings, rounded out the dish.
Our other entrée was the Brazied Lamb Shank, Orzo. Not the best lamb shank I have ever had… who am I kidding, I think it’s the first lamb shank I ever had. But, my date thought it wasn’t the best one he has ever had, so I had to agree. It was on the small side, dry and the sauce just wasn’t good enough to mask the poorly cooked meat. Its kind of sad when you can actually say that the Orzo, a relatively bland from of pasta (as if there are tasty kinds?) was a highlight…
Maybe we just made bad ordering choices. I think this restaurant has potential, especially if you find something you love. The service was prompt the atmosphere upbeat. Good neighborhood spot, not necessarily good for a date (at least not a beginning-of-the-relationship date: too bright!) But, just make sure you don’t travel too far.
Sunday, October 25, 2009
Monday, October 19, 2009
Joseph Leonard
http://www.josephleonard.com/
Is that seriously a website? Way to not seem pretentious…
I guess that is what happens when you are the owner of a couple of the best and hippest restaurants in the west village. I did blog a while ago about Little Owl didn’t I? I will remember the soft shell crab with asparagus risotto forever.
When I first heard about Joseph Leonard, which is apparently the names of the owners grandfathers, all I heard about was that it was a place for “daily candy girls with ponytails and skirts” and that the oysters were for some reason not on ice (kind of gross and probably not healthy…). So, I had a wait a bit to let them work out the kinks and stereotypes. Ok let’s be honest. I am the stereotype. But hey, we “ponytailed girls in pairs” drop some dough on a good wine list.
The dimly lit joint had a romantic overtone, while still having an upbeat and lively vibe. The ex-little owl front of the house man turned owner of JL, Gabe Stulman, is on the scene each night serving up drinks and talking to patrons. We sat at the bar, so we were front and center. The bartender and the owner were ribbing each other the entire time about not paying enough attention to the drinks they were making.
We started with the Shrimp and Grits, because I had read that it was one of the top apps. But, it didn’t jump out at me as anything special. I actually thought the grits were rather bland and the sausage and shrimp just didn’t have enough umpf to get the dish going. Now, I’m told that grits is always bland? What’s the point of that then? I would much rather have a risotto! (I’m obsessed…). For entrees, we had the Skate, which was actually pretty phenomenal, and the turkey. Yes, a restaurant was serving turkey for dinner and it wasn’t even Thanksgiving (too bad, I love Thanksgiving). The skate was lightly battered and cooked. It was easy to peel apart, which is my favorite quality of a skate fish/wing, besides the taste. The turkey was a special that will be added to the menu in the winter. Nothing like a heavy, tryptophan(ic) meal to start off your night! It’s well worth it.
I like to count Joseph Leonard as one of those places that you can go for the scene as well as the food. Btw – we went on a Saturday night with no reservations and were seated relatively promptly at the bar.
Is that seriously a website? Way to not seem pretentious…
I guess that is what happens when you are the owner of a couple of the best and hippest restaurants in the west village. I did blog a while ago about Little Owl didn’t I? I will remember the soft shell crab with asparagus risotto forever.
When I first heard about Joseph Leonard, which is apparently the names of the owners grandfathers, all I heard about was that it was a place for “daily candy girls with ponytails and skirts” and that the oysters were for some reason not on ice (kind of gross and probably not healthy…). So, I had a wait a bit to let them work out the kinks and stereotypes. Ok let’s be honest. I am the stereotype. But hey, we “ponytailed girls in pairs” drop some dough on a good wine list.
The dimly lit joint had a romantic overtone, while still having an upbeat and lively vibe. The ex-little owl front of the house man turned owner of JL, Gabe Stulman, is on the scene each night serving up drinks and talking to patrons. We sat at the bar, so we were front and center. The bartender and the owner were ribbing each other the entire time about not paying enough attention to the drinks they were making.
We started with the Shrimp and Grits, because I had read that it was one of the top apps. But, it didn’t jump out at me as anything special. I actually thought the grits were rather bland and the sausage and shrimp just didn’t have enough umpf to get the dish going. Now, I’m told that grits is always bland? What’s the point of that then? I would much rather have a risotto! (I’m obsessed…). For entrees, we had the Skate, which was actually pretty phenomenal, and the turkey. Yes, a restaurant was serving turkey for dinner and it wasn’t even Thanksgiving (too bad, I love Thanksgiving). The skate was lightly battered and cooked. It was easy to peel apart, which is my favorite quality of a skate fish/wing, besides the taste. The turkey was a special that will be added to the menu in the winter. Nothing like a heavy, tryptophan(ic) meal to start off your night! It’s well worth it.
I like to count Joseph Leonard as one of those places that you can go for the scene as well as the food. Btw – we went on a Saturday night with no reservations and were seated relatively promptly at the bar.
Thursday, October 8, 2009
Yes... I'm Baaaaaaaaaaaaaack!: Corton
Corton
http://www.cortonnyc.com/
The website says the restaurant reflects a light and intimate style. I was thinking more muted and stark. When we first walked in, I wanted to turn around and walk out. You can tell on your first step through the door that the restaurant has no viable atmosphere. The walls are bright white, with a small smattering of colored flowers on tips of whiter embossed vines. It’s tough enough that that area where this restaurant is located is fairly frightening. I felt like I was walking down a dark alley without any mace… except its 2 feet from the Holland Tunnel and in an “up and coming” neighborhood.
There is that man called Paul Liebrandt running the kitchen. I guess he’s a 30ish year old dynamo who just received two Michelin stars. I’m going to be 30 next year…this is the kind of stuff that makes me feel old, boring and unaccomplished (even though I’m young, vivacious and quite generally amazing).
So, all ambiance aside, lets get down to the dirty dirty.
I would call this place a “special occasion” restaurant. Most of the people were about 30 years my senior. The elders know whats up. I went on a Wednesday night (happy bday N), which doesn’t necessarily show the pizzazz a restaurant can have on a weekend night. But, it can show its ability to sustain in a recessionista environment, it was packed when we left.
We had the three course prix fixe menu. The restaurant offered a three course and an overwhelming 10 courses. You know me, I like to eat, but I just wasn’t feeling the whole shebang when I saw how many plates the people next to us actually had at the table. Overwhelming isn’t the right word… it was down right absurd. But, they were loving every second of it, and so did we.
I started with the dish “From the Garden”, its one of their most well known appetizers. It was one of the most beautiful displays of fresh vegetables I have ever seen…on a plate. There were baby carrots, two different color beets, corn puree, and some other vegetables, some of which I could not even identify, but wish I could because they were delicious. The vegetables were topped with numerous delicate, edible flowers. I felt like I was eating something that they had grown in the backyard (ok, so I hope not a backyard in the middle of Tribeca, more like a backyard in the middle of a farm upstate). We also had the Corn appetizer, the name for which does not do it justice. Three dishes came, one with a light corn puree in a bowl, which was topped with sweetbread (which I actually do not care for at all – why do they call something sweet bread, when it is neither sweet, nor bread?). The smaller dishes along side were consommé with a ravioli and corn with shrimp. For mains, we had the Rabbit/Scallop, with artichoke, sweet potato and black garlic, and the Maine Lobster, with heirloom beets, parmesan crumble and bergamot. Poor little baby rabbits, getting eaten again. I couldn’t deal with eating the small little rabbit ribs in Sonoma, and still can’t. Poor Peter and his family (anyone? Peter Cottontail? No? Bueller?). Scallops on the other hand, they are lonely creatures, no family bonds and they aren’t particularly cute either (nor do they have children’s tales written about them). While we are at it, lobsters are probably one of my favorite foods. High in cholesterol, high in taste. The lobster was tender and perfectly cooked, not overly buttery (darn). The parmesan crumble was more like a parmesan crisp and the Bergamot added just the right around of citrus infusion to the dish.
At the end of the meal (after the dessert I didn’t even want) they served the French style macaroons – which are 100% better than the Kosher of Passover ones… sorry mom – and a series of chocolates that I wanted to take home, but thought that would be too tacky… agree? Even the shortbread cookies that were given with the check were great. So to wrap up, Corton is short on atmosphere but it has excellent food from a young chef on the rise.
http://www.cortonnyc.com/
The website says the restaurant reflects a light and intimate style. I was thinking more muted and stark. When we first walked in, I wanted to turn around and walk out. You can tell on your first step through the door that the restaurant has no viable atmosphere. The walls are bright white, with a small smattering of colored flowers on tips of whiter embossed vines. It’s tough enough that that area where this restaurant is located is fairly frightening. I felt like I was walking down a dark alley without any mace… except its 2 feet from the Holland Tunnel and in an “up and coming” neighborhood.
There is that man called Paul Liebrandt running the kitchen. I guess he’s a 30ish year old dynamo who just received two Michelin stars. I’m going to be 30 next year…this is the kind of stuff that makes me feel old, boring and unaccomplished (even though I’m young, vivacious and quite generally amazing).
So, all ambiance aside, lets get down to the dirty dirty.
I would call this place a “special occasion” restaurant. Most of the people were about 30 years my senior. The elders know whats up. I went on a Wednesday night (happy bday N), which doesn’t necessarily show the pizzazz a restaurant can have on a weekend night. But, it can show its ability to sustain in a recessionista environment, it was packed when we left.
We had the three course prix fixe menu. The restaurant offered a three course and an overwhelming 10 courses. You know me, I like to eat, but I just wasn’t feeling the whole shebang when I saw how many plates the people next to us actually had at the table. Overwhelming isn’t the right word… it was down right absurd. But, they were loving every second of it, and so did we.
I started with the dish “From the Garden”, its one of their most well known appetizers. It was one of the most beautiful displays of fresh vegetables I have ever seen…on a plate. There were baby carrots, two different color beets, corn puree, and some other vegetables, some of which I could not even identify, but wish I could because they were delicious. The vegetables were topped with numerous delicate, edible flowers. I felt like I was eating something that they had grown in the backyard (ok, so I hope not a backyard in the middle of Tribeca, more like a backyard in the middle of a farm upstate). We also had the Corn appetizer, the name for which does not do it justice. Three dishes came, one with a light corn puree in a bowl, which was topped with sweetbread (which I actually do not care for at all – why do they call something sweet bread, when it is neither sweet, nor bread?). The smaller dishes along side were consommé with a ravioli and corn with shrimp. For mains, we had the Rabbit/Scallop, with artichoke, sweet potato and black garlic, and the Maine Lobster, with heirloom beets, parmesan crumble and bergamot. Poor little baby rabbits, getting eaten again. I couldn’t deal with eating the small little rabbit ribs in Sonoma, and still can’t. Poor Peter and his family (anyone? Peter Cottontail? No? Bueller?). Scallops on the other hand, they are lonely creatures, no family bonds and they aren’t particularly cute either (nor do they have children’s tales written about them). While we are at it, lobsters are probably one of my favorite foods. High in cholesterol, high in taste. The lobster was tender and perfectly cooked, not overly buttery (darn). The parmesan crumble was more like a parmesan crisp and the Bergamot added just the right around of citrus infusion to the dish.
At the end of the meal (after the dessert I didn’t even want) they served the French style macaroons – which are 100% better than the Kosher of Passover ones… sorry mom – and a series of chocolates that I wanted to take home, but thought that would be too tacky… agree? Even the shortbread cookies that were given with the check were great. So to wrap up, Corton is short on atmosphere but it has excellent food from a young chef on the rise.
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