Latest reviews by Litro_K's friends

Picasso - review by sue

Sun, 12 Oct 2008 13:02:01 +0000

Picasso - review by sue

Rating: 4.0

Location: Bellagio, 3600 Las Vegas Blvd South, 89109, Las Vegas, United States of America

Phone: 866.259.7111

Website: http://www.bellagio.com/restaurants/picasso.aspx

Tags: romantic, mediterranean, spanish, expensive, french

The Bellagio is filled with excellent restaurants, and of the fine dining options, one called Picasso caught our eye, so we pre-booked a table for our first night in town. The restaurant is accessed via the Bellagio casino, and looks out over the lake. It has been awarded 2 Michelin Stars, and a AAA Five Diamond Award for seven consecutive years.

The dining room is grand and beautifully decorated - it is filled with Picasso paintings and ceramics. The professional but amiable service made us feel welcome and relaxed from start to finish.

The food is "French cuisine seasonally prepared with a Spanish influence". There was the choice of a degustation menu, or a fixed price, four course menu. We chose from the fixed price menu, and also opted for the Sommelier's wine pairing. This was not a cheap meal, but a memorable one.

To start, we had the Poached Oysters, garnished with Osetra Caviar, Sauce Vermouth; and the Warm Quail Salad with Sauteed Artichokes, Pinenuts. Both dishes were beautifully presented and the oysters were so good they earned a place in Alex's "Top 5 Oysters I have ever eaten" list.

Next up we both opted for the Sauteed Filet of Black Bass with Saffron Sauce and Cauliflower Mousseline - really delicious. Then for the 'main' course we had the Roasted Milk-Fed Veal Chop with Rosemary Potatoes and Au Jus; and the Sauteed Medallions of Fallow Deer with Caramelized Green Apples and Zinfandel Sauce. The deer was certainly the winning dish, I found the veal a little over-cooked.

Desserts were happily devoured, in particular my Warm Chocolate Fondant with Carmel Chocolate Ice Cream. The fondant was good, but the ice cream was exceptionally good and I could happily have eaten it all night.

Yellowtail Sushi Restaurant & Bar - review by sue

Sun, 12 Oct 2008 12:52:10 +0000

Yellowtail Sushi Restaurant & Bar - review by sue

Rating: 4.0

Location: Bellagio, 3600 Las Vegas Blvd South, 89109, Las Vegas, United States of America

Phone: 866.259.7111

Website: http://www.bellagio.com/restaurants/yellowtail.asp

Tags: lively, bellagio, cocktails, sushi, japanese, expensive, romantic

While staying at the Bellagio, one evening a lighter dinner was required in-between drinking cocktails and hitting the casino, so we ventured to Yellowtail Sushi Restaurant, which is conveniently located in the casino area.

A fairly new addition to the Bellagio restaurant directory, Yellowtail is a very stylish looking place, with very attractive staff who seem to have shares in push-up bras.

We were seated at a high table in the front section of the restaurant, so unfortunately didn't have views of the lake and fountain. We weren't ravenous, so just ordered a few things to share. The stand-out item was the Salmon Nigiri - wow, the salmon was so melt-in-your-mouth that we promptly ordered another serve.

We also ordered the Grilled eggplant skewers with sweet miso, some Tuna sushi rolls, and the Popping spicy crab, which was a sushi roll with crab, cucumber, asparagus and a sprinkling of those pop-rock candies that pop and crackle in your mouth. Interesting.

Fontana Bar - review by sue

Sun, 12 Oct 2008 12:38:39 +0000

Fontana Bar - review by sue

Rating: 4.0

Location: Bellagio, 3600 Las Vegas Blvd South, 89109, Las Vegas, United States of America

Phone: 702.693.7089

Website: http://www.bellagio.com/nightlife/fontana-bar.aspx

Tags: jazz, bellagio, cool & smart, live, views, cocktails, friendly, relaxed, cool, live music

Fontana Bar is located lakeside in the Bellagio, accessed via the casino. There is a large bar area inside, with a stage and dance floor, and a terrace that looks over the lake and Strip. We visited early one evening and of course headed straight for the terrace, and a prime fountain watching position.

There was a band playing inside, and speakers outside so we could still enjoy the music. Every now and then the bands music would be replaced by the various backing soundtracks for the dancing fountains, and we would enjoy the eruptions from our seat.

We ordered mojitos (really good!) and martinis and felt pretty content. I can highly recommend the combination of a terrace table, a cocktail or two and watching the colours of the Strip change and those fountains dance.

Jean Philippe Patisserie - review by sue

Sun, 12 Oct 2008 12:27:41 +0000

Jean Philippe Patisserie - review by sue

Rating: 4.0

Location: Bellagio, 3600 Las Vegas Blvd South, 89190, Las Vegas, United States of America

Website: http://www.bellagio.com/restaurants/jean-philippe.

Tags: quick bite, bellagio, ice cream, top food, average brew, cakes, crowded

Jean Philippe Patisserie is located inside the Bellagio, and is well worth a visit if you have a sweet tooth like me. Not only are there beautifully created (and tasting!) pastries and cakes, but there is also some very good ice cream on offer.

Also of interest is what claims to be the "World's Tallest and Largest Volume Chocolate Fountain". The photo I took only shows the bottom half of it. It certainly looked impressive, but was behind glass, so it was not the type of choc fountain you could dip marshmallows in.

We sampled a couple of the cakes - a Lemon Tart, and a chocolate concoction that had choc mousse and nutella and praline crispy biscuits. Yes, it was good. Another day we returned for a small serving of ice cream, which was creamy and full-flavoured.

The Buffet at the Bellagio - review by sue

Sun, 12 Oct 2008 12:12:18 +0000

The Buffet at the Bellagio - review by sue

Rating: 2.0

Location: Bellagio, 3600 Las Vegas Blvd South, 89190, Las Vegas, United States of America

Phone: 702.693.7089

Website: http://www.bellagio.com/restaurants/the-buffet.asp

Tags: lively, bellagio, all you can eat, international, family & home feel, buffet

I don't really 'do' buffets, basically cause I can't eat that much in one sitting so I never feel like they are good value for me. Oh, and nothing compares to the brunch buffet I once had at the Delano Hotel in Miami. Anyhoo, that said, it seemed like having a meal at the Bellagio Buffet was one of the 'things to do' whilst in Vegas, so we did.

We turned up at around 11am on a Sunday and there was a queue out into the casino. Thankfully it moved quickly, so our tummies weren't grumbling for too long. You have to pay before you are seated, and they ask if you want to leave your tip in advance, or at the table. We opted for the table option, unsure how much service we wanted to pay for at a 'self-service' restaurant.

We were shown to our table and then sat there waiting till eventually our waitress arrived and took our drink orders. Service was pretty non-existent after that.

So, the buffet. There was a massive selection of food - everything from cornflakes to pizza to scrambled eggs to sushi to cakes to roast beef. There were chefs cooking dishes in front of you, so you knew that (some) things were nice and fresh.

We didn't pile our plates too high, though after a couple of visits to the buffet we were pretty much full and unfortunately didn't sample anything worth mentioning.

Canaletto - review by sue

Sun, 12 Oct 2008 11:54:47 +0000

Canaletto - review by sue

Rating: 4.0

Location: Venetian, 3355 Las Vegas Blvd South, 89190, Las Vegas, United States of America

Phone: 702.733.0070

Website: http://www.venetian.com/Pages.aspx?id=838

Tags: italian, venetian, romantic

Canaletto is an Italian restaurant located on "St Marks Square" inside the Venetian Hotel. We had dinner there one night and opted to sit on the terrace in the square. It really did feel like we were back in Venice at dusk. The restaurant was lively and had a real Italian feel, helped along by the Italian staff, and the gondoliers and carabinieri walking past in the square.

We started with a glass of prosecco and reminisced about our last time in Venice. Then it was dinner time. We started with the Calamaretti Fritti and the Minestrone soup. Main course was the Veal shank braised in a marsala wine with porcini & shiitake mushrooms, served with saffron risotto; and the Fillet of seabass with tomatoes, artichokes, prosecco and saffron, served with organic sautÃ©ed spinach and roasted Yukon gold potatoes.

All the food was very enjoyable, and the couple of glasses of wine we had were very good value.

Carnegie Delicatessen - review by sue

Sun, 12 Oct 2008 12:08:29 +0000

Carnegie Delicatessen - review by sue

Rating: 3.0

Location: Mirage, 3400 S. Las Vegas Blvd, 89109, Las Vegas, United States of America

Phone: 866.339.4566

Website: http://www.mirage.com/restaurants/carnegie-delicat

Tags: american, jewish, cake, good value, deli, lively

Carnegie Delicatessen is located within the casino of the Mirage Hotel. It is apparently quite like the original Carnegie Deli in New York.

The main draw card here seemed to be the "overstuffed sandwiches" - they were so massive. Think two average slices of bread with a filling of pastrami, and when I say filling I mean a 25cm high tower of meat! Then add sides including a big stack of fries, a tub of coleslaw and a giant pickle, and you will get the idea of what a meal here entails.

But we ignored all that and just shared a giant slice of Cheesecake instead. And a pot of tea to wash it down. And tried to take sneaky photos of people with huge sandwiches.

Plane Food - review by sue

Sat, 11 Oct 2008 17:15:16 +0000

Plane Food - review by sue

Rating: 2.0

Location: Heathrow Terminal 5, TW6 2GA, Hounslow, United Kingdom

Phone: 020 8897 4545

Website: http://www.gordonramsay.com/planefood

Tags: expensive, heathrow, ramsay, gordon ramsay, british, international, breakfast

We thought we would start our last holiday in style - instead of the usual pre-flight breakfast at Giraffe, we would instead dine at Plane Food, which is Gordon Ramsay's restaurant in Heathrow Terminal Five, airside.

The restaurant has been beautifully designed, taking advantage of the light-filled space which offers views out to the airfield. The space was much larger than imagined, and although stylish looking, the ambience was somehow more canteen like than I was expecting. Perhaps it had something to do with the large number of empty tables waiting to be cleared, meaning we had to wait around 10 minutes to be seated (eating into our valuable duty free shopping time).

Was it worth the wait. Not really. As this would be our second breakfast for the day, we just wanted something light and both opted for the Suffolk sweet-cured bacon and egg roll. It was the most boring and flavourless bacon and egg roll I think I have ever had. Next time we'll just stick to Giraffe.

Trinity - review by FoodStories

Thu, 09 Oct 2008 10:02:41 +0000

Trinity - review by FoodStories

Rating: 3.0

Location: 4 The Polygon, SW4 0JG, London, United Kingdom

Phone: 020 7622 1199

Website: http://www.trinityrestaurant.co.uk/

Tags: lively, british

We visited Trinity recently for the 'Sunday Supper Deal', having really enjoyed it the first time we dined there. I love the focus on British ingredients and their style, which is one of sophisticated comfort food. The Sunday supper menu is a lot more rustic than the regular Trinity fare but even the latter, despite being a damn sight more fancy - has a very honest and soothing quality about it.

We first fell in love at The Taste Festival earlier this year, where I must have given them my e-mail address as I have received drool-worthy teasers since, that have worked exactly as intended. Our first real visit, we were a party of six and on arrival, found we had been allocated the chefâ¬"s table, which was a rather pleasant surprise. I remember enjoying a delicate crab and avocado salad and a main of juicy, tender suckling pig - that nightâ¬"s special, advertised as using every bit of the piggy - oink oink.

Just when I was undecided about where to dine last week, another superbly timed e-mail dropped into my inbox. Trinity have introduced a Sunday supper deal. You get three courses - a choice of two starters, a set main course (a whole roast joint or fish, to be shared between a couple or group), a choice of two desserts, a pre-dinner drink, and coffee - setting you back 30 of your finest pounds (sans booze).

There are many things I love about Trinity and this is the first - the bread. Those little rolls are the most adorable angular shape and oh-so cheesy. They are wonderfully warm and when you break them apart and get ready to give them what they want (a good buttering), you get a poof of cheesy steam right up in your face. Fantastic.

To start, we were offered either Jerusalem â¬Üartichoke soup with hazelnut Chantillyâ¬" or â¬Ühand chopped terrine of middle white pork, prunes and pistachios with chutney and warm country breadâ¬". I opted for the terrine, which was bloominâ¬" marvellous. Great chunks of meatiness interspersed with fantastic sweet date pockets and flecked green with pistachios. Great textures too, soft ham, even softer dates and then crunchy nutty fun in between.

The main course for the week was oxtail (â¬

Sushi-Hiro Japanese Gourmet Food - review by sulin

Fri, 10 Oct 2008 17:53:19 +0000

Sushi-Hiro Japanese Gourmet Food - review by sulin

Rating: 4.5

Location: Uxbridge Road, W5 3LD, London, United Kingdom

Phone: 020 8896 3175

Tags: japanese, good value

Thereâ¬"s a narrow shopfront directly across the street from the Ealing Common tube station that always looks like itâ¬"s closed, thanks to itâ¬"s whited-out windows. Look carefully, and youâ¬"ll see a little display of plastic sushi in the front (and a sign that says Cash Only). Behind that door is an adorable sushi restaurant that serves some of the best sushi in London.

We were looking for a light lunch one weekend when I suggested Sushi Hiro. It has been on my radar for a while and this was finally a chance to go.

We ordered two sushi platters - the first and third sets on the menu (were they A & C?). Together, they came to about Â£17, very reasonable for sushi of such high quality. The fish was extremely fresh and watching the sushi being made was highly entertaining and made the long wait feel much shorter. Mmmmâ¬¦ I love all the silky smooth fish: tuna, mackerel, salmonâ¬¦ Iâ¬"m not fond of the slimy squid though. If I had to complain about one thing, it would be about how they spread the wasabi under the fish - it wasnâ¬"t spread evenly and so sometimes youâ¬"d get a big lump that would cause your eyes to water a lot! Green tea was brought for us to drink and soon after our platters were brought to us, bowls of miso soup were also presented.

Iâ¬"m already keen to go back to try their maki sushi. Thereâ¬"s one with huge lumps of crab meat and another with gorgeous grilled eel (they dab the sauce on so gently with a brush) and thereâ¬"s even futomaki, the giant sushi roll filled with many goodies.

They are closed in between lunch and dinner and last orders for lunch are taken at about 2pm. Reservations are also taken and are recommended.

Photos here: http://tamarindandthyme.wordpress.com/2008/02/22/sushi-hiro/

Sushi Yasuda LTD - review by sulin

Sun, 05 Oct 2008 21:39:24 +0000

Sushi Yasuda LTD - review by sulin

Rating: 5.0

Location: 204 E 43rd St, 10017, New York, United States of America

Phone: 2129721001

Tags: japanese, good value

We headed to Sushi Yasuda for lunch one day. Reviews online seem to indicate that itâ¬"s quite difficult to get a reservation there but I managed to book a place for two at the counter for lunch on a Thursday only a week beforehand. I chose for us to sit at the sushi counter - and I highly recommend the same for you if you visit! We were the second group there for lunch and were seated in front of the first sushi chef of a row of them.

We chose to go with the sushi pre fixe menu ($22.50), which came with a soup or salad to start. This would give us five pieces of nigiri sushi and two maki sushi rolls all from a particular list. Each menu item had its own list. There is also the option to order by the piece or even to have an omakase meal, but we wished to walk out of there with our wallets intact. When we had made our selections (ticking off boxes on a little piece of paper), our counter space was set. The leaf on the counter was a Hawaiian ti leaf and was where our sushi was placed by the chef in front of us.

My lunch came with either a soup or salad and I chose the latter. What arrived was this small bowl of greens, beans and tomatoes with crispy, dried baby jako sardine. If youâ¬"re familiar with Malaysian food, youâ¬"ll know what I mean when I say theyâ¬"re like smaller fried ikan bilis!

My five pieces of nigiri were the following: Spanish mackerel, freshwater eel, striped bass, egg custard, egg. I was very curious about the egg versus egg custard and the chef brought both out for me to see, explaining that while the egg custard is common in Japan, itâ¬"s less common outside it, and that Japanese people above a certain age tend to be very very picky about their egg sushi and then he suggested that I try both. So I ticked them both off on my sheet.

I was trying not to take photos and instead just sit back and enjoy but I couldnâ¬"t help it when such beautiful pieces were placed before me! My egg nigiri was huge and so the chef sliced it into two for me and the freshwater eel, gorgeous! No other photos of the nigiri but a little soy sauce is already painted onto each perfectly sized piece and so itâ¬"s all ready to pop into your mouth.

This was the best sushi Iâ¬"ve ever had (ok, so I havenâ¬"t travelled to Japan yet). Honestly, the rice was the best part, still warm and so well seasoned. The fish was extremely fresh and the eel soft and flavourful. And the two eggs? The egg custard had been cooked with fish stock and other various ingredients and was smooth and almost creamy and utterly delicious and the egg was, apart from being a massive slab, slightly sweet omelette and was delightful upon the rice.

For my maki rolls, I chose tuna and salmon skin. When these were being made, the chefâ¬"s knife slicing them into pieces made wonderful crunching sounds thanks to the amazingly crisp nori. The nori did turn out to be incredibly crisp and a wonderful contrast to the rice inside. The tuna was a white tuna and again was soft and fresh and the salmon skin was freshly fried and also quite crisp and salty. Delicious with a little dab of their homemade soy sauce.

While we were eating our sushi, our chef would chat with us and give us information about the sushi we were eating as well as about other pieces that were being made for the people around us. This was in stark contrast to the other sushi chefs who seemed to be the strong silent types made sushi for their customers at the counter but also for those seated at the tables. After his talking about it, we were seduced by a large box of sea urchin roe that was brought out for uni nigiri for a woman next to us. And so, to end our lunch, we each chose a piece of uni nigiri ($5) from the a la carte menu. It was topped with large flakes of sea salt and a squeeze of fresh lemon juice. Again, fresh and salty and its texture was silky and sighâ¬¦ it was a good ending.

Oh, and our sushi chef? He turned out to be Chef Yasuda himself.

Photos here: http://tamarindandthyme.wordpress.com/2008/09/28/sushi-yasuda/

Le Vacherin - review by sulin

Thu, 02 Oct 2008 20:01:41 +0000

Le Vacherin - review by sulin

Rating: 4.5

Location: 76-77 South Pde, W4 5LF, London, United Kingdom

Phone: 020 8742 2121

Website: http://www.levacherin.co.uk

Tags: romantic, good value, expensive, french

Blai and I had a little occasion to treat ourselves the other weekend and of course, we took it. After a few days of scouring restaurant review websites, I settled on Le Vacherin in Chiswick - a restaurant within the budget Iâ¬"d selected, not too far from where we live, and one with terrific reviews.

Itâ¬"s pretty obvious why the first criterion existed; if you havenâ¬"t guessed already, weâ¬"re far from rich, folks. As for the second criterion, nothing ruins a lovely night out (a rare occasion for us!) faster than a terrible trip on the tube home; a quick and easy bus ride is surely preferable. As for the last, well, thatâ¬"s tied to the first - when every penny counts, you donâ¬"t want to waste it on rubbish food! While thereâ¬"s always the desire to try new restaurants, especially in London where new ones pop out one every second it seems, thereâ¬"s a high risk of having just not-that-great a dinner. Best to do my research instead and guarantee a fantastic meal.

Enough about my penny-pinching! I had booked a table for 7pm on a Sunday night and unsurprisingly, we were the first people there. The place was full by the time we left at about 10pm though.

I started with the warm salad of hand dived scallops, black pudding and Ayrshire bacon. This was a bed of dressed lettuce leaves topped with four tender scallops (four! wow!), two long streaky strips of bacon and a lump, for that is what it was, of squidgy and flavoursome black pudding. Blai had the cocotte of egg with smoked haddock in a mustard sauce. The egg came in a tiny little cocotte while the saucy haddock (ha!) came in a tumbler beside it with a long spoon. Both delicious and the haddock was actually available as a main course too.

I persuaded Blai to share the Chateaubriand for 2, with roast bone marrow, frites and green beans when he mentionned that he wanted another beef dish on the menu. He was kind enough to let me order it! We had asked for it to be cooked to medium but it came very rare (how French!) but it was very good so I canâ¬"t really complain. It came ready carved on a wooden board along with the green beans and the waitress portionned it all out between us. The green beans were so perfectly cooked with a bit of a bite and were soaked in butter and meat juices. We each also got a single mushroom and a beef bone from which to dig out the marrow. Mine had only a little in thereâ¬¦boo hoo. Skinny frites came in individual bowls with even littler bowls of bearnaise sauce alongside. Ohâ¬¦itâ¬"s been a while since I had a good steak and this really hit the spot!

Blai had the pear and almond tart, vanilla ice cream while I chose the apple beignet, vanilla ice cream, 25mL Calvados. Blai had the better dessert - his tart was more of a pear and almond pastry tart but it was good! Mine was a relatively small slice of apple in batter and deep fried, topped with ice cream. My Calvados came a little bit after my dessert and provided a bit of a digestif for the both of us!

The damage came to a reasonable Â£35 per head but that doesnâ¬"t include wine because we arenâ¬"t big drinkersâ¬¦ and we had work the following day. Not exactly a budget restaurant but worth every penny. Weâ¬"ll definitely be returning to Le Vacherin when we need another date night!

Originally posted here: http://tamarindandthyme.wordpress.com/2007/10/14/le-vacherin-in-chiswick/

Sarastro - review by sulin

Tue, 30 Sep 2008 11:15:49 +0000

Sarastro - review by sulin

Rating: 2.9

Location: 126 Drury Lane, WC2B 5SU, London, United Kingdom

Phone: 020 7836 0101

Website: http://www.sarastro-restaurant.com

Tags: expensive, mediterranean, pretentious, crowded

Last Friday, we met a few friends in Covent Garden and we were brought to the opera-themed Sarastro Restaurant on Drury Lane. Words cannot express what the decor is in this place - imagine half pseudo-rococo, half Liberaceâ¬"s home - those of you who have either been to or walked by this opera-themed restaurant will know what Iâ¬"m talking about.

Iâ¬"ll be honest - Iâ¬"ve always wanted to see what it was really like inside one of these flamboyant rooms. I could have had my pick of locations as there are two other restaurants with similar themes: Papageno (same owners) and Salieri. Upon entering, we were led to one of the upstairs booths that provide privacy and I guess is supposed to give one a feeling of exclusivity, like sitting in a real opera box. After settling in (which was a challenge as we had to contort ourselves to sit down at the table) and examining the bizarre tablecloth and napkins (crushed velvet!?), we were given menus and food immediately started arriving at the table. What was this? Glancing at our menus answered my questions - we had to choose from a three-course set menu. This was the first major bad sign of things to come. We were never told that we would be limited to this and nowhere on their website does it say this either.

I understand small menus - a small menu allows for the chef to have more control over the quality of the dishes and allows for your food to come quickly. At places like Sarrastro, though, this rather pricey set menu is obviously to cut costs and maximise profits. Appetizers were the cheap mass-produced kind: hummus, tzatziki, fried halloumi, cheese borek, fried calamari, dolmades. While the dips were presented in large-ish family-size bowls, the countable items were very stingily counted out to equal the number of people in our party. Never have I seen 6 sad calamari rings (count â¬Üem, 6!) presented on a bed of lettuce. The cheese pastries and halloumi was almost inedibly salty but luckily the fluffy Turkish bread that accompanied all this was quite nice with the dips.

When the waiter came to take our orders for the main course, I asked for his recommendation between the braised lamb shank and the duck a lâ¬"orange. After some hesitation, he suggested the lamb - but when the food came out, I saw that his recommendation really meant the lesser of the two evils. The lamb shank was enormous. What a massive dish - I felt a bit like a cave-woman tackling this beast.

Unfortunately, quality and quantity cannot mutually exist in a dish at places like these. While the portion was huge, the lamb didnâ¬"t taste of muchâ¬¦just very dull lamb. The meat wasnâ¬"t exactly falling off the bone and there were dangerous shards of bone throughout my shank. The duck eaters fared no better - a limp, overly-gamy, and probably from frozen, sliced duck breast with a thin, translucent, and possibly bottled, orange sauce poured on top. One of our friends just couldnâ¬"t eat hers and asked for a replacement. To their credit, they quite happily switched it for the more edible salmon; to their discredit, the salmon arrived approximately 5 seconds after the duck was taken away. Hmmmâ¬¦suspiciously quickâ¬¦ Accompanying our meals were family-sized bowls of boiled potatoes and boiled, yet undercooked, mixed vegetables.

The real kicker came at dessert time. The set menu proclaimed that we would receive Turkish sweets and a fresh fruit platter. Turkish sweets turned out to be a tiny syrup soaked sweet, not baklava but tulumba, for each of us (count â¬Üem, 6!) and alongside lay some of the thinnest slices of pineapple the world has ever seen. The fruit platter was a large platter with whole, uncut, cheap fruits - apples, bananas, oranges, grapesâ¬¦and the biggest joke of all, a whole pineapple in the centre, with no proper knives to cut any of them. Well, I was feeling slightly bitter by this time and proceeded to bag up that pineapple - weâ¬"re currently enjoying it at home!

And what did we pay for this catering-style meal? - Â£30 a head. Just looking at that number causes me to reminisce of the wonderful meals Iâ¬"ve had at Le Vacherin that came to about that amount. And I havenâ¬"t even come to the musicians! Being an opera-themed restaurant, I would expect some music to be played. I do not, however, expect the band to sound like a mariachi band - nor do I expect the tambourinist to come around to each table, demanding money and shouting â¬SOlÃ©! OlÃ©!â¬

RUB BBQ - review by sulin

Mon, 29 Sep 2008 19:11:54 +0000

RUB BBQ - review by sulin

Rating: 4.7

Location: 208 West 23rd Street, 10011, New York, United States of America

Website: http://www.rubbbq.net/

Tags: american, cheap eat, good value, lively

We had to find a place serving â¬Straditional American foodâ¬

Babbo - review by sulin

Mon, 29 Sep 2008 19:05:26 +0000

Babbo - review by sulin

Rating: 4.5

Location: 110 Waverly Pl, 10011, New York, United States of America

Phone: (212) 614-6670

Website: www.babbonyc.com

Tags: italian, crowded, lively

To celebrate our last day of work in New York, Mirna and I took ourselves to Babbo. It was on my list of places to eat in New York and as weâ¬"d only managed to secure a reservation for 22:45 the following day on Thursday (their phone lines are insane), we tried to drop in that day, on Wednesday, much earlier. No problem! If youâ¬"re happy to wait by the bar with a drink in hand and delicious little olives and crispy parmesan-covered grissini to nibble on, a table can be secured for you. We were told an hourâ¬"s wait but we were seated in about half that time.

We already knew ahead of time that we wanted one of the tasting menus but which one - pasta or traditional - would depend on the mood that day. The mood was pasta. A little card with the pasta tasting menu printed on it was brought to our table so that we could keep track of what we were eating (and drinking, if we had ordered the wine pairings).

We started with the Black Tagliatelle with Charred Corn and Castelmagno. Tossed along with the pasta were chives, giving a lovely oniony greenness to the carby, cheesy mixture. And the corn! I never would have thought of incorporating corn into a pasta sauce but the toasted sweet corn was delicious with the pasta. The pasta was fresh and perfectly al dente (Iâ¬"d expect it to be!) but didnâ¬"t have much squid ink flavour. I licked this plate clean.

Along with this first course, we were served a chickpea bruschetta, their now quite well known amuse that they serve to everyone there. I wish we had been served it before our first course rather than having it unceremoniously dumped inbetween our plates. The chickpeas were tender (though not as creamy as the ones I love in Spain) and tossed with an tapenade/olive oil/balsamic vinegar mixture. Tasty enough.

I have to admit, I became a little apprehensive when that first plate of tagliatelle was set before me. It was a very large serving of pasta for a supposed tasting menu. Luckily, the sizes of the following dishes were much more manageable.

The second plate was â¬SCasunzeiâ¬