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Apr16
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Apr16
Salute!: 23 N Lemon Ave, Sarasota, FL
My family and I went here for dinner tonight after our first attempt had an hour long wait and our 2nd attempt was closed. Salute has a great outdoor eating area with available tables and we were seated right away. Our waiter came over with menus and went over the specials. None of us wanted to order cocktails so we just asked for flat water. I also asked if, when he had a moment, he’d bring over some lemon for the water. When he came back to take our orders and to bring us bread and dipping olive oil, I again reminded him that I wanted some lemon. When he came back a third time to bring us our appetizers, I asked him for a third time for some lemon. Finally, he came back with 3 slices of lemon (for our table of 4. Hmmm) and my water glass was, by then, empty. Big fail. The bus boy overheard me complaining about the timing of this and re-filled my glass. Ok. Better late than never.
For my app, I shared an arugula, endive, radicchio salad with Gabriel. It came with a creamy balsamic dressing and shaved parmesan. Very nice and fresh, but kind of on the boring side.
For my entree, at the suggestion of our waiter, I ordered the chicken parmesan with penne. It was a great portion sized- very manageable and not overwhelmingly large which I appreciated. The chicken, however was totally overcooked, stringy, dry and unimpressive. The sauce and cheese on top were mediocre at best. I’ve had better chicken parm at a diner.
For the prices here, I would not return. Just a few nights earlier, we went to Cafe Baci for the same price and MUCH better food. I guess you’re really just paying for the lovely outdoor seating here and not much more.
Oh well, they can’t all be winners.
Apr15
Cafe Baci: 4001 S. Tamiami Trl, Sarasota, FL
From the street, Cafe Baci looks like it’s from 1960. The sign as well as the outside of the restaurant is dated and falling apart, and does nothing at all to represent the excellence that happens inside.
We were welcomed very warmly by the hostess and quickly led to our table. We saw right away that the clientele of this establishment is pretty much the over 65 crowd, and we felt slightly out of place and underdressed. The hostess assured us that people come in wearing just-off-the-beach clothes sometimes and that we were totally fine. Our waiter came over with menus and ice water and went over the specials, all of which sounded great. Shortly later, he brought over a basket of foccacia, delicious garlicy/parmesan breadsticks and some herbed olive oil. You see from my picture that we had all dived into those before I remembered to take a photo, and the basket is already partially empty.
This restaurant came very highly recommended by my friend and duo partner Mike (please visit mikesolomusic.com and careyyaruss.com com for more info ) and one of the things he mentioned to me was how accommodating they are to their patron’s requests. Knowing that, I asked if it would be possibly to add some grilled shrimp to the cappellini primavera, to which the waiter happily agreed.
When my entree came out, I was very excited for my first taste. It was loaded with huge, gorgeous, grilled shrimp, tons of fresh vegetables and homemade cappellini with a creamy, tomato sauce. It was seriously delicious, rich and indulgent. I was totally happy with it, even though I was expecting a nice, light pasta dinner and it was definitely on the heavy side. The portion was extremely generous and I happily shared it with Gabriel and my mom and step-father, who all agree that it was super tasty.
For dessert, we decided to order one tiramisu for everyone to share. When it arrived with an old looking strawberry on top, we assumed it must have been made much earlier and was just sitting in the fridge waiting for someone to order it. It was covered in a 2 inch thick layer of whipped cream on top and the espresso soaked cake was kind of overwhelmed by that. The flavor was good and if there had been less whipped cream I think we all would have really enjoyed it, but as it were, I pretty much was the only one who ended up eating it.
Overall, I was very impressed with Cafe Baci and would definitely go back. I would love to see some younger people in there, but unless they update the outside and make it look a big livelier and hipper, I doubt anyone under 40 will be going in anytime soon. With nearly full tables, it seems like their business isn’t suffering because of that, and maybe that’s really the crowd that they are aiming to attract. With it’s rustic, Italian interior, it has a classic feel that’s sure to please an older (and wealthier) clientele. The food is really top quality and I’d certainly recommend it to anyone looking for a hearty meal. Enjoy!
Jan9
Chez Carey: Glazed tilapia and asian veggie stir fry over coconut/ginger rice.
I usually avoid cooking fish in my apartment because I hate the smelly aftermath that lingers for days when it’s too cold to leave windows wide open. I recently found out that for some reason, tilapia isn’t nearly as smelly as other fish, so I decided to play around with it for tonight’s dinner. It’s so easy to get into a poultry cooking rut and this was a nice, refreshing change for me.
I decided to do an Asian spin on the flavoring and began by making a a glaze for the fish. Into the mix went: a TON of fresh, chopped ginger, hoisin sauce, soy sauce, garlic powder, a ton of chopped cilantro, some apple cider vinegar and a little bit of honey. I painted this mixture onto the filets and did a quick, hot, pan saute using spray coconut oil so it wouldn’t stick.
While that was cooking, I stir fried the following in my beloved wok (again using spray coconut oil) chopped bok choy, chopped exotic mixed mushrooms, baby corn, sliced water chestnuts, chopped green beans. When that was done I finished it with a squeeze of lemon juice, chopped cilantro and a little of the leftover fish glaze.
Admittedly, I cheated on the rice. I used a box of ‘A Taste of Thai’ coconut/ginger rice for this one. It’s really quite good, and SO much easier than making it myself.
I love when healthy cooking also equals a great dinner! 
Jan3
Club A Steakhouse: 240 E. 58th St. New York NY
My friend and I had a prix fix dinner deal for 2 from Living Social that we finally got to use tonight. It was $69 and included 2 apps, 2 sides, 2 entrees and 2 desserts. What a great deal! I walked in and was greeted by B, sitting at the bar, sipping a glass of red wine. It was a beautiful atmosphere to walk into with an abundance of warm red fabrics, candlelit tables and red roses. The host asked if we’d like to be seated downstairs or upstairs, and told us that upstairs had banquets instead of tables. Wanting the cozy warmth of a booth, we opted to go up. What a great decision. As soon as we got up there we noticed the red quilted ceiling and the huge window looking out on twinkling, white, Christmas lights in the trees outside. We settled into our seats and I ordered myself a glass of Malbec, my favorite red wine.
A basket of lovely rosemary bread, onion bread, and breadsticks were brought out along with butter and ice water. The waiter brought us our menus a few minutes later. We had about 6 choices in each section- better than most prix fixes I’ve seen, and just about everything sounded appealing. B and I are EXCELLENT at sharing and we always seem to agree on the same dishes which, along with a easy, lively conversation, makes us perfect dining partners. We opted to share everything.
We started with the caesar salad and the fried calamari. The salad was covered in delicious shavings of parmesan. The homemade dressing that came with it was perfect with just enough anchovies to give it great flavor- but not totally too many which can be overpowering. The calamari was ok- a little too breaded for my taste, but nice and crunchy and accompanied by an awesome spicy marinara.
Next we shared the hanger steak and the filet mignon and both were cooked to absolute perfection. The filet was SO buttery and tender and actually had a lot of flavor. We expected that of the hanger but not the filet which I often find is sort of flavorless but a great consistency, so that was a pleasant surprise. The hanger was our favorite though. It was still very tender but also extremely juicy and flavorful. It was cooked to the exact specification that we requested, medium rare. For our sides we asked for the mashed potatoes and the truffle infused creamed spinach and were delighted when they surprised us with the mac and cheese as an additional side. Yes, surely a nice, light dinner. Haha. The dishes were all so generous that I was able to bring home some of everything to enjoy the following day. All of the sides arrived in their own little crocks, an adorable presentation of delicious and hearty food. What a great meal for a cold, winter night with a dear friend.
Our desserts were pretty good but not outstanding. Then again, that might have just been because we were already stuffed to the brim. The tiramisu was fine, but not terribly exciting. The cream puffs were tasty, but boring, simply filled with cream and covered in more cream. It definitely could have used some berries to brighten it up a bit. Those were the only 2 choices for dessert and I was pretty unimpressed with them considering the quality of everything else. No chocolate option? No ice cream, sorbet, pie or fruit option? That was the only part of the meal that wasn’t awesome.
The only other thing that I think is worth a mention is the service. Although they were very professional, polite and friendly, they were slow as mud. We didn’t really mind since we wanted to chat and they didn’t seem to care if we lingered for hours, but it would have been nice if they checked in on us a few times during our meal and in between courses. We literally sat for an hour sipping the end of our glasses of wine waiting for the check and eventually flagged someone down to bring it over. Again, I’m not sure that this is a negative…just something worth mentioning.
Overall, I really liked Club A. I thought the atmosphere was incredibly romantic and sexy and would be a great place for a date on Valentines’ Day or another romantic occasion. I will certainly consider a repeat visit…especially if they run another fantastic deal like this one!
ADDENDUM!!
Gabriel and I returned to Club A to celebrate Valentine’s Day and WOW, what a special evening it was. 
There was SO much food we practically rolled out of there at the end of the night, but the overindulgence was worth every single calorie and I can’t possibly say enough good things about the way we were treated and the food we consumed.
We were treated like absolute royalty by the staff and Bruno, the owner. First, a bottle of champagne and a basket of bread was brought over. Next a complimentary bottle of wonderful red wine was elaborately decanted for us.
Two of the largest shrimp cocktail were our next surprise, YUM!
We shared a caeser salad and a garden salad and I must rave for a moment about the outstanding caeser dressing. It was thick and creamy, with a lovely anchovy flavor and a hint of parmesan. One of the best caesers I’ve ever had.
We were then surprised yet again with a treat of lobster ravoili. The chunks of lobster inside were so decadent and fresh, this might have been my favorite part of the meal. At this point, we already felt SO full, but there was still a ton of food coming so we prepared ourselves. I began thinking that my skintight pencil dress might not have been the best choice for my outfit.
Out came our hanger steak and NY strip, cooked to perfection with the perfect amount of pink in the center. The outside was crisp and had so much flavor and juice inside…we were in meaty heaven. We also shared 2 wonderful sides of truffle oil creamed spinach and amazing mashed potatoes. We took some of the steak home and began thinking that perhaps we’d opt to take our desserts home too… Just then, out they arrived before we even ordered them! A PLATTER of sweets for us to squeeze into our bellies. It’s funny how there always seems to be just a little more room when you absolutely need it. We shared a gorgeous array of chocolate heart-sharped cake, cream puffs AND tiramisu and were blown away by the beautiful presentation of fruit that arrived shortly after. WOW.
This was seriously the most food I’ve put away in one sitting. I was still full the next morning! Thank you SO much to Arben, Bruno and the whole staff at Club A. This was a night we will cherish in our memories forever.
Dec27
Lucky Plaza: 81 Christie st. New York, NY
Like all good Jews, Gabriel and I had big plans for Chinese food and a movie on Christmas. We decided it would be fun to wander around Chinatown on a quest for Lychees (one of my favorite snacks that we learned are totally out of season right now) and various types of dried fish. (aka: cat-treats) While we did not find lychees, we DID manage to find longan (aka: dragon eyes, and rightfully so) and a pretty overpriced and not-very-good Chinese restaurant. Go figure.
There are SO many awesome and dirt cheap places in Chinatown that I’m really not quite sure how we managed to go to this one. It’s not that the food was awful, but it wasn’t great either.
We ordered pork juicy buns- well, actually we ordered crab/pork (see what good Jews we are? hahaha) juicy buns but were told they were out of crab. Oookkkay. We ordered jellyfish and squid stir fry…but then we were told they were out of jellyfish. Ooookkkay. We ordered fried rice, mixed vegetables and crispy oysters. Everything was so- so. The oysters were basically just a plate of tempura oysters, with no sauce. When we asked what we were supposed to dip them in, they pointed to the red vinegar (which poor Gabriel tried and nearly spit out). When we asked again, they brought out a miniscule bowl of duck sauce. Ookkkay. The fried rice was pretty good- and thank goodness for that since it’s basically what we filled up on. The vegetables were fresh and cooked nicely- but the sauce they were in was too greasy/slimy for my liking. The dumplings were also eh. So. Ya. Booooooo.
When we got the $46 check and realized what our money could have bought us instead, we were none too thrilled. Seriously? Oooookkkkay.
Oh well. Next Christmas we’ve decided we are going to be on a beach somewhere anyway.
bigforkinmouth.com 