Ricardo's

Food with a major attitude—on the plate and service. Spanish cuisine yet serving what an American steak house does—do not compare to Lugers, please. A fairly new joint and favored by locals who make it their business to look stylized and get loud. The ‘food’ is what makes people coming back, but I would not go that far. True—the dishes are as stylized as your outfit but the rave is slightly over exaggerated. Probably one of a few places in the neighborhood to serve up a trendy and posh meal plus bar. But I came out of this place not having the I-will-come-back feeling. Aside from a huge ego trip from the waiter’s part—who slightly altered my perception of Ricardo’s—I question if the food is as consistent as the repeatable crowd.

I have learned that people may go to a place just for the ambiance and thus deem the food as great—even when the truth is… the food was below sub par. This is what I think the crowd is blinded by the new furniture and decor and sadly losing the sight of the food. Not to say the food was bad—on the contrary, I did not like the ambiance and much preferred the food. Different strokes for different folks. I like to have my own personal space rather than cramped in a row of small tables with other hungry strangers—if unless the food is a must-try. In this case, Ricardo’s was not a must, and was not worth the competitive prices similar to Lugers.

That said, thus; the review:

Angus Empanadas 3 delicious angus beef patties baked to perfection and served with our special sauce ($9). It was a puff pastry wrap; light and flaky. The special sauce tasted exactly like marinara sauce; so don’t brace yourself.

Ricardo Mixed Grill: Grilled PGA Skirt steak, chicken breast, pork and chorizo served with roasted potatoes and garlic spinach ($21). You will most likely bring leftovers. This is a practically big portioned dish.

New York Strip: Prime Angus, bone out, grilled to perfection served with mashed potatoes and mushroom with gralic spinach ($26). Nothing impressive. The sides were not on par, even a diner can teach this place how to make a standard mash. The steak was cooked medium rare how I asked. That was the only thing right.

Lamb Chops ($23): festive and colorful presentation. Grilled to medium well when asked to be medium.

Entrees took very—very long. Waiter was barely neither apologetic nor accommodating —in fact these were his exact words: “the food will come soon, ok!” ‘Soon’ was 40 minutes later, keeping in mind this time was after the appetizer was eaten and plate taken away.

Ricardo’s thinks it has proved itself with its trendy façade and steaks—which are extremely over-hyped by locals who hold so much pride to their neighborhood. Prices are expensive considering the lackluster service and neighborhood. Personally I think for this place to have outsiders coming in, it has to keep a standard for the food turn down the reliance on alcohol from the bar which creates drank and social scene ambiance. Ricardo’s attitude developed too soon to assume it can come close to being a dependable establishment nevertheless a fine establishment.

I didn’t get the hype.


Ricardo’s Steak House. 2145 2nd Ave New York, NY 10029 (212) 289-5895

Bozu

Arrived on a Monday night dined in the patio across from the chef's station. Bozu serves Japanese cuisine and western dishes in a contemporary and electric manner. Most portions are small. Be sure to ask if the dish is big enough to fill you up. The menu was made in a mini binder with no breakdown on whether one page was a starter or an entree. A lot of Bozu comes from the friendly service—If you are not knowledgeable on the Japanese cuisine you will ask (a) question(s) about the menu, in most cases you will ask more than once. If you don't you will probably be stuck on ordering the typical standard sushi rolls. Bozu stands for Japanese cuisine—well at least the staff is. The décor is fun and modern like the accommodating service.


The orders:

Starters were on the recommended chef special which were the salmon tartar and the yellow tail ceviche. Both were incredibly small. But the dishes showed detail on every ingredient and they were well presented. Each mini one was about $10 and can be swallowed in one bite.

The party bomb is an equivalent to a roll but with a different presentation. Rather than have the fish rolled in with the rice and seaweed. The bomb has the rice shaped in a mold, and then goes the fish and such on top of the rice. This is nothing new but it beats the standard rolls in presentation. Nine of these bombs were $19.

On the contemporary page were the pork belly and burger with mash potatoes. I am not a fan of cross overs. It is very hard—and in most cases, can come off tacky when a restaurant has more than one genre to focus on. Bozu tried and failed. Failed in a sense that the western dishes did not live up to its home dishes. The burgers were essentially imperfect meatballs of three with a side of mesclun greens and not buttery and sandy mash. So the burger was marinated by fermented apple and onions but the execution did not make the cut. The pork belly is for those that love to eat the fat and skins besides the meat. Steamed and served in thinly sliced chucks. I would pass if you're keeping tab on the cholesterol and calories.


What makes Bozu running is the energetic and friendly staff. Don’t expect to get full from one plate. Play around and experiment and learn a thing or two.


Bozu 296 Grand St Brooklyn, NY 11211 (718) 384-7770

Sofrito

This lounge and restaurant is prefect for the loud chatterboxes and endless talkers. Sofrito, which means sizzle, takes Spanish/ Puerto Rican cuisine to an another level—both in taste and presentation. The decor and lighting makes you feel like you're eating in a club (noisy).

The dishes:
Churrasco, grilled skirt steak (medium rare) with oil garlic sauce. The most flavorful and well seasoned $19 skirt steak I have had. It was beyond good—very impressive. A side of tostones were thinner than usual and crispier and tastier than most places.

Second entrée was the Arroz Con Camarones rice with $16 shrimp and black beans; the shrimp were medium to large butterflied. Very filling and very likely to bag the left overs.

The maduros were superb. The plantains were light and fresh in color which meant that they were not overly cooked. Unlike most maduros I have had, these were an exception and my favorite. There were gazed in butter and sugar.

Though the prices aren't like those that you find in a hole in a wall. It is worth the try if you haven't had trendier and flavorful Spanish food. I would not go on any first dates to this place—if unless you both can read lips or can use sign language. Good for crowds who love to be loud.


Sofrito. 400 E. 57th St. nr. First Ave. 212-754-5999

Montclair, NJ

Montclair NJ. Normally I would only review places in the city and those worth commenting on. But it is good to venture out.

I see potential in Church Street. Though when you walk into the place you feel the décor/ design is outdated and contradicts its New American cuisine persona. To be descriptive on the décor: there were a row of booths that resemble that of a diner. Parallel to the booths were a set of burgundy and green fabric tables and chairs—a complete mismatch—which reminded me of a Chinese banquet. I have to say, the restrooms were much better designed than the dinning room.

Aside from the decor, the menu was comprehensive and refreshing. Most salads were organic. I ordered the crab cakes benedict: three 2x2x1 mini crab cake pocks overly breaded served with home fries, poached eggs and a fresh fruit salad. The portion is just right and not overly filling and nicely assembled. Though, I was expecting more crab on my cakes for a $ 14 brunch.

For $10, the Turkey club was well worth it. Instead of mayo, apricot jam was the creative condiment served American cheese, tomato and lettuce and a side of fresh mesclun greens.

I could only wish this place was in the city and it may actually teach some Americana restaurants here how to prep and make better dishes. Many can take a few pointers from this little Montclair on Church Street joint minus the decor.

Church Street. 12 Church Street Montclair, NJ 07042 973-233-0216

Lunapiena

Situated in midtown east, on Third Avenue and 53rd to be exact. With a patio and indoor seating, Lunapiena is for the business types. The typical place to bring your regular clients out and chat. Decor was standard procedure- safe and cordial for a casual business meal. Although the disposal napkins- paper napkins contradict the 'fine' dining claim; hence, this may provoke one to think suspiciously of the validity and lessen one's desire of the 'fine' decor.

Food.
Safe and nothing surprising. Dining here does not require one to open up his/ her gastronomic and exploratory palate. The dishes are stuck in the '80's. Expect the standard dishes e.g. meat and carbs--the 'Italian American' genre. Not Italian. Ordered the special pasta with cut grilled chicken scattered with sun dried tomatoes with a couple of spinach leaves crushed upon a bed of Casarecce. Kudos that it was al dente but on second thought for over 15 an entree, I expected better.

Another order from the special was the fillet mignon. Though I did not sample the dish, I thought it was worth a critique from the presentation. The fillet was swimming in a bath of thick gravy sauce. Disappointing to see a highly expensive cut soaked. Served with a side of roasted potatoes and string beans.

If you are not expecting to be in for a culinary enlightenment skip this midtown white collar trap.


Lunapiena Ristorante 243 East 53rd Street New York, NY 10022 (212) 308-8882

Relish

The outside of the place looks like a retro 70’s diner, but the type of food that is served is New American/ eclectic style with a bold Manhattan price. All the dishes were well thought out and well presented. There is a chef in the kitchen, not just random cooks.

Steamed Mussels White wine, tomato, saffron, ginger and garlic 13.00 served in French Bristol style. The white wine sauce was creamy with micro chunks of slightly undercooked potatoes yet not overpowering the savory taste of the mussels. Served with two crispy slices of baguette.

Grilled Sirloin Burger with fries, onion rings or mixed greens cheddar, swiss, american, blue cheese or bacon add $1, poblano relish add $1. 13.00. My choice was the medium rare cheddar relish burger (lettuce and tomato) with rings on the side—one of the better burgers I’ve had in NYC. The more than half inch thick Burger retained a juicy tenderness of the sirloin. Onion rings came in big sizes and crunchiness—right out of the fryer. Satisfying.

Scallops with lobster sauce over risotto was the Saturday night special. Scallops were cooked just right, surrounded in a bed of creamy risotto with white wine. The sauce joins the delicate seafood with the hearty grain into one savory plate.

The Chocolate Pepsi cake similar to a 3 layered devil chocolate cake. Not too thick, generic yet good.

Overall don’t be fooled by the exterior, Relish has talent and the food are created and integrated with modern skills and technique.

Insider Tip: You can choose from the traditional retro dinning or a contemporary blue lounge setting.

Relish 225 Wythe Street, Brooklyn 11211 At N 3rd St

good enough to eat

The name is deceiving—after dining at this ‘comfy’ and ‘homestyle’ upper west side joint, your common sense and unsatisfied stomach will tell you it was ‘not good enough to pay’--for those inflated prices. I am not ‘hating’ on the 15 dollar per entrée dishes, in fact I’ve been to casual pubs such as the Spotted pig, and dished out 17 dollars for a burger and let me tell you, that was worth 17 dollars compared to the burger at ‘not good enough to eat.’ It would not be fair to compare these two. For one, ‘good enough to eat’ does not understand how to work with the food they put in e.g. unifying different ingredients in one plate.

The lowdown on the dishes:

My order, Pizza with olives and anchovies on focaccia was soggy focaccia—in no way crispy on the edges or on the base, topped with tasteless canned tomato sauce with scattered mozzarella cheese dropped off by whole anchovies and olives. Can I begin how disappointed I was on this 16 dollar pizza. This dish was amateur. The size was not nearly close to a regular slice of pizza from any hole in the wall joint.

Scallops with shiitake mushrooms and breaded zucchini: this was the special for the evening, but the scallops were not special or fresh instead they were rubbery. The whole dish did not come together; the scallops, welted and shrilled mushrooms and soggy deep fried zucchini were out of place and overcooked as if they were three separate bad dishes. Perhaps they all came together for their over-cooked-ness.

To play it safe at any restaurant order a burger. The Burger 8 oz. on a homemade oat roll with french fries, side of lettuce, tomato and pickle with sharp cheddar cheese $14 was the cheapest and merely decent.

Good enough to eat…or is it?

483 Amsterdam Ave (at 83rd Street) New York, NY 10024 (212) 496-0163