One of my absolutely favorite stores in Astoria. This place is amazing! All the meal hanging from the ceiling, the smokey smell, i love it! They staff is very helpful and patient if you need to ask a million questions, as i usually do (what kind of meat is that? what animal made that cheese? is that pork belly?!?!). One time they said to me: "every time you come in, try something different". They are kind enough to always offer a taste even if they need to cut into something new, very helpful and accommodating service.
There are so many items i love here its hard to list them but i will try. They do a great bread that is almost a phyllo stuffed with beef, or sometimes apples, its fresh, and excellent. They salami's and other style meat in that category are excellent as is the selection. I enjoy the one with paprika. The stuffed cabbage is the best I've ever had, it comes with bacon on top so that it cooked down and the fat flavors the cabbage while its cooking. Its always fresh because they sell a huge amount as far as i can tell and whenever i have it for guests for family everyone loves it. It is stuffed with ground meat and maybe rice or something? Not ever sure what kind of meat is it but its fantastic! They have fried pork chunks that are perfectly fried and crispy. Very crispy actually, they are super rich and heavy, but a few bites is perfect. They always have a few items fresh and still hot, or a few hours from the oven/smoker/etc. Just try them all. The lamb sausages are good, a bit hard but that is to be expected. The smoked and dried pork loin is one of my favorites, its a great lean meat. They have a great selection of cheese and deli meats also. They have excellent black olives and feta. I also hear they roast baby pig on request for catering, something I'm very much looking forward to ordering in the future. Even the bread they have is excellent and fresh. The best part are the prices, everything is so cheap, i never spend more than $20 and i walk away with days worth of food. Excellent value!
If you are in queens and you like meat, you must go out of your way to visit this place. They get busy so arrive early or be patient, it is worth the wait. This place is amazing!
Sunday, April 24, 2011
Thursday, April 14, 2011
L'Artiste
4/14/2011
Here is what I like about this place: EVERYTHING! The vibe is perfect, dimly lit, cozy, perfect relaxing jazzy music both old and new. The staff is very friendly, warm, and accommodating. The food is fantastic! The best course I've had here is the Salmon dish with baby bok choy, sherry tomatoes and more. Perfect dish, absolutely bursting with flavor, well cooked. I finished the plate and practically wanted to lick it clean. Yes it was that good. The price was great too, under $20. The amuse bouche was great ratatouille in a small pastry shell with balsamic vinegar, great simple fresh start. Even the bread comes with an olive spread which I love and is so much more exciting than butter/oil. Highly recommended, love the vibe here, can't wait to return!
1/1/2011
It is a shame it took me this long to try this place, its a welcomed addition to Astoria, something distinct in an area that already has so much fantastic food. I really enjoyed my meal here on New Year's Eve. We had a reservation but were not informed about the special menu, I did not mind but my company would have liked to order from the regular menu. That said, we had a wonderful meal and it was a great value. $75 for champagne, wine, 3 small sampler appetizers, 2 entree courses, sorbet palette cleanser, and 3 sampler dessert course.
The appetizer while a very good start was so small it was almost a 3 taste Amuse bouche. Not sure the three items worked together either. The beef was the weak link, not very tender, nothing special, although it was flavored very well. The salmon tartar was excellent but again small. The squash shooter was the best, great rich flavor.
For the second course I had the duck and my company had the crab cake. They were both excellent, petite, but seasoned very well. The duck was cooked perfectly. For the third course I had the Fillet Mignon with potatoes, not the best choice in hind site, i think i played it safe. It was very good, but a bit standard and the piece of Fillet I got was one of the fattier end pieces. The potatoes were not as crispy as I would have liked, but overall a very good dish. My company loved her chicken with mushrooms dish. The chicken was cooked perfectly and was very moist.
Apply sorbet in i think champagne was the palette cleanser was fantastic, very crisp. It really woke my palette up. Onto the dessert round, I'm not the biggest chocolate fan, so this was a bit of a disappointment, but overall it was very good. The best of the three for me was something like a hot chocolate with brandy shooter, very good and not too rich. I also enjoyed the Semi Freda. The chocolate layer cake was just alright, nothing memorable although it looked beautiful.
Overall the meal was excellent, although it was not the largest meal I've ever had. Petite portions, but i did not leave hungry. They played very nice diverse music at a good volume, the selection of wines and the house wine they served us was excellent. The service was friendly and attentive. Great ambiance in the place and a kitchen that clearly knows how to cook. I look forward to returning here for escargot and a fig desert very soon. Highly recommended.
Here is what I like about this place: EVERYTHING! The vibe is perfect, dimly lit, cozy, perfect relaxing jazzy music both old and new. The staff is very friendly, warm, and accommodating. The food is fantastic! The best course I've had here is the Salmon dish with baby bok choy, sherry tomatoes and more. Perfect dish, absolutely bursting with flavor, well cooked. I finished the plate and practically wanted to lick it clean. Yes it was that good. The price was great too, under $20. The amuse bouche was great ratatouille in a small pastry shell with balsamic vinegar, great simple fresh start. Even the bread comes with an olive spread which I love and is so much more exciting than butter/oil. Highly recommended, love the vibe here, can't wait to return!
1/1/2011
It is a shame it took me this long to try this place, its a welcomed addition to Astoria, something distinct in an area that already has so much fantastic food. I really enjoyed my meal here on New Year's Eve. We had a reservation but were not informed about the special menu, I did not mind but my company would have liked to order from the regular menu. That said, we had a wonderful meal and it was a great value. $75 for champagne, wine, 3 small sampler appetizers, 2 entree courses, sorbet palette cleanser, and 3 sampler dessert course.
The appetizer while a very good start was so small it was almost a 3 taste Amuse bouche. Not sure the three items worked together either. The beef was the weak link, not very tender, nothing special, although it was flavored very well. The salmon tartar was excellent but again small. The squash shooter was the best, great rich flavor.
For the second course I had the duck and my company had the crab cake. They were both excellent, petite, but seasoned very well. The duck was cooked perfectly. For the third course I had the Fillet Mignon with potatoes, not the best choice in hind site, i think i played it safe. It was very good, but a bit standard and the piece of Fillet I got was one of the fattier end pieces. The potatoes were not as crispy as I would have liked, but overall a very good dish. My company loved her chicken with mushrooms dish. The chicken was cooked perfectly and was very moist.
Apply sorbet in i think champagne was the palette cleanser was fantastic, very crisp. It really woke my palette up. Onto the dessert round, I'm not the biggest chocolate fan, so this was a bit of a disappointment, but overall it was very good. The best of the three for me was something like a hot chocolate with brandy shooter, very good and not too rich. I also enjoyed the Semi Freda. The chocolate layer cake was just alright, nothing memorable although it looked beautiful.
Overall the meal was excellent, although it was not the largest meal I've ever had. Petite portions, but i did not leave hungry. They played very nice diverse music at a good volume, the selection of wines and the house wine they served us was excellent. The service was friendly and attentive. Great ambiance in the place and a kitchen that clearly knows how to cook. I look forward to returning here for escargot and a fig desert very soon. Highly recommended.
Sunday, April 10, 2011
La Rioja
Amazing food!
4/10/2011
After a few more visits, this had become one of my favorite places to eat in Astoria. The best dish i've had, which I cant wait to return for is the roasted pig that they serve on the weekends. Its absolutely perfect. I've been the Spain recently and i ate roasted pig at a Michelin star restaurant, and i have to say this is better. It is extremely juicy, and packed with flavor. The skin is crispy and the portion is large. Perfect food! Everything else i've had here is great especially the sangria. The Guava Shells topped with Goat Cheese is one of my favorite desserts in the whole words! This place is worth a visit to Astoria if you are from another borough, its just a few blocks walk from the N or R train.
7/28/2010
I had a wonderful meal here. The place is quite large, so you will likely have a table all to your own, and not be right on top of the table next to you. The service was good, no complaints. The food was really excellent. The Dates wrapped in Bacon was the weak link of the meal, instead of the bacon providing that salty crunch around the soft sweet date, instead the bacon was very soft, not very good, but still tasty. The shrimp in garlic was good, standard, same with the mix of olives, good but not particularly memorable. The Anchovies with Avocado sauce and I believe a light tomato sauce under it was fantastic. Excellent mix of flavors, highly recommended for the nice large anchovies and the excellent sauces. For the main dish we shared the chicken topped with cheese and jamon Serrano, would not have been my first pick on the menu, but I'm sure glad we ordered it. Excellent dish! Huge flavors from the strong cheese and ham, which matched perfectly with the sweet blend of onions and tomatoes. Large portion, served with very nice almost mashed potatoes. The large pitcher of sangria was only $20 which is less than I usually pay for a pitcher even in the area. The sangria itself was good, fruity, kinda standard but I'd go back for it as I love sangria. Really nice menu they have here, large selection of Tapas, decent prices, highly recommended.
4/10/2011
After a few more visits, this had become one of my favorite places to eat in Astoria. The best dish i've had, which I cant wait to return for is the roasted pig that they serve on the weekends. Its absolutely perfect. I've been the Spain recently and i ate roasted pig at a Michelin star restaurant, and i have to say this is better. It is extremely juicy, and packed with flavor. The skin is crispy and the portion is large. Perfect food! Everything else i've had here is great especially the sangria. The Guava Shells topped with Goat Cheese is one of my favorite desserts in the whole words! This place is worth a visit to Astoria if you are from another borough, its just a few blocks walk from the N or R train.
7/28/2010
I had a wonderful meal here. The place is quite large, so you will likely have a table all to your own, and not be right on top of the table next to you. The service was good, no complaints. The food was really excellent. The Dates wrapped in Bacon was the weak link of the meal, instead of the bacon providing that salty crunch around the soft sweet date, instead the bacon was very soft, not very good, but still tasty. The shrimp in garlic was good, standard, same with the mix of olives, good but not particularly memorable. The Anchovies with Avocado sauce and I believe a light tomato sauce under it was fantastic. Excellent mix of flavors, highly recommended for the nice large anchovies and the excellent sauces. For the main dish we shared the chicken topped with cheese and jamon Serrano, would not have been my first pick on the menu, but I'm sure glad we ordered it. Excellent dish! Huge flavors from the strong cheese and ham, which matched perfectly with the sweet blend of onions and tomatoes. Large portion, served with very nice almost mashed potatoes. The large pitcher of sangria was only $20 which is less than I usually pay for a pitcher even in the area. The sangria itself was good, fruity, kinda standard but I'd go back for it as I love sangria. Really nice menu they have here, large selection of Tapas, decent prices, highly recommended.
Tuesday, April 5, 2011
Pomme Cafe
I hate to downgrade a local place, especially a place that has excellent Jazz weekly, but the food here is very hit or miss. Every time I go, and I've been about 6 times over the last year we seem to get something great and something bad. The place never fails to deliver something we don't enjoy. Recently I went for dinner and had the exact same experience. The foie gras appetizer was incredible. I thought it was well paired with the jam of apricot I believe, and the crispy toast. I'd go out of my way to check out some live jazz and order this appetizer, it was amazing! However the beef bourguignon was bad. It has zero sauce, over dry pasta. Really confused but that, I've never seen a beef bourguignon by this dry, it was as if it was not even cooked in red wine. This was a bad, boring, dish that makes me wonder why a chef would even serve it. They were also out of about 5 items on the menu, which is never good when you are busy. The ambiance is excellent, I love how they decorate the place and how low they keep the lights. Go for the jazz, drinks, and foie!
5/3/2010
I've eaten here 3 times recently with family and have had a very good meal every time, although not without a few issues. I think they may still be trying to work thru the kinks, for example the food can sometimes take a while to arrive, however I get the impression that's most if cooked to order (even I think the Beef Bourguignon) so a wait is somewhat expected.
I've had the Escargot a few times, probably my favorite dish here. Very tender, juicy snails in a rich butter sauce. The first time I had it the sauce was almost milky, which was different and tasty. Then the next 2 times I ordered this dish, it was mostly butter, which is nice, but not what arrived the first time. Perhaps the milk solids has started to separate on the first dish. Either way, not very consistent. The cheese plate is good, although not every cheese is French nor local (Manchego for example). The French onion soup is good, kinda standard, not particularly memorable, but they do use a good gruyere cheese on top which is always nice. The bread they serve with the meal is excellent, fresh, grainy, with a soft whipped butter that is always room temperature so you can spread it, which I always nice.
For entrée's I've had the lamb sandwich (decent lamb, oily sandwich, strange unrecognizable flavors, decent dish); the Pate sandwich (dry, boring); the Beef Bourguignon (excellent, highly recommended, great portion, wonderful flavor, tender, medium lean meat); the salmon w/Israeli couscous (eh, the salmon portion was very small, thin, and cut from the end of the salmon, so no matter how light they cooked it, it was overcooked in just a few minutes, the blood orange sauce was excellent but tasted nothing like blood orange and I honestly thought I tasted peanut butter or something nutty, the couscous I did not like at all, odd flavors, although it did go well with the rest of the dish); the lamb (perfectly cooked, nice size portion, not enough sauce, not enough flavor; the Soft Shell crab (last weekend it was served with I believe fava bean falafel, which is strange as it's a fried dish with a fried side, not a good idea; I had it this last weekend, very tasty, 2 large crabs).
The mac & cheese is waaaay to small a portion and was bland. Overall I've enjoyed the meals I have had here, although not much is very memorable. I do recommend this place as the service is great, atmosphere is nice, prices are decent for the quality of food and the food overall is very good. The music is too loud usually but they don't mind turning it down if you ask. I'll be back, great to have a place like this in the area.
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