Tag: game

One of my favorite pastimes is to sit down with a 10 cut COB from Red Front (71 Division St, Troy). It’s actually a really unhealthy hobby, and I don’t really recommend doing it the way I do, but i do recommend checking it out in moderation some time.

COB is an abbreviation for “Cheese On Bottom” and is Red Front’s claim-to-fame as far as their food goes.

One Saturday evening, I sat down with a few friends for some pizza and laughs. We arrived at 6 to a packed dining room, but by 7, the restaurant was practically empty.

I don’t know what got into me that night, but I felt the need to order some of their garlic parm boneless wings ($7.25).

These are nothing more than breaded nuggets of chicken tossed in a sauce of butter, garlic, and parmesan cheese. They were very good, but not particularly outstanding.

My friends were surprised (but not too surprised) when I ordered the 10 cut pizza with one topping ($13.50) for myself. They were on their own that night, as was I.

The square pizza with cheese on bottom isn’t like “Sicilian-style” that you can get at L&B Spumoni Gardens (for example) in Brooklyn. There’s not enough crust for that.

It’s not even like the various “tomato pies” that you can get around Utica or Trenton, NJ. The crust is too dense to be that.

It’s really its own thing.

At Red Front, a very basic pizza dough not unlike most pub-style pan pizza dough is topped with a relatively scant amount of sliced mozzarella then topped with a sweet and slightly tangy and spicy sauce and then baked.

What you’re served isn’t oozing with cheese, but has just enough hiding under the sauce to know it exists and to add a layer of softness atop the chewy crust. The main delivery of flavor comes from the sauce, which is very liberally applied. In my case, their crumbled meatball topping adds some texture and umami.

As much as I wanted to, I couldn’t finish the whole thing. I think I ate 7 of the 10 slices, which is still a lot. For me, this isn’t an every day or every week or even every month treat, so when I have it, I can’t stop myself.

I often forget that Professor Java’s on Wolf Road has a fairly extensive food menu. In the past, my visits there have been to pick up the occasional flavored coffee drink, an Italian soda, or to meet up with some friends for some home baked sweets in a cozy environment. I tend to stay away from their espresso beverages after the handful of times I’ve watched the employees there pull 90 second espresso shots for the cute mixed drinks they make.

On this visit, Cassie and I sat down for a quick lunch together on my day off from work. I ordered a wrap from the “Javian Wrap” section of the menu.

For $8.95, the wrap has turkey, hummus, cucumber, spinach, roasted red peppers, and black olives; it also comes with chips. I opted for the additional $3 fee to have a side salad with blue cheese dressing on the side instead.

The wrap was very good. It was packed with all of the listed components. The turkey was a thicker sliced home style turkey breast, definitely superior in taste and texture to processed deli-style turkey breast. The hummus used to tie the wrap together had a good bit of acidity.

Overall, though, the wrap was a little dry. The hummus was thin enough to serve as kind of a sauce, but because it’s in a wrap, it wasn’t evenly distributed throughout each bite.

The side salad was a plentiful portion of romaine lettuce, cucumber, tomato and onion for the additional price, and the homemade blue cheese dressing was good, heavy on the mayo, but definitely packed the punch of blue cheese. I only needed a little to dress my greens.

As a snack, I ordered the peanut butter brownie ($4).

Four bucks is a little steep for a brownie, but it’s definitely big enough to justify the price and to share. It’s a more cake-y brownie than I like, but the peanut butter swirl helped each bite remain chewy. This is definitely the type of brownie that’ll have you reaching for a tall glass of cold milk as you eat it.

I definitely enjoyed my lunch at Professor Java. When there’s coffee, food, and sweets, I’m almost always a fan!

After a packed night of preparing for our pizza class, my cousin Bobby and I sat down for a bite to eat at TGI Friday’s in Stuyvesant Plaza. We wanted somewhere we could sit down and talk for a little while.

We started at the bar and ordered Chipotle Pineapple Margaritas (Avión Silver Tequila, triple sec, fresh muddled pineapple, chipotle, pineapple juice, fresh lime and a sweet & spicy salt rim) while we waited for a table.

Before we were served, our table was ready, which was sweet!

Looking over the menu, we agreed that we needed to try the Bacon Mac & Cheese Bites (Crispy bites with three varieties of cheddar and served with craft beer-cheese dipping sauce) from the “Taste & Share” menu.

The picture in the menu looked pretty good.

Ours came out within 10 minutes of ordering.

The bites were served atop the dipping sauce, which was really nothing special, just cheesy. Each croquette was sufficiently cheesy, and although the amount of bacon on the dish was fairly low, the bites had strong and overwhelming bacon flavor. It was a fun snack. At $6.49, it was priced appropriately; most things on the “Taste & Share” menu were smaller and priced lower than normal appetizers.

Seeing that they had a Cobb Salad on the menu, I had to try that. I am on a quest, you know. Otherwise, it would have been Jack Daniels Ribs and Shrimp all the way.

TGI Friday’s rendition of the salad is advertised as “Balsamic-marinated chicken breast fire-grilled and drizzled with balsamic glaze. Served over chopped romaine with sliced avocado, grape tomatoes, hard-boiled egg, applewood-smoked bacon and crumbled bleu cheese and choice of dressing – $8.99”. The only thing missing from their version (according to the EAT COBB acronym) was onion.

It was a decently sized portion for the price. The greens came undressed with my choice of dressing (honey mustard) on the side; they gave me way too much honey mustard for the size of the salad, but so what? The chicken was freshly grilled, and had a good marinade on it. It was meyered with what they call balsamic glaze, but which I thought tasted exactly like their Jack Daniels dipping sauce. The egg was perfectly cooked, but was clearly previously packaged.

All-in-all, the salad isn’t a terrible value, and is fairly respectable as a Cobb salad. I’d say 3 out of 5 on the Bob Cobb Brown Derby scale.

Read my first impressions here.

I decided to stop back at Sage Bistro for lunch on a Saturday. Being that it’s a restaurant so close to work and home, I was eager to see how the experience was for lunch.

Mainly, I wanted a falafel wrap (Falafel croquets, hummus, lettuce, cucumber and tomato – $8) with fries, but I saw a wedge of romaine heart salad (With bleu cheese and crumbled bacon bits – $5) that caught my eye. In past visits, I had been fond of the blue cheese there, so it sounded good.

The salad arrived first, and it was very pleasing. The blue cheese hadn’t changed and was creamy and ever so pungent. The romaine was crisp and very loosely bound so the blue cheese could permeate between leaves. The bacon bits added some chew and smokiness. The tomato didn’t add much flavor, but it did help to bring some texture.

The falafel wrap was also pretty good. They’re a little literal with the presentation; it’s falafel in a flour wrap. I had expected a more traditional presentation wrapped in pita. Though the hummus inside of the wrap was good, I would have rather had more tahini sauce, which was very good and ubiquitous for this style of sandwich. The mixture of lettuce, cucumber, and tomato was good, but it was missing the bite of pickled vegetables one associates with a falafel wrap. The fries (clearly homemade) were outstanding. This dish is certainly filling and a great value for $8.

There are a number of other menu items (like the bleu burger [Half pound chargrilled angus hamburger with bleu cheese crumbles, fried onion, and steak fries – $9] that I’m eager to try for lunch.

Last week, I attended an event at “One Six Five” the restaurant at the Normanside Country Club. My friend, Michelle, works there as director of sales and marketing; she put together the party, and you’ll remember she knows how to throw a party! A midst awful weather that night, the event was filled with a number of Michelle’s friends, some of whom I recognized, others who are friends of mine.

The purpose of the event was to see the remodeled restaurant and taste some of the new menu items that reflect a shift toward “new American cuisine.” The restaurant is open to the public, and there are multiple items I tasted or other menu items that were outstanding and/or noteworthy.

There was a cheese platter filled with a number of relatively local cheeses: Old Chatham Sheepherding Company Nancy’s Wheel, Harpersfield Tilset washed in Ommegang, R&G Cheese Makers Fresh Cheese Curds, Twin Maple Farm Hudson Red. There were also spiced hazenluts, grapes, and cinnamon sugar coated almonds.

There was also an “everything hummus platter” that had hummus, fresh, house-pulled mozzarella, roasted tomato salad, olives, and crispy fried wonton wrappers. It was garnished with the seasoning mixture that tops an everything bagel.

These two items (I didn’t grab any pictures) are definitely things I’d go back to sample.

Then, the servers started passing small plates around.

I’d be most inclined to order the Norman Sliders, the flatbread, and the black vinegar shrimp. All of the dishes are well executed and build upon combinations of flavors and textures. Glancing over the menu, there’s a wide variety of dishes that would please almost everyone. Gluten free items are highlighted as well. I definitely have my eye on a couple of the burgers on the menu.

A couple of their regular desserts were passed around, too.

Both of these were incredible, and definitely worth a visit.

The evening was full of lots of mingling and talking with everyone involved and the other attendees. One of the other guests was Stacey Morris, fellow student of DDP Yoga. I’ve posted multiple times about her journey; it’s really inspiring stuff!

On the way out, Michelle handed me a little box with a note and a cupcake!

The cupcake lasted all of 3 seconds after I got home and was delicious.

It was a fun evening, and I’m looking forward to stopping back in to sample some of the new menu items.

One Six Five is located at 150 Salisbury Rd in Delmar. (There aren’t any signs signaling you to the location. Once you reach the country club, keep driving to the back. You’ll find a big parking lot. Park there, enter the building, hang a left, and you’re there. Enjoy!)

On February 28, I was in Puerto Rico sitting by a pool, sipping on a Cuba Libre! with Don Q Cristal rum, minding my own business when I decided to check twitter. I noticed this tweet from the crew at Chopsticks Optional:

I saw a picture of kimchi fries and that's all I want to try now. Can a 518 eatery make that happen ASAP?!

— Chopsticks Optional (@chopsticksopt) February 28, 2014

One of the awesome things about doing this blog has been meeting some of the local business owners. I’ve had the opportunity to sit down with Jose, one of the co-owners of Mingle, on multiple occasions, and, based on prior conversations with Jose, I figured this would be an idea he would love running with. So I let him know about the Chopsticks Optional request. All Over Albany also put the call out to local restaurants to get this to happen. Less than a week later, Mingle was selling “kimchi fries” on their specials menu.

They are described as “house cut & baked fries layered with bulgokee chicken & beef, pork belly an kimchi layered with Havarti fontina cheese from the The Cheese Traveler and served with our spicy yogurt sauce ($17).”

The Chopsticks Optional crew jumped on this and went right away. I had to suffer through a couple of days of fun in the sun before I could stop in. Painful, I know.

I went this past Saturday evening to have these and a beverage. I’m a big fan of sitting at the bar for a quick meal at Mingle.

I went for the Mingle-aid (Made with Vodka, Limoncello, Sour Mix & Sprite – $7).

It’s a really good drink. Simple and sweet. I love limoncello.

While I sat and waited for my kimchi fries, the bartender and I talked about the upcoming, exciting news about Mingle.

Although this is listed under “Lighter Fare” on the specials board, there’s nothing light about it. The intent is for this to be eaten as an appetizer with a few people. At $17, with all of the awesomeness going on, I had no shame eating the whole thing by myself as my meal.

The dish is layered upon oven baked fries that are crisped in a frying pan on the stovetop. Speculating based on the rest of the menu, my guess is that the kitchen isn’t equipped with a deep fryer. I don’t think it matters; these fries were as crispy as any deep fried potato I’ve ever seen. In the middle of the dish, the fries were a little soggier, but what do you expect when you top anything with juicy, marinated meat, pickled cabbage, and cheese?

Atop the fries are a mixture of meats (steak, chicken and pork belly) as well as a some house-made kimchi. These elements on the dish are reminiscent of the “Meat Lovers Bokkum”, a stir fry of these elements that’s frequently on the Daily Specials menu. The meats are all aggressively seasoned with Korean chiles and other Asian flavorings; scattered throughout the bites are sesame seeds which add some texture and interesting contrasting tastes. The kimchi was great as always, and I agree with the Chopsticks Optional crew that it was more of a supporting ingredient to the meat, especially since the cheese (in my case, fontina, which has been altered from the originally conceived dish to allow the other toppings to shine through) really tames the acidity and heat in the kimchi. One thing I will say, though, is that given the amount of meat and cheese on top as well as the size of the portion, $17 is fair.

My fries came with the spicy yogurt dipping sauce that the Chopsticks Optional crew didn’t get. I used it sparingly for dipping. It did help to add some creaminess and tang to the dish, but, honestly, I didn’t feel like it was necessary. I wouldn’t have complained if a ketchup bottle filled with gochujang showed up on the bar, though.

While I was eating the dish, I mentioned to the bartender that this would be the perfect accompaniment to their Korean Tacos. I believe my exact quote was “give me half the amount of these fries and one Korean taco, and I’d be a happy guy.”

Mingle has apparently been selling out of this special early every day, so I recommend stopping in early for dinner to try them. It’s definitely an experience!

It’s so cool that social media was able to make this happen so quickly. Maybe I can start talking to some people about some of the Puerto Rican fusion ideas I have since visiting the island…

I had a chance to stop by Hong Kong Bakery on Wolf road for lunch on a cold weekday, and I took the opportunity to try a handful of things.

They offer a fairly comprehensive weekday lunch menu that is a good deal at $7.99 per dish with rice and soup.

And if that’s not enough, there’s access to the full menu and to their dim sum list.

I sipped on some hot tea (which the server joked was “Chinese water”) while I decided on a few bites.

And after I ordered, my outstanding hot and sour soup was delivered, and that warmed me up even more.

As I was walking in the restaurant, the shiny baked roast pork buns caught my attention, so I made sure to get some of those.

Inside of these sweet rolls, there is an even sweeter pork filling that has a big burst of umami. There wasn’t a lot of pork, and that’s good because the sweet dough was really delicious. They were a little cool toward the center and rather light, but worth $3.75.

I also ordered the deep fried shrimp dumplings with mayonnaise.

The dumplings themselves were remarkable. Each was packed with two decent sized shrimp, and the coating was very crispy. It was great that there was much more shrimp than crust. The mayonnaise, an Asian variant made with rice wine vinegar, was sweet, rich, and tangy, and it served as a gluttonous means to season the shrimp. These were $5.75, and I feel like they were totally worth it.

For lunch, I had the dry sauteed string beans with pork. It was served with white rice.

I had expected the usual sliced and wok-fried sliced pork with string beans in a brown sauce, but this was something different. The pork was more of an accompaniment for the string beans, and resembled ground sausage. The sauce had a good amount of depth, and all of the flavors penetrated the string beans, which were cooked perfectly.

I spent a little over $20 including tip (and 50 cents for tea, which was a bit of a surprise), and I would say that was fair for lunch in this place. I didn’t need to order all that stuff to fill up, either.

The interior is decorated in a very modern way. Many of the fixtures are dark, and there are lots of bright, colorful lights. And when you factor in the stunning colorful pastries in the deli cases that are visible throughout the restaurant, everything comes together in a very inviting way.

Every since my multiple dining experiences at Mingle, I’ve become a fan of many Korean ingredients. Gochujang is a pantry staple for me, and I have to say I’m pretty addicted to the stuff. I’ve wanted to try a more focused Korean restaurant for a while, and my friend Rory has been suggesting that I check out Seoul Korean in Latham (in the Peter Harris Plaza) for a while. I dragged him along with me when I went.

We went for lunch on a Saturday; there were only a handful of other diners, so there was plenty of room to spread out.

After we ordered, the lady who runs the place loaded our table up with different styles of kimchi (Korean pickled and/or fermented vegetables), all complimentary with our meals.

We were filling up on kimchi!

I ordered some pan fried pork dumplings to share. These are very similar to the Chinese or Japanese style dumplings. The wrapper was a bit more delicate than others I’ve had around.

As my main dish, I tried the dol sot bibim bap, a hot stone bowl of rice served with beef, vegetables, and an egg on top.

It was so hot, if fogged my lens!

Our server brought me a bottle of gochujang disguised as a ketchup bottle. Realizing how crazy I am for the stuff, she pleaded with me to not add a lot, as it would over salt the dish. That didn’t stop me from loading up on the gochujang, though.

Everything was there for this dish to be enjoyable, but it fell short in a few areas. The egg was completely cooked through, so there was no runny yolk to cook on the side of the stone bowl as it oozed. The beef was seasoned well, but chopped very fine and overcooked. There was a good amount of rice, and the bottom layer hardened onto the bowl, making some nice crispy bits, but there weren’t enough vegetables on top. Aside from the presentation, I didn’t feel that it was worth the $14 price tag, even with all of the complimentary kimchi. It was good, just not great.

Some sweet little complimentary yogurt drinks were delivered with the check.

Other diners were dedicating lots of time and effort to their hot pots, which looks like a much better value.