New York, Day 4: Part 1: No Longer Befuddled in the Bronx

So this morning we got smart, in many many ways:

1. We found out yesterday exactly where we needed to go to catch the train. And we got the schedule so we knew what time the train(s) would be leaving so we didn’t arrived just as one left the station.
2. Jennifer got coffee before going to the station. No more caffeine-withdrawal-caused mood swings.
3. We decided to not stress about making it to the optional early morning session. That allowed for a non-rushed morning.
4. We avoided the subway. In case that wasn’t already clear from the mention above about the train.

Yeah, so the train is great. It was pulled into the track when we arrived 20 minutes before departure, so we boarded and grabbed some seats. Unwittingly we’d ended up just a few seats behind some of the conference sponsors so that was reassuring – if we’d had any doubts that we were on the right train, that assuaged them. Our seats ended up being not just reassuring, but also illuminating when we heard the one person talking about Jennifer. Yes, we then proceeded to eavesdrop shamelessly. To Jennifer’s relief, nothing scandalous or upsetting was said. We were both just really waiting for them to say something about our late arrival the day before. Bring it on guys, you don’t really want to get us started about our day yesterday.

After a quick train ride and stop at a station right across from our destination, it all seemed much too easy. Not that we were complaining about that! Conference specifics are much too dull to mention, but we would like to give credit to the caterers, whoever they were. Both day had really tasty lunches – chicken bruschetta in a spinach wrap, BLT on a croissant, and turkey reuben on rye were just some of the options. All sandwiches came with a salad (bulgar one day, pasta the other), fruit, and cookie. Good stuff! Definitely some of the better catered lunches we’ve ever had at these sorts of events.

The conference wrapped up early enough for us to head back to Manhattan with plenty of time to have dinner and do some more walking around. Hey, we had to take advantage of our last evening in the city!

Hoaglin to Go

A return visit for the dining duo, accompanied by Jennifer2 and another colleague, “T” in belated honor of T’s birthday.

The atmosphere isn’t the most warm and friendly, but the artwork on the walls is nice.

Sheila considered getting the beef filet on a baguette (it comes with boursin cheese!), but decided instead to have one of the daily specials, a chicken breast with pesto and three-cheese sauce served with a green salad. She really shouldn’t have tried it, because pesto isn’t one of her favorite things, but she hoped that the three-cheeses would balance out the pesto more than they did. The salad was nice, and the champagne vinagrette was tasty.

Jennifer also considered getting the beef filet on a baguette (after all, it comes with boursin cheese!), but decided instead to have one of the daily specials, but before you think we were completely identical in our choices, she ordered the quiche – sausage and bacon and cheese combined into one of the best she’s had in a long while–they quiche was light, fluffy and high. The fruit that accompanied the quiche was loaded with the good stuff, strawberries and pineapples, as opposed to being filled with green melon and honeydew.
Jennifer2 ordered the egg salad and loved the dill flavor, although the sandwich proved to be too much for her to handle and she had to get a doggy bag.

T selected the BLMT because 1) she can never resist a good BLT and 2) this one had to be better than good with the addition of fresh mozzarella and applewood smoked bacon. It was the perfect combination of BLM&T, but the bacon really made the difference for a new taste sensation. It added a mouth-watering smoky/fruity flavor that a plain old BLT lacks. The sandwich was delicious; however, by the time she got to the second half of her sandwich, the bread was rather soggy on the bottom. Just one small complaint for an overall delicious meal. She found the people-watching (so to speak) there to be quite intriguing, although rather distracting. Nevertheless, the outing was the perfect birthday treat.

Service was odd – Jennifer2 was asked if she wanted more iced tea, she responded “No,” and her glass was taken away. After wondering if she needed to say “Yes” to be allowed to finish what she still had in her glass, a refill was eventually delivered. We still don’t know what that was about. There was also confusion over the check situation. Why is it so surprising when a table of 4 at lunch wants separate checks?

Not the best overall dining experience, but far from the worst. We’ll be back, because at least one of us needs to get that beef sandwich.

Food ***
Atmosphere **1/2
Service **1/2
Overall **1/2

Hoaglin to Go

New York, Day 3: Part 2: Salmon River

Safely returned from our Bronx nightmare, the Dining Duo ventured out for a more upscale dinner than Dukes, deciding on Salmon River after careful perusal of the menu printouts Sheila had so compulsively brought from home. After an easy, very navigable stroll from the hotel to the restaurant without once getting lost (are you listening, Bronxie?) we slipped into the chic atmosphere of Salmon River.

The ambiance was wonderful with beautiful decor. Wall colors were warm and inviting, and there was a serene fountain adding to the peaceful atmosphere. It took us awhile, but we eventually noticed the very appropriate photography on the wall (those are closeups of fishing lures!)

This was to be our blow-out meal, using every bit of our per diem and then some. So we began with cocktails, since the beautiful atmosphere demanded something more refined than a beer. Jennifer channeled her boss, and ordered a lemon drop martini. It had a gorgeous presentation – arriving in a small shaker and poured out at the table. It wasn’t overly sweet as those martinis can sometimes be and was well appreciated by Jennifer. Sheila, after much internal debate, settled on the mojita, which she’d never tried and had been wanting to. Although rum isn’t her favorite, she really enjoyed the mojito, loving the great balance of mint and lime.

Several of the appetizers tempted, but the salads called the loudest. Jennifer had the Salmon River Rustic Caesar Salad, which had parmesan garlic croutons and an excellent anchovey dressing that combined with the fresh romaine lettuce to produce a very refreshing salad. It just may have ruined her for the lesser salads that so many places try to pass off as caesars. Sheila had no trouble picking a salad, spotting the Grilled Portobello Salad. It combines goat cheese, baby arugola, roasted red peppers, caramelized leeks and an herb vinaigrette. It was absolutely delicious, with a perfect blend of the different items.

While Jennifer debated some of the steaks on the menu, she quickly realized that at a place named Salmon River, the salmon is probably an appropriate choice, and picked the Pan Roasted Salmon from among the five or six choices that evening. It was served with scallion whipped potatoes, haricots verts, roasted pepper broth and balsamic glaze reduction. She felt it was excellent: perfectly cooked salmon with a wonderful sauce. The potatoes were great and the presentation was gorgeous.

Disliking fish, Sheila ordered the pan seared Filet Mignon served with red onion marmalade, whipped potatoes, grilled asparagus, and a red wine demi glaze. The first bite tasted suspiciously fishy to her, but perhaps that was just the aroma from Jennifer’s dish, because every other bit was fantastic. The filet had a perfect sear while still being beautifully rare inside (not often accomplished, much to Sheila’s disappointment). The asparagus tasted steamed, not grilled but they were still quite tasty. The potatoes unfortunately were very heavy on the scallions (and hadn’t been listed that way on the menu) so that was too bad. The plating was beautiful, and the red onion marmalade and red wine demi glaze both delicious.

Desserts beckoned, and Jennifer selected the pear tart and absolutely loved it. Presented warm with vanilla gelato, it completely surprised her how much she loved it considering she isn’t crazy about pears usually. Sheila chose the warm double chocolate brownie with vanilla gelato. A bit of a let down, the brownie wasn’t warm and was even somewhat stale. The gelato however was great, and at virtually any other restaurant the brownie would have been fine; it just didn’t live up to everything else.

Service overall was good, but there were a few issues. There was nice teamwork between the staff, which was nice to see, and water refills were prompt. The server didn’t know what some of the drinks were which was disappointing as she kept having to go check with the bartender and even then didn’t really know how to explain some of the drinks (hence settling on the martini and mojito). Finally, Sheila’s drink was cleared before she was done with it, so she didn’t get to enjoy the final sips of mojito goodness. Happily, we were not rushed at all and we were able to enjoy our great dining experience at a leisurely pace.

Food **** 1/2
Service ****
Atmosphere *****
Overall ****1/2

Salmon River (stupid music & auto-video-playing website).
3 East 40th Street

MacNivens

A new place for the dining duo and our three companions! We hadn’t realized it was a smoking establishment, but we’d already found a parking spot and deciding on a place when there are that many opinions is hard enough the first time, let alone trying for a backup. So we braved the smoke. The place is divided into two, with tables and booths on one side and the bar on the other, but the open area at the back allows easy access between the two.

We got a table tucked into a back corner by the bar, and it allowed us to admire the multitude of Sean Connery posters decorating the walls. Apparently he’s the only Scottish person of note, at least it appears that way based on the Connery emphasis in decorations.

It’s always fun navigating a menu when you don’t know what lots of the words mean, but fortunately there was a glossary of sorts in the menu. The only one we really needed was for “neeps” which turns out to be turnips. We all shuddered at the listing for haggis, and quickly looked elsewhere for our lunches.

After much debate, Jennifer2 settled on the veggie club with a side of onion rings. The onion rings were huge, which is a good thing because they only gave two as her side. That ended up not mattering much, because they are apparently fried in the same grease as the fish, and had a distinctly fishy taste which was NOT appreciated by Jennifer2, a seafood hater.

The original Jennifer, who is a seafood lover, went for the fish and chips. Lovely pieces of cod (and not the dreaded catfish, woo-hoo to that!) in a tasty breading, fried into golden brown deliciousness. The tartar sauce that accompanied the fish was spot on and they also offered a tasty malt vinegar. The fries didn’t quite live up to the standard of the fish, but were merely so-so. Disappointing, because the thick steak fries offered so much visual promise, but delivered so little.

Sheila thought very hard about the roast beef manhattan and shepard’s pie, but eventually ordered the steak pie. The flaky crust swayed her, but it ended up being a square of puff pastry balanced on the dish. Boo to that! The steak pie itself however, was flavorful and the meat was nice and tender. The best part of the dish was the mashed potatoes, and the chance to try ‘neeps – a mashed side of those was included along with the potatoes. Both turnips and potatoes were peppery and delicious.

T actually ordered haggis. We were all shocked and amazed. Ok, so it was the vegetarian version, but still. What if they messed up the order and brought the wrong one? What would she do? Turned out it wasn’t a concern, because the lentils visible in the dish made it obvious she got the veggie one. Her plate could have won any awards offered for “least eye-appealing dish.” We wish we’d had a camera to capture it, because it’s hard to explain just how disgusting it looked without using terms like “dog food.” Fortunately for T, it tasted much better than it looked. She even let us all try it so we can all say we’ve had haggis. (We’ll just not mention the vegetarian part.)

Our final companion ordered the beef manhattan Sheila had been lusting over. Mounds of mashed potatoes on a thick slice of white bread, topped with slices of beef and gravy – what’s not to like, assuming you’re a carnivore? The menu is quite misleading however; despite the manhattan being listed under the sandwiches, and despite all sandwiches being described as being served with the side item of your choice (such as onion rings or fries), no side item was included with the manhattan. Yeah, yeah, it’s probably because it already comes with mashed potatoes, but that’s not what the menu says. We just want truth in advertising.

Service kind of stunk. The guy seemed really disappointed we weren’t interested in the extensive beer menu, and he was pretty indifferent towards us the entire time. They did let us sit for a bit after eating, and didn’t rush us out, but the smoke eventually did that for them, as we had to escape into the fresh air.

Although the food was generally good, nothing stood out so much as to make us want to go back. Dealing with parking on Mass Ave, making sure we have change for a meter, and then sitting in a smoky atmosphere would require much better food than they served to get us back.

Food **
Atmosphere **
Service **
Overall **