New York, Day 4: Part 2: Langan’s

It took us some time to settle on Langan’s. We headed out initially for another place, but it was so crowded we couldn’t even get in the door. We remembered passing some places earlier that sounded good, but couldn’t remember exactly where they were. Wandering around in the Theatre District, we eventually saw Langan’s and thought the menu posted outside sounded good so we’d go ahead and take a chance. Are we glad we did!

Even with all our wandering, we still arrived in time to take advantage of the prix-fix menu, with at least 3 minutes to spare. Whew! The ambiance was nowhere near as appealing as Salmon River, especially because of a table of drinkers near us who we very loud and boisterous. The one woman in particular seemed to need to spend a great deal of time jumping up from her chair in order to declaim things while standing. Her companions found her amusing, even if no one else in the room did.

Drinks to begin – Jennifer going for the Langan’s Ale, which turned out to be a really good amber. Mmmmm, beer. Sheila had one of her favorites – a Citron gimlet, on the rocks, with extra lime. So tasty! And they left it for me until I was completely done with it too, unlike Salmon River.

A breadbasket was provided after we’d ordered, and it had a nice variety of items provided. Our favorite item was the cranberry nut roll – absolutely delicious!

Jennifer made a beeline for the one appetizer that included an upcharge – tuna spring rolls. Beautifully presented, they were served with pickled ginger, wasabi, and cabbage with soy dressing. She felt the tuna was excellent – beautifully pink in the middle but warm, and the wrap was light and tasty. There was a good mix of wasabi and soy, and a perfect balance between sweet and spicy. The portion size initially concerned her – only two – but they were perfectly filling, and an ideal size for an appetizer. All in all, well worth the additional charge.

The simple house salad with balsalmic dressing called Sheila’s name, and she was delighted with it. The dressing was nicely tangly, and the mixed greens and cucumber were very tasty. Amazingly tiny cherry tomatoes were visually appealing, even if they aren’t her favorite thing.

Entrees were carefully considered, but Jennifer finally decided to be brave and try the braised lamb shank. Not usually a fan of lamb, it took Sheila pointing out that this was probably as good a place as any to try to get over her lamb-phobia. It was served with great whipped potatoes (when are whipped potatoes not great, honestly), and bok choi. Jennifer ended up not caring for the bok choi at all, feeling it had no distinct flavor whatsoever. The generous portion of lamb however, was wonderful. Super tender, it fell off the bone, and was served with an excellent sauce.*

Sheila ordered the steak frites, something she’d been hoping to have at least once in New York. The steak was excellent, with a very nice sear while still beautifully rare in the middle. There was a delicious sauce to accompany the steak, as well as the frites and veggie blend. The vegetables, a mix of broccoli, cauliflower, and carrots, were fine – just simply steamed without much additional flavor. The fries however, were fantastic – nice and crispy (except where the sauce had run into them). They were so good that they stayed tasty even as they cooled.

Desserts were included with the menu we’d selected. Since we hadn’t had any yet during our visit, Jennifer selected the cheesecake. It was served with a great raspberry sauce, and had no crust to get in the way of the cheesecakey-goodness. Unfortunately, it may very well have ruined her for all other cheesecakes, it was just that damn good.

Jennifer may have gone for the upcharged appetizer, but Sheila went for it for dessert – the brownie sundae. This is what a brownie sundae is supposed to be like – a warm gooey brownie with vanilla ice cream, whipped cream, chocolate sauce and a fresh strawberry. Absolutely fabulous, and made up for the disappointing one from Salmon River. Definitely worth the small additional charge.

Service was excellent – very nicely paced, as seemed to be the case everywhere we went. They are obviously used to theatre-goers, because when we arrived the host asked us if we needed to make a show. Teamwork was also very evident, and appreciated.

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

Langan’s
150 West 47th Street

* The sauce was so good Jennifer said she could just drink it straight. Sheila would have like to have seen that.

Santorini Greek Kitchen

A last-minute decision to go out left the dining duo pondering our choices, but we eventually decided to try once more to find a restaurant we like in Fountain Square. So far it’s 0-2, but we like the area so much we’ll try again.

The restaurant was easy to find and a convenient parking spot on the street was available, but they really could do a better job with signage – we weren’t sure if the side entrance with the awning with their name prominently displayed was really an entry or not (it wasn’t). Finally inside, we were quickly seated and given menus.

Appetizers tempted, especially the saganaki (flaming cheese), but prices were higher than we wanted to split in a month when we were both feeling a pinch in our wallets. Especially since desserts did sound tasty, and we definitely weren’t going to go for both.

After much discussion, Jennifer selected the spanokopita platter. She’s a big fan of spinach so combine it with cheese and pastry and what’s not to like? Sheila quickly chose the gyro platter – she loves the lamb/beef combo and could just about drink tzaziki sauce so always orders something that includes it. Since we both got platters, our meals came with a side salad, green beans, rice pilaf, and Greek potatoes. Yes, both rice and potatoes for a carb-lovers delight!

The salads were superb and super fast! It seems like we’d just given our orders when they salads arrived which was great since we were both ready to eat! Jennifer felt her spanokopita was very garlicy, but perfect. Sheila adored the meat, pita and sauce in her dish. We both loved the rice pilaf, thought the potatoes were merely ok, and quickly passed on the green beans. Sheila hates the texture of canned green beans, and if these weren’t canned, they had the same texture so they’re just as bad.

Unfortunately, our server was rather obnoxious about criticizing us for not cleaning our plates since we left some veggies. That’s just not necessary or appreciated. Also not appreciated was his overeagerness to clear plates – hello, one of us was still eating, quit trying to take the plates away, or his pushy pushy pushy personality for suggesting appetizers, desserts, speciality drinks etc. We don’t mind people asking, but if we say no, don’t ask again. And again. And again.

Geesh.

It’s too bad we ended up rewarding his pushiness in a way by ordering dessert. Jennifer got the galaktabouriko (say that 5 times fast), a custard with phyllo crust on top and bottom, and Sheila got the rezogalo (rice pudding). Both were fantastic! Well, we each thought our own choices were fantastic anyway. Sheila enjoyed the entertainment value of Jennifer’s custard more than the taste of it, but then again, she’s not much of a custard fan so how much does her opinion count on it’s tastiness anyway? And by entertainment value, we mean the fact that the slightest hint of a touch of the plate made the whole thing shimmy. Yes, we are easily amused. What of it?

Decor was blue-and-white-expected, but the plates were pretty. And Jennifer also very much appreciated the hot waiter who was serving a group of tables near ours. Too bad he wasn’t our server, she could have really enjoyed her meal.

Would we go back? Absolutely, especially if we can drag along our favorite companions and convince them to share some flaming cheese with us. We want to hear the servers shout OPA!

And by the way, Jennifer tried, but she’d like to report that she still hates olives.

Santorini Greek Kitchen

Food ***
Atmosphere***
Service ** (too pushy and obnoxious)
Overall **1/2