Thursday, July 16, 2009
New Reviews coming soon
New reviews coming soon of Ibby's Falafel, Komigashi (both in Jersey City) and Presto's Brick Oven Pizza (South Hackensack, NJ). Should have them all up shortly, just backlogged with the actual work :)
Sunday, July 12, 2009
Michael Anthony's - Jersey City, NJ
We dined here on July 12, 2009. They had just opened this week and seem to have a temporary menu, but upon my asking the hostess she said that this is the menu "for now".
We were seated inside as their was a wait to be seated outside. Very nice location, right on the water with a view, inside was nice too, with a large banquette room attached to the main dining/bar area.
Back to the menu - first side of the menu was all small/plates appetizers and a lot of them. 2nd side was the entrees, along with soup & salads. Very limited entree selection: 4 pastas, 2 meat, and 2 seafood options. We decided to get a few small plates and share a pasta dish. After ordering, bread came out along with a small plate of a stewed tomato with what i would describe as "tomato water" with some oil. It was ok, definitely not enough to go with the large bread basket, and looked sort of sad on the plate. Butter packets were available as well upon our request.
We started with a 3 cheese plate for $7, with gorgonzola dolce, taleggio & gruyere. Nice presentation, good portion of each cheese, and a dollop of a chopped sun-dried tomato and an olive tapenade. The taleggio was the highlight, the gorgonzola was nice but a bit mild for my taste, and the gruyee was good as well. Nearing the end of our cheese plate, our 2 other small plates arrived, and the waitress tried to take our cheese plate before we were quite finished with it, but we luckily chimed in before she was able to clear it.
Small Plate #1: Grilled Scallops w/ Old Louisiana Rub & Blue Crab Emulsion - $11
Definitely tasted the Old Louisiana Rub, not sure what the Blue Crab Emulsion was supposed to be, it was closed to a soft butter in my opinion, but overall this dish was excellent. 3 scallops, all of a bigger than average (but not jumbo) size. Cooked perfectly, great texture and flavor.
Small Plate #2: Grilled Octopus w/ Amarone Stewed Onion & Sage Salmorigano - $9
I thought this was great, and an excellent size portion for an appetizer. Charred a little on the outside which I liked but my wonderful dining companion disagreed, describing it as "burnt". I didn't think it was, as if it was burnt I think it would have been rubbery.
For our main course we had ordered the Orchiette w/ Rabe, Sausage, Roasted Garlic Oil & Paprika (pasta described as homemade) - $11. This was the most disappointing part of the meal. The sauce was watery, the pasta its self was ok but nothing to brag about, the broccoli rabe was cooked well but not very flavorful and the sausage was just average.
However, more disappointing that the Orchiette was the wait service. Our water glasses were constantly empty, and when our pasta arrived we were not offered fresh pepper or cheese. I thought maybe they didn't have any, but a few minutes later as the table next to use was offered cheese upon the arrival of their entrees. It felt like the inside of the restaurant's customers were primarily being ignored in lieu of the customers seated outside. I constantly had to flag our water for water, or any requests at all, that normally would have been asked offered (not that we wanted more bread, but never were offered).
Overall, the cheese & small plates were great, the pasta below average but edible, and the service poor. The food was a relatively good value. If they can improve the service and add a better selection of entrees, along with improving the pasta entree we ordered, I would return. I'll see how things progress in a few months after they are more settled in.
Michael Anthony's is located at 002 Washington Blvd in Jersey City, NJ - right on the Jersey City Waterfront with an excellent view of the Hudson & the City. http://www.mar-jc.com/
We were seated inside as their was a wait to be seated outside. Very nice location, right on the water with a view, inside was nice too, with a large banquette room attached to the main dining/bar area.
Back to the menu - first side of the menu was all small/plates appetizers and a lot of them. 2nd side was the entrees, along with soup & salads. Very limited entree selection: 4 pastas, 2 meat, and 2 seafood options. We decided to get a few small plates and share a pasta dish. After ordering, bread came out along with a small plate of a stewed tomato with what i would describe as "tomato water" with some oil. It was ok, definitely not enough to go with the large bread basket, and looked sort of sad on the plate. Butter packets were available as well upon our request.
We started with a 3 cheese plate for $7, with gorgonzola dolce, taleggio & gruyere. Nice presentation, good portion of each cheese, and a dollop of a chopped sun-dried tomato and an olive tapenade. The taleggio was the highlight, the gorgonzola was nice but a bit mild for my taste, and the gruyee was good as well. Nearing the end of our cheese plate, our 2 other small plates arrived, and the waitress tried to take our cheese plate before we were quite finished with it, but we luckily chimed in before she was able to clear it.
Small Plate #1: Grilled Scallops w/ Old Louisiana Rub & Blue Crab Emulsion - $11
Definitely tasted the Old Louisiana Rub, not sure what the Blue Crab Emulsion was supposed to be, it was closed to a soft butter in my opinion, but overall this dish was excellent. 3 scallops, all of a bigger than average (but not jumbo) size. Cooked perfectly, great texture and flavor.
Small Plate #2: Grilled Octopus w/ Amarone Stewed Onion & Sage Salmorigano - $9
I thought this was great, and an excellent size portion for an appetizer. Charred a little on the outside which I liked but my wonderful dining companion disagreed, describing it as "burnt". I didn't think it was, as if it was burnt I think it would have been rubbery.
For our main course we had ordered the Orchiette w/ Rabe, Sausage, Roasted Garlic Oil & Paprika (pasta described as homemade) - $11. This was the most disappointing part of the meal. The sauce was watery, the pasta its self was ok but nothing to brag about, the broccoli rabe was cooked well but not very flavorful and the sausage was just average.
However, more disappointing that the Orchiette was the wait service. Our water glasses were constantly empty, and when our pasta arrived we were not offered fresh pepper or cheese. I thought maybe they didn't have any, but a few minutes later as the table next to use was offered cheese upon the arrival of their entrees. It felt like the inside of the restaurant's customers were primarily being ignored in lieu of the customers seated outside. I constantly had to flag our water for water, or any requests at all, that normally would have been asked offered (not that we wanted more bread, but never were offered).
Overall, the cheese & small plates were great, the pasta below average but edible, and the service poor. The food was a relatively good value. If they can improve the service and add a better selection of entrees, along with improving the pasta entree we ordered, I would return. I'll see how things progress in a few months after they are more settled in.
Michael Anthony's is located at 002 Washington Blvd in Jersey City, NJ - right on the Jersey City Waterfront with an excellent view of the Hudson & the City. http://www.mar-jc.com/
So I've decided to start a food blog
Sometimes I go to a restaurant and want to share my experience - whether good, bad, or just average. Its usually when its really good or really bad that I want to share, but when there are things in the "dining experience" that taint it from a good dining experience to a bad, I would like the restaurant in question to see the feedback and correct it. It will definitely benefit them, and it'll benefit me when I eat there again.
Aside from restaurants, I'll also be occasionally touching on packaged foods and general food topics.
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