The Hudson House

I heart my mama bear like no other. For her birthday, the family got together and had dinner at The Hudson House in Nyack.  It was a spectacular affair and we had a wonderful time. We started with a few small plates. The Gnocchi of the day was my favorite.

Bite size pieces of potato gnocchi with arugula in a light tomato sauce.  As I write this, my mouth is watering a bit. The Surf & Turf also made its way onto our table.

A 4 oz Filet Mignon was served on a bed of spinach and topped with one shrimp. It was also served with crabmeat tater tots. I generally stayed away from this dish but couldn’t help but pop one of the “tater tots” into my mouth. YUM! That warmed up my taste buds to devour the Lump Crab Cake.

It was jam packed with crab and served on a bed of shaved fennel.  Scrumptious! They also had a special small plate that night, Pheasant. 

It was perfectly crisp and served on a bed of mushrooms. I didn’t care much for the sauce but the bird had perfectly crispy skin and was incredibly tender inside. Yum! Soon after our entrées started arriving.  With all the beef eaters in the family, it was no surprise that steak was a favorite on our table. 

The massive Porterhouse was apparently quite tasty as were the potatoes, however the broccoli rabe was underappreciated.  Even more steak arrived on the table.

Apologies, but when it comes to beef I can’t say I know the difference unless I’m paying attention.  This was also a tasty cut because by the time I turned around, there was no trace remaining on the plate.  Mama Bear ordered the Rainbow Trout.

It was a good-looking piece of fish, served with warm fingerling potatoes and sautéed spinach. I was quite pleased when she let me sample it.  The potatoes and spinach were perfect. The crispy skin of the trout was delicious. I only wish it was a bigger piece of fish. Not to worry, I was thrilled with my Duck two ways.

The delicious confit and the slices of duck breast were laid on a bed of sweet potato puree. There was also some Brussels sprouts on the plate. I pretended they didn’t exist. Just too green for my liking. The Free Range Chicken was quite impressive.

I’m usually unmoved by chicken, but this one, served with a side of potato & leek gratin was remarkable.  It was moist and flavorful. The chicken vinaigrette was excellent and likely why the chicken stayed so moist.  

The experience at The Hudson House was nothing less than fabulous. The food was excellent and I realized I shouldn’t have had such low opinions of Rockland County dining. Hudson House often has a lot of specials, so you will likely have to deal with the server spending an inordinate amount of time reciting the long list. Once you get past that though, there are great options and you will certainly enjoy your meal.

Hungry yet?

Cajun Tilapia with Broccoli and Rice

Another successful Whole Foods recipe! I invited my favorite pescetarian over for dinner, and thanks to a quick search of the Whole Foods website, I came across this recipe.  I’m not really a healthy eating nut, so I skipped out on the brown rice.

Ingredients

2 cups low sodium vegetable broth, divided

1 small onion, chopped

1 small red bell pepper, chopped

1½ teaspoons salt-free Cajun seasoning, divided

1 cup uncooked white rice

3 cups small broccoli florets

3 (4-ounce) tilapia fillets

First, heat ¼ cup broth to a simmer in a medium saucepan over medium-high heat. Add onion, pepper and ½ teaspoon Cajun seasoning and cook about 3 minutes or until onion is beginning to soften.

Stir in the rice and cook 30 seconds. Add the remaining 1 ¾ cups broth and heat to a boil. Reduce heat to low, cover and simmer until liquid is absorbed, about 40 minutes. About 15 minutes before rice is done, place broccoli florets on top of cooking rice, replace lid and continue cooking. Remove from heat and let sit covered for 10 minutes then fluff rice with a fork and gently stir everything together.  

Meanwhile, preheat oven to 450°F. Place tilapia on a parchment paper-lined baking sheet and sprinkle with remaining 1 teaspoon Cajun seasoning. Bake tilapia 8 to 9 minutes or until flesh is opaque.

Flake tilapia into bite-sized pieces and serve over rice and broccoli mixture. This dish was very easy to make and low key. It also had a different taste than what I usually make. It had no spiciness but was well seasoned.  Next time, I’ll definitely add some chili powder.

Hungry yet?

Ichiban Sushi

Woohoo! I had a chance to visit my peeps last month so it was a wonderful weekend filled with great eats. First stop was Ms. G's lovely neighborhood in Bowie. We went to the town center to enjoy a variety of Asian cuisine that they serve at Ichiban. After a great sushi experience in Miami Ms. G is ready to try most things. We still decided not to get too adventurous so we started with a Rainbow Roll.

Pretty, right? Salmon, tuna, yellowtail layered on a roll filled with crabmeat, avocado, cucumber,  & asparagus. YUM! The asparagus was a welcome surprise, because most places don’t put asparagus in that roll.  We were quite happy with our sushi but we decided we also needed something hot.  We ordered Broccoli brown sauce with chicken.

Another great dish! The portion was large which made my stomach smile. The broccoli was fresh and they didn't overcook it so I could still get a crunch each time I bit into it. After all that you'd think we were done but we still had some room left so we ordered another roll.

This Salmon and Avocado roll disappeared quickly and we were finally full. The portions at Ichiban are perfect for sharing but you may still find yourself ordering more than you anticipated. The menu isn't particularly creative but each dish was well executed. I recommend stopping in after shopping in the town centre. It'll be perfect for refueling.

Hungry yet?

Cipriani - Wall Street

I've been debating how to write this review. I was so excited to go to Cipriani -Wall Street with Ms. O but it turned out to be an extremely strange experience. Our server was a bit spacey and repeatedly forgot whatever he was supposed to do. When we reviewed the menu we were both disappointed to find that items we had planned to order were not on the menu! Argh.  We reluctantly started our meal with an order of Fried Calamari with tartar sauce.

That was the largest order of calamari that I've eaten. We served ourselves two or three times and still had leftovers. The calamari was delicious but not spectacular. I should have known then that things were not right.  I was really craving pasta but decided that the Gnocchi alla Romana with tomato sauce would be my best bet.

Yea, that is allegedly gnocchi. I was incredibly disappointed, but decided I should at least give it a chance and taste it. It was not gnocchi. The inside was cheesy and the outside was crunchy. It lacked any real flavor on its own but the sauce that they served with it was great and made the meal tolerable. 

I ate two of them and couldn't stomach it anymore. Ms. O had far more success with her Breasaola.

It was served with arugula salad and shaved Parmesan. She enjoyed it but the portion was pretty small and the salad was really just arugula. The saving grace was the Broccoli Rabe.

It was crunchy and quite delicious. I was so glad Ms. O ordered it because I definitely took bites between my fake gnocchi.   

Cipriani Wall Street is not at all what I expected. Their staff is awkward and the food is not what you expect, which can sometimes be a good thing. It's worth the trip just for the beauty of dining in such a magnificent space but I'd recommend reviewing the menu before you go in.

Hungry yet? 

Do Hwa

I've been trying to get a little more variety in the types of cuisine I try when I go out to eat. So when blackboard eats had a coupon for Do Hwa I quickly grabbed the offer. Of course Bestie is always willing to try new places with me so we happily venture to the Korean restaurant.

Located in the village, it was a bit of a hike but on a convenient subway line so it was an easy trip. We walked into the dimly lit restaurant and were initially in the bar area which is separate from the main dining room. The hostess is on the other end of the bar so the poor set up was initially confusing. Once we got past that part, we were seated at the best table in the house. We happily settled in then attacked the menu. We were in agreement about ordering Mul Mandu to start.

The home-style boiled kimchi and shrimp dumplings were incredible. They were stuffed full of shrimp and kimchi. They had a spicy kick at the end of each bite. The dumpling wrapper was extremely light and there was never a point where I felt I was eating wrapper with no filling. I was truly sad when I ate my last bite because it was just that good. While we were waiting for our entrees, our sides arrived.

The entrees are served with seasonal side dishes. It was quite the spread that they brought out for us.  

Candied daikon and squid, jellied mungbean, 

Bean sprouts and broccoli 

then of course the cabbage and kim chi. 

Bestie ordered the Heymul gook su.  

Those sautéed udon noodles with shrimp and squid can be made spicy or not.  Obviously she chose spicy. The udon was remarkable. They were buttery goodness and definitely left sweetness to the spice. The shrimp tasted like it was just plucked out of the ocean, as did the squid. I definitely had a case of food envy! 

My entree the Dak Dori Tang eventually arrived.

The chicken stewed in chili sauce with potatoes and carrots was spectacular. They used dark meat, which made all the difference because the stew was quite filling and I actually ended up eating the rest the next day and it was spectacular.

We were stuffed silly by the time we finished so we couldn't even head across the street to Sweet Revenge. They did give us a slice of a Blood Orange to wrap up the meal.

The meal was incredible. When most people think about Korean food they think about BBQ. While Do Hwa does offer BBQ, you shouldn't feel limited to just that part of the menu.

Hungry yet?

Bella Napoli

One fine day when I was famished and had some time to kill during the day, Ms. H suggested we go to lunch at her favorite pizza place, Bella Napoli. She had been talking about this place for quite some time so I was excited to try it out. Bella Napoli is well know for its Grandma Pizza so I had to try it out.

The slice is shaped like a Sicilian but not as thick.

It is lightly sauced and sprinkled with mozzarella and basil. Yummy! It was totally worth the hype! Whoa my mouth just started watering as I looked at the picture. Ms. H also got a slice of the white pizza.

She's not a fan of oversauced pizza so she was quite happy with the slice. I ordered a slice with broccoli and chicken.

The slice was extremely heavy. The broccoli was excellent because it was fresh and crunchy. The chicken was flavorless. It was actually kinda gross. I peeled off several pieces and ate most of the slice with just the broccoli.

Grandma is definitely the way to go at Bella Napoli. The slice is perfect! The dough is light and the sauce is delicious. I look forward to returning there soon.

Hungry yet?

Happy Thanksgiving!!

It should come as no surprise that Thanksgiving is my favorite holiday ev-er!  While I recognize that some of the history of Thanksgiving may be a little shady, I choose to focus on the part that lets me be thankful for the fabulous family and friends that I have in my life and the feast that we eat to celebrate.  As is usually the case, there were several dishes featured at this year's Thanksgiving.  Some of these you've seen before and others are brand new.  I will share recipes in due time (still have a lot of catching up to do for last week's meals)  I hope you enjoyed your Thanksgiving and are enjoying your black friday!

20 pound Honey Brined Turkey

BBQ Chicken Wings

Shrimp Dumplings

Meat Loaf stuffed with Spinach

Creamed Spinach

Stir Fry Broccoli with Garlic

Baked Drumsticks with onions and peppers

Turkey Lasagna

Stovetop stuffing

Plantain

Lamb and Couscous

Mashed Sweet Potatoes with Streusel Topping

Candied Yams with Marshmallows

Baked Mac & Cheese

Sausage and Cornbread Stuffing

Biscuits

Pumpkin Cheesecake with Gingersnap crust

Best Brownies Ever

It was quite the feast and belief it or not we cut a few items out of the menu.  I hope you enjoyed your Thanksgiving!  Recipes forthcoming over the next couple of weeks...

Hungry yet?