Nirvana - Midtown East

It's a shame I haven't had a single Iftar with my family.  Luckily yesterday at the 1 week point, I was able to have dinner with 2 out of 3 of my brothers.  We met at Nirvana.  I usually don't fancy the east side, but after such a great time last week, I figured why not.

When I walked in, I was asked if I ordered take out.  Not quite the way I expected to be greeted, but it is what it is.  The first floor of Nirvana is virtually empty.  It has a bar and a few seats.  I suppose it could be a hot night spot that I'm not aware of.  The main dining room is upstairs.

We sat down and after we ordered our food, we were treated to the chef's amuse.  A lovely little pastry with a hard shell filled with chickpeas.

It was pretty good, but I was a bit thrown off by the fact that it was cold.  Still good, but I think I would have enjoyed it more if it was served hot.

They ordered Lamb Potato Croquettes.

The looked like lots of potato not enough lamb.  Apparently it was stuffed with lamb.  After a short while, our entrees arrived.

I ordered Chicken Vindaloo.

I love a good vindaloo.  It's essentially chicken and potatoes in a spicy sauce.  This vindaloo was not as spicy as I would have liked, but it was very tasty.

Our entrees were served with a bowl of rice for the table 

but of course we ordered some naan.

We were pretty full by the end of this meal and decided not to have dessert, but class as they are at Nirvana, they gave us complimentary dessert.

This pistachio ice cream topped with a little pastry was not that good, so I can understand why they were giving it away.  The ice cream tasted like ICE cream.  You know that taste when you've had the ice cream in the freezer juuuust a little bit too long.  Yea, that. nay the best.

Nirvana is a pretty good Indian restaurant in midtown.  They have a few things going for them on their very creative menu and I would definitely go back to try a few things like the crab curry or the rabbit dish I spotted on the menu.  They need to kick up the fire on their spicy dishes and perhaps get a fresh batch of ice cream, but other than that it was a good experience.  It was also a full house but the staff did an excellent job of paying attention to each table.

Hungry yet?

Spicy slow cooked chicken with rice and peas

As always I was fantasizing about what to make for dinner on Sunday night.  Before I could settle on anything, Mr. G informed me that his older brother was making dinner.  Awesome.  I was excited to try whatever he was making...considering he was quite the critic when Ms. S made dinner I figured he would bring it.

I knew it was a good sign when I saw the crock pot.  You just can't go wrong.

I'm not quite sure what he put in there, but I was famished so I had to peak into the pot.

Just as my stomach started to growl and Sunday evening TV was getting started, it was time to chow down!

The chicken was of course extremely tender.  While it didn't look like it was going to pack much of a punch, it definitely had LOTS of flavor.  The carrots and celery definitely added a lot to the dish.

The chicken was served with delicious peas and buttery rice.  The rice had a little more butter than I could handle alone, but it was perfect when eaten in the same bite as the chicken and peas.  Props to the elder Mr. G for a delicious Sunday night

I was so inspired by this meal that I finally ordered my slow cooker.  Once it arrives, I'm gonna put it to work!

Hungry yet?

Cabana Nuevo Latino

After rescheduling several times, I finally was able to meet up with Ms. J for dinner tonight.  It's also Ms. F's birthday so we got together with a few people for a celebratory dinner.  I couldn't wait so I had already eaten dinner by the time I met them at Cabana,

While all the adults at the table ordered proper entrees, I ordered DESSERT!

These monster sized brownies were served with ice cream and coconut flakes.

It was delicious! Unfortunately, the brownies weren't that warm, but they were pretty tasty.  I wish I had pictures of all the entrees, but I wasn't thinking about snapping pics while eating the brownie.  I did manage to get a picture of Ms. F's Arroz con Pollo.

Yup that's a POT.  She was served one regular sized plate of arroz con pollo and then along came a pot.  Pretty much everyone's meal was massive.

If you got o Cabana, you should keep in mind that the portions are ridiculously large.  Seriously.  You should consider sharing an entree or be prepared to carry home some food with you. I can't comment on the entrees, but hope to go back some day and sample the cuisine.

Hungry yet?

Ground chicken sauce

To redeem myself from yesterday's debacle, I decided on a ground chicken sauce with some of the same sides as yesterday.

2 tbs olive oil
1/4 cup onions
1/4 cup red peppers, julienned
1/4 cup green peppers, julienned
1lb ground chicken
1 can tomato sauce (I prefer Hunt's)
salt and pepper to taste

Heat up the olive oil then add the onions and peppers.  Cook until vegetables are a little less firm.  Add ground chicken and cook until chicken is brown.  Drain the liquid in the pan.

Add the tomato sauce to the pan along with the salt and pepper.  Some tomato sauces can be too sweet so I added a lot of red pepper.

I plated the ground chicken with the potatoes and stuffing from yesterday.  All in all muuuuch better than yesterday.  I think the fish belonged with wild rice so perhaps I'll try that later in the week.

Hungry yet?

Cod with onions and pepper

First day of Ramadan, I'm ashamed to say that I spent most of the day fantasizing about food.  I thought I wanted fish, but couldn't decide on what to cook.  I saw a great swordfish recipe, but then decided I didn't want swordfish.  I stopped by the fish market and picked up Cod.

I heated up a couple of tablespoons of olive oil and added some onions and crushed red pepper.  Once the onions were brown, I added the fish to the pan.  I cooked it for 4 - 5 minutes on each side until it was flaky.  I also made a couple of sides.

Something definitely went wrong.  Maybe it was the strange mix of side ingredients or the fact that I hadn't eaten all day.  Either way, it was one of the least satisfying meals I had made in a really long time.

Hopefully next time I'll do better.

Hungry yet?