Guest Reviewer: Stacey- Il Corallo Trattoria

Il Corallo Trattoria
Price: $
Stars: **1/2 

Il Corallo Trattoria is an Italian restaurant on Prince St. in Soho. The menu is quite extensive. It took our party nearly twenty minutes to browse through the selections of pasta. I had difficulty deciding on an item even with the vast array of dishes offered. My main complaint about Il Corallo is that it does not offer a simple pasta dish. I would have liked something hearty like a bolognese sauce or baked ziti. I mean, what kind of restaurant doesn't have meat sauce?

I settled on the Fettuccine Buttera. The dish consisted of fresh fettuccine with spinach and italian sausage in a garlic olive oil sauce. The fettuccine was delicious. I could easily tell that the pasta is fresh and made daily. Unfortunately, I did not taste any garlic in the dish whatsoever. I have a feeling that the chef added butter to the olive oil, making all other components of the dish rather bland. The fettuccine really saved this from being a disaster. I gave Il Corallo Trattoria **1/2 stars because of their low prices for a restaurant in Soho. It wasn't terrible, but I've personally had much better Italian food on Long Island.

Restaurant Review: Onzon Thai House

Stars: ****

Price: $$

Genre: Thai

Try: Pad Se-Ew, Fried Rice, Pad Thai, Thai Salad

Location: 2618 Merrick Road, Bellmore

Onzon Thai House is a great find on Long Island.  It reminds me of the Thai places I go to in the city.  They have a great lunch special... $8 for a Thai Salad and an entree from a list of choices.  The Thai Salad is delicious.  It includes greens with lots of thinly sliced carrots and a tasty peanut dressing.  The dressing is sweet and has a slight kick.  The Pad Se-Ew is an excellent main course here.  The dish has stir-fried flat, wide noodles, egg, bean sprouts and broccoli in a sweet brown soy sauce.  You can have it with your choice of meat as well.  I had it with beef, which was excellent.   The noodles are quite delish.  I love that they are wide rather than thin.  It makes for a great texture.  My one complaint was that there was very little broccoli involved... maybe 3 pieces.  The sweet brown sauce was very good, not too sweet, and not too thick.  Also, each time I have eaten here the food has come out piping hot and cleanly presented.   Everything tasted fresh and the meat was quality.  I've also had the Pad Thai with chicken.  It has rice noodles, egg, scallions, bean sprouts, tofu, and ground peanuts.  This was one of the nicest versions of Pad Thai that I've tried.  I don't love Pad Thai... but this one was really good.  The peanut wasn't overwhelming.  The bean sprouts were crispy and the noodles were just right, not chewy or limp.  I've also had the Thai Fried Rice, with jasmine rice, veggies, and red chili.  I liked it a lot.  The jasmine rice was flavorful.  It's a great light main course.  Still filling though.  I will definitely return to Onzon... maybe try one of the curries, one of the specials, and the Thai iced tea.  I like a good Thai iced tea.     

Candy Review: Reese's Dark

I tried my first Reese's Dark recently.  I thought it was okay overall.  I felt it was lacking a certain creaminess that the regular milk Reese's possesses.  I also experienced a weird aftertaste.  I think regular Reese's has this aftertaste as well.  This just didn't taste right to me, the dark chocolate flavor was quite off... tasted like processed chocolate (which is what it is, of course).  As a fan of dark chocolate, this did not live up to my expectations.  I would not repurchase this candy.  I'm still waiting for the day they will bring back my favorite Hershey's product (it's discontinued), the Reese's Crunchy Cookie Cup.  It was a regular Reese's with a dark chocolate crispy cookie in the middle.  You are dearly missed.

Quick Review: Krisch's

Krisch's is an old-fashioned ice cream parlor on Long Island.  They sell chocolates and candy in the front.  Those looked okay.  I don't think I would buy them though.  Krisch's serves diner-style food but is best known for homemade ice cream.  I thought the sundae was pretty good overall.  I had a warm brownie with chocolate-chocolate chip ice cream and peanut butter topping.  I liked the ice cream texture, nice and creamy.  The chips were decent, and not crack-your-tooth hard like the ones at Coldstone (my Dad chipped a tooth on one of those bad boys- true story).  The chocolate flavor could have been stronger.  I find myself unsatisfied with the chocolatey-ness of most ice creams.  Oh well.  I'd say Krisch's is on par or perhaps better than a place like Friendly's.  The hard ice cream is what I would order rather than the soft-serve.  Also, the whipped cream is homemade and very thick.  I liked it.  I tasted the hot fudge as well, but I think I prefer Carvel's hot fudge.  My favorite hot fudge of all time though is the one from the Cheesecake Factory.  Theirs is bittersweet and extremely thick.  The best!  

Quick Review: Dairy Queen- Blizzard

Since there are no Dairy Queen locations close to where I live, I have always been curious about the ice cream.  Particularly, the Blizzard.  It's basically soft serve ice cream blended up with various toppings.  I decided to try chocolate ice cream with cookie dough and fudge.  The chocolate soft serve itself was not terribly dense, it was more airy.  I prefer it more creamy and dense, like Carvel.   Also, the chocolate flavor was not very strong, which I didn't like.  It was too mild in terms of chocolatey-ness.  The cookie dough bits were soft and they tasted just like the store-bought cookie dough.  The fudge was nowhere to be found... I think it got blended away or there wasn't enough of it.  All in all, I'm glad I got to try Dairy Queen but I don't think I would return back.  The ice cream is just average... and it's too far away anyways.

Restaurant Review: Petite Abeille

Stars: ***1/2

Price: $$$

Genre: Belgian

Try: Moules Grand-Mere, French Fries, Waffles

Location: 466 Hudson St., (b/t Grove and Barrow) New York, NY

Petite Abeille (the Little Bee) is a small Belgian place located in the West Village.  They have 3 other locations around the city, though I've heard this one is the most consistent.  They have outdoor seating available, which seemed popular.  I decided to eat inside, and it was nice and quiet.  Petite Abeille serves brunch, lunch, and dinner.  For dinner, I decided to have what they are most known for, mussels.  The order comes with 2 pounds of steamed mussels.  I had the Moules Grand-Mere, served in a cream beer sauce with bacon.  These were honestly some of the best mussels I have ever had.  The creamy sauce and the salty bacon worked wonders with the mussels.  I loved it.  I also tried the Moules Jamaicaines, served with a Jamaican curry sauce and fresh green apples.  This sauce was a little too sweet for my taste.  But if you like curry, this was certainly an interesting taste combination.  The fries were absolutely perfect.  They were crispy, but not too crispy, and nice and meaty on the inside.  They went perfectly with the mussels.  They were great for dipping in the cream beer-bacon sauce!  I would return to this restaurant in a heartbeat.  There are many other dishes on the menu I would like to try, including the steak frites, beef stew, and the waffles.  For dessert, I had the Belgian chocolate mousse, which was very good, but not anything amazing.  Next time, I would like to try the waffle with chocolate sauce, ice cream, and bananas, as I have heard the waffles are excellent.  I give the Little Bee 3 and a half stars!       

Restaurant Review: Mara's Homemade

Stars: **1/2

Price: $$

Genre: Southern, Soul, Cajun, Barbecue

Try: Baby Back Ribs, Pulled Pork, Red Velvet Cake

Skip: Corn on the Cob, Chocolate Souffle

Location: 342 E. 6th St. New York, NY 

Mara's Homemade is a southern/cajun style place in the East Village.  They offer a variety of seafood selections, including nightly specials.  I head that the pecan crusted catfish is very good, as well as their specialty, Louisiana crawfish.  If you aren't in the mood for seafood, they also have an Arkansas barbecue menu, complete with smoked ribs, brisket, pulled pork, and sausage. Arkansas style barbecue is  a mix of Memphis and Texas styles.  The meat is rubbed down with a blend of spices, and is then slow-smoked with hickory wood.  You add the sauce at your table, with a choice of Arkansas style (Spicy/Tangy) or Texas style (Spicy/Sweet).  I prefer the sweeter sauce, especially on the pulled pork.

I have been to Mara's Homemade twice now, and my overall feelings are mixed.  The portions are definitely generous, but the quality of dishes varies.  The pulled pork is excellent, very tender and juicy.  The baby back ribs are also good, nice and smoky and tender.  The brisket was almost there... the dry rub was nice but it wasn't quite as tender as I've had it at, say, Hill Country.

The side dishes vary in quality as well.  My no-mayo, tangy coleslaw was good paired with the pulled pork.  The garlic mashed potatoes were served room-temperature, which did not fare well.  The corn on the cob had been smoked, and lacked any real flavor.  Also, they did not serve it with butter!  Is this a southern-style place or not??  I have a feeling the corn pudding might be better, so perhaps if I return there I will order it.  The guests seated next to us ordered the pecan crusted catfish, which seems to be a very popular dish, seafood-wise.  To drink, I had the sweet tea, which is good, but extremely sweet.  There was honey in it, for sure, and a lot of it.

On my first visit to Mara's, dessert was a disaster.  We tried the chocolate souffle, which was recommended on the menu.  When it came out, the cake was okay, if a little dry.  It came with a sauce on the side.  I tried it, and it tasted burnt.  I tried to guess what it was... maybe a candied fruit sauce of some kind?  We eventually had to call the waitress over because it just wasn't right.  Mara herself ended up coming over.  She told us it was her dark chocolate sauce, 100% real melted chocolate.  Now, I can tell you, from eating thousands of pounds of chocolate in my life, that this was NOT good chocolate.  Not even "okay" chocolate.  It was burnt, and possibly very, very old.  I didn't want to bring her spirits down, since the rest of the meal had been good. On my second visit, I ordered the red velvet cake, which was actually very good.  The cream cheese frosting was dense and not too sweet.  The cake was moist and it had cherries and pecans in it for flavor.  Overall, a good slice of cake.  

I'm not sure if I will return to Mara's Homemade, as the menu offerings are too varied in terms of quality.  Some of the meal will be good, but some of it will be questionable.  I will continue my search to find the best southern food in the city.  

  

Note

Note on the rating scale I will be using for restaurant reviews...

Stars: I will rate the restaurant from 1 to 4 stars.

*= poor

**= good

***= very good

****= excellent

Price: I will give a restaurant 1 dollar sign if prices are very low and up to 4 dollar signs if prices are higher.

$= meal for one person around $9

$$= meal for one person around $16

$$$= meal for one person around $21

$$$$= meal for one person $30 or more

Restaurant Review: The Shack

Stars: **

Price: $

Genre: Seafood, outdoor

Try: Fried clams, cheeseburger

Skip: Cheese fries

Location: Northport, New York

The Shack is a New England style clam bar located on Long Island. They offer outdoor seating and some counter seating as well.  On a nice day, the wait to order here can be an hour long. Luckily, I arrived shortly after it had opened and there was no line.  I had the sampler platter, which included fried clams (strips, not whole-bellies), crab cakes, fried flounder, and fried butterfly shrimp.  Everything was fairly good, with a light crispy coating.  I liked the fried clams best, though I would have preferred whole-belly clams.  The sampler cost $16, and it was plenty of food for two people to share.

The cheese fries were a little bit disappointing.  I tasted garlic, but could not taste the cheddar. The plain fries were decent.  I'm not sure if I would go back to The Shack, though I've heard they make a very good burger.  I enjoy seafood only once in a while, and I don't think I'd like to wait in an hour long line.  But, I know tons of people will be lining up this summer for the fresh seafood they can enjoy outside.  I think it's so popular because New England style seafood joints are not terribly common around these parts. The Shack also serves lobster rolls, mussels, soft shell crabs, catfish, and Philly cheese steaks.  It is a rare find around here, so I think crowds will keep this place pretty busy, considering the decent prices and fresh fare.  

Blueberry Smoothie

This is my own recipe.  Perfect for breakfast.

Blueberry Smoothie- Serves 1

1/2 cup frozen blueberries, washed and stemmed

3/4 cup milk

2 ice cubes

splash of lemon juice (or cranberry or orange)

1 tablespoon honey

pinch of cinnamon 

Blend until smooth.

Blueberries are high in Vitamin C, Vitamin B6, and Vitamin K.  I used fresh blueberries, which contain high levels of antioxidants as well.  

This one turned out very frothy and light and tasty.  The cinnamon makes a great difference in the flavor of the smoothie.  I really like blueberry and cinnamon... it works.  You get a hint of the spice with every sip.  Enjoy!

  

Chocolate Banana Smoothie

Ingredients:

1 frozen banana, sliced

3/4 cup milk

4 tablespoons chocolate syrup (or less, if you prefer)

3 ice cubes

Blend until smooth.

I like this, it turned out more like a milkshake than a smoothie.  It was creamy rather than icy.  I think it would be good for breakfast or for a snack.

Cupcakes!

The other day I decided to make some cupcakes.  The cake is dark chocolate and there are 3 different icings... vanilla buttercream, chocolate ganache, and vanilla ganache.