Food & Wine Archives - Page 2 of 2

A Delightful Lunch at Bobby Van’s Grill in NYC

Greetings Hamptons MouthPiece Readers….Earlier this week my lovely daughter and I drove into Manhattan, saw the tree at Rockefeller Center and had lunch at Bobby Van’s…we were anxious to visit because we enjoyed the food at the Bridgehampton location. The traffic was horrible going into the city but 3 hours later we arrived and parked on the East side and walked over to the West Side. We arrived around 130pm and the place was fully occupied with a lunch crowd. Everyone was smartly dressed in business attire and although every seat in the restaurant was occupied the acoustics in the restaurant were not so over-whelming. It felt private and you were able to hold a conversation within your party.

We checked our coats which was very nice to not be tied down to big bulky coats at the table, and we were seated immediately even though we were nearly an hour late from our reserved time. Our waiter Mike introduced himself and asked for our drink order, Dani settled for water and I ordered my usual Seltzer with a splash of cranberry and lime. Soon after bread was delivered, a nice variety, but I wish it was warm, however had it been I would have devoured it so maybe that was a blessing for my waist side.

We placed our orders and I chose to start with an appetizer…I ordered the lump crab cake. It was delectable and melted in my mouth. It made me excited about the next dish. Dani decided not to have an appetizer since she was having a very heavy lunch she wanted to savor her taste buds for her meal.

It was time for our main dish, I chose to order the Lemon & Pepper Shrimp and Danielle ordered the Petite Filet Mignon, each dish came with a side order of hash browns. My dish was pleasantly delicious although the first bite was a bit over-whelming with the zest of the lemon but after that I really enjoyed the meal and cleared the plate.

Danielle loved her steak, it was juicy & succulent, melted in your mouth. The dipping sauce on the side was ridiculously amazing and the hash browns just completed the meal. The petite size was a perfect serving size for her.We both cleared our plates and decided to complete our dining experience we needed desert. Mike our waiter came over and we asked him for some recommendations we completely appreciated his honesty and his recommendations were right on target. Danielle ordered the Creme Brûlée and I ordered thee. OMG….DELICIOUS!!!!

Overall we had a pleasant dining experience. The place was lively, the service was wonderful, the food was amazing. I found the place to be a perfect choice for groups because they seem to specialize in group style portions; we saw many tables sharing a meal. Next time I am NYC I plan on visiting in the evening to check out the bar scene because I bet that is awesome. This is a restaurant to add to your list of NYC places to visit, especially if you are in the mood for steak.

Bobby Van’s Grill will be open for New Year’s Eve offering a premier of traditional American Grill fare, classics steakhouse favorites, fresh seafood and wood-fired pizza. Bobby Van’s is at 135 west 50th Street (bet: 6 &7th ave ) Price is expensive, but worth it. I said today I would rather spend $150 and enjoy my meal than $30 and walk away feel incomplete….
If you are in the Hamptons be sure to stop by their Hamptons place on Main Street in Bridgehampton, NY

As Always Hamptons MouthPiece keeping you in the know!!!!

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Sotto Sopra….A Pleasant Dining Experience

Sotto Sopra….A Pleasant Dining Experience…..Greeting Hamptons MouthPiece Readers… Hope all of you are doing well…This has been a very relaxing summer Living Life how I want to live it…not by how other people think you should…Live, Laugh and Love are 3 words that I live by. I have worked for various Media organizations and recently I worked for an online publication that typically did Food Write-ups.. They would write glowing reviews for any restaurant regardless of how the food tasted because of the fear that if you wrote something negative that restaurant would not spend any advertising dollars with you.

I really do not care and I am not in the business of destroying anyone’s life dream but I also am not in the business of sugar coating the truth. I have taken the stand that I will only write about restaurants that I really liked. I let others bring the negative as I only will bring the positive. If I don’t like it then I won’t talk about it, I want you my readers to know that what I write is my absolutely and VERY honest opinion. You can feel confident that I am speaking from the heart, but realize that this is my opinion and you may think differently.

This week I had the pleasure of visiting a new restaurant in Amagansett called Sotto Sopra…an Italian Cuisine located on Main

Street that once housed Exile Restaurant. My friend Cindy and I dined there on Tuesday, August 14th for dinner. I liked that parking was accessible and that was a welcome. When you walk in the bar is at the front with the doors open, the tables to dine are further back, I liked that the bar is far enough away from the dining area but still close. I also liked that the place is not to spacious, rather intimate, but don’t expect to have a private conversation, tables are a little close to each other. Our hostess greeted us so warm and friendly it immediately made us feel comfortable. We were asked if we would prefer to sit inside of outside, we sat outside because the weather was so pleasant. The lights were slightly dimmed but not to dimmed where you could not see your food and more impressive were the lights on the table for those who really do like a well lit table to see the food.
The outside was like a secret little garden beautifully manicured and so casually fit for a dinner out with the family. Our waiter was very knowledgeable and quite attentive, but not smothering and that was appreciated. We started with two of the house special appetizers…

I had the lump crab on Parmesan toast..drizzled with tarragon white wine butter sauce and Cindy had the chilled Melon soup….I loved the Lump Crab…it was so delectable, I can taste it in my mouth as I am writing at this moment. I personally did not care for the Melon soup but that is because I like hot soup and not chilled soup, but Cindy liked it.

For an entree I had the Swordfish and Cindy had the steak. I liked the swordfish it was pan-fried and flaky and very filling…I however LOVED the steak it was so succulent and juicy and I was so envious that Cindy ordered and I had not. I never order steak when I go out to eat because I rarely eat red meat, but I will definitely be back just to order the steak. The waiter came over to remove our finished dishes I think secretly Cindy wanted to clean her plate…OMG it was just that good. Rose Evangelista the owner stopped by to chat with us and tell us some preliminary plans for the Fall and winter season. She told us that the restaurant will be open year-round for dinner during the week and lunch on the weekends. Rose indicated that the restaurant would be hosting a weekly Mah-Jongg dinner. Apparently Mah-Jongg is a new trend played among women…The game is played with a set of 136 tiles based on Chinese characters and symbols, although some regional variations use a different number of tiles.

I look forward to seeing what new and exciting things Rose will bring to the restaurant after the summer. I trust that this will be one of the happening spots in the off season because Rose was so exuberant and her passion is so infectious.

We of course had to end the evening with dessert for the full dining experience. Our waiter memorized the dessert menu and I was completely sold on the 21 layer crepe cake which is an Italian dessert and Cindy had the chocolate ice cream with chucks of chocolate. I was so anxious to taste my dessert I drove in before I could take the picture. It was delicious and highly recommended.

We had a very nice evening, the food was delicious the service was wonderful and the atmosphere was comfortable. The price range is moderately expensive. I look forward to returning in the Fall, maybe on a Mah-jongg night. I have never played the game and I would like to experience this new trend.
As always, Hamptons Mouthpiece keeping you in the know!

Bubbly and Flirty..Perfect Combination

Greetings Hamptons Mouthpiece Readers….my goal is to keep you in the know with what’s happening in the Hamptons, new business in the Hamptons, and new products you can find in the Hamptons. Today I introduce a product to you that you can find in the Hamptons..DIRTY BLONDE Sparkling Wine Cocktails..

When I first heard of the name I could not imagine how they would taste and I admit I was definitely skeptical and somewhat leery to take the plunge and taste. I finally had the opportunity to taste this delicious blended bubbly white wine with effervescent fruit infusions. Both Kurt and I decided to have a mid-morning cocktail today and we were pleasantly surprised on how good they were. We tasted both the Raspberry Flirtini and the Blood Orange Mimosa…we both preferred the Blood Orange Mimosa, although the Raspberry was good if you like raspberry. These cocktails come in 3 flavors with the last flavor being Peach Passion Bellini. You can choose to drink it with a straw as pictured above, I however prefer my cocktail to be poured in a glass.

This drink is definitely going to be the featured drink at my next Girls Night Out…It’s fun, flirty and yummy. These clear, sleek bottles with simple screw caps are ideal to grab and go. This drink does contain 12% alcohol…so make sure you drink responsible.

You can find Dirty Blonde at any Target store and selected retailers throughout the Hamptons…I was able to find them at Race Lane Liquors..21 Race Lane East Hampton, (631) 324-4595…..Perfect Hamptons summer Breeze!
As Always Hamptons Mouthpiece keeping you in the know!!!