Terroir

Seester and I recently visited the newly-opened Murray Hill location of Terroir, the "Elitist Wine Bar For Everyone."  It was delightful, despite the Murray-Hill-esque group of girls literally screaming and yelling, which was audible despite the restaurant's attempts to drown it out with super loud music.  It's OK, we just screamed at each other.

Our food was delicious, but our server may have been the best part--he was friendly, knowledgeable, easy on the eyes, and helped us choose our small plates for a delightful dinner.  Plus, he joined us in shooting glares at the loud girls and looking forward to their departure.

It was VERY dark in there.  As you can tell from these super dark pictures that I attempted to brighten.

Crispy duck confit salad with frisee, gorgonzola, shallots. 

 This was called "sage leaves with lamb sausage," but it should have been called crunchy-edged herby/crusty delicious lambyness. 

Eggplant, pepper, basil, mozzarella panini.  This bread was as good as it looks. There was a duck prosciutto sandwich (and I do have a soft spot for alternatives like that, ahem, lambcetta), but we wanted to incorporate some vegetables in our meal.  With so many other plates we wanted to get, we'll just have to go back. No big deal!

Mmm squash frittata.  Can you say brunch?!!  Egg happiness at dinner works just as well.

Sees and I had a great time at Terroir, but the decibels were a little out of control and it was dark as night.  Every dish we had was tasty and exceeded our expectations.  Our server had his act together and recommended a delightful Finger Lakes Riesling for Sees and a Brooklyn Brewery offering I hadn't had before. 

Their employment information is funny. Hehe.

Terroir
439 3rd Avenue (btwn 30 & 31st)
NY, NY

This time last year: Restaurant Eve
2009: Postcard from Denver
2008: Catching Up
2007: Super Pollo

Cooperstown: Fly Creek and Ommegang

A while ago, Seester and I ran the Boilermaker.  Yes, I've already booked our hotel for next year. The people of Utica are amazing, and you can read about that on running blogs.

Now, a member of my husband's family does not complete their first visit to Albany without a day trip to Cooperstown, and Utica is near enough that we combined these situations.

Our first stop was Fly Creek Cider Mill & Orchard.  Other potential names include Snack Shack and Place Of Many Dips.  We walked around and saw some chickens and ducks outside, and eventually we had some ice cream and cider.  Mostly, we walked around the market and indulged in free samples.

Cheese.  Lots of cheese.

Fudge.

Jams, spreads, dips, mustards.  And look a those pretzel sticks, ready to be dipped.

Apple fritter, chip mint ice cream, cider slushie, regular cider, and general happiness all around.
 

Next it was back to Ommegang.  Yes, we'd been before, and we liked what we drank.  Yes, we can drink it at home, buy it at local stores and bars, but we could not resist a visit with Sees.  This time, with snacks.

Delicious fries frites.  Oh my goodness.  Crispy, well-seasoned, clearly fresh-cut. There are 8 choices for sauces, and you pick two.  I remember the chipotle aoili as being our favorite. 




Crepes!  Duck confit was off the hook and tomato/basil was tasty but paling in comparison.  Can anything compare to the duck confit?  I didn't think so.

Ommegang has beautiful grounds, outdoor tasting options in the fair weather, and very tasty beers.  Beers so tasty, the only way they could be tastier is if they were embodied in an ice cream.  Wait for it...

And here is perfection.  PERFECTION.  Granted, I'm somewhat easily impressed.  Three Philosophers ice cream.

This time last year: CSA Weeks 5 & 6
2009: Fojol Brothers
2007: Restaurant 3

New Oreos: A Review

I delayed on this because it was so disappointing I didn't really want to talk about it.

When J found out there was going to be such a thing called "Triple Double Oreos" he jumped at the opportunity to try them ASAP.  He filled out an online request form for media (because, you know, he's such a regular contributor to the blog) and maybe 10 minutes later we had a FedEx with the aforementioned cookies.

We took them home to NJ for a taste test.  We were immediately disappointed.

Were these cookies gross? No.  But the fact is that they weren't what we were expecting.

The name Triple Double made it seem like they were made of Double Stuffed Oreos. So a triple-decker Double Stuffed is what we expected.  If you're having trouble with triple decker being only two instances of filling and three wafers, you are not alone--we were arguing over whether that is double decker or triple decker, and we can't really come to a conclusion.  A Google image search results in the three pieces of bread but two sets of fillings variation, and that's what we've got here.

But again, that filling?  Not double-stuffed.  Decidedly single-stuffed regular old Oreo filling.  Which to J means it's too dry--too much cookie, not enough icing.

Was anyone else under the impression that these would be double-stuffed?  I'm surprised I haven't read about misrepresentation or anything on the Wall Street Journal.  This is a pressing social issue.

Henry

Blogging is frequently interrupted by work travel, Jewish holidays, and other timesuckers (which, while often pleasant, are indeed taking up time).  Now we have a new reason to stay off the computer. 

Looking forward to sharing some good meals with you coming up: tacos in Hudson and New Paltz, dinner at a 1-week-old restaurant in Murray Hill, and a delightful evening at the Capital City Gastropub.  Also, I'll be back in DC for work, and you know I'll be revisiting some of my favorite places as well as some new. 

All Good Bakers

I love following local personalities on Twitter.  I scoped out the ALB Twitter scene before moving here and started following the appropriate blogs.  It didn't take long to start hearing (and keep hearing, repeatedly) about All Good Bakers.   The idea of a Community Supported Bakery sounded awesome to me (like the Whisked pie share?).  I started following them on Twitter and even "Liked" them on Facebook, even though I'm generally opposed to Liking anything on Facebook.  [Sidenote, I won't Like your blog on Facebook because I follow it on Google Reader and maybe follow you on Twitter, and I don't need to be told about your new post for a third time in a new way.  Really, I like you, and I like your blog, but two places is enough right now for me to express that xoxo.]

And they were always commenting about the delicious lunches and brunches that were available!  And talking about how they got some awesome cheese and Farmer Jon (our new neighbor is his farm stand) dropped off these awesome looking veggies.  And we'd get a cool peace sign of whoever was in the van, which seemed to drive down our street a lot.  Sooo we obviously had to go by.

J and I brought visitor B, a newbie to the Capital Region (but resident of our nation's capital), on a recent Friday afternoon.  That scored us 10% off on the yum to come.

 B and I both had the grilled cheese of the day. Black pepper goat cheese with garlic pepper IPA jam.

 J had the tempeh veggie burger and a similar fresh crunchy side salad.  He's Mr. Veggie Burger since he had one in the Columbia River Gorge that was truly delicious and unique.  He liked the consistency of this guy.  None of us got the crispy flatbread pizza, maybe because we've been making some flatzas at home :)

I appreciate mugs that depict a sweater putting its arm around another sweater.

We got a loaf to go--I think peasant sourdough--and it was so good for so long.  It didn't last that long, but even a few days later it was crispy on the outside and fluffy on the inside.  So delicious, and bringing much joy to our household.

AGB says they are "baking with ethics," and they shop with them too.  They get some produce from Farmer Jon, who has sold us some of the sweetest corn we've had all summer from his farm stand, as well as the best white peaches.  +1 for Farmer Jon.

All Good Bakers
160 A. Quail Street (it's the first floor, you'll see it)
Albany, NY

Fewer Words Friday at Jack's

Jack's Oyster House recently invited Daniel B. and company for a special lunch highlighting some new menu items.  I agree with him wholeheartedly (including that I'd like to see the farm names highlighted on the menu), and here are the accompanying photos.  One dish, my favorite (the scallop in the pink peppercorn and orange sauce), was consumed too quickly for my photo--sorry.

This was a delicious salad.  I'd like it topped with blackened salmon for a nice lunch. The candied walnuts were really yummy.

I could do without this dish.  Mostly, to me, fried is fried is fried.  And it belongs in a bar.

I kind of liked the risotto but didn't love it.  I'm not a huge shrimp person, and the scallop paled in comparison to its unpictured cousin.

Osso bucco topped the lamb, and I didn't understand anything else on the plate--not that I'm unfamiliar with asparagus, I just didn't want to eat it.

This cheesecake was divine, and despite having eaten a million other things beforehand, I nearly finished it.  Light and fluffy and creamy, not too sweet.

Jack's Oyster House
42 State Street
Albany, NY

Buttermilk Channel

Ohhh to spend my afternoons wandering around the Brooklyn Flea, lusting over giant mirrors that I'm not sure fit in my house, drinking overpriced but delicious milkshakes, sampling spicy pickles....but unfortunately I reserve this behavior for special occasions.

Also for special occasions?  FRIED CHICKEN.  I know.  Again.

To be clear, only 3/5 of us had the fried chicken.  But the serving was so gigantic that I got to have a fair amount of it.  People weren't really eating mine that much, so I got to have 1.5 dinners.  It was great.

I had the warm lamb salad.  It was basically super tender small pieces of lamb, some sort of shredded, over two big pieces of lettuce.  Not so much a salad as a giant plate of lamb.  YES!

House made croutons, cauliflower, and fried capers (which explode into little crispy blossoms, btw--try itat home) rounded out this dish. 

J had the duck meatloaf with sweet corn pudding.  He shocked me with this, I thought for SURE he'd get the fried chicken.  I think he knew some people wouldn't be able to finish theirs. AHEM, everyone.

Did I mention that we started with snacks?  Homemade pickles that were to die for - there were slices and spears, with totally different flavors. We almost got a second order when a complimentary snack arrived.

Surprise!  Popovers!  Lightly salted on the outside, totally soft and luscious on all the other sides.

The hushpuppies, left, were good but somewhat forgettable.  The sea salt-dusted maple bacon almonds were not nearly as forgettable.  The poor hushpuppies, how could they even try to compare? 

Seriously, if I could happy hour at BC with just the snacks, apps, and beer, I'd be psyched.

Dessert time!

The birthday girl was generous in sharing her chicken because she knew she wanted to save room for the bread pudding.

I was too full to think about ordering any dessert--none of it was like ME! ME! GET ME! But when dad's crazy pecan pie sundae thing came out, I dug in big time.  He was so gracious to share.  Everything you want in the sticky, sweet, pecan pie contrasting with the cool creamy vanilla ice cream, soooo heavenly.

^ I am still thinking about this sundae.  Really.

Now brunch @ BC looks awesome, but don't even THINK about going for the chicken and waffles - it's not available at brunchtime!  Apparently some reviewer said that it was, and people started demanding it and being super sad panda when they learned it isn't happening.  Like when I go to Palena Cafe and they are out of chickens for THE roasted chicken, or when I want Andy's Subs so badly I might die, and it's Sunday.

Buttermilk Channel
524 Court Street
Brooklyn, NY