Tuesday, June 28, 2011

Davio's - @@@@@

On Monday, May 2 my coworker and I took a psuedo road trip after work to the outlet mall in Wrentham, MA.  It is a 40 minute drive from Providence to the "premium outlets" that are out there which includes all the normal outlet stores plus more exclusive stores such as Puma, Vera Bradley, and Spyder.  Also in the area is Foxboro, Gillette Stadium and Patriot Place.  Foxboro as most sports fans know is home to the New England Patriots.  We were able to see the stadium which was really nice.  Patriot Place is a bunch of shops/restaurants that surround the stadium that reminds me of a large outdoor mall.  Great concept in the summer, not really sure how it works in the winter though.

For dinner, we went to Davio's, a "northern Italian steakhouse" that was located in Patriot Place.  While we go to nice places for dinner, this place was one of the nicest for sure.  The interior was really well laid out and the table had many different utensils, a true sign of upscale eating in my opinion.

For the appetizer, Philly Cheesesteak spring rolls were ordered.  The description there was that it included "spicy homemade ketchup and spicy mayo".  After coming from Philadelphia recently, I did not know what to expect.  What came out was a sight...two spring rolls cut in half on the bias topped with onion rings on top of the 2 condiments.  They were really good.  The mix of cheese and beef inside the freshly fried spring roll wrapper was a great combination and the ketchup and mayo accompanied it nicely.

For dinner, I had the flat iron steak which was served with crispy potatoes and a spicy salsa.  Here the steak was cooked perfectly and the meat was very tender.  Again the steak was pre-sliced, but for some reason I am ok with it with cuts like this.  Strange thinking, but I feel that it makes the diner get the meat in the most tender fashion as some may not realize to cut it across the bias.  The meat was very flavorful and the spicy corn tomato salsa was a good balance to the meat.  The potatoes soaked up all of the juices and helped impart flavor to them.

Overall, I felt this was a really good place that I would definitely recommend and go back to.  For me, it borders on a 4 or 5 and I am thinking 5 right now.  Not even mentioned was the really good bread that they offered that also came with a cheese spread and olives or the very attentive service.  The only drawback is that depending on what you order it can be pretty expensive.  For this meal though, I will give it a 5 of 5.

Philly cheesesteak spring rolls - very artistic

potatoes and greens were underneath

236 Patriot Pl
Foxboro, MA 02035

Parkside Rotisserie & Bar - @@

I had read about Parkside Rotisserie & Bar online and it sounded pretty interesting as a modern American eatery. It was similar to Roast in Detroit in the sense that it is a rotisserie type restaurant that cooks many of its dishes over a live fire, especially largish hunks of meat.


Walking in the restaurant seemed pretty busy and loud even though we went later at night. The volume speaks to the popularity of the place which seems to be a good thing. We were promptly seated and though there were plenty of open tables, were sat next to an occupied table. The tables are set fairly close to each other and as I discovered throughout the night that it was loud not necessarily because it was busy but because there were no “soft” textures throughout to absorb sound.

The menu was very appetizing, with many available options. Then the server comes around to tell us about the specials and throws a curveball out there…a veal chop finished on the rotisserie. I was going to go with the rotisserie duck but after the veal description I had to order that. It was served with a cilantro-type chimichuri sauce on the side and potatoes and carrots. When I got the food, I tried the veal chop first. It was surprisingly bland. It was well salted, but there was just nothing that stood out for me. Sadly the flavor was not imparted on the other items either as the vegetables seemed to be missing that extra oomph. The chimichuri sauce was ok, but my inherent dislike of cilantro made me not care for it that much.  I had such high hopes for the dish and it just let me down in regards to flavor.

Sadly, I am going to give this a 2 of 5. I really wanted to like this restaurant because of the good reviews it had and the popular atmosphere, but recounting my meal made me think otherwise.  My coworkers pasta (which I usually don't care for) was actually pretty tasty.  It was penne with chicken, broccoli, tomatoes, in a creamy sauce.  I would want to try Parkside again to see if the food was always marginal or if it was just this meal. 

Looks good, lacked flavor
 
76 S Main St
Providence, RI 02903

Philly – a long time ago (April 22 – 24)

I am throwing in a blog about my trip to Philly that I took during Easter weekend. I was able to take the Acela down from Providence (which is a remarkably decent mode of transportation) and get some good sandwiches along with visiting family there.
There were a bunch of sandwich places that I was able to get to, including my favorite pork sandwich spot DiNic's. As always, the sandwich was perfect, with the juicy roast pork blending with sharp provolone and slightly spicy spinach. The bread held up well to the sandwich juices, however I am unable to determine the long-term firmness of the bread after it soaks up the juices since whenever I get the sandwich I eat it right away.

A second pork spot that I was able to try was George’s which was recommended to me by a coworker. I had their roast pork sandwich with provolone and greens. I tried to order spinach but they didn’t have any so I had rabe. The response I got was very South Philly, “rabe is just like spinach…both green and leafy”. So funny. Anyways as you can tell from the picture, the rabe was overcooked and dripping in water. That flavor soaked through the sandwich so it was not as flavorful as DiNic's as the water washed out the pork flavor. Again eating it instantly did not allow me to measure the sturdiness of the bread used.

Finally the third sandwich on the list was a classic cheesesteak from Pat’s – the original inventor of the cheesesteak. I find they have a consistent sandwich which is honed from the long lines that form. The meat and cheese meld together extremely well and the bread is firm enough to hold up to all of the juice/grease/cheese from the sandwich. I like it better than Geno’s located across the street.

This was a great side trip that allowed me to get some of my favorite eats in.  I would say 5 of 5 for DiNic's, 3 of 5 for George's, and 4 of 5 for Pat's

DiNic's - perfect!

George's - overcooked rabe

Pat's - very solid, the original cheesesteak

DiNic's
1136 Arch St (inside Reading Terminal Market)
Philadelphia

George's Sandwich Shop
900 S 9th St
Philadelphia

Pat's King of Steaks
1237 E Passyunk Ave
Philadelphia

Sunday, June 26, 2011

Welcome to Pittsburgh!

My next project starts tomorrow in Pittsburgh...I was welcomed by furry people when I drove in today.

Also I do plan on updating the site more often as I have about 20 outstanding restaurants from Providence still to put up.  Should I try and do Pittsburgh in real-time and fill in the old Providence places, try and catch-up in chronological order, or just dump the 20 places at once?

Anthrocon 2011

Wednesday, June 1, 2011

Mill's Tavern - @@@

On Thursday, April 21 I found myself still in Rhode Island as I was going straight to Philadelphia after work on Friday.  Since it was a Thursday, all of my travel co-workers left for the week meaning I was able to pick a restaurant at my convenience.  I had heard good things about Mill's Tavern from some other colleagues who went their earlier in the project so I decided to head over there after work.

Walking in I was greeted by a friendly host who quickly took me to my table (no bar stools for me).  Since I was dining alone, I was able to get a good seat in the booths however it was pretty close to another couple at the table next to me.  This time it was actually a good thing.  I was able to talk to them throughout the meal and they gave me some good suggestions not only on local restaurants but also places to go in Newport as well.  They were extremely friendly and it worked out really well for me.  They even bought me a drink!

For my entree, I ordered the boneless short rib.  The presentation when it came out was simple yet classy.  It was surrounded by a ladle of beef broth with a smear of carrot-cilantro puree.  I was worried that my dislike of cilantro would make me not like the puree, however it was alright.  I did feel that the dish was missing some flavor balance, as the rich meat flavor was not balanced by anything light, sweet, or crunchy.  I would've been in trouble if I did not order a side of mashed potatoes as that somewhat contrasted with the heavy beef flavor provided by the short rib.  I also would have preferred the bone-in since it adds to the beef flavor and the tender meat would make it just fall off the bone.  All told though, the beef flavor was not what was lacking, rather the contrasting bite that the meal did not provide.

I had a great time at Mill's Tavern which was definitely helped by the couple that I talked with throughout the meal.  I would go back again to try some other food that they serve.  They also claim to have a seasonal menu rotation that includes lots of local ingredients.  However I did not think that the price of the meal was worth it which is why I almost gave it a 2.  Since I would go back though, I'm going with a 3 of 5 here, but I would proceed with slight caution.


101 N Main St
Providence, RI 02903

Cheesecake Factory - @@@

On Tuesday, April 19th we went to the Cheesecake Factory, a staple restaurant during this project.  It is really easy to get to due to the convenient location just outside our hotel and for overall restaurants there could be much worse that one could get.    I won't go too much into the details other than the food since I am positive I have done a review of this before.

As with the night before, I ordered the pork chops.  For some reason I like to order pork chops because I feel they are harder to cook at home.  I have not been able to either a) grill them or b) pair them with interesting sauces like restaurants do.  While the Cheesecake Factory gives you 2 pork chops, they are the standard grocery store single cut chops.  I much prefer a single, thicker chop that can be cooked by various means without it turning excessively tough and dry.  This happens with the thinner chops because of the higher heat which cooks through and dries out the thinner meat.

I do love the items the pork chops come with as well.  Mashed potatoes, sauteed spinach, and applesauce all complement the grilled chops.  All 3 of these sides are great matches with pork and are all items I especially like.  The mashed potatoes are creamy and do not require gravy.  The jus from the pork is sufficient to add that little extra moisture to the potatoes and spinach.  The applesauce is chunky and adds extra texture and sweetness to the meal.  The sweetness is actually enough for me to again not order dessert.  This is a big step, especially at the Cheesecake Factory.

As mentioned earlier, this is a convenient restaurant that is more than sufficient when compared to many of the other big name chains out there.  The extra bonus of good desserts has me coming here multiple times throughout the project.  It is an easy call here, 3 of 5.


Pork chops - compare single cut to butterflied double cut at Cassarinos
 94 Providence Pl
Providence, RI 02903

Cassarinos Ristorante - @@@@

Wow, so it has been a long time since I last updated this.  I have still been eating, and I have quite a backlog of photos and restaurants to talk about.  Work has been pretty busy hence the sporadic postings.  As our work project moves towards the later stages, I should have more time to update this.  The write-ups will be shorter especially as I struggle to remember intricate details of the meals.  Luckily I have the main pictures to remember the many good meals I have had lately.

On Monday, April 18th, we went out to Cassarinos, another Italian restaurant in Federal Hill.  Of the 3 Italian spots that I have been to this project in Federal Hill, I liked this one the best in terms of food. 

Initially when walking into the restaurant, the 4 of us were sat at a smaller square 4-top table that I felt was much to close to the other tables.  It was as if all of the tables were smashed together to get the most inside the upper floor, even though they were not at capacity.  I did not like this as I felt on top of the other couple that was next to us.  You could definitely hear their conversation.

However once the food came, the mood changed.  I am sure some sort of appetizer was ordered though I cannot remember now.  I do remember my entree though and it was really good.  I got the boneless pork chop stuffed with proscuitto and mozzarella.  It was topped with a tomato basil cream sauce and gorgonzola cheese and served over fried potatoes.  I did not expect it to be so good, especially because it was a boneless pork chop.  I feel that the bone in pork chops adds much more flavor and does not dry out the meat as much.  I was especially worried because the pork chop was breaded which meant that the cooking time was going to be longer.  All of this was nullified when I got it because it was incredibly good.  All of the flavors blended well with each other and the cheese that it was topped with was really smooth and creamy.  Additionally the food was served very hot.  Like fresh from the oven hot which I loved.  Due to the density of the meal, the pork chop remained hot throughout the meal. 

Overall I had a really enjoyable meal at Cassarinos.  As mentioned previously, it was my favorite of the 3 Italian restaurants that I have been to on the Hill.  I give this meal a 4 of 5 and would definitely go back for another meal.


177 Atwells Ave
Providence, RI 02903