Union Station Brewery (Providence, RI)

 

On our way up to Sara's (of NYCNomNom) wedding last month, ABF & I made a few stops along the way. The first one: rain-soaked (and I mean SOAKED) Providence. We found a great deal on Hotwire for the Omni hotel, which was steps from Union Station Brewery. That location was crucial, because it was pouring so hard that night we almost had to swim there.
Union Station is a pretty large place, just a few steps below the sidewalk. They brew their own beers and have an impressive list.

I'm not really a beer person, so I started with a cocktail-- The Downcity Love Affair (a watermelon martini of sorts). It was good-- not too sweet, a nice bit of tartness. (Downcity is a historic neighborhood in Providence, FYI!)

ABF, however, ordered the Vanilla Bean Porter. I had one sip and just about flipped. This was creamy, vanilla-y, and almost chocolatey, too. This is the most delicious beer I've ever had, and I instantly decided I'd get one too (after I finished my martini-- waste not, want not)!

I started with the house salad (mixed greens, carrots, cucumber and grape tomatoes) and blue cheese dressing-- I wanted something reasonably healthy before I went all-out on vacation. This was fine, fresh and crunchy, good dressing, but it wasn't mind-blowing-- I would probably try something else next time.

ABF started with the chowdah, which came in a generous serving. This was delicious-- I had 2, maybe 3, bites of this. 

Definitely trumped my salad (when wouldn't chowdah trump salad?)

My main dish was the Union's Trio burger ($12.99), topped with fried cherry peppers, capicola, chipotle aioli, and pepper jack cheese.

This was juicy and tasty, more "well-done" than my requested medium, but good flavors. It could have been spicier, and would have preferred the cherry peppers not be fried, but it was quite yummy.

 
ABF had a house specialty, the Fish & Chips ($13.99), which was ale-battered white fish, cole slaw, fries, and zingy tartar sauce. He's a fish & chips fiend, and he really liked this. The fish had a nice, crunchy coating, and juicy insides.

Instead of a dessert, I opted instead for my own glass of that Vanilla Bean Porter. It was like a liquid dessert without even really being that sweet.

Our meal was tasty, the location was perfect, and I'd swim through another monsoon and back for another taste of that Vanilla bean Porter!

Union Station Brewery
36 Exchange Terrace #2
Providence, RI 02903
(401) 274-2739

Follow @Lkpnyc

Melon Margarita

I had a gorgeous, juicy cantaloupe that was going to be less than edible very soon. I knew I couldn't eat it all before it went bad, so I put the rest of it in a Ziploc and threw it in freezer to save for hot steamy day like today.

I had just enough tequila left for one margarita. I took a handful of frozen melon chunks right out of the freezer, dropped them into the blender along with the remaining tequila and a few glugs of sour mix.

A few whirls in the blender, just enough to puree the fruit, and my drink was ready to pour. It was frothy, icy cold from the fruit but not watered down because of any ice. It was the perfect cooling, refreshing drink for a hot summer day like today.

Cheers! 

Thalia (or That Time I Ate 5 Oysters!)

I went with a group of friends to Thalia, a Hell's Kitchen restaurant where they specialize in seafood. I heard we'd be indulging in oysters, which had me a bit apprehensive.

Texture-wise, oysters do not normally appeal to me. Fried? Sure! Raw and jiggling in their shell? Shudder! I would never discourage others from indulging, but I just never really "got" the appeal.

However, I do like to push myself to try and do new things now and then. I did mention my hesitation to my fellow diners, and they couldn't have been more encouraging and supportive!

Thalia offers $1 oysters (Chef's choice) from 7p-close, so we got 2 dozen Blue Points from New Jersey. They came with 2 portions of cocktail sauce (deliciously heavy on the horseradish) and a malt vinegar/shallots sauce.

I tried my first one, a small sample with a dollop of the cocktail sauce. Meaty, not slimy at ALL, and refreshingly tasty! THIS is something I could enjoy eating. In fact, I had 4 more! I hadn't eaten that many raw oysters in all my LIFE before then. Gold star for me!

We moved on to main courses- my entrée was the pappardelle with lamb ragu, ricotta cheese, broccoli rabe and mint - dusted with a nice layer of shredded Manchego cheese. Broccoli rabe is almost always a deal-breaker for me, as I'm not a fan of bitterness, but this was perfectly cooked, mild, soft and tasty!

My friend and former news colleague (I've left the biz-she's still in it and just won an Emmy!) ordered the squid ink capellini, which she loved. 

I sampled it- delightfully delicious with the perfect touch of the sea.

Thalia also has sushi, which looked delicious - I was already too full to try this, but everyone else raved about it.

 
We had excellent service, fun conversation, and the whole meal was a lovely time. I'm glad I finally popped in to the restaurant I've been walking by for so many years!

Thalia
828 8th Ave
New York, NY
(212) 399-4444

Follow @Lkpnyc

Palace of Wong

Palace of Wong has been on the Long Island restaurant scene since 1969, and it's been on my 'List' for about 4 years, when ABF moved just around the block from it. It reminds me of the restaurant featured in that scene from "A Christmas Story" where the family goes out for Chinese food (after the neighbor's dogs ruin their Christmas turkey!)

ABF's mom told us it used to be a fancy spot, where couples would get dressed up and meet for cocktails-- fun!

It's a lot more casual now, but the fancy drinks are still there and the prices are still decent.

I ordered a Zombie, a nod to ABF's love of shows like 'The Walking Dead,' and my love for things that taste like candy.

This drink is no joke-- several types of rum, including 151, and just one drink will have you feeling a little loopy. Deliciously loopy.

ABF Ordered the egg roll for his appetizer, and gamely shared a bite with me. Egg rolls don't normally float my boat per se, but this is one of the tastiest ever had. So tasty in fact, I went back for second bite.

His entrée also came with wonton soup. I just can't get into the wonton soup. I don't know if it's the texture, flavors, not liking the pork filling, but this just isn't for me. I didn't even bother tasting it, but ABF was very happy with it.

Palace of Wong actually has a section of the menu labeled for 'Indecisive People.' Yes, thank you, that's me! I went with the Empress, which is filet mignon and white meat chicken with mixed veggies. 

The filet mignon was perfectly cooked, medium, and the veggies were good, but I wasn't a fan of the brown sauce which clumped up a bit.

ABF ordered the cashew chicken, which was tasty, but not spicy at all (despite the warning pepper logo on the menu). The rice, which I normally ignore, was perfectly sticky and tasty. I liked his dish MUCH better than mine.

At the end of our meal we got the requisite fortune cookies (with a 'fortune' perfectly picked for me, even after just 1 Zombie drink), and some delightfully crunchy almond cookies. Those cookies were great!

Excellent Advice

Palace of Wong may have underwhelmed me with the entrées (not bad, just not GREAT), but the apps and drinks alone are reason enough to pop in for a bite...and a sip!

Palace of Wong
348 Sunrise Highway
Rockville Centre, NY 11570
516-764-3240

  Follow @Lkpnyc

Il Melograno

Someone once raved so long and so lovingly over Il Melograno (Italian for pomegranate) that I couldn't wait to try it. Okay, I waited a few years. I'm a busy person!
A friend I hadn't seen in some time was in town, and I thought I'd try a new spot for both of us (note: maybe never do that again). We walked right into Il Melograno for a 630p reservation. They offered us a two-top squeezed in right by the kitchen/entrance, which seemed a little busy, so I asked if we could have a table in the back (my second mistake). No problem!

Oh...hi, there!

It was only then that I noticed four men-- a quartet, if you will-- seated at the table right next to ours. We'd find out in about 10 minutes that this was the band playing. A foot from us. All through the meal.

Somehow over the din of the music, we managed to order. I got the special-- saffron-scented shrimp with garlic and arugula. Done. Divine. I'm not an over-the-moon-for-saffron sort. I get that it's difficult to harvest and therefore insanely expensive, but I still kind of don't get the fuss. However, the dish was fabulous, a modest but satisfying serving, and I was happy. I'm so mixing in some arugula next time I make pasta.

My friend TEN ordered the lamb ragu over freshly-made papardelle (flat, broad ribbons of pasta), with fresh peas dotting the landscape. Our pastas were tender, fresh, and wonderful.

TEN sitting very, VERY close to the band. 

The band was great, but my GOD was it loud. We had to read each others' lips and lean across our food to even hear some of our conversation. Definitely distracting, definitely not the relaxed, laid-back restaurant experience I was hoping to share with my friend!

We did enjoy our food, a bottle of wine, and even managed to laugh at the lunacy of sitting less than a foot away from a trumpet player. We were asked to leave our table at the end of our meal as they 'needed' it, and that just kind of threw me for a loop. Maybe someone loves that EXACT table? Who the hell would WANT to sit 2 feet from a gd trumpet? That ended our meal on a bitter note.

A girl & her pasta 

Something about this was just... off. Yes, the food was lovely. But the service and general atmosphere? Off. And off-putting. I'm not sure I'd go back.. maybe if I could sit as far away from the band as possible?

Il Melograno
501 W 51st St
New York, NY 10019
(212) 757-9290

Follow @Lkpnyc

Luke's Lobster (roll with it!)

Next week is an exciting one-- my friend That Sara (of NYCNomNom) is getting married in Maine! I love Maine, and all of New England, so I'm very excited for the trip.

ABF & I decided to get into the New England spirit a little early last night and finally hit up Luke's Lobster, just a 2 minute walk from the R train (and his office!)

It's a small space, but it was practically empty so we got the big table and started with some Maine Root sodas (similar to the ones we had last year at Scratch)

L-R Shrimp, Lobstah, Crab

There was no hemming & hawing on what to order-- we both wanted the Noah's Ark ($38), which is 3 rolls split for 2 people: shrimp, crab, and of course, lobstah (Sodas, potato chips, and crunchy/salty pickle included)!

Cravetastic Crab

I love a good lobster roll, and I like them simple-- just a little drawn butter and naturally sweet lobstah on a grilled, buttered hot dog bun. That's it. Luke's sticks pretty close to this, adding their own spice blend as well, and letting you add as much Sriracha as you want (deeeeeeeeelicious on all rolls). I added a zing or two of it in alternating bites.
And yet, as much as I love a delicious lobstah roll, the crab roll totally stole the show!
Normally crab seems like WAY too much work for too little meat, but at Luke's, they do all the hard work for you! And they top their perfectly toasted, perfectly buttered rolls with an impressive, satisfying amount of filling.

Our rolls came out quickly, and the Noah's Ark platter was a great way to sample a few bites of each seafood flavor. Yum. As much as I loved the crab, I think I'd still go back for a taste of all 3. But next week, lobstah rolls in Maine! And Rhode Island! And Massachusetts!

Luke's Lobster
26 S William St
New York, NY 10004
(917) 882-7516

Follow @Lkpnyc