Monday June 24, 2013 

L & B Spumoni Gardens  Since 1939

2725 86th street

Brooklyn, NY 11223

718-449-1230

What more can I say for a Monday night in Brooklyn except 

Spumoni Gardens. 

90 degrees and not a breeze in sight yet this famous landmark was packed to the gills inside and out. All outside tables were filled with locals loving the piping hot pizza. The Sicilian square pizza is spectacular and the spumoni is legendary. 

Do not expect great service because they are so busy the waiter actually came over to the table to apologize that he was so busy that he forgot to put our order in. 

From spectacular pizza to amazing heroes you can sit outside on picnic tables and here the bass of the cars as they drive by. 

 

 We sat in the inside garden room which is an all glass room adjacent to the street so we could view the comings and goings of all the locals who come for the atmosphere. 

The dish I had after I tasted a few slices of the amazing pizza was Fettucine Carbonaro. An unbelievable dish of pasta cooked perfect served with onion, garlic, and prosciutto and cream. This is what I had to take home because the portion was so huge. 
It doesn't help that I had to taste the Fried Calamari, small portion which was huge. The calamari was lightly fried but soft and tender inside. The sauce served with this is homemade and you can tell that the recipe is an old family tradition. 

If you are in mood for eggplant, I would definitely recommend the rolatini. Lightly breaded eggplant and ricotta rolled up and served with mamas sauce and cheese.
The portions are huge and the prices are reasonable. Come down here with the entire family on a Sunday afternoon and prepare to wait.

Is it worth the trip....... YES

Is it worth the price......YES

"The Dish With Dean" Says  

AMAZING for the entire family

Good Restaurant NYC

good restaurant
89 Greenwich Ave
NYC
212-691-8080      click for reservations or directions

                                       Saturday June 15, 2013 was a very eventful day. The Pows and skins were off on another amazing adventure. The find for our early evening dinner was a very nice place called good Restaurant located on Greenwich avenue is the West Village.
We were seated at a very nice end table on the sidewalk and the weather couldn't have been more perfect. Good food and great friends.

This restaurant is owned by Steven Picker who brings a passion for simple yet amazing food and presentation. All his ingredients are as fresh as the morning dew and cooked to perfection.he serves food to make people smile. The service that we experienced was better than most places I have been to in NYC.
We were never rushed and the pace of the courses was perfect.

 Our waiter quickly informed us that if we ordered before 7 o'clock, there was a 3 course price fix menu and it was only $25 pp.
That for us was a no brainer but of course I was concerned about the "count."
I asked the waiter if the portion of the price fix was the same as it was on the regular menu. He told us it was, so the four of us ordered off this menu.

I ordered the Herb Falafel, Feta and Romesco with flatbread, yogurt sauce and cilantro. As you can see in the picture this was amazing. Only wish I could have more.

Mr. Pow ordered the Chicken Liver Pancetta crustini with lemon, capers and parsley. He said it was amazing and I had to take his word because "The Dish" doesn't eat liver!

The Ladies both had the Harvest Salad which we shared. The ingredients for this salad which included roasted pear and pecans in an apple cider vinaigrette
along with baby lettuces and aged cheddar danced on your tongue.
Add a little shrimp or chicken and this could have been my dinner.

Speaking of dinner, all I can say is Bring the west coast to the east coast and this was what I found!

Two of the freshest tilapia fish tacos I have ever had. Some of the best fish tacos I had were in California and these were just as good if not better. I could actually close my eyes and hear the Pacific ocean. The red onion cabbage slaw and lime cilantro dressing just added to what could have been a tasty fish in a grilled tortilla all by itself. Accompanied by basil creamed corn, what could have made this dinner better. Stay tuned because I got yelled at for inhaling my dessert.

Mr. Pow and my wife both had the "Over Night Roasted Pork." This was served with asparagus and a walnut spaetzle. Once again this was not my favorite taste of the dinner. The pork reminded me of Mr. Pow's Pulled pork without his famous sauce. What saved this dish was the spaetzle. Offered the pork some flavor to enhance it. 

Now comes the best part of which I am not the biggest fan of.

Dessert

 

Fresh berries with fresh whipped cream and a delicious key lime pie set on top of a pistachio cake was delicious and presented beautifully.

On the right is what I had or should I say inhaled.  

This was a chocolate  mousse on top of a Peanut Mousse with crumbs and a scoop of vanilla gelato and a toasted marshmallow. Need I say more?

This is one place that I say find it no matter what. 

From "The Dish With Dean"

Enjoy