MAINE FISH MARKET RESTAURANT

60 Bridge Street

East Windsor, CT

860*623*2281

This past weekend "The Dish" went on another road trip with Mr. and Mrs Pow. On Saturday evening we fell upon this "unbelievable" local restaurant located in East Windsor, Ct. This restaurant should not be taken lightly because not only is it a full service restaurant but it is also a fish market that you can purchase the fresh local catch by the pound.

   If you love seafood then as quoted from their website, 

"Then reward yourself with a trip to Maine." 

As we always do we make friends with our server and the fun begins. This young man's name was "JJ" and when asked he told us that another person had the same first name so he called himself "JJ."

Just a note that all entrees are accompanied by a house salad of which 3 of their dressings are house made. The creamy garlic, the blue cheese and the raspberry vinaigrette.

 We ordered the New England clam chowder and although some places put the emphasis on the potatoes, this was clearly a creamy clam delight. 

Mr. Pow and myself decided that the coconut shrimp looked amazing on another table so we had to indulge in those as well. I think they looked better on our table.

As you can see by the picture, the house salad was presented well and had all the trimmings necessary to create the start of a fantastic dinner.

Now as we proceed onto the entrees, I will save mine for last so you can clearly understand why I enjoyed this restaurant. 

Let's start with Mr. Pow who ordered a fried combo of Sole and Bay Scallops.

 Accompanied by a baked potato, Mr. Pow had an absolute pleasure eating this dish. The Scallops were sweet as sugar and not in the least bit chewy. They melted in your mouth and the light dusting that held their flavor was not at all greasy. The Filet of Sole was moist and tender and coming from the fish market, was very fresh.

 

Mrs. Pow had an amazing Surf and Turf consisting of a more than sufficient piece of broiled Salmon paired with an equally seasoned rib eye steak. Together the two little darlings tasted like heaven on a platter. The Salmon was prepared with a light seasoning of lemon and olive oil and cooked to perfection. I am not usually a fan of ordering a steak unless I know it is going to be a thick cut of meat that is charred on the outside and pink in the center. However I asked Mrs. Pow her thoughts on this well presented steak and she said it was soft and cooked exactly the way she asked for it. Not at all tough and really complimented her salmon.

 

              

 

My wife had the Stuffed Sole and when asked what the stuffing was, JJ proceeded to offer her the actual ingredients. Kidding around with him, we told him he was revealing the "family recipe."

Her reaction to these two pieces of fish was priceless. The Stuffed Sole was presented as shown and was stuffed with an amazing portion of real Crabmeat and not imitation sea legs as some other places tend to offer. The Crabmeat was mixed with chopped Sea Scallops and "Ritz Crackers" as a filler. After my professional tasting, the "Ritz Crackers" were minimal and the blended seafood really was the main ingredients in this stuffing. Once wrapped into the Sole, they were broiled and served piping hot with a lemon garnish. 

OK now for the entree "The Dish"chose.

 This selection was a 2lb Steamed Lobster that in my humble opinion was one of the 

best lobsters I have ever eaten.

There was a place mat on the table with directions on how to eat a Steamed Lobster and at some point in my life I think I wrote those instructions.

After carefully removing the claws and splitting the Lobster down the center, I proceeded to pull off each succulent little leg, suck them dry and eat the body meat. Sweet and tender as I expected. 

Next came the claws which I devoured every little morsel. even utilized a tooth pick to get to the very fine areas.

Now you may think all of this took a short time but if you ask anyone who has ever been present while I eat a Lobster, this is a very meticulous process for me. It is clearly an art that I developed from my Mother and I am sure she is very proud of me.

Last but not least came the tail and that was some tail.

Now I am going to share rare footage shot by Mr. Pow and I did not know he was videoing this so close. Just a little humor from "The Dish"

Keep in mind this is not edited.

       
This is what the Lobster looked like when I was finished

Anyone who is close to East Windsor and wants 

             to enjoy this experience, be sure to visit 

                      Maine Fish Market Restaurant

     For Service and food this place is a definite 4 stars
                  This is the link to the website

Maine Fish Market restaurant 

 
                     

 I hope you enjoy this as much as I did!

All the best from

"The Dish With Dean"

 

19 Strong Avenue
Northampton, MA  01060
(413) 586-3347

The Dish With Dean had the wonderful pleasure of visiting Northampton, Ma. this past week and for the second time felt the pang of hunger to visit Eastside Grill.

Located in the Pioneer Valley in an amazing town called Northampton, this gem of a restaurant exhibits the true feeling of warmth and quality that made me return for more. 

First recommended by Stollie and "The Hick man", I can honestly say that this place is 

"Top Notch" 

This amazing find celebrates the joining of New England and New Orleans all under one roof. From the home made chowders to the home made salad dressings, everything is fresh and created from the finest ingredients. 

Our Server was Matt and on this occasion he was very helpful in the choices he offered to me. Not your typical server who looks to upsell a menu for the benefit of the restaurant. On the contrary, I don't think the cost of the dish came into effect here but the fact that he wanted our experience to be a lasting one. 

Starting out with a cup of lobster corn chowder, I was shocked that the chunks of fresh lobster were not just small chopped up pieces and I did in fact have a lobster in every bite. The soup was a chowder consisting of corn and potatoes along with the lobster layered in a light pink broth tasting of sherry but not creamy or heavy. 

The other appetizer chosen or suggested to us was the Louisana fried oysters.  

Crisp yet light cornmeal dusted oysters served with chipotle tartar and bearnaise dipping sauces. 

These little darlings were so moist and tender that I could have ate them as an entree if there were more of them. 

All entrees are accompanied by a house or ceaser salad.

The house dressing is a gorgonzola vinaigrette that is just the right amount of zip from the gorgonzola and a perfect tang from the vinaigrette. The house salad is a mix of mesclun greens with red onions and cucumbers. Ask for tomatoes and like our server, Matt, you will receive a beautiful display on a plate of sliced tomatoes garnished with chopped green onion.

  My dinner was a recommendation from Matt. I had the tournedos of beef tenderloin smothered in mushrooms and smoked bacon, finished with a truffled brandy demi glaze and perched on top of grilled asparagus and buttermilk mashed potatoes and topped with fried onion strings.

This description says it all. It was amazing!

My wife had another special dish that was directly from the 

New Orleans side of the map.

She had a blackened mahi mahi served with a strawberry salsa. The heat from the fish along with the sweetness of the fresh salsa actually did a tango on your tongue. Visiting this local treat was sure a treat for "The Dish"

I am so looking forward to going back. 

After dinner the town is a must to walk through. It is one of the best artsy type towns that I have ever been to. 

Locals playing music on the street and little art galleries that take your breath away. From what I heard this town boasts about the musical performers it hosts at the 

Iron horse Music Hall 

and

Calvin theater.

    

Masterpiece!

Enjoy 

"The Dish With Dean"

 

THE HARVEST

On Fort Pond 

Montauk, NY

631-668-5574

One of Montauks top restaurants is The Harvest located just down the block from Johns Drive in on S. Emery Street.

This is one of "The Dish's" favorite restaurants and a must visit when you are in Montauk. I must tell you that service is not always the best in season but this trip over the July 4th weekend was amazing. 

           A very special shout out to our waitress Courtney for being able to make sure that our dinner was served correctly and the chosen dishes were perfect in every way!

            

               For those of you who have never been here, the food is served in very large portions and can serve many people. We usually start off with a salad and pasta and then a main dish. The pizzas are also a very good choice for an appetizer. 

              Tonight we were dining with 11 of us and both of the other families, the Yellies and The Blacks had never experienced this. All agreed that I would order and my first choice was grilled portabello mushroom and crispy goat cheese salad with mixed greens. We also ordered a Ceasar salad for some who wanted it. 

             After discussing our options with Courtney our server she suggested 2 appetizers and 2 pastas as well as 2 entrees.

Next up in the line up was a huge bowl of lamb ribs. She told us that they were charred and a bit fatty. She said that folks either loved them or hated them. Mr. Yellie was clearly adamant that he wanted them so we ordered one order. 

A huge bowl came out and all 11 of us clearly devoured the entire bowl. I personally ate 12 of these little darlings. They were amazing to say the least. 

For our second appetizer we had a huge bowl of mussels in a white wine and garlic broth. Very good for dippage. The mussels were small and tender and not at all chewy. 

 

                Next up came the pasta and I do have my favorite pasta dish here so that was a must. It is farfalle with sausage, peas and parmesan. This dish has crumpled pieces of sausage along with baby peas and a light but creamy parmesan sauce. This is a must order no matter what.

The second pasta came as a huge surprise to me because I am usually not one to try specials on a menu and I always stick with what's recommended by my server. 

This pasta dishas you can see looks as good as it tasted. So much so that I ate the leftovers cold on the beach the next day for lunch. Fusilli pasta was served just perfect with the right amount of bite. Accompanied by the most succulent and plump scallops, that were grilled lightly and tossed with some red peppers and green onions. The dish was so simple yet elegant. A light but distinct tomato and garlic sauce that you could not resist. Remember that leftovers and doggie bags are a must because you want to be sure to taste all that this heavenly jewel has to offer.

                    Entrees were next and we chose a tried and true favorite. The 16 ounce skirt steak served grilled on top of arugala, red onion, manchego with a dollop of roast garlic tomato butter. 

I am getting hungry just thinking of this because I had the left over piece on the beach with that wonderful pasta the next day. 

                  Not wanting to leave this dish out, we had to have the Montauk striped bass which was served over a bed of mashed potatoes. The fish was grilled to perfection, soft and moist. The mashed were most definitely fresh and added a nice compliment to the fish. 

Reservations are a must and can be made 1 week to the day prior to your scheduled arrival. 

DO NOT WAIT AN EXTRA DAY OR THE PLACE WILL BE BOOKED UP SOLID! 

One alternative is to sit on the patio which is usually our choice if the weather cooperates. 

 

On your way back to town, remember to stop at John's Drive-in for some ice cream. 

Enjoy from

"The Dish With Dean" 

 

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

                                                                                                                                  April 20, 2013
Ukrainian Restaurant in Brooklyn, NY
This restaurant is BYOB. 

The Dish with Dean had an amazing weekend with six great friends. Mr. Mark always comes up with something special and when he said he found an Eastern European jewel in the heart of Brighton Beach, he wasn't kidding.
         From the drive into Brooklyn until the time we parked the car, I was excited. I know this place was the smaller location than the other one, so having an intimate dinner was something worth waiting for. 
The menu is amazing, on one side it is in English and the other side it is in Russian.   
           We started our dining experience with old world favorites such as chicken soup with kreplach and Ukrainian Borscht with pampushka (a delicious garlic pastry). Mark had the split pea soup with bacon which was amazing on the palate. 
            Next we ordered a large ( and I do mean large) variety of different dumplings. 
             Pelmeni (photo below) are light small stuffed dumplings which are made with a very thin dough. We ordered the veal and they were fantastic. 
 
 We also ordered the larger dumplings Vareniki. They are hand made and stuffed with a variety of fillings.
VARENIKI
(Ukrainian handmade dumplings)
Potato Vareniki………….7.00
Meat Vareniki………….7.50
Cabbage-stuffed Vareniki………….7.50
Vareniki stuffed with salted farmer cheese………….8.00
Vareniki stuffed with sweet farmer cheese………….8.00
Vareniki stuffed with sour cherry………….8.00
Vareniki stuffed with potato and mushrooms………….8.00
“Kuban’ ” Vareniki stuffed with mozzarella cheese and dill………….8.50
Vareniki stuffed with mushrooms and onions………….9.00
Vareniki are traditionally served with sour cream
 We enjoyed the potato ones and the meat ones. The portions were large enough for all 6 of us to share and we still hadn't ordered our dinners yet.
     I had to have an old time favorite, Beef Stroganoff. My Wife had a Lamb Kebab. Mark had the Pork Cutlet. My Other friend had the veal liver smothered in onions. all dishes come with Buckwheat Kasha, Mashed Potatoes, French Fries or Rice. 

          Each dish was better than the other. I took the Kasha I ordered as my side and poured it all over the Beef Stroganoff. It was amazing. 
My friend who had the veal Liver said it was the best liver he has ever had. (Don't tell his Mother) 

                This is a must visit place 

Check out their videos

Enjoy from

"The Dish With Dean"

   

Perfecto Mundo Latin Fusion Bistro

Food ***

Service ***

Price $$-$$$  

 1141-1 Jericho Turnpike
Commack, New York 11725
( Northgate Shopping Center )

 631 864 2777 

On april 5, 2013 "The Dish with Dean" had the pleasure to celebrate the very special birthday of a very special friend. Her very lucky husband chose a familiar place. Perfecto Mundo in Commack. I had only been here on one occassion previously and was not very impressed. 
On this special occasion I was very impressed. The first visit I had here was shortly after they had opened and I guess they had to get the kinks out.

What I will say is that when you close a restaurant for this many people, anything can happen.

The menu chosen for this party couldn't have been more perfect.

A large plate of Nachos were placed on each table and they were amazing. Not at all soggy considering they had more than ten tables to serve with a minimum of 8 at each table. The dish came out hot and full of chopped ground beef and melted cheeses and the right amount of jalapeno peppers to create a nice heat to the chips. 

 

Next out comes an amazing Ceasar salad served in a tortilla bowl. The salad had the perfect amount of dressing and the Romaine lettuce was cold and fresh. Served with a corn and black bean salsa. Next came out a dish of mussels with salsa and spices that the broth was dippage worthy with the bread available on the table. 

 The next appetizer to arrive was one of the best variations of fried calamari I think I have ever had.

 

Served in a light chili glaze that had the just the right amount of sweet and spice.   

The entrees being offered were a chicken dish, a talapia, a skirt steak and a Paella. The general consensus was that the best dish was the talapia. The fish was cooked perfectly. Chipotle-orange bbq glazed tilapia served with black thai rice and two cabbage slaw. 

I had the paella which I found to be filled with fresh shellfish and sausage. The safon rice was moist and bursting with flavor. 

The chicken dish was slightly dry and left nothing to the imagination.  

Of course the party would not be complete without birthday cake. 

With a full open bar and great sangria, the party was a complete success and with the amazing staff at Perfecto Mundo, the service was wonderful. Never was a water glass left empty and my wine glass was always full. 

Portions here are well balanced and you will not leave hungry.

Anyone looking to have a celebration should consider 

Perfecto Mundo

 

From "The Dish With Dean"

Enjoy!