Thirty Acres

March 6, 2013

Thirty Acres is the brainchild of Kevin and Alex Pemoulie.  Open now approximately a year, it has become a place that even New Yorkers cross the river to visit.

Kevin has cooked at Craftbar (a fav of mine!) and Momofuku Noodle Bar.  His cooking is imaginative and flavorful, taking full advantage of seasonal fresh produce. The menu itself is relatively small, and changes frequently, with just enough selection of appetizers, pasta, small plates and dinner portions. 

Thankfully the dishes were all manageable in size and very reasonably priced, as we tried most of the dishes on the menu.

Not pictured, but was a hit with us was the Yellowfin Tuna with grapefruit, pickled shallot, jalapeno oil and cilantro.  The delicate balance of flavors was sublime, and the tuna positively melted in my mouth.  We also had the Pickled Mussels with hazelnuts and meyer lemon.  Again, yum.

Still working on appetizers, the next dish up was thinly slice Lamb Loin, with red wine egg yolk and black olives, yogurt, cumin and mint.

This is the chicken liver pate with blueberry jam and grilled brioche.  I found the bread a little bit too crumbly, and bit too thickly sliced. 

I uploaded this picture larger than usual because this was the star of the evening.  It was so good that we had to order another plate just so everyone at our table could have seconds.

This is the cured duck with blood orange, beets, ricotta, sichuan chili pepper and pistachios.  Again, this dish featured a crunchy nut that emphasized the texture and flavor of the duck.  My friend originally said that she didn't like duck except Peking Duck decided she really liked this duck after all!

Here are only two of the entrees we ate -- the lighting made it hard for me to take better pictures of other dishes.

 








The dessert specialty of the house are the lemon bars (which disappeared so quickly I didn't get a pic), but this chocolate mint tart was fabulous as well.  With coarse sea salt on top, what's not to like?






I've always been a huge fan of Jersey City restaurants ... now I have one more that I can eat at!  Almost makes living in NJ tolerable.



Thirty Acres

500 Jersey Avenue

Jersey City, NJ 07302

201-435-3100

http://thirtyacres.tumblr.com/

 

 

David Burke Kitchen

March 8, 2012


My dinner companion was late ..... so late that I had practically finished the bottle of 2008 Sartori Amarone at the bar! 

We had two appetizers -- Ants on a Log and Chicken Liver with pistachios.  Ants on a log is basically a roasted bone marrow, split in half, with escargot on top.  It actually does look like ants on a log!  The bone marrow was savory and delicious.  The chicken liver was served in a mason jar, with pistachios at the bottom on the jar.  It was delicious, though I felt that the pistachios could have been in the *middle* of the jar, rather than at the bottom, so that we got more of the nutty flavor as we went through the liver.

My friend and I shared a 55 oz porterhouse.  We should have guessed how big the steak would be when the waiter brought us steak knives in the shape of little cleavers! 

The steak is initially brought out for your approval, then taken away and the meat separated from the bone.  The whole thing is then brought back to you at the table, with the bone standing up....!

Our side order of french fries were served in a tiny little fry basket ... very cute.  And delicious, as the fries were speckled generously with fried jalapenos.

As delicious as our steak was, we left half half of it uneaten, as we could not resist the items on the dessert menu.  With items on the menu such as Ode to an Oreo and Frozen Peanut Butter Candy Bar, how could we not order dessert?  We were undecided about the red velvet cake, which the table next to ours ordered.  After questioning them (they did not seem overly enthused about it), we decided on the DIY Boston cream donuts.  The donuts came in a bowl, unadorned.  In separate bowls were cream, chocolate sauce, and sprinkles.  Oh boy, it was so much fun!  Definitely the right call.

David Burke Kitchen
23 Grand Street
New York, NY 10013
(212) 201-9119
http://davidburkekitchen.com/

Singapura!

April 10, 2012

Singapura opened in the Flatiron district on Sunday, April 8th.  Even though I had a lunch place in mind already for today, I could not resist going to try this restaurant named after my country!

The restaurant itself is very cute, with abacuses mounted on the walls at the entrance and along the length of the space.  The service was very attentive but not intrusive.  The waitress did not once rush us (even though we lingered long after she had cleared our dishes).  She stayed well out of range, and continued to refill our water glasses until we asked for a check.  The space is narrow and can quite chilly when the door opens.

Tables are lined along one side of the room, which the other side completely lined with booths.  That said, if you have a party of more than 2 people, sit on the side with the tables because the booths were very small and in my opinion, does not seat 4 normal-sized people comfortably. 

I had Lamb Rendang, and my companion had Sarawak Sambal Udang (Prawn).  While the prawns were nice and big, the dish was only slightly spicy and lacked the punch that is normally associated with a sambal stir fry.  The lamb rendang had too much sauce to be a proper rendang, and needed a bit more salt.

The restaurant itself is very cute, with abacuses mounted at the entrance and along the walls.  The service was very attentive but not intrusive.  The waitress did not once rush us (even though we lingered long after she had cleared our dishes).  She stayed well out of range, and kept refilling our water glasses, until we asked for a check.  The space is very narrow and can quite chilly when the door opens.  Tables are lined along one side of the room, which the other side completely lined with booths.  That said, if you have a party of more than 2 people, sit on the side with the tables because the booths were very small and in my opinion, does not seat 4 normal-sized people comfortably. 

All in all, not worth going back.  The menu did not have enough items to make it intriguing enough to return and the food lacked the depth of spice that is normally associated with singapore/malaysian/thai cuisine.  In my humble opinion, it's not unlike Chinese Mirch, which is a block away, and less tasty.  The menu does take allergies into account, as each menu category clearly states the ingredients that may be cause allergic reactions.

Singapura

106 Lexington Avenue

(betw. 26/27 Streets)

New York, NY 10016

212-684-6842

 http://www.singapuranyc.com/

Churchill Tavern

March 7, 2012


Churchill Tavern
45 East 28th Street (near Park Avenue South)
New York, NY


The Churchill Tavern opened in December 2011, and their kitchen opened mid-February.  After walking by several times, I decided it was high time to give it a try.

When you enter, you'd think you've stepped into a pub in London!  There are tall bar tables in the front of the restaurant, a great (though small) wooden bar, booths along one side of the space, with regular tables completing the look.  I was told that they are completing the 2nd floor, and there will be party space once that's ready.

Our waiter, while super friendly, was also super slow.  Our lunch took over an hour, even though we only spent about 15 minutes of that time actually eating.

I had a roasted beet salad with toasted hazelnuts with a creamy horseradish dressing and a Smuttynose IPA.  The dressing was yummy, the salad ($12) was small.  Come on guys, it's lettuce.  Heap it on for $12.  My friend ordered the pasta dish with bacon and brussel sprouts.  It looked so underwhelming I couldn't even get myself to taste it.

Bottom line:  I wouldn't mind going back for some after-work or Sunday beers, but I'll not be eating there again.