D.B. Bistro Moderne: Trendy and Good Food (New York Restaurant Review 2)

This was the trendy restaurant for our weekend in New York. It's not necessarily one we would have chosen, but the concierge was insistent, so we gave it a try. It was actually quite good. We started with a cheese plate with three different cheeses. One was a Vermont goat cheese, a second was a stinky French cheese, and the third was similar to a Brie. We really liked this course, particularly the goat cheese, which was very smooth. For appetizers, Lisa had a tomato tart, which had a distinctive tomato taste, and which she liked. Steve had the smoked salmon, which both Lisa and Steve enjoyed.

For the main course, Steve ordered the $29 deluxe hamburger, which came with cheese, tomatos, garnish, and delicious pomme frites. While it sounds overpriced, it is the signature dish on the restaurant's menu and Steve thought it was one of the best burgers he has tasted. It was a cooked a perfect medium rare and was very flavorful. Both Lisa and Steve loved the pomme frites, Lisa especially so because she was not as excited about her crab salad. The crab was very fresh and tasted fine, but she found herself wanting something more substantial. And salty.

We skipped dessert because we were planning to stop somewhere after seeing Jersey Boys (which was not as enthralling for us Midwesterners as it seemed to be for the east coast people, though the singing was excellent). We had wine by the glass -- a Bordeaux for Steve and a Shiraz for Lisa. In general, the restaurant's wine list was extensive, and the wines we had were quite good.

The total bill for two at D. B. Bistro Moderne, with wine by the glass and no dessert, was $150.00.

The bathrooms both were singles and were very clean and nicely decorated, but not outstanding.

Our rating for D.B. Bistro Moderne, 55 West 44th St. NY, NY:

8 of 10 Steak Knives; 2.5 of 3 Bathroom Brushes

La Grenouille in New York: Elegant Dining Experience (New York Restaurant Review 1)

Every summer, we spend a long weekend in Manhattan. One of our favorite parts of that weekend is to go to a "dining destination" type restaurant. This year, we picked La Grenouille and we loved it. We started with an amuse bouche, compliments of the chef. It was cucumber-watermelon gazpacho. Though not normally a gazpacho fan, Lisa really enjoyed the fresh cucumber taste mixed with watermelon, and she ate all of hers. Steve found it a bit out of his tasting range, and stopped after a sip.

Next, we had a cheese plate which contained three unidentified cheeses. Perhaps the management intentionally kept us in the dark because this course was the only mediocre one in an otherwise excellent dining experience. The appetizers picked up the pace. Lisa had lobster and saffron ravioli, which was good, though the saffron was a little strong. Steve, trying to match the order with the nature of the restaurant, had caviar (which he did share with Lisa) which we both loved.

For the main course, Lisa ordered the prime rib of beef special. The steak was a perfect medium rare throughout and Lisa thought it was among the best tasting red meat she's had. Steve loved the appearance but found it a bit lacking in taste. However, he loved his sirloin and short rib entree. The two steaks were perfect complements to one another.

For dessert, Lisa ordered rasperry chocolate torte, and Steve had an apple tart. The desserts were good, but not as good as the entrees. The chef also included complimentary petit fours and bittersweet chocolate nuts, both of which were very tasty.

We expected a fine wine list from a restaurant like La Grenouille and were not disappointed. We picked a Chateau Le Conseillante Pomerol. It was very smooth and a perfect accompaniment for the meat and cheese.

As would be expected, the bathrooms were excellent, but we can't give them a 3 because both had mirrored walls on all sides, which we found a bit jarring. But the bathrooms were impeccably maintained with nice fixtures.

Even though it doesn't sound from how we described each individual item that this was a stellar restaurant, the whole at La Grenouille was much better than the sum of its parts. Overall, this was one of the best dining experiences we've had. Part of that is the tranquil and sophisticated almost eastern European decor, the well-spaced tables, and the top notch, pleasant service. But the food also, as a whole, was superb, which it should be -- see below.

The total bill at La Grenouille was $900, with a bottle of wine costing $250, and a larger than necessary tip given our lack of prior research on how much one tips a captain and a waiter when tips for both are listed. (We looked on the Internet later and learned that the appropriate percentage is 5% for the captain and 15% for the waiter.) So, with wine by glass and a reasonable tip, it would have been about $600.

This is a classic dining experience, not a trendy New York spot, which is why we liked it so much. We highly recommend that anyone who wants elegant quality dining try La Grenouille.

Our rating for La Grenouille Restaurant. 3 E. 52nd St., New York, NY:

9 of 10 Steak Knives; 2.5 of 3 Bathroom Brushes

Joe's Seafood, Prime Steak and Stone Crab: True to Its Roots (Chicago-Area Restsaurant Review 17)

Joe's Seafood in Chicago is an offshoot of the original Joe's Stone Crab in Miami, and it shows. Lisa felt the stone crab portion of our appetizer was the by far the best part of the meal. Joe's Seafood is a very popular restaurant in the near-downtown Chicago area, so reservations are required, even for dining at 4:30 on a Sunday, which we did. But we feel the place is a bit overrated.

We started with a shellfish appetizer called the Second Mortgage. It included the stone crab, shrimp, lobster, and ceviche (which neither of us ate). Steve did not try the stone crab, but liked the shrimp and lobster. Though she loved the stone crab, Lisa thought the shrimp at Joe's not quite as good as Shaw's in Chicago, as it tasted a bit fishy, and the sauce was a little too tangy for her. She also did not care for the lobster. However, she's only liked lobster at two places -- one in Florida and one in Indiana.

At first, Lisa and Steve both planned to order the tomato, onion and blue cheese salad, because they like it so much at Wildfire, but the waiter recommended a similar salad with bacon, that he said tasted like a bacon, lettuce and tomato, so Steve ordered that. He wished he hadn't. The bacon was not crispy, and the blue cheese was not among the best he's tasted. Lisa thought he didn't miss too much, because the tomato, onion and blue cheese was a bit too oniony and sweet.

For main courses, we both had the bone-in fillet, medium rare. Steve loved it because it was deeply charcoaled, the way he likes, and perfectly medium rare. Lisa doesn't like charcoal flavor on steaks that much, but she thought the meat itself very good.

Steve had a banana cream pie slice for dessert and Lisa ordered chocolate cream pie (of course). The chocolate was so-so. Steve thought the banana cream at Joe's was slightly better than average.

It was hot outside, we broke from our tradition and ordered white wine. We each had a glass of Gewürztraminer, which was slightly sweet and very cool and good.

The bathrooms at Joe's Seafood were very nice. Lisa liked the Women's bathroom better than Steve liked the Men's because there were no towels in the Men's Room or else Steve couldn't figure out how to use the automatic towel dispenser. It took Lisa a few minutes to figure out how to use the one in the Women's Room, but it was very nice to have a hands-free dispenser. Also, the stalls were like small separate rooms, and both bathrooms were very clean.

Our total bill at Joe's Seafood was about $200 with wine by the glass.

Our rating for Joe's Seafood, Prime Steak and Stone Crab, 60 E Grand Ave., Chicago, IL:

7.5 of 10 Steak Knives (or Fish Hooks, if you prefer seafood) and 2.5 of 3 Bathroom Brushes

Tallgrass Restaurant: Inconsistencies Abound (Chicago-Area Restaurant Review 16)

Tallgrass Restaurant is very highly recommended, since it is at or near the top in the food category in Zagat's. We were definitely looking forward to a dining experience, and we got one. First, the restaurant is totally incongruous in its location, which is in a slum-like part of downtown Lockport. While there a few nice antique stores around, most of the area struck us as just scary, especially the biker bar, and the fact that you need to ring a bell to be let in to Tallgrass. Steve thought the decor did not particularly fit a destination restaurant, as it looked like a coffee shop to him, though Lisa liked the dark wood and booths.

Tallgrass' menu is extremely interesting because the diner gets to choose each course from any section of the menu and can opt for 3 - 5 courses. We started with a cheese plate, which contained a good variety of cheeses, but none of them was particularly distinctive. Also, there were not enough European cheeses. Next, we each had an Asian pear and blue cheese salad. Again, this course was okay, and we both like blue cheese, but nothing about it really stood out.

The next course was seafood. Lisa ordered a salmon plate with three types of salmon. Lisa liked the salmon mousse (which Steve also tried and didn't care for) and grilled salmon (which Steve also liked). The third salmon course was not very memorable (so we don't recall what it was). Steve ordered grilled ahi tuna, which he really liked, but Lisa didn't care for it. (To be fair, Lisa really only likes tuna tartare.) Our meat courses were short ribs and beef tenderloin, both of which were less than stellar and rather tasteless.

For dessert, Lisa ordered the Tallgrass tower, which included flourless chocolate cake, raspberries, and chocolate garnish. The garnish was dark chocolate and very good, but the cake was a little disappointing. It didn't taste much different than a store bought cake. Steve was torn between several choices, and unfortunately picked the worst. He had the puff pastry selection of the month -- blueberry -- accompanied by a caramel sauce. Steve really likes caramel, which is why he chose this, but the blueberry/caramel combination doesn't work.

The wine selection at Tallgrass was limited and concentrated on American wines, with very few European wines to choose from, which also is kind of incongruous for a restaurant like this. We ordered a California Zinfandel, which was good. But it would have been more fun had there been a bigger selection.

The total bill at Tallgrass was about $350 with a bottle of wine. It would have been around $275 with wine by the glass.

The bathrooms both were a bit small, but were very clean, smelled nice, and were nicely decorated.

Our overall rating for Tallgrass Restaurant, 1006 S. State Street. Lockport, IL:

6 of 10 Steak Knives (don't go here expecting a true destination dining experience, which is why you should read our blog, and not just Zagat's before choosing a restaurant) and 2.5 of 3 Bathroom Brushes