tommy:eats

Four Seasons: Nevis, West Indies

While visiting cities and countries and spending 10 days walking around and exploring cultures and sites is certainly fulfilling, sometimes we just want to sit on a beach.  We'll generally alternate between what we call "beach vacations" and "cultural vacations."  In September of 2012, the t:e organization was looking for a beach vacation.

In the running was Mexico and, of course, one of the many islands in the Caribbean.  The missus had visited Nevis some years back and had a wonderful experience at the Four Seasons resort. My arm did not need twisting. 

First things first: you just thought "what is Nevis?"  Or, you knew right away.  It's that type of place. Small. Off the beaten path. And very friggin' awesome.

We flew from New York to St. Kitt's, where we were met by a car service and whisked off to the Four Seasons ferry that would take us directly to the resort on Nevis. I highly recommend this method of arriving at the resort. There's something very relaxing about pulling up to a dock at a resort, rum punch already in hand. 

On the way from St. Kitt's to the Four Seasons Nevis.

Closing in on the resort. What you see is almost the whole island.

Arriving

Our room was not yet ready when we pulled up to the dock, so we pulled up a bar stool (shocker) at Cabana, the casual beach/pool bar/restaurant, where we would be spending a lot of time this trip. The cocktail list leans toward islandy drinks, and I was fine with that.  

A clear abuse of shallow depth of field. I should be embarrassed.

'Nevisian Smile' - think Pina Colada, but you're sitting next to a volcano in Nevis.

We ordered a tuna nicoise, and what would quickly become a favorite dish: conch with pickled vegetables.  This dish is fantastic.  Tender conch, with pickled cucumber, some sweet peppers, a bit of fresh herb.  The "broth" was briny, not much unlike the liquor from an oyster (liquor is the best part of the oyster eating experience).  I ordered this dish every day. And so should you.

The Four Seasons has two basic rooms (and, of course, rooms that I can't afford). Some face Nevis Peak, and some face the water. We chose the Nevis Peak view, knowing that we'd be upgraded since it was off-season and we booked through American Express, and were very pleased with the ocean view. But I can certainly see the allure of waking up to the majesty of Nevis peak every morning. 

There are several buildings, some of which are in front of pools.  You might consider requesting the buildings that aren't, and request a second floor room, for additional privacy.

There are three pools, including an adults-only pool.  Some basic water sports are available right at the resort, and some decent snorkeling.  Lots of fish and lobsters and sea turtles.  Not the greatest clarity when the sun is behind the clouds, but certainly good enough snorkeling for hobbyists. 

Adults only pool

The golf course is supposed to be pretty good (at the very least, the views are spectacular), but since I don't play I didn't care.  We did, however, spend hours on the golf course, taking pictures of monkeys.  There are monkeys all over the island, much to the chagrin of Nevisians, and a shit load on the Four Seasons golf course. I highly recommend taking a walk up to the back nine to check them out.  They're a funny lot, and if you're vaguely interested in wildlife, they will be sure to keep you entertained for hours. Since it's a decent walk to the back 9, you might want to go to the pro shop and tell them you're going to the driving range so you can get a cart.  It'll cost a few bucks, but it's worth the convenience.  Conversely, you can ask the front desk to have someone bring you up.  Getting back, obviously, is a bit trickier, but at least it's downhill.  Did I mention it's as hot as b*lls in September? Bring water.

Golf

If you're like me, you might also spend hours on the beach taking pictures of crabs and birds and the random dog that might make its way onto the beach.  

The beach in front of Sunshine's, Lime, and Chevy's, just down the beach from the Four Seasons.

View from the room

Back to the food...

Porta Pizza: Asbury Park, NJ

Oven at Porta

Porta intrigued me from the first time I saw the spray painted sign announcing its opening.  Odd indeed, I thought.  

Over the course of the next few months, the word was getting out: Porta is making some very good Neapolitan style pizza (and, apparently, incredible octopus).  I found this to be the case during my few visits.  

Funky stuff at Porta

It's a funky place, in a warehouse looking space, decorated with some doors (porta, in Italian), with picnic table communal seating (tables made from reclaimed wood from the building, I'm told). Concrete floors, exposed HVAC and ceiling joists.  My kind of minimalist thing overall.

Octopus at Porta

First the octopus. Rarely does anything live up to the accolades that you read on the internet. Let's face it, most people are idiots. Most people don't have very much experience with food to know good from bad, interesting from boring, exceptional from commonplace. But those idiots who gushed about the octopus were right (no offense intended, idiots).

Fatty Crab: New York City, NY

A favorite hobby of mine is waking up on a weekend and hopping into the city for lunch. This is a way better hobby than getting up and, say, working out.  Unfortunately, the prejudices of others conspire to keep us away from lunch menus on weekends.  See, for some reason, on weekends, restaurants feel the need to abandon the food that makes them successful, the food which is the manifestation of the chef's vision, the food that makes them stand apart from their competitors, the food that people rave about on blogs, and instead of making that food, they're making freakin' pancakes and eggs and yogurt with granola.  Oh, and they mix sparkling wine and orange juice.

This clearly drives me up a wall, and makes our weekend dining decisions that much more complex and time-intensive.

Thankfully there are a few (well, thousands probably) restaurants that will serve decent, non-brunch food in NYC, including Blue Smoke, North End Grill (both being Danny Meyer restaurants...I guess he knows what he's doing), and as we found out last weekend, Fatty Crab.

Bikini Girl Margarita: Taste test

The saturation/color in this photo were not exaggerated

Gotcha, didn't I.  After taste testing the Skinnygirl margarita, you don't really expect me to put this stuff in my mouth, do you?

This Bikini Girl Margarita caught my eye at Bottle King last week.  Not because it looked interesting, but because it was glowing.

201 Magazine: Best of Bergen 2013

201 Magazine, the big, glossy magazine that you see in grocery stores (or in the mail...they seem to send it to people for free in addition to selling it), released their yearly readers poll. It's sprinkled with "Editor's picks" and "Celebrity picks."  I'm not sure I care what these folks have to say about restaurants, but I guess their opinion is neither better nor worse than that of any random person.

Either way, as usual, many of the restaurant picks are wrong, or just bizarre.

As I sometimes do, I'm going to put on my smug curmudgeon hat and provide the correct answers here, for you.

Vieux Carré: cocktail

Vieux Carré

Oh what a romatic story it would be, telling you that I fell in love with the Vieux Carré during a trip to New Orleans, sipping away the evening in some neighborhood bar just off of Jackson Square.  The reality is most of my trips to Nola occurred at a time when I was more inclined to drink frozen drinks and cheap beer on Bourbon Street, stumbling into tiny bars with tiny blues and jazz bands, rather than exploring the city's history through its cocktail culture.  The additional reality is that I didn't know about this cocktail until I was doing some research for a New Orleans themed party we were throwing just a few years ago.  The result, regardless, is the same: there's one in my glass.

One of the Christmas presents under the t:e organization's tree this year is a great little cocktail book call "Old Man Drinks."  This was a gift from, well, my old man.  A perfect and thoughful gift.  The first, if I'm keeping count, but we don't.  Thumbing through it tonight (yesterday) I was reminded of the Vieux Carré, so off I went to the liquor cabinet (more commoly known collectively as the garage, the basement, and the pantry) to find the 6 ingredients in the damned thing.

It's an odd cocktail in that it boasts two base spirits: rye and congac.  On top of that oddity it's got almost an equal amount of sweet ingredients to those base spirits: sweet vermouth and Benedictine.  Thankfully 4 dashes of bitters help to bring it all together, and add a much needed bite.  

Most of the recipes you'll find online and in books are consistent in the ratios, which generally go a little like this:

• 1 ounce rye
• 1 ounce cognac
• 1 ounce sweet vermouth
• 0.5 ounce Benedictine (if not a bit less)
• 2 dashes Peychauds bitters
• 2 dashes Angostura bitters

Stirred, served over fresh ice in a rocks glass.

There is of course a similarity to a Manhattan, but this drink is a bit more complex, what with the extra stuff, and no doubt better served, served on the rocks.  In fact dilution is this cocktail's friend. Benedictine and sweet vermouth both have a somewhat syrupy quality to them.  Hell, even congnac, for my palate, is a bit too sweet to be sipped neat.  I applaud those who enjoy that stuff, but it's just as well I don't, given the price-points.  A good amount of dilution tamps down the sweetness level of this drink.  It's a cocktail you can sip over the course of an hour and not have to worry about ending up with a watered down drink.  It improves with age.

On a cold winter night, this cocktail really hits the spot.  Come to think of it, New Orleans is as hot as balls, so I'm not sure why this thing even came to be.  Knowing that, I suppose, is for people who read books. 

If there's a point to this post, it's: drink less, and better.  The real point was to post a picture with this 50mm lens, regardless of the photo's flaws.  I'll figure out photography one of these days. 

Sunshine's Beach Bar and Grill: Pinney's Beach, Nevis

Table with a view at Sunshine's, overlooking the compound   

Sunshine's website says "no visit is complete without a stop in at Sunshine's where you can meet the legend himself, Sunshine."  I think they're right.

The colorful little shack call Sunshine's is located on Pinney's beach just south of the Four Seasons resort on Nevis.  In a compound which also includes Lime and Chevy's.  No doubt you've heard this a million times if you've looked for info on Sunshine's.  I suspect the rest of this report will sound familiar as well, but that won't stop me.

Sunshine's interior.  Casual and comfortable, much like Nevis.

My expectation was that I'd be going to Sunshine's for their famous rum cocktail called "The Killer Bee."  I did not realize that the food is outstanding as well.  But first those Killer Bees...

Liberty House Restaurant: Jersey City, NJ

Probably some of the nicest outdoor seating you'll find in New Jersey.  I mean, what a view.  But is there anything worthwhile beyond that view?  Our first visit suggested that there could very well be a decent restaurant here.

It sure doesn't hurt having Chef Kenny Trickilo running the show. I've been a fan of his since his days at Bistro 55, back in its heyday. 

It looks like the chef brought along some of his dishes, including the duck confit grilled cheese sandwich, and the roasted garlic with blue cheese.  Unfortunately that great pork chop didn't make its way over to Liberty House.

The beausoleil oysters were perhaps in the top 5 of all oyster experiences of my life.  Beausoleil are typically briny, bright, clean tasting oysters, and these were no exception.  They were chilled, but not too cold, and all of that beautiful liquor was still in the shell instead dumped into the ice.  Absolutely outstanding, and if this serving was any indication of how they treat their oysters at Liberty House, it could certainly be my go-to place for sauvignon blanc and oysters in the summer months. 

A friend ordered the soup special, which was a cold melon soup of some sort.  Refreshing, but a bit too sweet for his taste.  It would have been fantastic in a glass with 3 ounces of gin, however.

She's a delicate little flower, ain't she.

Tuna tacos came 4 to an order.  Raw tuna with seaweed and spicy mayo.  Perfectly acceptable, although I'd prefer the tuna flavor and texture to be more pronounced. 

The burgers were ordered m/r and came out a bit more on the medium side.  They were also not very juicy.  Other than that, they were acceptable, and served with a good, light fluffy bun, and very sweet  pickles.  I have a feeling if cooked a bit less, these could be really super burgers. With one of the two burgers ordered, we subbed sweet potato fries for the cottage fries, both of which where exactly what they needed to be.

One of my favorite dishes at Bistro 55 was the duck confit grilled cheese.  This was just a fantastic sandwich.  Thick country bread stuffed with brie and duck.  The version at Liberty House didn't impress as much.  I'm not sure if it was different in some way, or it was just off for some reason.  It was fine, don't get me wrong, but not as good as I remember from my Bistro 55 days.

The cocktail list is certainly a step up from most cocktail lists, which sadly seem to focus on flavored vodkas and overly sweet concoctions, suitable for college parties more than serious contemplation.  This list does the same to an extent, but also has more tequila than you'd think, and fresh lime juice, which is fine by me.  However, a few of the drinks came out a bit too sweet, even though we stressed that we wanted unsweetened fresh lime juice.  Next time we'll sit at the bar (bar dining is almost always preferable), and provide some additional oversight and instruction. 

The selection of wines by the glass is robust and broad.  You'll not have to choose between 3 California chardonnays and a pinot grigio as you do at too many restaurants.  Sancerre, prosecco, sauvignon blanc from 3 continents, riesling, albarino, malbec, tempranillo all make an appearance by the glass.  Lots of food-friendly choices here.  Bravo, Liberty House.

The beer list is essentially non-existent.  Boo, Liberty House.  I'd like to see some craft beers filling the list here. 

The view really is wonderful.  The outdoor seating is comfortable and cosy. I got the feeling I was on vacation, what with this out-of-the-way location and magical setting.

Overall Liberty House really impressed me.  We're looking forward to returning.  And if you're planning an event, have it at Liberty House, and invite me.

Make sure you get the outdoor tables that don't have this view.

Liberty House Restaurant : 76 Audrey Zapp Drive : Jersey City, NJ : 201.395.0300

 

Napa Valley Grille in Paramus: Closed

Napa Valley Grille, in Paramus's Garden State Plaza, closed its doors yesterday, apparently very suddenly, and presumably for good. 

The chain, which is going through some downsizing, is down to just two restaurants, according to its website. 

I happened to pop into Napa Valley Grille this past Saturday.  And I wasn't going to go back, because it was just a mess.

I can't say anything about the food, because we left before ordering.

I can say that the staff seemed to be preoccupied with themselves, rather than making sure their guests were happy.  A cocktail listed on the menu as having El Jimador (a 100% agave tequila) was about to be ruined with some crappy mixto, until I noticed called it off.  The bartender said that they were out of El Jimador, and then the other bartender interjected "just use Cuervo."

No, don't "just use Cuervo".  It's crap, and I don't want it. 

"We never have El Jimador.  I should probably tell the manager to take it off the menu."

Yeah, probably.

Neither seemed to understand the difference between these tequilas, nor did they care to.

Let's hope whoever buys that liquor license has sense enough to train their staff. 

2011: Tasty reasons to be thankful

We here at t:e headquarters are very thankful for everything at Chengdu 23.  Even the dopey flowers.

2011 wasn't a terribly active year in t:e posts, but make no mistake, food was eaten, spirits were stirred, and finds were found. 

Looking back at the past year, here are some things that the t:e army of editors is very thankful for...