Cheeseboy, Palisades Mall, Nyack, NY

Here's a brilliant idea if ever I saw one. I hope it works out well because whoever came up with this is a genius. What it is is total simplicity making comfort food. They make grilled cheese sandwiches, many varieties thereof, and tomato soup out of a mall kiosk. 

I had the special of the month, featured above, which is an Italian sandwich for five bucks. Grilled cheese, basil, pepperoni and tomatoes on Italian bread. The whole thing is done in a press (not a panini press as there are no grooves) so the grease goes away. Good sandwich. Next time I'll try the soup too.

Like I said, sheer genius. Maybe I'll open a peanut butter and jelly restaurant, but it's probably been done already. They have a website for information, menu and locations, as well as philosophy and philanthropy. 

Lakeview House, Newburgh, NY

One of the fun things about  travelling to visit the grandchildren is that we  discover some interesting places and have some great food. Sometimes we don't have to travel far to find a treasure,  like the Lakeview House on Orange Lake in Newburgh, just a few miles from our back door.

We've been meaning to stop for quite a while and I've heard rave reviews of the duck, but we just never got around to it. That all changed when were there with a few friends to celebrate the retirement of one of them and the meal was the gift of her financial consultant. A free meal with old friends (we've known them for over thirty years) at a nice restaurant that I've wanted to try? Perfect.

The inside has a warm sort of 1940's feel to it with plenty of wood, tin ceilings, and windows overlooking the lake. There is a patio as well for warm weather dining. I recommend the Lake Room if you are there at sunset. They do have a large beer and wine selection, but most of the beers are lagers or German beers (sadly no IPA, stouts other than Guinness or porters). The waitress kept bringing me samples of a few beers to get me to find one I liked, but I stuck with water. I do like the fact that she tried though. In fact the whole restaurant was accommodating as one of our party has food allergies and they prepared his dish exactly as he asked. Another asked for her dish done a bit different for dietary reasons and they did so.

I started with the escargot au Provence. Sorry, no picture since I forgot I had the camera with me. The snails were cooked in butter, garlic, parsley, parmesan and some type of wine or vermouth that added a delightful flavor note. That was followed by a small salad with gorgonzola and balsamic vinaigrette. For the entree I had the Long Island duck shown above. It was a half duck with a crispy crust and juicy meat. The sauce changes daily and that day they had an apple sauce which was quite good. I must say that the duck lived up to its reputation. I also ordered desert, something I rarely do but since most of the table got something I followed suit by ordering the chocolate creme brûlée. Quite delicious, but very rich. 

Everyone else had a great meal. Teresa had the red snapper, a few people had stuffed flounder and one had a pasta dish. The overall consensus was very positive. Nice atmosphere, good view, excellent service, very good food at moderate prices (average entree $20 to $25). We will be back again soon, and probably often. They have a website for more information.

The Fireplace Restaurant, Ramsey, NJ

I have passed this place hundreds of times. Sometimes I wondered what it was like and wanted to stop but Route 17 was busy and by the time I could get into the right lane I was already past it. Other times I'd already eaten. Well, today I made the effort to be in the proper lane and we stopped by. I'm glad we did.

Remember those restaurants on the side of the road before the Clown, the King and the red-headed girl with the pigtails took over? Well, that's what The Fireplace Restaurant is. This place isn't a retro burger place like so many companies are trying to create, this is the real thing like it used to be. It was started in the late fifties by an FBI agent and his family. 

You place your order at the counter, pay them, and wait a few minutes. Your order is handed to you on a tray and you find a seat. Simple and pretty quick. 

We ordered three cheeseburgers, a combo of fries and rings and a vanilla shake. The total? Fourteen bucks. The burgers were good, not phenomenal, but good. You can tell they're either flame broiled of car-grilled because you can taste it.  The shake was nice with just the right amount of thickness. The rings were okay and the fries were a tad undercooked. You could tell the fries and rings were frozen, but they were good quality. 

There are three sections to the restaurant. The burger counter (they offer a lot of other things too), the pizza counter upstairs, and the breakfast counter in the back that was closed when we were there.

The bottom line is that you really should stop by and taste a bit of Americana past at its best. They're better than any fast food place (except for a Five Guy's or a Jake's) and comparably priced. They have a website for directions, menu and all that stuff.

Jake's Wayback Burgers, Thorndale, PA

Jake's Wayback Burgers is a burger chain started in Delaware back in 1991 and they are beginning to spread throughout the Pennsylvania area. I spotted one in Willow Grove awhile back and it looked interesting, but on the wrong side of the road to stop. When one opened in Thorndale I decided to see what they are all about.

Inside the restaurant has a nice warm feel to it with a burgundy and tan motif. Looking at the menu there are a few choices beyond the traditional burgers such as; chicken, salads, garden burgers, turkey burgers, chili and hot dogs. Oh, and they have milk shakes in quite a few flavors. 

I ordered the regular cheeseburger (a two patty burger) at five bucks with ketchup, mustard and pickles. I like them simple. I made it a combo with large fries and a drink for $2.99 more. We got a kid combo, burger, fries and drink for two bucks for the grandson and added a shake too. The burger was quite delicious. It reminded me of an old fashioned grilled counter burger, just like the first one I ever had. It was not greasy and it tasted fresh. The fries were very good, but needed seasoning. That was easily fixed with a little salt from the shaker on the table.

The way it works is that you place your order and pay, they ask you for your name instead of giving you a number, and you take a seat. When your order is done they bring the order to you and even clean your table for you.

The big danger here is to compare them to Five Guys Burgers and Fries. Okay, I guess I have to. I would put the fries a step above Five Guys and the burger on a par with them. The edge goes to Jake's for the greater variety of offerings for my non-burger friends. The only down side is they don't have peanuts to eat while you wait. I will definitely be visiting this Jake's again, and when I see one along the road I will make it a point to stop. They have a website for locations and menu.

We stopped at the Willow Grove location and were not as satisfied. The fries tasted like common frozen fries, not fresh cut, and the meat seemed bland. They may vary from location to location so I'd be careful. 

Sly Fox Brewery and Eatery , Phoenixville, PA.

Pennsylvania is full of good brew pubs and I like brewpubs. They have everything a guy could ask for, beer and burgers and sometimes both the beer and the burgers are very good, like Front Street Brewery in Wilmington. Sometimes they are not, such as Capitol City in DC where both are not too good. My daughter and son-in-law had been to Sly Fox before and said it was good, plus we had a dining coupon, so off we went.

We had the Imperial IPA and it was quite tasty with a nice happiness to it, but not overpowering. We sampled the two bitters, but stuck to the Imperial for the refills. The bitters were good, but the Imperial was excellent. 

The dining coupon was for two appetizers and four entrees (sandwiched and burgers included). We ordered the chicken fingers, Buffalo style and the Nachos for appetizers. The chicken came out quite spicy, juicy and the portion was big. The nachos were ample, but there was nowhere near enough cheese on them.

Brian and I each had the Birchrun Black and Blue Burger at $9.00. It had cajun seasonings, plenty of blue cheese and came on a brioche roll. We both ordered them medium and they  were much closer to well-done. Teresa got the Swedesford Burger with sautéed mushrooms and Swiss cheese. She ordered it medium well and it was well-done. The burgers were good and flavorful, but a bit dry as they were overcooked. The cajun spices did add a mild heat and the roll was fresh. They both came with fries and they were good.

For my grandson we ordered the children's chicken fingers with fries, milk and ice cream. His portions were large and even though he is a champion eater at two years of age, half of his food came home with us. 

Speaking of takeout, they have cans, growlers and 22 oz bottles of selected beers for sale. The bottom line? 

• Prices good
• Beer very good
• Food okay to very good
• Service good

They have a website for more information. 

Panda House, Danbury CT.

We tried The Panda House in Danbury a few years ago and found it to be good, but not stellar enough to have gone back right away. Today we were debating where to eat and decided to give them another try. We were there at half past four on a Saturday, so they weren't crowded, but they started to fill up as we ate.

     

I'd forgotten that they were a Japanese and Chinese restaurant so I concentrated on the Japanese part of the menu and I ordered the sushi appetizer at $8.95 and there were four nice pieces on the plate; tuna, salmon, shrimp and yellowtail. It took a while to get to the table, and I saw the sushi chef working away, so it must have been fresh. My salad (lettuce with a sort of spicy russian-like dressing) and the miso soup came before the sushi. The miso soup had seaweed, tofu and I think a fish base to it, too much of it actually, and it wasn't that good, and it was a bit smelly. The sushi was tasty though. 

Teresa got the Moo Shu Pork at $9.50 and I ordered the Shrimp Tempura at $17.95, which came with the salad and soup mentioned above. Yes, the prices are a bit high. I tasted the Moo Shu Pork and it was good, as was my tempura. The shrimp tasted fresh and there were sweet potatoes, beans, an onion ring and a carrot in the mix as well. The batter was right and they were fried just right. 

My overall impression is that the food is good, for the most part, the service was okay and the prices are a bit high. Will we go back? Yeah, but we won't be rushing. They have a website for more information. 

Chicago Uno, Wappingers Falls, NY

I need to add a place to my list of restaurants that know how to properly cook a burger,  Chicago Uno on Route 9 in Wappingers Falls. 

Above and below please note the 'Bring Home the Bacon' burger with hot pepper cheese and bacon on a challah roll. What you can't see is the center of the burger which was a dark pink. That's right, a perfectly cooked medium burger. Teresa had the Firecracker Chicken sandwich which she said was okay. 
  

Unos started in Chicago on East Ohio Street about sixty-five years ago serving deep dish pizza. They have grown to over 160 locations, some of them franchised and if you like deep dish pizza, and you're not in Chicago, Unos is the place to get it. The one in Wappingers is franchised by Banta Restaurants and sits on the old Steak and Stein location. They try to buy locally as much as they can.

Unos a nice place to get a bite to eat and they have a respectable beer selection as well. They even have their own Uno Amber, which has a nice clean taste. Happy hour specials include some cheap appetizers too. The inside has a nice warm look to it  and is decorated with pictures of Chicago, memorabilia, and TVs in the bar area. 

Hacienda, Goshen, NY

We've been here a few times before and liked it. One of those times was on May5th for Teresa's birthday, also Cinqo de Mayo which is the Mexican equivalent of Saint Patrick's Day. That would be the day to stay away as they are extremely crowded, unless you want to wait. Today at four in the afternoon wasn't a problem since even though the parking lot had quite a few cars, they weren't that crowded inside. I think there were a few people in a room upstairs for a private party.

Outside it looks like a large house that has been converted to a restaurant. Inside the decorations are bright and colorful with designs on the chairs. We were seated and given water and nachos with salsa, a salsa that started out medium and the more you eat the hotter it becomes. We looked over the menu and I ordered the Camarones diablo. Teresa got the enchiladas suizo. While we waited for our food the waiter brought us each a small quesadilla which was quite nice. 

My shrimp tasted fresh and the sauce was slightly spicy with some sautéed onions in it. The re-fried beans were okay and the rice not bad (I don't usually eat rice so it must have been okay for me to have finished half of it).

Overall, the service is good, prices average to a bit high, and the food is fairly good. As we ate we decided that we liked Cafe Maya in Fishkill better. I know that some people will disagree with that, but that's our opinion.

Burger Boyz Revisited

I went here a while back and said that it was good, but nothing special. Since then one of my regular readers suggested a few times that I stop and try them again. Noting that the earlier review is one of my most read posts, I decided to do it.

They have moved to a new location on Route 17K and share a building with Planet Wings, an establishment that makes, you guessed it, chicken wings. When I looked at the menu it seemed they have pared it down a bit and that may be a good thing as they were trying to do too much before. The new menu reminded me of Five Guys, as did the boxes of potatoes piled near the windows.

I decided to go simple and ordered the cheeseburger with tomato, pickles, ketchup and mustard. I ordered fries and there was a choice between curly fries and fresh cut fries. I opted for the fresh cut version. It was $8.49 for the burger and fries, tax included. I think the prices went up since I was last there.

The burger was good. It was juicy, but not greasy and tasted fresh. I could tell it was grilled and they pressed it down on the grill to get a nice char on the meat. The roll was soft and fresh. The fries were good also, but they could have been crisper. They were a bit soggy. There were plenty of them and two people could share an order with no problem.

As I was taking the pictures the guy behind the counter was staring at me, but he didn't say anything. Nobody ever does. Oh, and inside I saw who voted them one of the best burgers in the Hudson Valley. It was Hudson Valley Magazine. Mystery solved.

Bottom line? Good burger, okay fries. Stop in if you're nearby.

Scotch Eggs recipe

I saw this on the Food Channel, I think it was Chopped, and thought it was interesting. Hard boiled eggs wrapped in sausage, breaded and deep fried. What can be wrong with that?

It is real simple to make too. Just hard-boil four eggs, let them chill and peel them. Coat with flour and wrap them with breakfast sausage. Next you flour again, dip in egg and bread crumbs. Fry at 350 for about ten minutes, until golden brown. Eat them hot, warm or cold. A little spicy mustard is all you need.

Beacon Falls Cafe, a perfect burger.

I have been ranting quite a bit lately about ordering a burger cooked medium and getting it closer to well-done so I thought it would be appropriate to praise a restaurant that gets it right  consistently, especially  since there are so darn few that do. 

This magnificant picture is of the burger special I got today at one of my favorite places, The Beacon Falls Cafe. This beauty is a half-pound of top quality Angus beef with a mountain of blue cheese, several strips of bacon, tons of roasted hot peppers, red onion, lettuce and tomato on a fresh bun. The list of ingredients is a mouthful and the burger itself was a handful. No, make that two hands full. When the waitress dropped it off I was wondering how in the Dickens I was going to pick it up, but I managed.

Now here's the best part. When I bit into it, the outside had a nice crust while the inside of the burger had a sweet pink cast to it. That pink extended throughout the interior of the entire burger. It was cooked to a perfect medium. Teresa ordered her burger cooked medium-well and the color was perfect too with a slight pinkish cast. Both were juicy and full of flavor.

In my burger the blue cheese slightly mellowed the heat of the hot peppers, but I did break into a sweat from the heat. The flavors of the ingredients all worked in concert to make this one of the best burgers I've ever had. I went through two napkins wiping the delicious juices from my face. The fries were delightful, crisp and hot, with a hint of seasoning on them. Unfortunately, I left quite a few behind on the plate since that massive burger filled me up.

Beacon Falls Cafe is a favorite of mine, I've reviewed them before. Go over and see them, tell Bob I sent you. Whatever you order, it will be good, but I strongly recommend a burger. They also have a good beer selection and I had a Red Wagon IPA from Fire Island Beer Company that was hoppy, yet smooth. If you go during Happy Hour (3 to 6) there are a few $3.00 pints. 

Drafting Room, Exton revisited

Calamari

One of my favorite places in Pennsylvania is The Drafting Room in Exton. We've been there a few times, twice I had a burger and once we had the Sunday brunch. Each visit was excellent with good food and service. One of the bet points about the place is the tap beer selection which rotates depending on season. This time the season was hoppy harvest ales and that was for me. We got two very nice beers. One was Hair of the Dog Blue Dot and the other was Flying Dog Centennial Hop. What I like about the Drafting Room is that you can get a five ounce, a ten ounce or a fifteen ounce glass. All the better to try a few different beers. They also have an amazing Scotch menu with some darn fine single malts offered. 

I ordered the calamari with aioli sauce to share. The sauce was quite buttery with a good garlic flavor, not overdone. For my dinner I got out of my comfort zone and ordered the Scallops and pumpkin ravioli with leeks, roasted garlic and pine nuts shown here. Teresa got the Ravioli with olives, asparagus and capers and it had a taste similar to a putanesca. Very nice. 

Bangers and mash

Brian got the Bangers and Mash, sausages on mashed potatoes, and it looked quite nice. Large portion and nice presentation. 

Overall, a good meal and some good beer. The Drafting Room is a winner. 

Metro Diner, Flemington, NJ

The Metro Diner sits on Route 202 just south of Flemington, on the northbound side, and we've passed by saying we should try them sometime. Well, today was the day.


Inside it has more of a restaurant feel than a diner, but the menu was pure diner with all of the standards. We looked through the menu and debated back and forth over the rueben, the French dip, the Philly cheesesteak and the club sandwiches. 

Teresa got the triple decker turkey club with fries and I got the French dip. We shared so I can comment properly on both. The club sandwich had a ton of smoked turkey on it, so much that I took a bit out to make it easier to handle. The French dip had quality roast beef sliced on it with a bowl of au jus that could have been a bit darker, but it wasn't bad. The fries were nice and crispy and hot too. 

I looked at the food going to other tables and the burgers, the omelets and the Ruebens all looked good. Our food, and what I saw going by, had a different feel than typical diner food. It seemed a bit more upscale, a fact that was not reflected in the prices as they were quite reasonable. 

Overall, good food at reasonable prices with good service. They even had a piano player in the front room belting out some songs and pictures of famous actors on the walls. 

Sweet Lorraine's at Peddler's Village, New Hope, PA

In our quest to find good places to eat, we like to try different places so we stopped off at Peddler's Village, a shopping area in New Hope, PA, for something different. Looking around we saw Sweet Lorraine's Cafe next to the Golden Plough Bed and Breakfast and decided to stop in. 

I went with the Fireworks Burger at $11. It had havarti cheese, jalapeños, peppers, bacon, lettuce and tomato with fresh made chips. I ordered it medium and there was a bit of pink in the middle so it was closer to medium than I've been getting lately. The burger was good with a nice flavor and the combinations of ingredients added some good notes. 

Teresa had the quesidilla shown here at $10 and there was plenty. She said the salsa was a bit bland and I agreed, but the guacamole was good. 

We had water with the meals, but they did have a good beer selection. Service was excellent and there was a nice ambiance. Overall a good experience. Nothing amazing, but good food at reasonable prices. They have a website for more informations. 

The Wherehouse, Newburgh, NY

Hot Spot Burger

I've heard a lot of good things about the Wherehouse in Newburgh, some from a nice Greek writer named Anonymous who has commented here, so it's been on my short list for some time now. Well, today we were coming back from Fishkill and decided to swing through Newburgh to check it out.

The restaurant is on the South part of Liberty Street, just a short block from Broadway, near Washington's Headquarters. The neighborhood is an area that is a few blocks from the booming restaurant row on the waterfront and right near where a couple of entrepreneurs are building a brewery. Inside the place is not too big, but warm with old album covers hanging on the brick walls, plenty of wood and a neat looking bar with quite a few tap handles. We were told to sit where we wanted and took a table near the window so I had better light for the pictures and we could keep an eye on the car.

The menu was extensive with plenty of good choices but there was a separate menu for the burgers and that's what I came for. There were two full pages of interesting choices. I decided on the Socrates, grilled kalmata olives and feta cheese, medium. Teresa debated between the Chicago Fire and the Hot Spot. The Hot Spot burger, shown above with hot peppers on it, was her choice and she ordered it medium well. I also got a Saranac Ginger Ale. 

Socrates Burger

When the burgers came they looked good. You can see what I mean by the pictures, they did a nice presentation. I tasted mine and it was very good, but much closer to well done than the medium I ordered. That said, it was still a delicious burger with plenty of flavor and it wasn't dry at all. The grilled olives and the feta cheese gave a nice flavor to the burger and complimented the beef. No ketchup was needed. I tasted Teresa's and it was good too, if not a bit busy with all of the flavors going on. There was a heat coming from the peppers, but tolerable without overpowering the burger. She said that the next time we go she wanted to try a regular burger and I agreed. I'll try a simple bacon cheeseburger. I didn't like the fries all that much as they were cut too large and were more like fried potato wedges, but that's more a matter of personal taste. I'll have to ask about other options and see if a side salad or mac and cheese can take the place of the fries.

The bottom line? Very good food, good service, nice ambiance and fair prices. The burgers were a shade under ten bucks each. When you're in Newburgh, skip the waterfront and head a couple of blocks uptown for a good burger. They have a website for information and you can Facebook them too.