Sushi Village- Poughkeepsie, NY

Sushi with a fish-eye lens

My brother-in-law has been raving about Sushi Village for some time now so we decided to stop by and try them.  It's a small, unassuming restaurant that serves all-you-can-eat sushi for twenty-one bucks. I wasn't all that hungry so I ordered the sushi and sashimi lunch at thirteen dollars. It came with four sushi, four sashimi and a spicy tuna roll with a small salad and miso soup. It was very good indeed, some of the best I've had anywhere. 

Teresa doesn't like sushi so she went with noodles and chicken. It was okay, but nothing special and she said she should have had the hibachi. Next time.

Overall, excellent sushi at good prices. The service is a bit odd, the sushi came out to me a good ten minutes before the cooked food arrived, but they were friendly enough. We'll be headed back sometime soon, but this time I'm going with a few people who like sushi and getting the all-you-can-eat special. 

Camaje Bistro and Lounge- Greenwich Village

I like French cuisine and I'm a sucker for restaurants with the name bistro or brasserie in them, especially ones with atmosphere. That said, Teresa, our friend Lisa, and I were headed down to Greenwich Village to attend a play written by a friend and of course I got to decide where to eat. Now that is a rather daunting task given the number of restaurants on MacDougal Street alone so I narrowed it down to three and looked at the menus online, finally deciding on The Camaje Bistro. We made reservations at noon, their opening time, and arrived about twenty minutes early as traffic was light.

We were greeted by a woman who was getting the restaurant ready, she turned out to be Abigail Hitchcock, the chef-owner, who allowed us to wait on the couch in the front of the restaurant until she was ready to open. The restaurant is small, seating maybe fifty or so, and rustic, with a tile floor. Plenty of simple European charm and atmosphere. The tables are close in the style of a French bistro.   

Eggs Benedict

Since it was a Sunday they were serving brunch so I had to miss on the Kobe burger, but after a few minutes I decided on the eggs benedict with Atlantic Char, as did Lisa. Teresa ordered the crepe with wild mushrooms and gruyere. We also ordered two sides, the pommes frites and the smoked mac and cheese. Teresa said the crepe was good and Lisa and I both enjoyed the eggs. The mac and cheese was indeed smokey, perhaps some smoked gouda in it, and the pommes frites were quite nice as well.

Banofee Pie

When it came time for desert we decided to splurge a bit and ordered two to share between the three of us. The one shown above is a banofee pie and the one below a pear dish. Both were quite excellent. 

Our server, Ernest I believe was his name, was amazing. He was attentive, yet gave us space and he had a good sense of humor. All told, three entrees, two sides and two deserts were seventy bucks with tax. Not bad considering we were in NYC. The portions were French sized, read that as a bit small for American tastes, but we did leave full and happy. I would definitely go back again for a visit.

Mediterranean Deli & Grill- Middletown, NY

Regular readers of this blog will notice the conspicuous absence of a photo on this post, and for that I apologize. We sere coming home from a wake when we stopped and I simply did not bring my camera as we weren't planning to eat out. I will certainly return and get a picture as this is a really nice place to eat. 

The restaurant is small, they do a lot of take-out and deliveries, but there are a few tables to eat. The place is decorated with greek pictures, flags and items and Greek music is playing on the stereo. The people are friendly and the prices are cheap. 

They have 20 different Gyro options. I chose the Cretan which had plenty of good gyro meat, lettuce, cabbage, bacon, cucumbers and an interesting onion sauce. With fries it came to $7.25 and it was very good. Teresa got the Achilles sandwich which had eggplant, roasted peppers, fresh mozzarella and mixed greens on a foot-long sub for $6.75. She said it was quite good and fresh tasting.

Stop by sometime and see what I mean. I'm going back to try a few more gyros and maybe a burger, they have about 8 different combos of burgers. 

Home Town Diner- Breinigsville, PA

Rueben

I like diners and when we travel we do try to hit new ones, but a diner can be a crap shoot. There are good ones and there are bad ones. Before we go further, Home Town Diner is a good one.

Our server, a lovely young lady whose name I think I remember as Jordan, was excellent with a very friendly attitude. Teresa decided on one of the specials, a chicken and cilantro on a ciabatta roll with fries which she said was quite good. I went with the rueben, shown above, and it was a good choice. Well executed with plenty of flavor.

As we ate I noticed that the hostess was sitting at the counter when she wasn't seating people and she was cleaning the menus with a disinfectant. Kudos to her and the diner for that as menus can be a nasty breading ground for germs and if they are that fastidious with menus, the rest of the place must be clean too (the bathrooms were clean).

Overall, nice clean atmosphere, excellent service, good food and good prices. I'd stop by again if we head that way.  

The Barnside- Conklin Catering Grill- Walden, NY

Basic Burger

The Barnside Restaurant, owned by the Conklin family (Eddie's Deli in Montgomery), sits next to The New York School of Music in Walden, a space previously occupied by a bagel shop and later the Quarter Note Cafe. The new owners have redecorated and the restaurant has a nice atmosphere. They also added a hood over the grill, something that was lacking by the previous incarnation, and the air was nice and clear. 

Currently they are only open for breakfast and lunch, Monday to Friday, but they will be expanding the hours, as well as the menu, after Labor Day.

I ordered a cheeseburger with bacon and blue cheese at six bucks. It was quite good and well seasoned. This restaurant has potential to become an excellent addition to Walden, and a nice place to eat. I'll be stopping by again and update the post. In the meantime, stop by and see for yourself.

Hobo Sandwich

Update- I've had food from there twice since I wrote this, once was takeout (the chicken caprese) and the other dine-in (the Hobo shown above). Both times were very good. It's nice that Walden has a good restaurant that isn't a bar, Chinese, or a pizza joint and they are now open on the weekends. This could easily become a favorite.

California Burger

Nikki's @ Racine- Wilmington, NC

Nikki's on Racine has half-priced sushi from four to six everyday. That was enough to get me to stop in, that and the fact that I'd heard it was good from some reliable sources. 

It's a cute place inside and we looked over the menus. They have sushi of course, and a whole lot more. Things like burgers, gyros, crab cakes, sandwiches and more. I was there for the sushi but they had a few appetizer specials so I started with the Calamari Tempura. Rachel had the Vegetable Gyoza and Mark the Seaweed Salad. 

The calamari was excellent, cooked perfectly with a delicate, but sufficient flavor.

I had (Counterclockwise from bottom) the Red Snapper, the Tuna, Salmon Avocado Roll and Spicy Scallop Sushi. All were good, but I think I'd pass on the scallops next time and get something else.

Teresa got the Kitchen special, fish tacos with tempura onion rings, and A.J. got the Gyro with the beer battered fries. Everyone said their meals were good.

Service was good, Whitney took good care of us. The prices really good, especially at half-price and for five people the bill came to $52.00. The food was quite good. 

Terrazzo Trattoria, still the best Italian food in Wilmington

Pasta Alla Norma

I may have mentioned a time or two that Terrazzo Trattoria in Wilmington is one of my favorite Italian places anywhere, and the best in Wilmington, but it can't hurt to reiterate. Sometimes you just can't iterate something enough.

They are friendly, the service is great and the prices reasonable. They are accommodating as well and they can alter your dish with no problem to suit your tastes. Want less garlic? No problem. They also have the best pizza in town and even Pete at Wilmington Pizza, a tough pizza critic, agrees (caveat, he uses some adult language in his reviews).

Tortellini Carbonara

If you haven't been there yet, get there and see what I mean.

Islands Fresh Mex Grill- Wilmington, NC

Dollar tacos, got your attention? Well, it got mine when my daughter suggested we join her and her husband, and a few friends, at Islands for dinner. 

The deal is this. From five to nine, Monday to Friday, you can get tacos for a buck each. You do have to get a beverage with the order and you need one beverage per four tacos. There's also an up-charge for extra toppings and such so be careful. Teresa and I got eight tacos a soda and a Corona for thirteen bucks. 

Now the tacos aren't all that pretty. They lay down the shells and very quickly assemble them which means they miss the shell with some of the fixin's, but that's okay because you can use the chips that come with them to scoop up the stuff in the foil. They have a few salsas you can get at the salsa bar to add at no extra charge.

The tacos were good, quite good in fact. They also have burritos and enchiladas available, as well as a full bar. Check them out sometime.

P.T.'s Olde Fashioned Grill- Wilmington, NC

P.T.'s Olde Fashioned Grill is a small chain, six locations in Wilmington and one coming up in Greensboro. As we were headed to a Wilmington Sharks game, the one we ate at was the one on 17th Street.

Everyone there was friendly, and helpful. They have a unique method of ordering. There's a pad on which you circle what you want, and the toppings and the counter processes the order. They bring the food to the table, along with the order sheet. This probably cuts down on mistakes on both ends.

I got the half-pounder at $8.39 with pepper jack, pickles, jalapeños, ketchup and mustard. I added bacon for another half a buck. The burger was very good with a nice char on the outside and some moistness inside.  What I liked was that they seasoned it with salt, pepper, lemon pepper and garlic as it cooked, giving the burger some flavor. One of the best burgers in Wilmington. Oh, and the fries were good too, nice and crispy with some seasoning on them. 

The rest of our party enjoyed their meals as well. My grandson had a black bean burger and he loved it. My wife got chicken strips and she liked them. Overall, good service, clean restaurant, very good food and reasonable prices. I'll be headed back.

Chive Blossom- Pawleys Island, SC

She Crab Soup

The Chive Blossom Restaurant in Pawleys Island is where I had the absolute best Fried Green Tomato BLT ever. It's a small, cute place with a large crowd. 

We started with the She Crab Soup. This is a Southern delicacy and if you're not familiar with it it's a crab bisque with sherry in it and it is quite tasty. Definitely try it sometime if you have the opportunity. 

Burger

Teresa had the burger which came out cooked to her medium-well on a ciabatta roll with Fontina cheese, mushrooms, onions and fries for twelve bucks. Quite nice. My Mother and Step Father both had the chicken salad sandwich at eleven bucks which came with a small salad and they said it was good. 

Fried green tomato BLT

And that magnificent creation pictured above is the Fried Green Tomato BLT, one of the best things I've ever eaten and definitely the best fried green tomato BLT I've ever had. What made it so perfect the combinations of ingredients, each one done to perfection. 

The first thing was fresh multi-grain bread that was toasted on the grill using plenty of butter to get a nice golden brown crunch with a soft inside. Next up was avocado and lettuce with some fried green tomatoes on top. Add in some crisp bacon and the magic ingredient, house-made pimento cheese. This combination of ingredients covered the taste spectrum with sweet, sour, salty, crunchy and soft to create a heavenly, perhaps life-changing, experience for twelve bucks.

Ambiance is nice. Service is excellent, Cornella took very good care of us and accommodated my parents well. Prices, at lunch anyway, are reasonable. Food is amazing. Stop by and see what I mean.

Hominy Grill- Charleston, SC

Fried Green Tomato BLT

Another restaurant on the short list for our Charleston trip was the Hominy Grill on Rutlege. One nice thing is that they have a small parking lot for customers. One rough thing is that they are popular, so be prepared to wait a few minutes if you arrive at peak times.

I had the Fried Green Tomato BLT, shown above. That dish on the side is tomato pudding and the best way to describe it is a fancied-up stewed tomato. It was quite good. The sandwich was also good, but the bread was a bit stale and dry which detracted a bit. Teresa ordered four different vegetable sides. I tasted the mac and cheese and it was amazing. We finished off with a slice of delightful pecan pie. 

Overall, a cute Southern restaurant with fair prices and good food. Our server was excellent. I'd pop in the next time we're in town.

A.W. Shucks- Charleston, SC

A.W Shucks is a large place on the corner of State Street and Market in Charleston and they've been around for a while. Inside it's well appointed giving a modern seafood ambiance. Outside, where we chose to eat, is comfortable and casual. Bear in mind this is a reasonably inexpensive seafood restaurant in a tourist city so it does get crowded and don't raise the expectations all that high.

That said, my food was quite good, and quite reasonable. I got the steamer pot, shown above, which consisted of crabs, clams, shrimp, mussels, oysters, corn, potatoes and sausage swimming in a broth with some Old Bay for $23.00. It was very good.

Teresa ordered the 'award winning' stuffed shrimp, but I don't know who gave it the award. I tasted it and it was pretty good.

So overall, nice ambiance, reasonable prices, good food and good service. I'd go again.

Tommy Condon's- Charleston, SC

Fish and Chips

Tommy Condon's in Charleston, SC is what I'd call a southern Irish bar. It has traditional Irish fare, and some traditional Southern fare. Having gone through traditional Southern fare for a couple of days I decided to go with the fish and chips. As the Irish would say, it was a proper fish and chips, nothing amazing, nothing disappointing. The fish was crispy on the outside and moist on the inside. The chips were crispy and hot. It was even better than a few fish and chip meals I had in Ireland. Of course, I had to have a pint or two of Guinness to wash it down.

Guinness, as if I have to tell you that

Now here's where a restaurant shines or fails. Teresa got the Shrimp Po Boy and it was disappointing. The roll was stale and the remoulade mediocre. She pointed this out to our waiter and he comped her meal, even though she ate most of it. That was a nice touch.

I'd say to stop by and try them, and I'd recommend the fish and chips. Just don't go expecting a five-star meal. It's an Irish bar in a tourist town, so expect decent Irish pub food.

Magnolias- Charleston, SC

Seafood and Grits

Another place I put on the short list for the Charleston trip was Magnolias on East Bay Street. Magnolias is a bit pricey for dinner, but the lunch prices were reasonable. In retrospect, it was probably the best dining experience I had in Charleston.

I had the seafood and grits at $16.00. It consisted of grits, really good buttery tasting grits, some fresh tasting shrimp, a scallop and a small piece of lobster. The portion was just right for the middle of a hot summer day. My best seafood and grits so far.

Teresa had a vegetable wrap which she said was a bit bland for her taste, but not bad. She did comment that the collard greens she ordered as a side were amazing.

Wonderful ambiance and excellent service. Our server, Eric, did a great job. I will definitely go back again. 

Poogan's Porch- Charleston, SC

When were planning to take a trip down to Charleston, I did some culinary research. I was looking mostly for Southern Style and Low Country food in a variety of price ranges and settings. One place that interested me was Poogan's Porch, and that was mainly because they offer an alligator salad as well as shrimp and grits. 

Alligator Salad

We were seated in the front dining room, it's an old house, and given menus. There was the alligator as an appetizer so I ordered it. Well, the alligator was delicious. It was fried to a golden crispness with a moist inside and served on a bed of salad greens with an amazing dressing. It was my first time eating alligator and if you haven't tried it, you should. The taste is difficult to describe, but the consistency is similar to chicken. Something that needs to be experienced to appreciate.

Scallops

Teresa ordered the scallops which were delightful. There were four large ones with a mound of greens and a risotto cake in a nice sauce. I tasted one, and some of the risotto, and I would have been quite happy with that as my meal. 

Shrimp and Grits

Instead, I had the shrimp and grits and I was quite happy with that. The shrimp tasted fresh and were cooked perfectly. There were three colors of peppers to give some color and sweetness, taso ham and a nice sauce covering perfectly cooked grits. 

Nice ambiance, reasonable prices and excellent service. A lovely dining experience.