Five Points

Last night, Jess & I went to Five Points with her parents, Ed & Val. Once again, BlackBoard Eats came through for us. This time with a 30% off coupon.. cha ching!

The restaurant reeks of Fall and as soon as you walk in, you feel like you're home. The mix of wood, exposed brick and pumpkins evokes a ski lodge vibe and warms your soul.

We got prime seating in the back of the restaurant right by the kitchen. We even got a few strong whiffs of truffle oil, which is always welcome.

The drink menu was both seasonally appropriate (hot spiked cider & Smuttynoses's winter ale) and unique (lavender gimlet & the unknown Flight of Martinis). Everyone was happy with the drinks that started our meal.

The appetizers were also all top notch - panchetta pizza (possibly the highlight of the meal), salad (dates + blue cheese + walnuts = yes sir!), and mezze (squash dip, wild rice, beets, & some other tasty dips served with warm pita-like bread). We all agreed that the pizza was phenomenal - caramelized onions FTW.

After a longer-than-normal break in between courses, we got served wreckfish (Jess), pasta (Val), steak (Ed), & chicken (Eric). If we are keeping score at home, we went .500. Val & I loved our main courses & didn't leave a trail on the plate. Ed & Jess... not so much. Ed felt the steak was too chewy and Jess thought her fish didn't have enough flavor. I thought the pumpkin chutney was delish but can't speak about the fish (somewhere between cod & trout?).

On the positive side, my portion of chicken was hearty (2 pieces - I think breast & thigh/wing), super moist, and juicy. Served alongside a handful of parsnips & a cooked-to-perfection potato gratin, this dish hit the spot. Dipping the chicken & parsnips in the juices made every bite flavorful. The only complaint I have is that the skin wasn't very crispy. A crunchy exterior would have texturally balanced the dish quite well & taken it/me to an even higher level.

For dessert, we decided on the honey apple cobbler with whipped cream. It was good, not great, and the four of us didn't even finish it. We all agreed that it was lacking that something something - cinnamon? more butter? vanilla ice cream? better "crumble"? Who knows... it just wasn't there.

What we all did agree on was that we had a fabulous night out and while some of the food wasn't out of this world, I think we'd all be happy to come back and try out some of the other cocktails and dishes (pizza as an entree, anyone?) on the menu.

Earth to MATILDA

Oh, BlackboardEats, you have brought us to many great places with your deals! This week's adventure...Matilda on 11th Street between Avenue B & C. It's tucked away and is definitely a local hangout, which is why it was completely empty until around 8 pm. We went from being the only table at 7 pm to being ignored by our waiter at the end of the meal! That brings me to the only flaw - bad service. Besides that, the meal was great and full of flavor!

Mexican & Tuscan fare, you say? We're there. We started out with the guacamole with basil (instead of cilantro) and red pepper, which made me think: why doesn't everyone make guacamole with basil? It was GREAT and definitely a stand-out against every other guac I've had. We almost ordered a second, since it's not that large of a serving, but ultimately decided on another appetizer.

The BlackboardEats deal was a free bottle of wine with your dinner, so we got a bottle of the Pinot Grigio. I'm always a little afraid to take advantage of deals or discounts, but this restaurant was all for it and I'm sure they've gotten a lot of new business because of it.

For the main course, I got the Salmone Al Tamarindo - roasted salmon fillet topped with a balsamic-tamarind reduction, served with sauteed spinach and shoestring tortilla chips. The menu also mentioned that this dish is the winner of "Matilda's Cooking Slam," whatever that is. But I will say (as would the other other diner who ordered this), it tasted like an award-winning dish. The salmon was perfectly crispy on the outside and tender on the inside. The balsamic sauce and spinach really complemented the dish and the tortilla chips gave it some texture & crunch.

Eric got the BlackboardEats-recommended Gnocchi with a basil-cilantro pesto. This dish is right up his alley and with a little help from his friends (me & the 2 other diners), the plate was wiped clean by the end of the meal (this is not a rare occurrence). They even left him the Parmesan cheese dish so he was able to spread it on top of the gnocchi liberally. The best bites came from the middle of the dish when the gnocchi was soaked in the delicious pesto & topped with a dash of cheese. Gnocchi with pesto is a famous & dangerously delicious dish. Matilda threw us a Mexican cilantro twist curveball and hit it out of the park.

With a cute atmosphere and great food, I would definitely give Matilda another visit in the near future! Check 'em out here: http://www.matildarestaurant.com/menu.html

Pampano

Pampano was a go-to “special occasion” restaurant for the Hoppers a few years back – great upscale Mexican cuisine that blew us away the first time we went there. However, it’s a little overpriced. Although I would have dreams about their tuna, I just couldn’t justify the $31 price tag. Plus, it’s not in an area that we frequent all that often – 49th between 2nd & 3rd. It wasn’t until we saw a Blackboard Eats (http://www.blackboardeats.com/) deal for 30% off dinner at Pampano that the memories came flooding back and we decided to go for it.

The décor in Pampano makes it feel like you’re in a Latin dream – white swirly ceilings with fans giving off a cool breeze. They have a great outdoor patio upstairs that’s open for dining when it’s nice out. Unfortunately, the deal we had only permitted us to eat in the dining room.

We started out with sangria and a margarita to kick things off appropriately on this lovely Saturday night. For an appetizer, we shared the Tacos de Filete – Filet Mignon, soft corn tortilla, cilantro, onion and tomatillo salsa.

It was nice and flavorful but I don’t know if I would get this dish again. The tacos were mini and could be consumed in one bite if you have a big mouth…and the dish only came with three. Not a good bang for your buck at $14. You might be better served getting the guac & chips for the table at the same price.

For the main course, there was no question about it – we were both getting the Atún – pistachio-chile ancho crusted tuna, sweet potato, green apple salad, mole verde.

This dish is the reason we used to come here – its savor-every-bite good. The tuna is just slightly seared, cut up into big pieces and spread out over their delicious mole sauce. It goes too quickly but is absolutely delicious.

Our beef with this place: main dishes don’t come with side dishes, they come with garnishes, leaving you not as full as you’d like to be. And at $31, they should at least throw you some rice & beans.

Pampano would be a great place for someone with an expense account. The food is definitely high quality, but it’s not inventive enough to be that expensive. We’ll be back here, but on someone else’s dime for sure.

http://www.richardsandoval.com/pampano/

Epilogue: Pampano led us to another one of our favorite upscale Mexican places – Maya. They’re both owned by the same group and they both have amazing tuna dishes! Check out Maya on the Upper East Side – it’s more moderately-priced.