Wine Bar on Lark

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Created on Tuesday, 14 May 2013 02:28

Some days it just doesn't pay to have high hopes for an establishment, simply from a perceived reputation. This was my lesson of the day with regards to the Wine Bar on Lark Street in Downtown Albany which I finally got to visit, after having wanting to do so for quite some time.

When we first entered, the front tables were jam packed, and we thought that would mean it would be too long of a wait for a table. To our pleasant surprise, the customers up front were simply enjoying a few glasses, and with the patio open there was still plenty of seating to be had. This, however, was where all pleasantness ended.

What first struck me as odd was the demeanor and dress of the wait staff. To call it 'laid back' would be an understatement. Of the three servers in our relative section, one wore short shorts and a tank top with visible bra straps. When she spoke, her hands never left her pockets. A second server had an ... intriguing lace over skirt, with a somewhat short skirt underneath. The third server was actually professionally dressed. When they spoke, it was in such a tone that it felt almost as if they didn't want to be there. There was no energy. There were no smiles. It felt .. uncomfortable, and none too friendly.

To start, Brian and I each ordered a glass of wine. Would you believe it took almost 15 minutes for us to get our wine? Strike two.

For meals, Brian ordered the hangar steak ($20). I ordered the bone marrow from their small plates section ($14), plus a small plate serving of the fresh pasta entree with shrimp, pancetta, and peas ($14).

It took well over an hour for our entrees to be served. Inexcusable! What's more, we watched as table upon table of diners seated after us received wine within 3 minutes, and appetizers/small plates within 10-12 minutes. One table in particular (of 2 people) received a never ceasing processional of wine, and appetizers, on the house, while Brian and I sat, hungry, and waiting. After the 4th free appetizer, delivered by a gentleman from the bar who wasn't even serving in this section (my guess is a manager), he says to them "You might want to consider ordering some food." He then chuckles, and walks away.

Meanwhile, the servers who are serving everyone else have not communicated to us about the wait time. After about 25 minutes or so, the bone marrow (and only the bone marrow) arrives. Now, on the one hand, I concede I should have asked that both my small plates be brought out together. On the other hand, as a server, when your customer orders 2 small plates as a meal, wouldn't it make sense to ask them if they wanted the small plates served together? This goes back to the less then welcoming, less than energetic service we received.

I'll actually segue here, and talk about the taste of the dish. I'm not a bone marrow aficionado by any means, but I liked this rendition much better than the one I had at New World Bistro Bar. I think part of it was because the bones were lengthwise, providing more surface area for roasting. That said, one of the two bones had little to no fat on it at all, really leaving only the one bone left. The bones were accompanied by a handful of perfectly fried oysters, two toasted baguette slices, and a mango rhubarb chutney. While the flavors and textures complimented each other, the star of the dish was the chutney. Hands down, that chutney was amazing.

Now we return to the wait. Again, we notice tables being turned over and served while we wait. What's even worse was that the wait staff was not only avoiding eye contact by this point, but they were also avoiding walking by our table at all. Even the simplest communication of "we're sorry for the wait, your plates will be up very soon," or some other form of acknowledgement would have been appreciated. Instead, I felt like we were being ostracized, and I couldn't figure out why.

After a 40 minute stretch, Brian and I were about to flag the earlier gentleman from the bar, who was now serving drinks to -and chatting with- another table. As hungry as we were, we had finally reached our breaking point, and were ready to leave. Lo and behold, off to our right, we see a server approaching (I don't even remember which one it was at this point, I was so hungry..and angry). Our dishes finally arrived, 40 minutes after my small plate.

Brian's steak was cooked to a perfect medium, and had good flavor. The fried potato gnocchi was also delicious, and everything was bathed in freshly grated cheese. What was unfortunate was the size of the plate. For $20, the portion size was that of a small plate. There was a grand total of 10 pieces of gnocchi on the plate. If you're unfamiliar with gnocchi, they're made of potato and flour and are barely the size of a finger tip. For a $20 steak entree, I dare say it felt like a ripoff.

By contrast, my pasta dish was the perfect size for a small plate. The pasta was al dente. The sauce, though uninspired, was still tasty. The shrimp were fresh, and perfectly cooked. My one complaint is that the peas were hard. They were crunchy, and undercooked, really taking away from the rest of the dish.

It probably goes without saying, but the Wine Bar is not on our list of places to return. Tasty as the food may be, the utter lack and failure in service makes me cringe at the thought of eating there again. For the first time, in our roughly 70 reviews, we found ourself having to grab something else to eat from a nearby establishment, in order to feel like we had a meal.

By a slim margin, the only thing holding the Wine Bar at a 3 fork rating was that the food was good.

Bone Marrow	Hangar Steak w/Crispy Gnocchi

Fresh Pasta w/ Shrimp

Provence

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Created on Tuesday, 30 April 2013 01:08

Provence Restaurant is located in Stuyvesant Plaza, in Guilderland, and is situated towards the back of the shopping complex. The menu is very French, and the decor is quite classy; up to and including the open style kitchen centered along the left wall as you walk halfway into the establishment. At first you may think, "Hmm, should I have dressed up for this?" or "Wait, this upscale a restaurant, in a strip mall?" I do assure you that Provence manages to strike that balance, catering to a relaxed atmosphere, in an upscale environment.

Brian, and I had been to Provence at least once before. Although we knew what quality to expect, that would not dissuade us from providing a truthful account if we received anything less than that. I'm happy to report that in all but 1 aspect, Provence did not falter.

Since this meal was a special occasion, we decided to sample appetizers (and cocktails), in addition to our standard entree fare. Appetizers were the Bacon Wrapped Monkfish, and the Sizzling Chili Shrimp. For our entrees, I ordered the Canard au Cerises (pan seared duck breast). Brian ordered the small portion of Steak Frites, and tied that with an appetizer of the Lobster Mac & Cheese.

Our waiter for the evening was very knowledgeable, pleasant, and prompt. Bread was served, alongside a pesto/olive oil mixture. The bread would have been better warm, and the dipping accompaniment needed a touch of salt.

As we noshed on the bread, we took joy in watching the hustle and bustle of the kitchen. Our seats had a direct view.

The Sizzling Chili Shrimp were described as having a touch of red chili flake, but not being all that spicy. I would disagree. The sauce had a bit too much chili flake, providing a heat that was almost overpowering. I don't mind a little heat, but either the chef was heavy handed with the chili flakes, or the dish was described wrong. Also, the shrimp, although cooked perfectly, had an off taste that (to me) was very reminiscent of problems with freezer storage. Brian disagreed, but I couldn't deny the lingering, almost metalic, taste in my mouth that didn't dissipate until I ate and drank something else. Brian, though, enjoyed the shrimp thoroughly.

By contrast, I really enjoyed the monkfish. It was succulent, juicy, cooked perfectly, and wrapped in bacon. What more could you ask for? I also think the bacon helped bring out a natural saltiness that the monkfish has. It's a nice, rich flavor. I enjoyed this dish more than Brian.

Towards the end of our appetizers, Brian resumed his enjoyment of watching the staff in the open kitchen. A few moments later, he kind of gave me a confused look. When I asked him what was wrong, he told me that he saw one of the waitresses plucking Frites (french fries) out of a fresh basket that was placed on the open kitchen counter (where the orders come from). Now, I was confused. Did the waitress order the Frites for herself?

No, she did not. We know this because, mere seconds later, Frites disappeared from that counter and Frites were delivered to our table...

I encouraged Brian to bring this to the attention of the restaurant's management. There was only 1 basket of Frites on that counter. It was the one Brian saw the waitress eating out of. Now that basket was no longer on the counter, and Frites were on our table.

Brian chose not to bring up the Frites. At best, the waitress had ordered, and was eating, Frites on her shift, straight from the open kitchen counter (I find myself not believing that to be the case). At worse, she ate someone's (Brian's) Frites. I find that unacceptable.

Our entrees arrived, and though there was a sour dampener on what we had witnessed, we still partook of the food.

My duck was perfectly cooked. The breast needed a little salt, and so did the confit potatoes, but the skin was wonderfully crispy and there was even some dark meat in the dish as well. Delightfully flavorful. The brandied cherries were a perfect touch, and that's the way to do a cherry sauce with a duck entree. Bravo.

Brian's steak was cooked more rare than he ordered, but it was tender and juicy. I won't talk about the Frites .. But, I will say that the lobster mac & cheese was "WOW!" It was a towering, overflowing, vessel that was oozing an AMAZING cheddar sauce, TONS of lobster meat, perfectly cooked elbow macaroni, and seasoned breadcrumbs. It's, by far, the best lobster mac & cheese I ever remember having.

Feeling well fed, we passed on dessert and waited for the check. The wait stretched for some time, and I was beginning to get frustrated at the sight of our waiter going in every direction, suddenly, but ours. To my pleasant surprise, when our waiter returned, he both acknowledged and deeply apologized for the wait. This man impressed me. I believe his name was Bill. {I bet he doesn't eat off of customer's plates.... Sorry, I just had to throw that in there one more time ...It angers me...}

Pilfered food notwithstanding, Provence really is a high quality restaurant. Unfortunately, I just don't feel I can have enough trust to go back, which is a real shame. A real shame, and it's one that I'm terribly unhappy about.

(More pictures below the final review)

Sizzling Chili Shrimp	Bacon Wrapped Monkfish
Lobster Mac & Cheese	Pan Seared Duck Breast

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Ambition Bistro Coffee House & Eatery

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Created on Saturday, 13 April 2013 20:49

Ambition Bistro, also known as Ambition Coffee House and Eatery, is located at 154 Jay Street in Schenectady. Now, if you're not familiar with downtown Schenectady, allow me to pass along something I learned the hard way. Not all of Jay Street is actually a street! There's a small one block section of "Jay Street" that's actually a sidewalk. This is where you will find Ambition. I don't advise driving down the sidewalk.. I'm pretty sure law enforcement would frown on that. So, cross your fingers and find parking!

Ambition Bistro boasts a menu of fresh made specialty sandwiches, coffees and lattes, cocktails, wine, and pastries. My original plan was to order a couple of sandwiches to go. Then I walked inside. The decor is so quirky, and off the wall that it's actually welcoming. It had that cafe feel of, "grab a seat, grab a latte, grab a sandwich and stay a while." So I did. There are even cafe couches in the far back.

When you walk in, there's a sign saying to seat yourself at any clean table. Now, this admittedly had me worried. Would the wait staff know that a new customer just randomly occupied a seat? Are they really that attentive? They were pretty busy. Well, they really were that attentive. Seconds after I took a seat, I noticed one of the servers poke his head around. A minute later, a server (I couldn't tell if it was the same one) was delivering a sandwich to the table behind me, and told me he'd be right back. Another minute (or two) later, he was back and I had menu in hand. A few minutes after that, a second server came to make sure I had gotten a drink order in. Since I had, I decided to take the opportunity to order my sandwiches.

My meal consisted of the "Brie My Raspberry," and "Jay Walking" sandwiches ($8 each). The Brie My Raspberry is a seasoned, grilled turkey breast (not the cold cut stuff folks!) with warm, melted brie and a raspberry compote served on grilled sourdough bread. This was a perfect balance of flavors. The turkey was fall apart tender, and so juicy. The raspberry compote was perfectly balanced (hardly tart at all), and the brie was warm and creamy. Brie was a good call for this dish, because a stronger cheese might've clashed or overpowered the flavors. The sourdough was hearty, and held the juicyness well. I wonder if it's homemade.

The Jay Walking is a grilled chicken breast with bacon, cheddar, and a house made bbq sauce served on grilled multigrain. When the Jay Walking arrived, I pinched off a piece of the grilled chicken and have to say I was mildly disappointed that the chicken breast wasn't seasoned. Then I took a bite of the whole sandwich. That'll teach me to pick apart my food (not really). The bbq sauce brought everything together. Eating the sandwich, as a whole, added so much flavor that there was no real way to tell that the chicken itself hadn't been seasoned. I can't recall a dish with grilled chicken breast that actually managed to get away with that. My one critique about the Jay Walking was that the house bbq sauce could have used a bit more tang (more worcestershire maybe). It was a little too sweet, and a little too thin in consistency. The multigrain bread, as with the sourdough above, was hearty and really tasted homemade.

The service was impeccable, fast and friendly. I will say that, in my humble opinion, $8 is a bit pricey for a standard sized sandwich; even with the chips. On the flip side, if you're going to do crafted sandwiches, do it right. Ambitions does it right. So, if you find yourself in Schenectady, wanting a meal that's light and tasty; complete with a warm, unique, and friendly atmosphere then you need to visit Ambition.

"Brie My Raspberry"	"Jay Walking"