Bar Americain

> Location : 152 W. 52nd Street, New York, N.Y. 10019, U.S.A.
> Cuisine : American
> Tel. # : (1) (212) 265-9700
> Website : http://www.baramericain.com
> Price Range : $$$$

Being in New York, I thought I'd try to go to a real life Iron-Chef-owned restaurant. From his TV shows, I thought I'd like Bobby Flay's restaurants. My friend had already been to Mesa Grill and said she didn't really like it, so Bar Americain it was. It's unfortunate that it was too dark to take any good photos of the food.

The decor of the place was very New York, and classic. The restaurant was quite large, quiet, and had a lofty area. Our table was upstairs on the loft, which we enjoyed because it gave us the opportunity to stay away from the noise and observe the action below. While we waited for our table, we grabbed some drinks at the bar. Well, not really drinks, but two club sodas and an iced tea. To my surprise, we were CHARGED for the club sodas! Hah! That was a minus. But anyway ...

Bobby Flay is known for his creative uses of spice rubs and sauces, so keeping that in mind we perused the menu(warning: it's a pdf). The bread basket that arrived contained some mini baguettes, dinner rolls, and these really yummy fried cornbread things. We didn't know what they were, but they were delicious!

To start off, I had the Gold Corn Johnny Cake, Barbecued Duck, with Cranberry Butter. The duck was very flavorful. The cranberry butter tasted almost like a classic duck sauce (hoisin sauce) but not quite. The johnny cake also provided a lovely sweet balance to the duck's bold taste.

For our entree, Kathleen and I decided to share the Spice-Rubbed Rib-Eye steak. The meat was broiled perfectly (medium); however, we thought the steak would be more "spice-rubbed." That doesn't mean it wasn't good of course. As side dishes, we got Fries Americain with a Smoked Red Pepper Mayonnaise and the Cauliflower and Goat Cheese Gratin. Both were excellent - the fries were perfectly seasoned and went well with the special mayo; the cauliflower dish was perfectly baked with a very mild goat cheese.

Myra got the Wild Salmon with Pinot Noir, Cracked Wheat, Hazelnuts. The cracked wheat "rice-ish" mixture that came with the Salmon was really citrusy and fragrant. Alone, it tasted strange, but with the salmon, it was okay. I was not really a fan of the mixture.

Her companion had the Lamb Porterhouse Chops with the Cranberry-Cabernet Sauce, and Sweet Potato Gratin. I did not taste this, but he ate it all up, so I have the impression that it was excellent.

For dessert, we order two items: a Sticky Toffee Pudding Sundae and a Strawberry Creme Brulee. Being a fan of sticky toffee pudding (Gallagher's at NYNY Hotel and Casino makes a delicious one), I was excited to taste it. I was let down a bit. The pudding was not sticky at all. It was in fact, quite dry. Bleh. The creme brulee was standard. There was indeed a strawberry flavor, but it was overpowered by an orange tinge. I was not impressed by the desserts. However, the cappucino that I ordered was excellent. It's unfortunate that the service staff forgot to bring a coffee that we ordered.

The food was good, but not consistently good. I would rate it 4 stars, but the service really upset me. First we were forgotten about. Then, they did the waiter switch-a-roo on us and that was not cool. Lastly, they forgot one of our coffees and how can you really enjoy dessert without coffee? Perhaps they will get better as they are still pretty new and haven't gotten their act together yet.

< 3.5 out of 5 >

Dan Tana's

> Location : 9071 Santa, Monica Blvd, West Hollywood,
California, 90069, U.S.A.
> Cuisine : Italian
> Tel. # : (check website)
> Website: http://www.dantanasrestaurant.com/

Cute little Italian joint ... or so I thought! : A friend and I had a concert at the Troubadour next door and were hungry. The doorman recommended Dan Tana's for a drink. We had never heard of this place but stuck our heads in anyway. We asked for a table of two. The host told us we were lucky because it was 5 min before it would get really busy! He did mention the table was not so good and we quickly discovered why - it was in the way of several booths and we were cramped. But that's okay, the people watching and food made up for it.

The portions were pretty large. We actually shared an appetizer - the MOZZARELLA MARINARA - and an entree - Chicken Parmigiana, with sides of sphaghetti with meat sauce. The mozzarella was fantastic; we felt like we were eating a cube of fat (in a good way!) and could feel a heart attack coming any minute. The bread, btw, was standard toasted french bread - nothing extraordinary. The entree was very large and split between us, we still got a healthy portion (probably 8 oz) of chicken. The spaghetti side was not that great - a bit bland for me - I've had better spaghetti with meat sauce at other restaurants. But perhaps an entree of spaghetti would taste better? The chicken was great though. We were definitely too full for dessert, though the waiter made a good attempt to persuade us.

The service was excellent. The host was very nice to us as well as our waiter (who at first, we thought were the same person b/c they looked similar). Our water glasses were constantly filled. The waiter was friendly and funny. We left a healthy tip. We both said to each other that we'd definitely return again, though, now that I hear it's difficult to get reservations, I'm not so sure.

BTW, the other patrons are not very diverse if that matters to you. We were the only minorities in the place and we felt a little out of place. Granted, we were going to a concert so not as dressy as the others. But we did see a lot of folk, who looked like they had just come off of their yachts/golf courses.

> Pros : cute decor, friendly waitstaff
> Cons : crowded
> Overall rating : Highly Recommended