oliver's

although I love to dine out and experience different meals as much as anyone else, it's the camaraderie of the dinner club that I enjoy most. last night was no exception as five (all veterans) enjoyed buffalo's fine dining standard at Oliver's last night. a number of the group had to cancel because of mother nature although, not to rub it in, there was not a trace of snow on delaware avenue last night nor in my driveway this morning (see attached photos).
the group started with some appetizers and small plates: their beef carpaccio (excellent), scallops with baked potato and caviar (good), not too greasy fois gras (very good), beet salad (good), their bolognese (average), mozzarella with melon and prosciutto, and their lobster roll which was basically lobster salad served in a buttery bread envelope with potato chips on the side (very good).
for entrees the group tasted the calabrese pizza (sans broccoli) which was dominated by the flavor of the goat cheese and spicy sausage (good). we also ordered their fresh (so we were told) ahi tuna (good).

for dessert the group shared buche noel - light vanilla cake with chocolate frosting swirls wrapped on a chocolate ganache (excellent).
perhaps it was my high expectations for what I've always regarded as one of buffalo's 'a-one' restaurants or perhaps it was really just the quality of the food but the Oliver's experience let me down a bit so it gets a 'B'.

Brasa

greetings and salutations,
Eight (2 rookies) enjoyed canada's finest foreign food at Brasa Brazilian Restaurant last night. As someone said afterward, "meat is back on the menu boys!" i am still so stuffed that we may need to avoid buffets in the future.
here's the deal with Brasa: all you can eat.
here's the rub: you get a buffet featuring baked salmon (good) along with 70 + items (salads, cheeses, potato dishes, rice, beans, cold cuts, etc.); 'gauchos' (for all intents and purposes, south american cowboys) serve various meats (also grilled pineapple) off a skewer at the table: chicken legs, pork sausage, lamb leg, beef tenderloin, beef rib eye, beef rump, beef short ribs rump steak, chicken breast in bacon, beef bottom sirloin and filet mignon wrapped in bacon. The gauchos come by the table and bring the meat when your two-sided 'tag' is turned to green and pass you by when your tag is flipped to red.
I had the filet wrapped in bacon (awesome), pork sausage (very good), chicken wrapped in bacon (good), bottom sirloin (excellent), top sirloin (awesome), lamb (ok), pineapple (with a brown sugar, cinnamon glaze - delicious), rib eye (ok) and rump steak (ok) - in other words, cholesterol heaven! i will say that most of the meats were much better when initially tasted than when tried a second time.
apparently the meat (and the small buffet portions I tasted) wasn't enough for me last night as i decided to have dessert - cheesecake factory-made chocolate cake ala mode (good).

the Brasa experience was not for the faint of heart or in other words 'Caveat Vegetariat' - vegetarians beware. if you like meat and a lot of it you will enjoy Brasa, if not there's always fallsview casino across the street. I happen to like fish, fowl and other former living beasts. although i lost $100 in 5 minutes at the casino afterward explaining the nuances of blackjack to certain vegas-bound friends, it was a good night. regardless of my gambling loss, i'm giving Brasa an A.

Ulrich's

thirteen (two newbies) enjoyed casual, german fare at Ulrich's last night. the yankees won, people were chatty, there was no soccer on tv to put us to sleep and I avoided a soup attack on my lap with my cat-like reflexes - basically a great night.
if the first rule of dining club is you don't talk about dining club, the close second is don't take my appetizer and claim you thought it came with your entrée or maybe the second rule is don't pour food on me . . .
anyway, with 13 of us it was hard to coordinate sharing especially since most dishes had numerous, small, diverse portions. I started with potato pancakes as did a couple others. warm, chewy goodness with a side of applesauce. for an entrée, I ordered their combo dinner - sauerbraten and wiener schnitzel. I'm not entirely sure what was what but my meal came with sauerkraut, red cabbage, some type of cutlet (i'm pretty sure it was veal), some marinated beef and spaetzel.
the sauerbraten is the marinated beef - a little tough but some flavor. the same can be said for the wiener schnitzel - a breaded pork or veal cutlet, tough with a little flavor. I really enjoyed the spaezel - noodle-like morsels and the red cabbage. one of us had their 'red baron' which was a large stuffed potato pancake stuffed with sausage and sauerkraut. others ordered sausage dishes - bratwurst, weisswurst, kielbasa and american sausage I believe. I didn't try any other dish for reasons stated above.
for dessert, val ordered a huge piece of chocolate cake which she impressively managed to down by herself. some others including myself ordered their bread pudding - pieces apple, cranberry? in a moist doughy bread, topped with burgundy. very good.

I can't say that I've had all that much exposure to german food but I would consider Ulrich's to be authentic german cuisine. the potato pancakes were very good, the entrees were good in a tasty, satisfying and filling way and the dessert was very good. in no way is Ulrich's fine dining but I have no complaints except for the soup making the floor slippery but it was truly a satisfying meal if you enjoy german food so Ulrich's gets a B+.

Tantalus

it was another pleasant evening with seven of us visiting East Aurora's Tantalus.
the group started the evening sharing their drunken goat pizza appetizer - flat bread topped with goat cheese, pine nuts and basil. Survey says "very good." we also had their calamari (overcooked) and their stuffed, split chili peppers (better than average).
for the main course, I ordered their pork tenderloin off the menu - creole mustard glazed tenderloin with mashed potatoes and gravy. i enjoyed the dish but not as much as the pork tenderloin from their specials which was topped ancho chilies, tart cherries, currants & coffee beans. spicy and delicious. others ordered the spaghetti carbonara with bacon, parmgiano-reggiano, garlic & egg (not outstanding but tasty), the filet au poivre topped with a brandy, tarragon cream with mashed & gravy as well as their ravioli stuffed w/ salmon. (i didn't try either dish and can't recall anyone offering an opinion as to either). I was told the fettuccne w/ proscutto & basil tossed in mascarpone (italian creme cheese) parmesan cheese, topped with arugula was good and tasted their veal florentina in a tomato basil garlic sauce but can’t say I was wowed by it.

for dessert, most of the group headed next door to Taste where we sampled tiramisu and a cupcake (both mediocre).

the appetizers were good and the entrees were mainly average with the exception of the tenderloin special. to me, the company and conversation stood out much more than the food but that's how i roll so Tantalus gets a B.

Miscellaneous

i've had two dining experiences, since the korea house adventure, that i'd like to share (delete now if you are dave sanchez):
1) i visited my first St. Joseph's Day Table on March 19. although my hometown of Rochester has plenty of Italians, the St. Joe's Table phenomenon doesn't seem to have as much importance as here in Buffalo (neither does St. Patrick's Day for that matter). All I can say is that I need to either start dieting or running again (probably both after the gorging). let's see, I had spaghetti with red sauce, linguini with clam sauce, breaded haddock, calamari, lobster tortellini & cheese, shrimp in a spicy red sauce, cassata cake, about 50 cream puffs and éclairs. unfortunately, i didn't have enough room to taste all the other dishes that were available. everything was fantastic especially the calamari and cassata cake - it just reaffirms that nothing beats homemade. thanks again to the harrington's for the invite;
2) this past wednesday a friend asked if i wanted to try a restaurant that serves eastern european/russian food. i'm afraid to name the place in fear that the following might permit a lawsuit for libel but i will throw my friend ray under the bus for suggesting the place. we started with salad. yellow iceberg lettuce in a glass bowl - no dressing, some tomato bits - ugh. by the way, no one was there except for ray and i. we also given a basket of bread - some hearty, not-too-fresh bread. we had chicken and mushroom blintzes which I can say were ok but were plain tasting. then the entrees - i had ogbvny (this place doesn't deserve a spell check) - a breaded pork cutlet which was supposed to be served with the restaurant's 'special sauce' - I read a review later that said their special sauce was pretty much ketchup. ray had pressed cornish hen. the best part of the entrees were the side of home fries and the only thing I will say about them is that they were salted. the best part (read: worst) of the meal was the drink: kvas - apparently an authentic, non-alcoholic, russian drink which was described to be a cross between root beer and beer. it was so bad I wished there was alcohol in it - I had to hold my breath to drink it. I had the special treat of having a dingleberry floating in mine which almost resulted in ray having a stroke from laughing so hard. this is the kind of drink that put hair on the chests of the russian women and allows them to pass off as men. after the dingleberry, the funniest part of the night was when we were talking to the waitress after the meal (and I use that term loosely) - first, when the waitress said the place had been open for three (3) years - ray's eyes almost blew out of his head from the seeming impossibility that this s***hole could be sustained for that long. second, ray mentioned he read part of a review for the restaurant and the waitress said she read it too and it was not a good review which created an uncomfortable, awkward dynamic. the funny thing, is that the rating was a home run for this place as it used kid gloves for the entire review.

La Tee Da

last night six (6) partook in italian fare on the charming patio of La Tee Da in Allentown. the patio was packed and the jazz quartet jamming. the only negative to the patio was that i could barely hear anyone else's conversations (even when they included me) which of course did not stop me from talking the entire evening much to the dismay of the group. despite this, our clan seemed to enjoy the atmosphere.

starting off, we ordered their eggplant wings - breaded eggplant sticks in a buffalo wing sauce - basically healthy chicken fingers served with blue cheese, celery and carrots - delicious. th group also ordered the stuffed hot peppers (good, see previous discussions). i also had their caprese salad which was disappointing - no balsamic (see previous discussions).

for entrees, i ordered their spicy chicken sausage over penne pasta in what i can only guess to be not a marinara sauce but possibly a vodka, red sauce served with peppery sausage. at first bite, i wasn't sure if i liked the sauce or the dish but the taste grew on me and i found it to be an excellent choice. others ordered their vegetarian caponata with red & yellow peppers, onions, garlic, eggplant, zucchini over spaghetti which was spicy and tasty. also sampled was their seafood bowl - shrimp, muscles, clams and scallions in a broth served over pasta - very good.

for dessert, the table shared one slice of casada cake which was truly fantastic, maybe the best dessert i've had since starting the group.

it was a pleasant evening enjoyed on the urban, natural and inviting La Tee Da patio. nothing outstanding (except for the casada cake) and nothing negative (except for the noise) therefore, La Tee Da gets a B+.

Ming Teh

greetings,
still in search of another appropriate summertime restaurant we will be trying one with a decent patio in Allentown: La Tee Da (no website but nice write ups at http://www.yelp.com/biz/la-tee-da-buffalo) on August 4 at 6:30 p.m. Please send me confirmation sooner rather than later if you wish to attend.
six of us (one new) ventured into foreign land yesterday and tasted Fort Erie's best: Ming Teh. Conversation varied from politics to BP to politics to soccer to religion to Lily Dale and to politics.
to the food. the group started with their fried dumplings served with soy sauce. not too much to say about them - they were good. i also had a spring roll which was nothing to write home about.
Ming serves it's entrees family style making it easy to share. we started with their moo shu pork. stir fried vegetables and pork served in a paper thin pancake (more like a crepe) with hoisen sauce. very good. the next five entrées came out together: 1) spicy crunchy sesame ginger chicken; 2) beef with tangerine peel & garlic; 3) wine shrimp with fungus (mushrooms) & bamboo shoots; 4) stir-fried green beans; and 5) stir fried noodles with chicken, shrimp, pork and vegetables. I thought the ginger chicken stood out the most - crunchy, breaded chicken pieces served in a ginger, sesame sweet sauce that had just enough pepper in it to please the palate. I also thought the beef and tangerine dish was excellent as well - tender beef in a garlic sweet sauce. the stir-fried green beans were also excellent crispy and fresh. the noodle and seafood dishes were pedestrian at best.
no one ordered dessert as the main course filled everyone up.
i don't think you can consider Ming Teh to be fine dining, however, except for the presentation basically, the food comes close to a fine dining experience. all in all I give it a B+

Rue Franklin

so much for the patio Wednesday night as nine of us huddled inside Rue Franklin and avoided the torrential downpour.
the group seemed to avoid the Rue's standard fare with most of us ordering their pre fixe meal which started with either a tuna nicoise salad or a pesto gnocchi. i opted for the gnocchi which was excellent but also tasted the nicoise which was good as well. i also had a taste of their foie gras over mixed greens and mango. oddly enough, i had two different conversations earlier in the week about fruit in salad - no one seems to like fruit and greens together. discuss. needless to say, the foie gras appetizer was very rich and interesting. i was told their hearts of palm salad was good too.
FYI - i did not order their raw venison carpaccio with balsamic vinegar sauce. just sayin'.
the pre fixe also provided for either short ribs in a wine sauce or an atlantic char over i believe vermicelli as an entrée. the waiter reminded the group after six of us ordered the char that we could substitute mahi mahi as the entrée (no one did). the char was good but not exciting - i cannot even recall the sauce with which it was served. i'm not really a rib guy but their ribs were excellent. also excellent was their filet of sole with lobster sauce and rice pilaf. also ordered were their tuna steak and filet mignon, neither of which i tried.
a choice of any dessert came with the pre fixe and most ordered the chocolate cake soufflé with vanilla ice cream which was excellent. also tried was their fruit in a cream sauce over a crepe(?) which was very good as well.
Rue Franklin is another is fine dining experience and as such the portions were somewhat small but satisfying. i do think their pre fixe is a decent deal if you can handle the limited choices. with the lack of diversity in the dishes ordered and what i tried i'm tempted to give Rue Franklin an incomplete but will give it a B+ with an asterisk.

Daniel's

despite four last-minute cancellations, we still had six attend yesterday evening's dinner at Daniel's in Hamburg. Daniel's is to Hamburg as San Marco is to Snyder - tops. in a simple yet elegant setting, it's fair to say the group enjoyed the food, chat and the raging thunderstorm.
our posse started with Daniel's escargot appetizer: snails in a garlic butter sauce wrapped in a pasta cocoon. let me tell you, if balsamic is my #1 lure, garlic is a close second. i've never had escargot before and was not disappointed with Daniel's delivery - very good. The group also sampled their standard baked goat cheese appetizer (great), and special appetizers: butternut squash ravioli (good) and seared sashimi tuna (good). i also had their mozzarella salad with crispy prosciutto (average as the prosciutto added nothing to the dish).
as far as the entrees, i debated between ordering their veal chop and their roasted lobster tails over angel hair pasta in a vanilla bean butter sauce deciding for the later (doesn't seem like a difficult choice with that description though). jeff harrington decided to order what i didn't and grumbled about it afterwards as the sliced lobster tails with the hint of vanilla in that sauce were awesome while the veal chop was average. other choices included their standard tenderloin of veal with lobster (great), their halibut filet with crab meat (very good) and their rack of lamb with sea scallops - the lamb was perfectly tender and the scallops were perfectly crusted (excellent).
the group ordered an assortment of desserts, including their white and dark chocolate mousse (good), their chocolate marquis over a pistachio anglaise (excellent) chocolate timbale (didn't try) and their mascarpone with strawberries (very good).
Daniels's is fine dining and except for the some of the smallish portions which you would expect at such an establishment, i have little complaint (although i should have ordered a side of potato pancakes) so Daniel's joins the ranks of the elite with an A.

Santisero's

seven (one new) sat down at Santasiero's in buffalo last night to enjoy standard italian fare. if you haven't eaten at this staple of the west side I can tell you that there's nothing fancy there - decor or food but the place is solid (the food at least).
the group started with garlic bread with cheese, most of which had to be packed up for home because of the ample entrée portions. as far as the entrees, I had my favorite dish there, the pasta fasoola served with a side of hot peppers (tasty and satisfying). other's had: peas and macaroni, lentils and macaroni, spaghetti parm, linguini with clams, ziti with pesto sauce and spaghetti with tomato sauce. I sampled only the lentil dish which was good and everyone else seemed to enjoy their respective dishes. two dishes that I would have liked to sample are their goulash and their eggplant parmigian but because I enjoy the pasta fasoola so much I wasn't adventurous enough to order either myself.
no one had dessert as there is no dessert.
Santasiero's is about eating italian food and little else. their menu is billboarded on the walls of the restaurant and the scenery is out of a bad Sopranos episode but you can't beat the bang for the buck there so it gets a solid B.

The Korea House

i had a feeling that we were going to have a small turnout when the person who recommended the Korea House dropped out. four (two new) of us decided to venture out and sample some of korea's best cuisine (or some loose interpretation thereof) at the ostensibly, aptly named Korea House. our group started with boiled pork dumplings (average at best) and their fried chicken appetizer which was very similar to general tso's chicken served in strips (a little over-cooked but if you like general tso's you'd enjoy).
for entrees we ordered their chicken teriyaki and pork fried rice as well as their combo barbeque - scallops, chicken, beef and pork (or something passed off as pork which spurred much discussion). no surprises with the pork fried rice - it was solid. the chicken teriyaki was simply grilled chicken served in a teriyaki "broth" that i would say was fair but somewhat bland. the highlight of the meal was the barbeque which was prepared by our server at the table (ala shogun without the presentation). we were given assorted accoutrements to eat with the meats such as seaweed, kim che (cabbage), bean sprouts, green peppers, noodles, something they told us was fish, bean paste (surprisingly good) and some other mixers which could be wrapped up in lettuce together with the meats. i cannot comment whether the meal was authentic korean or not but I can tell you that the good is that the group had an opportunity to sample eatables that i'm sure no one had tasted previously, the bad is that I doubt any of us would have chosen to eat those comestibles. we were left with questions such as 'what are we eating?' and 'did you hear about that chinese restaurant in Hamburg?'
no one had dessert - 'nuff said.
the group agreed that the meal was 'an experience,' its strength being the novelty, but as novelties are usually their own pleasure in and of themselves, we all agreed that the korea house was not a restaurant any of us would likely visit again. therefore, the korea house gets a C- supported by the fact that the 'experience' was at least pleasant.

The Left Bank

yesterday we had our largest turnout yet with thirteen!!! (one new) at one of my favorites (if not the #1): The Left Bank (photos to follow courtesy of Rachel Kranitz and the not ready for prime time photographers). to my surprise, the Left Bank has wednesday asian night serving specials with an asian influence.

we were seated at two round, seven-top tables which the group quickly turned into an impromptu large table. louder than any other restaurant we have been at, it was very difficult hearing others at the table and nearly impossible to hold a conversation with someone not seated within two chairs but that didn't appear to stop everyone from enjoying the evening.

the best part of the meal were the appetizers: we ordered two ahi tuna tar tar's ($14 bucks per and worth every cent - possibly my favorite dish): raw tuna pieces on top of sticky rice with a spicy, drizzle of hot aioli and a spattering of tobiko; stuffed peppers (DNC - did not consume), calamari (very good - see previous emails) and their asian, dumpling special (no balsamic but a sesame soy drizzle = excellence).

it's hard to recall all of the entrées I sampled as I think only four of us ordered the same meal so were working with 9 different dishes that I tried but I'll do my best. I ordered the seafood vermicelli in miso broth special - it was somewhat bland and I barely had five forkfuls with all the other dishes i tried. I'm not a big fan of tuna steaks but I actually enjoyed the one bite I had of their ahi tuna steak but I wouldn't say it was anything more than better than average. my favorite entrée was their Carrot Papardella which was tossed with lobster, shrimp and crabmeat and served in a brandy cream sauce but was in fact served with rice rather than pasta due to a gluten issue. fantastic. I also enjoyed their Penne all’Arrabbiatta which was served with somewhat overcooked angel hair pasta, their Cheese Tortellini served in a romano cream sauce, their panko breaded chicken cutlets topped with avocado and cucumber, and I believe their Pasta & Seafood dish which was linguini with seafood in a light garlic (?) broth. I also had a finely cooked penne dish in red sauce and what I can only describe as a type of lasagna served with in a tomato, spinach sauce. in all, the entrees were pretty good but not 'A number one' compared to some of the other places we have visited.

for dessert the group ordered a chocolate devil's food cake, a chocolate chip mouse torte and a lemon something or other that I didn't try. the devil's food cake was somewhat dry but chocolaty, the torte was very good (mmmm, chocolate mousse) and I can't tell you about the lemon thingy but I was told it was very good.

if The Left Bank was judged by the appetizers I would give it an A+ but the entrees were a bit below my high expectations and the desserts were ehhh, so I'm giving it a B+.

The 31 Club

yesterday evening we had eight (two new) come to dinner at the 31 club.

maybe I had a San Marco hangover but I wasn't entirely thrilled with the vittles although the mood was considerably lighter than the previous month from the get-go. the group started with baby artichokes hearts stuffed with parmesan cheese, breadcrumbs, and some other fillings (maybe a lemon/parsley mix?) which were very good, their meatloaf foie gras with huckleberry sauce (really, really good if you can get past the foie gras part) and calamari. the calamari was good but like stuffed peppers or oysters you know what you're getting with them and rarely do you get something out of the familiar range (good or bad) and there was no exception here.
on to the entrées. a few things stood out on the menu that looked tasty but c'mon not even a hint of balsamic?!?! left with that fact, I teetered between their linguini with clam and lobster sauce and their tatliatelle bolognese, choosing the former as ms. georger opted for the bolognese. other choices were their eggplant lasagna, filet mignon and pork chop special. I suppose I should have read the specials better because I thought I was ordering the linguini with a white sauce when in fact it was a red sauce (does that make me sound snobby?). regardless, it was good. I enjoyed the bolognese a little more but didn't think it was as good as the one at Mulberry's. The filet was very good and had an exciting-sounding side: au gratin zucchini potatoes. it sounded better than it tasted but it was still good. I can't recall exactly how the pork chop was prepared - it seemed to me to have a type of creole/cajun flavor and was very good. apparently it's side of rice was excellent.

making up for San Marco, I hoarded a tiramisu which was very good.

again, any place would have a hard task following San Marco. regardless, I think B+ would be appropriate but I think The 31 Club is a step down from Mulberry's which I gave a B+ so I'm giving The 31 Club a B.