Don't go all Jason and the Argonauts on me now...

It was date night. Yes, kinda similar to how Mr. Broad and I go out to dinner normally but this way we classify it "date night" so it justifies it to us if we want to go somewhere nicer or have an extra glass of wine or three ... ya know, it's okay.

Greek?! But I don't know if I'm in the mood for Greek
What exactly is a Greek mood?
I don't know how but I eventually convinced Mr. Broad to go this route.

Okay. Secret: I've been to this restaurant before a couple years back and had a fab meal.

Snack Taverna
63 Bedford Street

Mr. Broad and I perused the Greek wine list as if we spoke the language and blah blah blah, Aphrodite, Hercules and George Stephanopoulos.
Except for Medusa. She sucks. Worst Greek character ever.

Sauteed Calamari Gigantes Garlic Lemon and Cilantro
Gigantes are beans. Like really large beans. Hence the name. And they rock.
The calamari was awesome too- not fried- but absorbed the sauce. Not sure if this was really authentic "Greek" but we enjoyed it. My complaint. The size. The gigante beans really made the bowl feel that much smaller.
And the lemon.




Striped Sea Bass over a Bed of Tomatoes and Asian eggplant.
I went for the special. Holy large portion. Okay. This made up for the calamari. And the fish, left with the skin on that you eat, had reminded me of the fresh variety we had while in Thailand.
And the eggplant and tomatoes. Quality and seasonal.



And a close up look to the veggies.




Oven Roasted Leg of Lamb - with Tomatoes, Roasted Garlic, Olives, Rosemary and Zucchini Fritter
The lamb was nice and tender. Mr. Broad commented it was lukewarm instead of hot. I tasted the rosemary throughout but I think the temperature really threw Mr. Broad for a loop. The zucchini fritters were good, crunchy and if I do say so had more fillings than an Applebee's crab cake (If they were to serve crab cakes of course).

Review
Snack Taverna wasn't as good as I may have remembered it the first time around. A good meal for sure but I don't know maybe I'm a bit tainted now cause we live in New York and I have a lot more restaurants in context. Yes, confession: I've become more of a snob. Oh what am I talking about, I'd still go back. But plenty of other places to try a second time around before that... And for our next Greek splurge; I think we'll stick to our neighborhood of Astoria. A bit more authentic for all things spanikopita and feta.

Rating: 7

Okay! So tell me! Who's your favorite Greek character? Ancient or modern?
Nia Vardalos anyone?

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How do you say Arugula in Italian??

Last weekend, our good friends, the Chrommie's were in town and relying on us to take them to a good lunch place to eat at. Ya know cause I have a food blog.

Uh PRESSURE.
We WERE looking for places to eat outside, however we decided to seek homage in a restaurant in Greenwich Village because it was RAINING since apparently I MOVED TO SEATTLE. Ugh.

'ino

21 Bedford Street

Our meal started off with good ol' bellini's and beers. Off to a good start until we got the mamouth menu. Everything just looked good, overwhelming and well, in need of an Italian translator.

Mainly focusing on the bruschetta and panini section we narrowed it down. Because who can go wrong with a pressed sandwiches. Not me!

First off, we went for the platter of four for bruschetta.

Ricotta Fresca with Oven-Roasted Tomato

White Bean, Tomato, and Basil

Goat Cheese with Fennel Fronds (I think??)

And something else.

All good, a little taste of something good to come.

No real comments, I just remember Mrs. Chrommie was in a happy place because she had goat cheese. I could have used a bigger (or more?) roasted tomato on mine covering the whole bread.

Ordering our entrees became a bit harder since the choices were abundant and we kind of needed a translator. Soppressata? Rucola? Bresaola? After many consultations with our waiter and we figured out they were generally Italian beefs, eggplant or something cured. Oh and Rucola is a fancy way of saying Arugala in Italian.

See, I go above and beyond just the pretty pictures.

After trying to do a "sharing system" (where let's be honest someone always gets screwed) we found the Panini sampler platter. Our choice of four different smaller paninis per person. Now we're in business.

Mr. Chrommie and I ordered the same four:

Bresaola, Asparagus and Pecorino Peppato

Prscuitto, Mozzarella, and Tomato

Chicken, Oven-roasted Tomato, Asiago and Rucola

And something pork-like with a spicy sauce.

I don't remember what Mrs. Chrommie and Mr. Broad ordered because remembering my four was pretty hard. And I only have pictures of mine because uh, they all kinda looked alike.

While all tasty- some comments from the table:

"I think the bread is cutting up the roof of my mouth"

"Ooh the olive one isn't even that olive-y"

"The pork one with spicy sauce is my favorite"

"Hey, I wanted a bite of that one!"

"Umm, do they all kind of taste alike?"

And another view.

Review:

Yeah while I don't have too many adjectives on this post (SORRY! It was hard enough to remember what I ATE!) come on- it was toasted bread, a cheese, a meat and maybe something extra. Like "butternut squash mustard." Hard to screw up, no? The sandwiches were creative and I think I only had one I didn't love- my chicken/tomato one was a bit dry. So dry that it required a stop at a bar afterwards because I was still oh so parched. Right. While Mr. Broad reflected back, commenting that some were on the bland side I think he just wished he ordered the spicy pork special panini.

Rating: 7.5

While we were wavering on the rating, Mr. Chrommie upped it because while he didn't order, it they DID have nutella on the menu. And that clearly required an extra .5. I had to agree.

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