Showing posts with label Outdoor. Show all posts

Thursday, August 27, 2020

Outdoor Social DIstance Seating at Fire and Oak

Fire and Oak, Jersey City

479 Washington Blvd, Jersey City, NJ 07310

An adventure out to celebrate our 28th Anniversary. Fire and Oak is part of the Westin Hotel in Jersey City.

Notes

While part of the 'waterfront' it is NOT on the river, but the wind funnels as if it were. We sat on the patio, they also had seating out front on the sidewalk.

The Sangria was perfect for the warm evening.

We started with the Spicy Thai Tuna Sushi Roll

Amy had Diver Scallops over Lobster and Asparagus Risotto.

I had the BBQ Ribs, the sides were Cole Slaw and Herbed Fries. The wind blew the fries off the plate and across the table. I was able to rescue enough of them!

We finished with the Key Lime Pie.

Thursday, July 16, 2020

First Meal At A Restaurant in 4 Months

Union Burger Bar

40 Bowden Square, Southampton, NY 11968

Our first at the restaurant dining experience in 4 months! During this COVID-19 Phased Reopening, how much do we forgive when writing a review? Wait service in the Hamptons in the summer already is working with modified expectations.

Social distancing on the lawn: no problem.

Notes

We were the first clients of the morning, so it is not like the kitchen or staff was overwhelmed yet.

Everything was prepared excellently. The burgers were cooked to perfection.

The first French fries in 4 months were tasty.
The fried pickles were hot from the fryer and the perfect balance of vegetable/vinegar/breading.
The shake was definitely photo-worthy.

Then there were the problems. One of the draft beers was not available - has happened a hundred times. The specified brioche bun came out as a pretzel bun. The 'appetizer' order of fried pickles arriving 10 minutes after the burgers - cold burgers - hot pickles. The shake arriving another 10 minutes after that - did they think it was dessert?

Not understanding basic if/then/else logic - unforgivable. "IF you can make the ($14) Cookie Monster shake with chocolate ice cream, then I want that. Otherwise, I want the plain ($8) chocolate shake." Need I tell you what came to the table? The $14 vanilla version; when asked about it the server just answered "yes."

Union Burger Bar might be in the process of rebranding as well. Was it not “Union Cantina”

before “Union Burger Bar”

and the new logos are “Union @Bowden Square - Steak and Sushi”

that cannot help.

As I started by saying, service is never expected to be professional during the summer. During this Phased Reopening, restaurants are hit hard from all sides - lack of labor, lack of usable capacity, and lack of customers lead the list, but the service that does exist needs to be moderately competent if they expect to keep the few customers they have.

Friday, July 26, 2019

Dinner with Greg and Kerry-Jeanne and their Family

Backyard at Solé East Resort

Solé East
90 Second House Road
Montauk, NY 11954

"The original restaurant lost our reservation" and "Sure, it is Friday, but we can seat your party of nine tonight without a problem" are typically not promising starts to a dinner get together. It is a good thing we did not let those setbacks dissuade our enthusiasm.

Notes

Amy and I have been here before. Once for cocktails and outdoor movies. Once with Irene for dinner.

The exterior hides the gem of the Backyard.