Villa Monaco, West Islip

I had been to Villa Monaco's many, many years ago and sad to say it did not leave a good impression with me then so when the hubby received a gift certificate I can not say I was exactly thrilled with going back again. Villa Monaco's has been located in West Islip for over 43 years and is known more for their catering than the actual restaurant itself. We went there right after work for their Early Bird Special Supreme Italian Dinner for Two @ $29.95, includes Soup and Salad. This special is served Monday through Friday from 4pm to 6:30 pm. We were expecting to have a wait not having made reservations, however we were only one of three tables for dinner that night.
Our waitress was Madeline. She was very friendly accommodating and helpful with the planning of our order. We started with the Clams Casino, salads and soups. Our entrees were Eggplant Supreme for me and for the hubby Calamari, Scungilli and Linguine special. Okay so starting with the Clams Casino. The small piece of bacon along with the tons of mixed pepper and onions was the only flavors. They were so overwhelming they masked the clam completely. The salads and soups were both OK. I was pleasantly surprised with my Eggplant dish though the portion was pretty small. Hubby's dish was good except for the calamari was ridiculously overcooked to the point of becoming hard and rubbery. As hubby has stated in previous articles there are only two ways to prepare calamari the first is to flash cook for a brief moment and the other is to cook it for hours. Anything in between unfortunately results in the texture of leather and that is what happened with his dish. It was early enough to have coffee and dessert where the caffeine would not keep us up all night. We both enjoyed the coffee which is saying a lot being we are both coffee connoisseurs. I especially enjoyed the pistachio tartufo where on the other hand the hubby did not have the same feelings...so I proceeded to eat the entire thing. Overall I can say that I was a little more impressed than I was in my past visit; but it is still a place that I would not often frequent. On the other hand hubby's opinion was that it was an overall "good bang for the buck" but also could not see going back very often.


On this visit they get 3 out of 5 forks.

http://www.villa-monaco.com/

 

Sonoma Grill Holbrook, NY

Sonoma Grill in Holbrook is a casual dining experience we have been going to from time to time for the past ten years. Glenn the chef owner was originally the head chef at Vincent's Clam Bar located in the Smith Haven Mall where we first had the opportunity to experience his cuisine. Sonoma Grill has a menu that consists of a diverse selection spanning from Classic American, Italian, Asian and much more. This restaurant is family oriented as well as having very active bar scene.
We started out with fried zucchini chips and Asian teriyaki wings. The zucchini came with an amazing Dijon Horseradish dipping sauce. We both enjoyed the chips the only thing I would say is that a few were overcooked a bit too crispy. The wings were absolutely perfect. The coating on the wings was enhanced by the char-grilled finish and was served with a sesame ginger dipping sauce that complimented them very well. These are a must try for any wing lover. The wifey as usual had to try one of their specialty drinks. She opted for the Flirtini Martini which is Raspberry Vodka, Pineapple Juice and a splash of Raspberry Liqueur with a float of Champagne and a twist of Raspberry Melba sauce. Being that I'm the driver I get to enjoy my ice water every time. The entrees were Chicken Marsala Pizza for the hubby and Chicken Francese for the wifey. My pizza had a superb crust that was done just right. Now keeping in mind my cheese allergy my toppings were only the chicken Marsala and caramelized onions making it a little plain. I am sure that with the addition of the mozzarella they way it normally comes would bring it all together very nicely. My usual choice is the outstanding Blackened Chicken Wrap with the slow roasted, super spicy, thinly sliced Cajun chicken, red onion, lettuce and tomato with a spicy mayo dressing minus the provolone it comes with. My wife enjoyed her Chicken Francese dish immensely. Just enough lemon and cooked so that the Chicken remained moist and tender- Job well done! We wanted to end the meal with their own variation of Bread pudding that we happen to love and unfortunately they were all out of that evening. This is another must try item on their menu.
All in all this is a great all around neighborhood restaurant to pop into any day of the week.


For this visit they earn four out of five forks.

http://www.sonoma-grill.com/main.asp

 

Mama Lombardi's Holbrook, NY

I must be honest about this place; it is by far the best Italian food I have ever had besides my mothers. Mama Lombardi's restaurant, Pork Store and Catering Halls are all top notch. From the service they provide to the ingredients they use and their expertise in preparations. We were married at Villa Lombardi's their catering hall located next door to Mama Lombardi's Restaurant in Holbrook; people talked about our wedding for years as far as being one of the best weddings they ever attended. We also frequent Lombardi's Market for one of the best pork store, bakery, butcher shop, Italian specialty and then some store.
We have gone to Mama Lombardi's on our anniversary every year since we have been married and this year was no exception. I started with the Grilled Calamari Salad. This is perfectly char-grilled calamari over baby field greens and red roasted peppers with a lemon olive oil vinaigrette. Mama Mia! Need I say more. The wifey poo had their Caesar Salad that she loves top with shaved Parmigiano Reggiano. For the main course I had the Mama's Special Zuppa Di Pesce which is served on a family style platter (yes I finished it all myself...no doggy bag required) this amazes the waiter every time. You get about a half pound of perfectly cooked to al dente Linguine topped with a massive amount of seafood including Clams, Shrimp, Lobster, Mussels, and Calamari in a marinara sauce made of the finest San Marzano Tomato's. I really can not say enough good things, words just can't do it justice this is a must try for the seafood lover. The wifey (who gets a doggy bag every time) had the Chicken Pollatine with Angel Hair pasta. The chicken is stuffed with Prosciutto and Mozzarella and comes in a Marsala wine and mushroom sauce. Even after all that I still had room for a light dessert. We shared a Lombardi's Delight; a custard with fresh berries topped with homemade whip cream. I may not have stressed it enough in the preceding so I'll say this...If you want Neapolitan cuisine any better than this Fugetaboutit!!! you"ll need to break out the passport
and head to Italy.

This time as well as every other time we have been there they get 5 out of 5 Forks!
(we may have to create something for these places that exceed our rating scale)

http://www.mammalombardis.com

Medley's, Islip

Even though I happen to enjoy the wifey-poo's cooking tremendously, I also enjoy dining out with her whenever we can. We wanted to try Medley's Restaurant and Lounge since opened in the quaint town of Islip. We had seen in advertisement in a local paper that they have an all you can eat special a few nights during the week and a Sunday Brunch both very reasonable priced. Upon being seated we had noticed that it was a "Pasta Night" all you can eat special that evening. The dishes looked and smelled very appealing but sadly to say I was not able to feast upon all of these dishes because of my allergy to cheese. So we decided to try some dishes off of their regular menu; but we do suggest anyone that is looking for a night of endless pasta trying Medley's Buffet. We both agreed on trying out the Homemade Beef Chili for our appetizer. I must say it was a very good chili served with water crackers. It is quite interesting the different variations chefs have with their idea of a perfect chili. Freddy the owner and Chef got this one right on with taste consistency and heat. As we were enjoying our appetizer Freddy introduced himself and some of the staff as well. He is a very nice guy with a very friendly personality. We both think is a big plus when you are trying to make a name for yourself and your restaurant. I opted for the Chicken Marsala and the wife chose the Medley's Pork Chop. We were both extremely happy with both dishes. The sear on the pork chop along with the caramelized onions and garlic wine sauce was a perfect combination. The Chef custom tailored the chicken Marsala to my taste; making it with olive oil in place of butter. He also uses a zucchini ring to wrap around some steamed veggies; very cool idea that makes a unique presentation. Over all a great experience from the food to the Chef and his staff. We chatted for some time with Freddy and mentioned that we would be back to try out their Sunday brunch with some friends.

They get 5 out of 5 forks!

http://www.medleysrestaurant.com

Classic American, West Babylon, NY (Revisited)

The hubby and I have been wanting to go back to this restaurant for some time now and the main reason is that we both were there the first night of the filming of the Kitchen Nightmare's episode. I was so excited about being there and also getting to meet one of my favorite chefs and TV personalities (plus he is a cutie).
I am happy to say that I did get to meet him the following day and the hubby took a great picture of us. Gordon Ramsay is truly a very nice guy and enjoyed meeting his fans. Well back to our thoughts of the restaurant. We had left work early one day and hubby suggested going back to Classic American Restaurant in West Babylon because he had been dying to try their Chef Ramsay tweaked hamburger since the airing of the show. I was hesitant because I remember how the food was and how our experience was with our first visit. But he twisted my arm so we stopped in at around 12:30. As soon as you walk in the doorbell rings... but no one came to greet us after being there for a few minutes. Eventually the gentleman who was fixing the toilet in the bathroom came over to us and seated us; which in this case was sign number 1 that this was going to be a nightmare, little pun there. Okay so after being seated and looking over the menu we both decided on the chili for an appetizer, unfortunately the waitress told us that the chili has not been made yet. Sign #2, it is lunchtime and the place was busy and you have not even begun to prepare a popular item on your daily menu. Oh boy where is Gordon Ramsay when you need him. We decided to skip apps and place our order for lunch which consisted of their house hamburger and I went for something lighter, the chicken Cesar salad. We also ordered a side of onion rings to share. Lets start with the hamburger; it was cooked exactly to order, however it was smothered in an odd tangy balsamic orange marmalade and topped with what they called coleslaw. Sign #3 the chicken that topped the salad was extremely dry and bland. The lettuce did not appear to be fresh and they replaced the olive tapenade with three lousy olives. Even as I write this I cannot fathom how anybody can screw up a simple salad. We both agreed the onion rings using red onions were unique and also tasted good. After a disappointing meal we did not want to risk having dessert so we opted for just coffee, which again we both agreed was an excellent cup of Joe. To top it all off when we got the check the Cesar Salad that was $10.00 on the menu was $11.00 on the receipt after she corrected herself from $12.00 she originally wrote (Oh Boy!). As a final thought I just want to say that after having been so fortunate to have had a great chef and businessman come in to show you how to operate a restaurant properly only a few months prior should not result in a service and experience as we had that day. In conclusion if you are in the mood for onion rings and a good cup of coffee this is the place to go....

They get 2 Forks this visit.

http://www.classicamericanrestaurant.com

Dee's, Forest Hills

     First off we both want to wish everyone a Happy New Year! Hope everyone had a happy and healthy holiday season. As you can see we took some time off during the holiday season because most of our eating was done in the pleasure of our own home. The other reason is because the wifeypoo has been trying out some new dishes at home and is getting into doing some Chinese cooking, and I must say it has been incredible tasting, with that said she gets five forks from me on the home cooking.
     We decided a few weeks ago to go into queens for a family visit. After spending some time in Trader Joe's with my wife, brother-in-law and his wife, my stomach was making its usual sounds. Walking around a food store for any length of time makes you start to build up an appetite, I am sure everyone can agree.
We wanted to try this place that my brother-in-law and his family have been going to for so many years. Dee's has been in Forest Hills for about 20 years and the one thing that they are known for is their brick oven pizza. We got there before the dinner crowd started venturing in but within a half an hour or so the restaurant was packed. We liked the restaurant setting and the staff was very nice too.
     We started off with appetizers consisting of that's right you guessed it; calamari which we all shared and enjoyed. My brother-in-law and I split the beet salad and my wife and her sister-in-law split a Cesar salad. We also ordered a bottle of red wine and the wifey poo spotted one of her favorites on the drink menu called "Caipirinha". This is a Brazilian cocktail that she would enjoy having with my father during the holidays. It brought back fond memories of wonderful dinners we had as a family. They did a fine job with both salads and the calamari was cooked perfectly. You would be surprised of how some places overcook this simple dish. The marinara sauce for the dipping was done really well also.
     Onto the main dishes, I opted for the Linguine by the Sea, and everyone else wanted to share the Rigatoni Bolognese along with one of their famous brick oven pizzas. It was so cute; each one of them picked their own topping and had the pizza made with all three toppings. You have to see the variations of pizza's there are so many to choose from and one sounded better than the next. I was pleased with the flavor but was not happy with the portion (maybe its just me but I like to see a large portion especially at an Italian restaurant), it consisted of sauteed shrimp, PEI mussels and calamari over linguine in a spicy plum tomato sauce. The others were extremely happy with their Bolognese, my wife thought they did an outstanding job with the flavor. They were also complimenting the pizza, the crust is done to perfection in a beautiful wood fired brick oven located by the front door for all to see.
     We then went onto to the desserts, my brother-in-law said if there is anything that you have to get there it is the Tiramisu; he happens to think it is one of the best and orders it every single time he goes there. So they had the Tiramisu, I had the Key Lime pie and we all opted for coffees. Both were outstanding; though we don't know if they are home made. It was definitely a delightful day and incredible dinner we will certainly go back.
     We apologize for no photos on this one due to the Blackberry not cooperating (it did not save the photos) but trust me it all looked as good as it tasted!

They get 5 out of 5 forks.

http://www.deesnyc.com

Irish Coffee Pub, East Islip

WE'RE BACK !!!!!!!

We would like to start off first by saying that the wifeypoo and I are so very blessed to have weathered Sandy with very little damage to our home and all of our immediate and extended family members are all fine as well. After spending some time the days following the storm donating food and clothing to our local church we decided to have some quality time with one another and took advantage of Restaurant Week at the Irish Coffee Pub. We have been there for two of our friends gatherings and enjoyed their food, especially their homemade beef barley soup. It is after eating it here that we have been tweaking our own beef barley soup to come as close to theirs as possible. Besides the food we happen to have met an extremely personable and funny waitress named Aine. She happened to be the same waitress from a prior event and we were delighted to be in her section. Obviously the meal started with two bowls of the extraordinary beef barley soup. I cannot resist ordering the Escargot every time I see it on a menu. The chef is kind enough to make this special for me by substituting the butter with Olive oil. I cannot put into words how delightful escargot is and how nauseating it is for my wife to be subjected to sitting across from me while I enjoy it to the very last scrumptious snail on my plate. We opted for the pre-fixed restaurant week entrees consisting of Chicken Marsala for the wife and the bone-in center cut Pork Chop for myself. The Chicken Marsala was served with an apple sausage and cranberry stuffing. The Pork Chop was served with mushrooms red onions and a topped with a cider demi glaze with a baked potato. Both dishes included a unique variety of steamed vegetables as well. My wife and I both thought both dishes were cooked, seasoned and presented very tastefully. Now onto my wife's favorite part of the meal, the desserts. She has an unsatisfiable sweet tooth. She ordered the Ice Cream Chipwich and I had the Chocolate Mousse with fresh berries. My dessert for something that sounds so simple was pretty decadent and regardless to say the wife enjoyed her sugar fix. I must say being a coffee aficionado myself that their brewed coffee is exceptional.

Our thoughts and prayers go out to all of those that have been devastated by this Storm. We should all pitch in whatever we can whether it be financially or physically to help the recovery process.

They get 5 out of 5 forks on this visit.

http://www.irishcoffeepub.com/irishCoffee