Julian's - Potsdam, NY

I've been super excited to return to Julian's as an excuse to blog about it.  Well, who am I kidding, Julian's is one of our favorites and it's only been a matter of time before we went back!  They came out with their new spring menu just a few weeks ago and this was the first chance we had to get there to try it.  When we were ordering, we found out some interesting information which I will share at the beginning of the blog, as we felt it might have impacted the experience.  The kitchen has recently switch chefs!  The current menu was developed by the previous chef, and next week they will be coming out with a menu developed by the new/current chef.  Now, what that tells me is that this new chef is cooking another chef's ideas, so while he/she did great and we were disappointed at all with the food, we could certainly tell the difference between the specials that the current chef developed and the menu items that had been developed by the predecessor.  We are super excited to go back again and taste the new menu!

We love the atmosphere at Julian's - it's a casual feeling with comfortable booths, but not too casual.  The elegant white table clothes lend class, along with the fresh flowers on every table.  When I walk in, I know I'm in a good restaurant, but it's not intimidating.  It's a jeans and a nice sweater to business casual attire kind of place.  The attitude is a bit more formal on special occasions and we've enjoyed the special menus they develop for New Year's Eve and Valentine's Day.   Be aware that they also serve Sunday brunch which we're enjoyed several times - I'll try to do an individual review on that meal in the next few weeks as well.  Reservations are recommended on busy nights and holidays, but we've never had a hard time getting a table on regular week nights.  I think this was the first time we were there on a Friday night, and it was definitely busier than we've seen previously, but we got a table without a problem.  Our waitresses are always pleasant and happy to make suggestions when trying to decide between meal options.

We are always excited for the bread before the meal.  Generally it is a crusty italian bread and served with an herbed butter and pesto.  The pesto is my favorite as it is full of bright flavor from the parsely and garlic (bring on the garlic for this girl), and my fiance loves the butter.  We found out today that they normally get their bread from the Potsdam Food co-op, although this day they got a basic white bread, which we were a bit disappointed in.  It was a dry, crumbly bread and didn't hold the oil of the pesto well.  We were told that there is a possibility the new chef might start making his own bread, and we are very excited at that prospect.

We started out with 3 appetizers.  I could have had an entire meal from the appetizer options alone, they all sounded so good!!  I did find an entree option I wasn't willing to pass up though, so we only chose 3 to share.  Only!  I went with the pork wantons which were homemade and served with a sweet chili sauce.  On first impression, I thought the wantons were a bit small, but let us remember that as Americans I think we have a warped perception on what a true portion is!  The wantons were hand made and beautiful little purses of flavor.  I was a bit disappointed that they were fried and not steamed, but I think that is a lot of personal preference, and I do very much try to avoid friend food.  They were crispy on the outside and the wrapper was nice and tender.  The filling was moist with good pork flavor, although I do think it was missing a bit of pop - maybe some ginger or scallions.  I do think the sweet chili sauce did add the pop I was looking for though!  It started off as a sweet tang and then about 15 seconds later hit you with the heat as a little surprise.  I liked the sauce so much, I actually dipped the little greens which were on the plate as a garnish into it!

We also ordered the Soup Du Jour - Bean and Bacon soup.  Now, my fiance was super excited to see this as a special.  I'd never heard of it or had it before, so I think it might be a North Country thing, although considering the ingredients, I'm surprised I never encountered this is Boston.  Now, I was informed before I tried this that it is an acquired taste, so I don't know if it is something that would grow on me in time, but it wasn't something I was head over heels for.  It had good bacon flavor and tasted like it was in a white or cannellini bean base.  The bean base did give it a nice creaminess that was homey and comforting.  My fiance enjoyed it but he also wasn't blown away.  I guess this was one we could had one without in exchange for another one of the appetizers.

The third appetizer we ordered was Grilled shrimp with a black bean and corn salsa with a lime-tequila vinaigrette.  Now, I think one of the biggest faux pas that restaurants commit is overcooking seafood.  I've probably had more overcooked lobster, shrimp and fish than I care to even remember.  These shrimp were succulent and tender, the way nature intended.  And the slight char from the grill added that smokey, early flavor that pairs so well with those tex-mex flavors.  The salsa was good, fresh and provided nice texture, but we were missing the tequila lime flavor in the vegetables.  They were really crying for some acidity and freshness/brightness. Maybe next time we would ask for more of the dressing on the side and that way we could control the flavor a bit more.

Now on to the entrees.  As you might know from my previous post about making duck for a birthday, I love love love duck!  They had a pan seared duck breast on the menu with a side of spring vegetables and mashed potatoes.  Needless to say, this was far superior to my attempt at duck breast - although I don't think the playing field was level in the ingredients used.  The duck breast was glazed in a citrus sauce - very light but a bright flavor.  The skin was crispy but luscious and succulent with the yummy fat layer underneath, almost luxurious with how it felt in your mouth.  The meat itself was tender and juicy, cooked perfectly to medium!  It was the perfect marriage of the earthy meat, the bright citrus glaze and the decadence of the fat.  The potatoes were also excellent.  They were smooth and creamy, just perfect the way you want every set of mashed potatoes to be.  And pairing them with the duck just made both things better.  I am not a gravy person, I don't normally like my foods touching (if you know me, you are probably not surprised by this revelation), but this was one instance of when mixing foods resulted in synergy - the sum was better than the parts!

I also got the taste the rack of lamb that my fiance ordered.  He actually attempted to combine 2 of the specials into a meal.  He got the rack of lamb, but there was also a special of crab legs on top of a israeli couscous salad.  He's had israeli couscous before when I've made it, which isn't often as I haven't found it around here lately, but stock up when we've gone to New Jersey to visit my aunt and uncle (shout out to Whole Foods).  I make it into a warm salad with veggies and shrimp which is an easy quick cooking meal.  This was with more Mediterranean flavors - red onions, peppers, some cheese (I think it was feta), but we were slightly disappointed with the temperature of it.  We had asked the waitress if it was a warm salad, and she had said yes.  And to her credit, the outside was warm and the inside was still room temperature.  I have a feeling it was a room temperature salad that sat under the warming light and the exterior layer got warm.  Now, on to the lamb...  Let me just say there were only bones left on the plate at the end of the meal.  When someone uses the phrase finger licking good, that applies to this, but it was bone licking good.  Just like the duck, the lamb was perfectly cooked, seasoned well and tender and juicy.   We were blown away.  I am a huge fan of simple cooking and letting the natural flavor of the food shine through, and this was the perfect example.  This lamb didn't need any rubs or mint jelly, all it needed was salt and pepper and the lamb just sung.

Now on to dessert.  Julian's hasn't always had a large dessert menu - they have a standard chocolate mousse, in winter had a spice cake and has a creme brulee that I love and whose flavor changes based on holidays/seasons.  All these were still on the menu, but we are seeing an expansion of the dessert menu with this new chef!  We got a pecan maple pie and a apple pear cobbler.  I got the fruit and the fiance got the pecan pie - and while we were nice and gave each other a taste, we were so pleased with our choices that we didn't share more than that!  The cobbler was very different from what I expected.  I was picturing the fruit almost falling apart in a moist ooey gooey pot of warmth and sugar topped with a crumble.  This was almost pie like with large pieces or pear and apple which were soft but not mushy, and I don't think a lot of additional sugar was added as the natural sugars of the fruit seemed to be enough.  The topping was so light and airy!  I don't know what it was!  It was reminiscent of puff pastry with lightness and some crunch and flakiness, but was almost cake like in texture, giving you something to sink your teeth into.  A scoop of vanilla ice cream on the side gave a good temperature contrast along with the dairy creaminess I love :)

The pecan pie was very well done,  I do think the maple syrup just added more sweetness and I am not sure I could have been able to eat a whole piece - who am I kidding?  I could have eaten the piece, just maybe not the whole pie in one sitting.  It was full of pecans and all about the nut and the maple.  I don't really like pecan pies that are full of the sweet filling with only a layer of pecans on top, and this pie did not make that mistake.  I can't really comment on the crust.  I do think the fact that I wasn't offered any to be a testament to how good it most likely was :)

We look forward to how the menu develops as this new chef becomes comfortable at Julian's.  We hope others try it and love it as much as we do!

L'Adour - Authentic French food in Syracuse

So, my fiance and I were going to head down to Syracuse to do some wedding errands at the mall yesterday.  As we had just survived a very overwhelming and busy week, I was hoping to make it a special day.  I'm not too familiar with the Syracuse area, so I used my handy-dandy google search for some ideas.  The one restaurant that kept popping up was L'Adour with excellent reviews....  AND they even searve brunch, our favorite meal!


L'Adour

We cut it pretty close by walking in the door at 1:57pm, 3 minutes before they close.  They graciously sat us and kept the kitchen open to serve us the brunch we were so looking forward to eating.  Everything on the menu looked interesting, I don't think we could have made a wrong choice.  The atmosphere was very authentic of a Parisian Bistro - the warm wood work of the wall paneling, the checkered napkins, all the way down to the hexagon floor tiles.  I do think the music was a bit stereotypical, and a bit over the top.  I couldn't put my finger on it, but it reminded me of the background music that would be part of a romantic comedy with a scene at a french restaurant/bistro along the Champs Elysees, sitting at one of the outdoor tables, kissing.  But the feel of the setting was warm and inviting with not attempts at pretension or stuffiness.  The fact that all the staff seem to be imported directly from Paris also works wonders at setting the scene, and in a few minutes, you could actually believe that you're in France.

As I was saying, I don't think we could have gone wrong with our choices for brunch.  You can find the menu itself on their website if you want to scope it out first.  We started with coffee and I splurged and got a cappuchino which came with an aromatic sprinkle of cinnamon on top. I couldn't make up my mind and went with the House-Smoked salmon and greens (I am always a sucker for good lox) and Quiche au Crabe.  My fiance went with an almond croissant and Gallettes Forestiere (a savory crepe with onions, mushrooms and bacon).  

  Above is the crab quiche.  My fiance was astounded that quiche could taste like this.  The eggs were so light and fluffy, that the HUGE chunks of crab actually all settled at the bottom of the quiche.  The softness of the eggs compliments the flakiness of the crab chunks.  The meal also came with a side of home fries which I loved.  They were small enough chunks that they were cooked well, but not crumbling and falling apart.  The parsley gave them a nice freshness.  We also have to be honest, that to our American palates, these potatoes were screaming for ketchup, and we were so embarrassed to even ask, thinking that they would think we were trying to drown out the flavor of the potatoes with the terrible condiment that is ketchup.  We did find a fantastic solution - the provencale tomato on the side.  This was basically a fresh tomato with seasoned bread crumbs that was gently baked.  Eating this tomato in conjunction with the tomatoes added the acidity and texture from the bread crumbs that really complimented the tomatoes.

 This is the savory crepe!  I was surprised to see that it was a whole wheat crepe - I was really expecting to see that basic white flour based crepe that we see with a traditional dessert crepe.  Not too many places offer a whole wheat option, but it was very appreciated by this foodie.  I have a feeling it is a slightly harder batter to perfect, but that might be my imagination.  The filling was sweet sauteed onions, crispy smoked bacon and earthy mushrooms.  It was all combined with a cheese sauce, which I could not place with the one bit I was able to steal away from the hungry man across from me. 

I was super excited to try their homemade/home smoked salmon off the menu.  I also felt like it was a healthy addition as salmon is always a great protein source and who can argue with a salad.  I have to admit that the salad wasn't my favorite.  I did think it was too heavily dressed, although the basic vinaigrette was tasty, I just don't like it when greens feel wet with dressing.  I do personally try to keep salad dressing to a minimum since it is packed full of hidden calories, but I felt that with the moistness of the salmon, that so much dressing just made the greens feel like they were drowning in dressing when paired with the salmon.  Now, the salmon was amazing!  You might not be able to really see it on the plate, but the salmon was the bed to the lettuce, so if you can notice some texture on the palate - that is the pink of the salmon against the pink of the plate.  The salmon was slightly smokey, not over salty and tender.  I personally don't like smoked salmon that's a drier, flakier consistency so this really hit the spot for me since it was exactly the opposite and exactly what I love.  Almost as if the salmon was still raw, but with a slightly smokey flavor.  (sorry that the picture is out of focus, I was avoiding using the flash since I didn't want to disturb the other patrons).  As an additional note, the meal came with a french baguette, fresh!  And a side of what felt like very fresh butter - yum yum!

Last but not least, the amazing almond croissant!  It was a good thing we left this for last, as there would have been a risk that we would have foregone the other components of the meal and just ordered more of these until we burst.  Now, no one is going to argue that croissants are amazing in and of themselves.  I thought this was excellent for 2 reasons.  The first of which is that it was flaky and tender as any good croissant should be, but not dry, so it didn't crumble and flake all over when you bit into it.  The inside was still slightly doughy and warm, making it feel fresh out of the oven.  I didn't think that the almond aspect would have such a large impact, but boy was it wrong.  The croissant was covered with an almond sugar drizzle that almost reminded me of the praline swirl in ice cream.  It added sweetness with a toasted almond flavor.  We ordered 2 more to go to bring home to share, but once we left and started to digest the food in our bellies, we knew we should have gotten more so that we could share another one ourselves.  We know now that we will need to stock up every time we are down there.

The other area of praise that I have for this meal is it can certainly be budget friendly.  Many of the options are only around $10 and are complete breakfasts themselves.  It is certainly not necessary to order 2 meals as I did :)

Next Syracuse dining priority looks like it's going to be L'Adour's dinner menu (check out the seasonal specials that they have examples of!).  It looks like another amazing meal, and they have a extensive french wine list with options that look to cover a range of budgets.  I didn't see any by the glass options, but I can imagine that with such an extensive list that they don't want to keep a lot of bottles open only to pour one glass from each in a week.  I do think that there are some options that are economical enough that if you can share a bottle, you definitely get more bang for your buck with a bottle!

Bon Appetit! 

Hot Tamale

They way my fiance and I are eating out, it feels like we'll have all the restaurants in Northern NY reviewed in a few weeks.  While I know it will take longer the farther we stray from home, I am sure we'll constantly have comments about food for the foreseeable future.

This afternoon we took the dog (he's a new addition to the house, but not to our lives), Kringle, for a walk around the golf course.  We didn't make the entire loop as the sunshine was deceptively no as warm as I had hoped.  A combination of the sunshine, fresh air, and it being well past my normal lunch time required a quick bite to eat before heading back to the house for regrouping (stay tuned for posts about this evenings activities).  We stopped at Hot Tamale - a relatively new fresh Mexican fast food restaurant in town (recent expansion now boasts a second location in Potsdam).

Hot Tamale has a simple menu of the staples - burritos, tacos, quesadillas, etc.  They do have some "specials" which are their own invention and some are names for the local universities.  My normal "staple" there is their Bear Naked burrito bowl - a combination of rice, meat, veggies, cheese, lettuce and black olive.  If I am feeling particularly indulgent, I'll splurge and add in guacamole (although not if I am going to be waiting to eat).  I love the control over the ratio of components.  The rice is a plain white rice with a bit of herb in it (I can't quite place it, but have a feeling it is cilantro.  I think a spanish rice might improve the dish a bit flavor-wise.

 Another favorite is the pork tacos.  This is a surprise fantastic find.  The pork is pulled pork with a flavorful tangy sauce.  You would think it doesn't quite fit with the taco concept, but if you are willing to try it, it is worth the experiment.  We like them with a bit of pico de gallo, taco sauce, lettuce and cheese.  From a comment one of the employees made, I have a feeling the pork is made either on site or specifically for them.  The tamales are frozen, but when freshly reheated and decent.  I believe there is a beef filling.

I did also try a mini quesedilla the last time I was there.  I was hoping for a small snack, and this delivered.  While many quesedillas can turn out greasy from the cheese soaking into the tortilla, this was nice and light with a slight crunch to the browned tortilla.  I got it with chicken which was still moist and succulent.  The pico de gallo sauce is a perfect compliment with the fresh kick and subtle spice.

Hot Tamale is a great quick meal in Canton!  Fresh and flavorful, while not what you're going to find down on the border, it is perfect for where it is.

Asian Buffet - say what?

The chinese buffet was a new concept to me when I first moved to Vermont.  Chinese food to me means a lot of things.  One of my best friends from high school is from China and living in Los Angeles meant I was exposed to a lot of good and authentic food, so I thought the asian buffet would be a massive disappointment.  There are some good asian places to eat in Burlington, but in the 3 years I was there I did not venture into the buffet.  I believe that restaurant is currently out of business and is now a Hooters.


Fast forward to 2010 - still living in the northeast, just a bit more rural, and again in a town with an Asian Buffet.  Just a town with slightly significantly fewer asian options.  My fiance convinced me to try the Asian Buffet here in town.  Now, this can actually be a little gem if you stick to the things they do well.


My first stop is the sushi.  Sushi at an Asian Buffet? well, yes.  The Buffet certainly is much more Chinese in menu and decor, but there is sushi.  Now, let me be honest, this isn't the best sushi in the world either, but for an all you can eat buffet, what the pieces of sushi lack in size, you can make up for in quantity.  They consistently have tuna, salmon, eel and a white fish which I assume is halibut.  They also have a variety of rolls - normally several variations of a California roll - they will top the roll with seaweed salad (which I think they should just serve on it's own - next time I will ask for it) or more imitation crab.  There are always a few more interesting rolls as well.  The highlights last night were a roll with imitation with panko bread crumbs (nice crunch next to the creaminess).  There was also a roll with salmon, tuna, avocado and (here's the unique part) pickled ginger.  I've never had a maki roll with pickled ginger in it, and to be even more honest, I don't normally eat the pickled ginger when I have sushi and now I know that I like it.  Now, I probably have at least $10-12 worth of sushi alone in this meal, and could have eaten more, although they do have a hard to replenishing the sushi with any speed when my fiance and I go - we just go to town on it.

Crab - on weekend evenings, they have steamed crab legs.  These legs are huge and have more of a New England clam bake feel with how dirty one gets.  Like the sushi, I don't get the feeling that these are popular options, but I don't really understand why.  They are cooked well, and like most seafood, as long as it is cooked well, doesn't need much.  They have clarified butter out, but the crab itself was good enough and rich enough that it wasn't necessary.

There is a lot of other things at the buffet - most of which you would expect.  Egg drop soup (not bad), wanton soup (personally I think the wantons have too much wrapper), beef&broccoli, orange chicken, etc.  There's always shrimp and what I assume to be crawfish (I had never had them before) on ice, sometimes a nice mini octopus cold salad which is nice and spicy!  This is done well, as the octopus isn't at all chewy.  There is a variety of fried foods - I am not a fan of these options as most of them have too much of a friend wrapper and not enough of the filling.  The crab rangoons are I think, personally, the biggest disappointment (although I do always try one with hope that it improves).  They use an egg roll wrapper instead of a wonton wrapper, so it is not as light and crispy as I prefer.  They also have a selection of american foods - pizza, stuffed potato skins, stuffs mushrooms - I haven't tried any of them.

Dessert - This is another opportunity for you to get a bang for your buck.  I normally hit the fresh fruit pretty hard.  There are normally lycee nuts (although they are canned, I've never seen fresh on the East coast), strawberries and kiwis.  Sometimes there are bananas in a red sauce that appears to be gelatin based which I haven't worked up the gumption to try, although the color reminds me distinctly of grenadine.  They also have a selection of puddings, jello, cheesecake and other small pieces of cake which aren't really worth the calories.  Sometimes there are frozen mini eclairs or cream puffs which are hit or miss depending on how long they have been sitting out.  There is always hard and soft ice cream, and I hate to admit it, but the back corner ice cream station is always a stop for me at the end of the meal.  It is a guilty pleasure of mine - maybe it's from my time in VT where the cremee reigned supreme in the summer, who knows.  But I do love myself some soft serve ice cream - while black raspberry or maple are favorites, that's asking a bit much from the Asian Buffet - they stick to the basics of chocolate, vanilla and swirl.  Now, the true gems of the dessert section:  they have almond cookies!!  These are (in my mind at least) pretty traditional for chinese dessert.  I have many memories of these at the end of the meal with sections of oranges.  They're flaky, buttery, yet crunchy cookies that melt in your mouth with a wonderful almond flavor.  So good.  The second fabulous find are these wonderful donut things.  They definitely taste fresh with a soft dough texture and covered with sugar which gives them a nice crunch on the exterior.  They are almost like large donut holes.  I only thought of this when planning this blog in my mind, but the donuts would be amazing with the hot fudge from the ice cream - very spanish in feel, almost churros con chocolate.  You could also dip the strawberries in the chocolate for a fondue feel.

Well, as you can see, my Asian Buffet experience was not the nightmare that I anticipated when I drove by the one on Williston Road in Burlington.  However, it also wasn't really as much of an Asian meal as I originally would have guessed.  It's almost a hodge-podge of cultures.  It's a fast meal in Canton, where you can truly get great bang for  your buck if you know where to look!