Risotto

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Created on Thursday, 30 August 2012 18:42

Risotto describes itself as an Italian Mediterranean Fusion restaurant.  If you read some of my other reviews, you would know that I love risottos, all kinds, the creamy blend of cheese and rice is one of my favorite dishes.  So I was excited to try a restaurant literally named after them.  The first thing you notice when you walk in is the decor.  Risotto is decorated very well.  Very professional with a simple sophistication.

I ordered the 'Surf and Turf' Grilled New York strip served over a rock shrimp risotto. Finished with seafood butter and grilled asparagus (pictured below).  It was very nicely presented, risottos tend not to be the prettiest looking food, but with the two pieces of steak and asparagus layered on top, it looked like a classy and appealing meal.  I ordered the steak medium rare,  One piece was cooked well done, but was a nice cut of meat, the other was cooked exactly as ordered but very grizzly making it basically inedible.  The risotto had a great flavor, and the shrimp in it was cooked perfectly.  The risotto really complimented the steak.  My complaint about the risotto is that it was very slightly undercooked making it just a bit too al dente.  Much bigger of an issue is that the risotto included onions which was not a listed ingredient on the menu.  This could be a major deal for someone with allergies or just an extreme dislike (I'm personally not a big fan).  Asparagus was very nicely grilled, and also worked really well with the dish.  The dish was a very reasonable $21.

Unfortunately, We were seated in an unlucky spot where the air conditioner blew right on us.  After a few minutes, it got so cold we asked if they could turn it down.  They did, for about 10 minutes before it came blasting back on again.  We asked again, and the waitress said, "I don't think we can turn it down anymore".  There was only one other table in the restaurant at this time, and we didn't have any food on the table yet.  If they really couldn't turn it down, they should have at least offered to move us to a different spot.  It was quite a damper on the dining experience.

Seats are in a small area and close together.  There were only a few other tables in the place for us, but I can imagine it getting quite loud when full.

Akanomi

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Created on Thursday, 30 August 2012 18:42

I went to Akanomi with a group, we decided to each pick a roll and share.  We ended up with: an Akanomi roll, a volcano roll, a pepper tuna roll, and a pink panther roll.

The Akanomi roll is Spicy crunch tuna and mango inside, top with spicy salmon and avocado.  I enjoyed it, but there was almost too much going on in this roll.  I would definintely get it again, but at $12, it is a little pricey, even for a specialty roll

The Volcano roll is Shrimp tempura, avocado and mango inside, top with spicy tuna.  This was my favorite roll, and pretty much perfect in every way.  Flavors were good, with a nice mild spice, with all flavors were well balanced.  This roll is also pricey at $12

The Pepper tuna roll is a traditional roll with just the pepper tuna in it.  The tuna was well seasoned, but the seaweed was a little too chewy for my liking. Cost was $5

The Pink Panther roll is no longer on the menu, but they will still make it by request.  It is tuna, avacado and peanuts in pink soy paper.  A friend I was with loves this roll, and I have to secretly admit it is an interesting roll that I would probably order on my own.  I believe this was around $8

All of the fish served was fresh and well prepared.  Presentation was beautiful.  It came on a boat with a blue cube covered with clear white noodles, to provide a neat effect.  It also had a small umbrella which was a little tacky.  Rolls on their own plates always have a pretty decoration made with sauces (even the boring rolls that were ordered)

We didn't try any of their drinks, but we did have some rock shrimp as an appetizer.  It had more sauce on the shrimp than most places do, but that proved to be a pleasant change.  There was a decent amount of shrimp in the dish, and it was reasonable priced at $6.

Akanomi is located in Guilderland on Western ave by Carmen Road.

All Akanomi's dishes are well presented	Everything is better when it is served in a boat

Nosh

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Created on Sunday, 26 August 2012 21:24

Nosh is a dichotomy of sorts. On the one had, I had gotten to the level of extreme frustration and disappointment after 3 failed attempts at even getting into the deli. Every time we went for dinner, they had either sold out of everyting during lunch, or changed their hours, or were just randomly closed, with no signage explaining why. After failed attempt number 3, I informed my wonderful other half, that I was no longer interested in even trying out the esablishment.

Well ... he managed to talk me into it (of course). And here's where the other half of the dichotomy comes in... The food was well worth attempt number 4...

I'll get out of the way now, that I wasn't really a fan of the appetizers (we ordered a knish, and latkas). But the actual meals were to die for. He had the open faced roast beef with gravy, and I ordered a triple decker (The Elliot) that came with pastrami, and corned beef, with all the trimmings.

The meat was so tender, it literally fell apart. The sandwich was so big, I took home more than half of it... Yes, Nosh is a bit on the pricey side (2 meals, 2 appetizers, 2 drinks = $37), but we received a lot of food, and top notch main courses.