Portelli's Joe N' Dough Cafe

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Category: Restaurant Reviews

Portelli's Joe N' Dough Cafe is located at 66 Central Avenue, the former location of Johny's Diner. They've kept much of the original inside, including the seating.

Brian and I first visited on their opening day, for breakfast. After some discussion, we decided to postpone a review until a second visit. Typically, first days can be nerve racking with a lot of staff on hand and the process not in motion yet. So we waited a few weeks, before returning again for breakfast.

When we walked in, at 10AM, we were the very first customers. The place was empty. The two people on staff were very courteous, which is always a plus. However, the friendly service was the only plus about this experience.

Brian and I ordered a dozen of the Pigs in a Blanket; which were mini hot dogs, wrapped in phyllo dough, and deep fried. We also ordered 6 of their specialty doughnuts: The Bailey's; The Stiglmonkey, topped with Nutella & banana; R. G.'s Craving, which is cookie butter frosted; The Tropical Splendor, which is topped with a mango buttercream and diced banana; The Sundae Donut, topped with hot fudge, a cherry dressing, and whipped cream; and a spcialty for today which was the R.G. also topped with Reeses' Pieces.

To start with, after taking our food order, it took the staff an additional 10 minutes or so to ask us if we wanted something to drink. Brian ordered a regular Coke, I ordered a Diet Coke. If you're familiar with the layout of the old Johny's the soda machine is in open view, which made it easy enough to see that our sever filled both cups with Diet.

Following that, the overall theme of the meal was grease. The Pigs in a Blanket lacked any type of flavor. The hot dogs were just too small to be expected to carry flavor on their own. When you bit into it all you could taste was grease. Plus, almost half of the phyllo wrapping unraveled from the mini dogs. We were offered ketchup and mustard. When Brian went to put ketchup on on one of the dogs, the ketchup bottle basically exploded. It turned out, the top was not securely placed on the bottle.

Next, our donuts arrived. Four out of the six had been pre-made earlier that morning. The rest were made fresh. That said, they were all cold by the time we were served, and had clearly not been drained of their grease first. The donuts were crunchy, tough, overcooked, and laden with oil. They did not have the consistency one would expect a fresh donut to be (soft, warm, etc). I'm not sure if it was the recipe, the cook time, or both, but everything about the donut, save for the toppings, was off putting and unpleasant. Then there was the matter of one of our donuts not being what we ordered. The best we can tell is that what was supposed to be the Tropical Splendor donut, was replaced by the toppings of the Erika.

The experience was disappointing, and not worth a return. The donuts were actually fresher and tastier on opening day than they were on our second visit. It was so bad that it actually took hours for our stomachs to settle.

R. G.'s Craving (top), Erika (middle), Sundae (bottom)	Pigs in a Blanket
Menu	Bailey's (top), Reeses' (bottom)

Yoshi Sushi

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Category: Restaurant Reviews

Written by Brian

Yoshi Sushi is your traditional sushi restaurant in the Capital Region.  It is one of the oldest and best known in the area.  It is a small place, with only 4 tables, and about 8 seats at the sushi bar.

We ordered two appetizers, the gyoza and one of the specials for the night, spicy tuna.  The gyoza had a thicker shell than I am used to, so it was a bit chewy and lacked a bit of flavor, but it was cooked well.  The spicy tuna was amazing.  The fish was incredibly fresh and had a nice lightly spicy flavor.  There was also a lot of tuna in the dish, so it was well worth the $7 price tag.  The one aspect of the dish that I didn't love was that they mixed in masago with the sauce, so it made the dish have a slightly gritty consistency.

For rolls, we ordered three:  a Linda roll (salmon, avacado, masago, and wasabi mayo), an Adrial roll (salmon skin, with salmon on top), and a Tracy roll (shrimp, salmon, avacado, masago, and mayo).  The fish in every roll was incredibly fresh and flavorful.  I thought the Adrial roll was a bit strange, but the salmon skin had a nice crunch that was kind of interesting.  The wasabi mayo in the Linda roll was very mild, it tasted like a plain mayo and I would have preferred it if the mayo in the Tracy roll was spicy, but that is just me.  We didn't have anything that I wouldn't order again.

Yoshi's is run by an older couple.  The husband is the sushi chef, while the wife does the serving as well as hot dishes.  Because of this, service is usually quite slow.  Our meal came with complementary tea, miso soup, and fruit for dessert.  I'm not sure if that is always the case.

Spicy Tuna appetizer	Sushi rolls

Pearl St Diner

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Category: Restaurant Reviews

Written by Brian

We ventured into the empty abyss that is downtown Albany on a Sunday morning to go to The Pearl St Diner.  Normally busy during a typical work day and full of downtown workers, it was relatively quiet when we walked in.

They have a limited menu on weekends, but still has all the classics and a few specialties.  We both went with the strawberry and banana french toast ($7.25) with a side of bacon.  The french toast had a good flavor, but was slightly undercooked in the middle.  The bananas worked great with the french toast (probably the best part of the breakfast).  Since strawberries aren't in season, they were a little bitter and were better off eaten separately from the rest of the dish.

The waitress was very friendly, and quick to bring refills or take away plates.

There are very few diners or breakfast places downtown (especially if you count out the chains like Dunkin Donuts or Bruggers).  Pearl St Diner is a good place to go if you find yourself downtown and hungry on a weekend.

Strawberry and Banana French Toast	Bacon

Marotta's Bar-Risto

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Category: Restaurant Reviews

Marotta's Bar-Risto is located on 611 Union Street in Schenectady. From the moment you see the building on the street, through to when you walk in and are seated, the decor, atmosphere keep you guessing. It looks like a bar on the outside. When you enter the vestibule, and are greeted by the (very stoic) host, it suddenly takes on a very snooty feel. There was also the matter of an odd, unpleasant, odor from the restaurant that had Brian and I exchanging worried glances about what could possibly be in store.

Then you're led through the inner door, to your seat, and everything changes. You're surrounded by warm, welcoming, comfy tones that strike a balance between upscale Italian restaurant and modern bistro. Additional details that bring it over the top include the frosted glass signage towards the back of the seating area, the open style kitchen complete with wood fired oven, and the iPads at select tables that offer a visual menu (pictures of what you're ordering, before you order it? Yes please!).

Our visit was during Schenectady Restaurant Week, so we chose to order from the Prix Fix Menu. When we first looked at the menu, I'll admit to being confused and disappointed. I'd chozen Marotta's from the Restaurant Week menu that was posted online, but the one in front of us was almost entirely different.

For appetizers, Brian and I ordered the Crab Cake. For entrees, I ordered their Gambari Tuscana (Tuscan Shrimp) artisan pizza, and Brian ordered the Pan-Fried Tilapia over Spinach Risotto.

The Crab Cake had an amazing flavor. There was a very good amount of crab inside, and it came with a chipotle remoulade of sorts that added a great kick while not overpowering the flavor of the crab. Our main issue was that one crab cake, does not an appetizer make. While we understand that Restaurant Week's 3 course Prix Fix is a mere $20.13, we were still very disappointed by the portion size of the appetizer.

The entrees were a completely different story. My pizza was their full size gourmet pizza listed on their menu. The crust was perfectly done. It was crispy on the outside, without being dry. It was also thin and delicious. The shrimp were delectably juicy. Managing that, in a hot pizza oven, takes skill. Other toppings on the pizza included spinach, a tomato pesto, mozzarella, and shaved parmesan. Every flavor worked perfectly together, complementing each other, making every bite as good as the last.

Brian's dish had great points, and some detractors. The tilapia was cooked perfectly. The batter was light, which added flavor while keeping it moist. The texture was flaky, and light. The spinach risotto, while tasty, was just a bit overcooked. The dish was topped with a lemon butter sauce. This was the main detractor, because the concentration of lemon arguably overpowered everything else in the dish. I enjoyed the couple of bites I had, more than Brian. However, I can see how - had I eaten an entire dish of it - I would also find the lemon to be too strong to be complementary.

Also not to be overlooked was our experience with the service. Without question, this was by far the best service we've had in a very long time. Our server, Jessica, was attentive and not overbearing. She was wonderfully pleasant and made sure we had everything we needed. She also explained why the menu was vastly different than the one that was online. The earlier dishes were so popular, that they ran out and had to make substitutions.

The entire experience makes Marotta's a gem that deserves attention. This was our first visit there, and we can easily see being repeat customers. We were so impressed, that we asked if the owner was available. Chris, the owner, came out to greet us and was very glad to hear our feedback. He was personable, pleasant, and conversational. We greatly enjoyed chatting with him.

If you haven't visited Marotta's yet, you should.

Note: cost per plate below is based on their normal menu.

Crab Cake	Gambari Tuscana Pizza

Tilapia over Spinach Risotto