Monday, September 26, 2011

Vincenzo's Ristorante

665 Bound Brook Rd
Middlesex, NJ 08846
(732) 968-7777
When looking to celebrate my birthday, I had a serious Italian craving and wanted to try a new restaurant.  Vincenzo's kept coming up as recommended in my searches, so that's where we decided to go.
Since first impressions mean a lot, let me start there.  The atmosphere is very nice.  It's classy but casual--I didn't feel out of place in my work clothes, and I didn't think my husband was out of place in jeans and a tshirt.  They have a small bar, where some people were having pre dinner drinks.  When we walked in, we asked for a high chair, but were told they only have booster seats.  Generally, this would be ok for us, but since my 17 month old son was not interested in sitting still and sliding out of the strapless booster seat, my husband ended up eating with Squirmy in his lap.  Next, there's not really a kid's menu, but we were told we could choose any pasta in a half portion.  Ok, so they're not exactly kid-friendly, but they're kid accommodating.  
We were greeted with waters around and bruschetta appetizer, along with a really yummy bread basket.  I'd read that the Antipasto appetizer is excellent, and without this knowledge, my husband suggested we order it.  It was excellent indeed, with the most delicious prosciutto I've ever had (I'm generally not a fan, but this was yum), super fresh mozzarella, a variety of olives, and other yummies.  It was a big platter, and well worth the $9.95.



As far as entrees, my husband chose chicken marsala, I chose shrimp with crabmeat, and the boys split a half order of pasta with marinara sauce.  I ordered a glass of house wine, my husband had an iced tea, and we ordered 2 milks for the boys.  Both our meals came with a delicious house salad, with mixed greens (hooray for salads without iceberg lettuce!).  My husband's also arrived with a side of penne with marinara (a strange sauce choice, given his marsala entree, but I know this is pretty standard).  He really liked his meal, and it was enough that he saved half for lunch the next day.  I was so full from the bread, bruschetta, antipasto, and salad, I only had a few bites of mine, which came over a bed of spaghetti.  Mine was tasty, though something seemed to be missing; I think I'd have preferred lumps of crabmeat rather than tiny shreds of it.

Overall, we were happy with our meals, but then the check arrived.  We didn't ask for clarification, since we were in a hurry to get out with our now unhappy boys (certainly not the restaurant or server's fault at all), but we were charged almost as much for a cup of pasta and sauce (the half order) as if we'd order a full plate of penne with vodka sauce (We were charged $12.99, the full size penne with vodka, which likely would have come with salad was $14.99).  Our drink order (not broken down, but a glass of house wine, an iced tea, and two milks) came to $14.50.  I guess I should have asked for prices before ordering everything, since none of these items had prices on the menu, but I did expect to pay closer to $6-10 for the kid's meals, and it seems like our drinks were on the high side too.

Luckily, we had a restaurant.com certificate, but I felt ripped off as I left.  The atmosphere is nice, the food is decent, but the prices and lack of kid friendliness means we won't be back to Vincenzo's.

Vincenzo's Ristorante on Urbanspoon

Wednesday, September 14, 2011

Bobby's Burger Palace

188 Route 35 South (Monmouth Mall)
Eatontown, NJ 07724
www.bobbysburgerpalace.com

Like most people familiar with the Food Network, I have a crush on Bobby Flay.  So when we finally had the chance to check out his burger joint in Eatontown, I jumped at the chance to try it out.  It's not every day that a celebrity chef's restaurant is going to fit into our budget or not require some travel for us to get there, so we went with our family one day for lunch.

First, the decor.  It felt like an upscale diner; there are U shaped tables, which you'd expect someone named Flo to greet you from the other side.  The color combination is very Brady Bunch, but it's a kitsch I enjoyed... very Americana, shall we say.  Since we arrived early, we were the only patrons at the restaurant, but as we were leaving, we had folks sitting right next to us.  I'd imagine this cafeteria style seating might not be favorable to many American patrons, but I had no problem with it... it's not like they were spitting in my food.

Next, the service.  It was sort of a weird combination of counter and table service--you are shuffled to a counter where you place your order, then directed to sit wherever with a number.  Your drinks are brought to you followed by your food, and you also leave your trash behind.  The service was really helpful at making sure we had everything we needed.

As for the food, for my family, visiting a Burger joint is not common, largely because my husband is not a fan of beef, so when we discovered that one can choose a beef, turkey, or chicken burger, he was sold.  Initially, my husband and I both decided on the Dallas Burger, though he wanted his with chicken, but he ultimately decided on a Miami Burger.  He thought it was excellent on chicken, but thought it would be really lacking on a burger.  My Miami Burger was perfectly delicious.  I couldn't really tell you about it because I devoured it so quickly.  It was cooked perfectly for my tastes; unlike many of the recent crop of burger joints, they cook it to order instead of cooking every patty the same well done.  I do know that the cole slaw was perfect for my liking--crunchy with the right blend of sweet and vinegar.  I made a huge mess of myself, so it was nice that our server had brought extra napkins, you know, for the kids.

We also shared fries and sweet potato fries.  The servings are ENORMOUS.  A kid's serving of fries was enough for my husband while the kids and I had leftovers of the sweet potatoes.  Both come with a dipping sauce, in addition to the ketchup, mustard, and variety of barbecue sauces (c'mon, this is Bobby Flay, what did you expect?) already on the table.  I didn't taste the fries-my husband commented they were on the well done side-but the sweet potato fries were out of this world.

Finally, I gave into my shake craving, and my husband and I shared a black and white shake.  It wasn't really anything I'd go over the moon about, but it was a decent shake without that artificial taste you come across in so many drive thru ones.

In all, we had a good lunch that filled our bellies, more than we could eat, in fact, and got to try a new experience!

Bobby's Burger Palace on Urbanspoon