Kefi

After hearing a earful from friends and family I realized that I needed to step up and write on behalf of my wife and stop being lazy. Well in her defense I vouch that she was certainly busy at that time. This will get me some brownie points..hehe

Greek food was on our minds and we decided to hunt for a Greek restaurant. We stumbled upon Kefi (thanks Shira) located on the upper west side on Columbus Ave. This place was recommended by a few people so our expectations were super high..Even the website boldly states “Prepare to be transported to a bustling Greek tavern, where the flavors are big and the value is high ". The place is well designed and is reminiscent of a traditional rustic tavern in a tiny town in Greece (Yea, I haven’t been to Greece but my wife watches Mama Mia just about every time it’s on TV). Regarding the food, in all honesty, we were not thrilled; though the MEZE were definitely yum. We ate the Greek Salad (surprise surprise.. hehe), Selection of Spreads: Yogurt, “Caviar”, Eggplant, Chickpea (highly recommended spread) and the Mussels (very average). So far we were pretty impressed & then came along the big disappointment. We ordered Braised Lamb Shank & Roasted Lemon Chicken, Potato, Garlic, Dill both which were very bland and dreary. To an extent that neither Suhel nor I could finish the chicken, perhaps it was a wrong choice. We would suggest ordering Lamb Chops (think they didn’t have them that day) rather than the Shank, don’t think the shank lives up to chops. Dessert? Can’t even remember it – nothing memorable. We had the ice cream just to be on the safe side. Well all in all I would say we were happy with the appetizers but extremely saddened with the overall experience. So would I go back there? Unless for some GOD forsaken reason I am stuck on 505 Columbus Ave and have a craving for Greek food and all the other restaurants in that neighborhood are shut down, I doubt I would venture back to that place..I mean, the ambiance is nice and the wine list is good, so even if I did go back, I would just order the appetizers.



Bloggers recommendation: 1/5, Anagha’s recommendation: 2.5/5
Price: $$ Ambiance: 3/5

Website: http://www.kefirestaurant.com/

CUISINE: GREEK

Brasserie 8 1/2

It was extremely difficult to write this blog, as I didn’t come home with a memorable experience. Mind you it was not a terrible experience at all. The décor was like a stateroom on a ship. The staff was polite and the wine was good, but it just wasn’t good enough for me to remember the name.

The 3 course prix fixe is such great value for the money. Eleven Madison has a 3 course dinner prix fixe for $95 and Brasserie 81/2 is at $35.

The portion size is great and if you aren’t vegetarian you have a few good options. The non-vegetarians couldn’t stop talking about the seafood (annoying).The mussels were the best Satyen has eaten, and he probably eats mussels at any restaurant that serves them.

The must haves were:

Truffle Mashed Yukon Gold Potatoes

The mussels from the prix-fix

Japanese Yellowtail avocado roulade, braised kombu, passion fruit

I must admit, the desserts weren’t bad at all. However, do not order the cookies in a jar, unless you feel like having every type of cookie ever made. This must have been the point in the dinner when too much wine was consumed as we all started singing “who stole the cookies from the cookie jar……” and began laughing hysterically.

So I would say if you are:

(a) Over 50 years old OR

(b) In the neighborhood OR

(c) Feel like having a decent meal and not hear anybody else in the entire restaurant OR

(d) All of the above

Then this place makes prefect sense. Other than that, it’s just average in every way.

Bloggers recommendation: 2/5
Price: $$$
Ambiance: 2/5
Website- http://www.patinagroup.com/restaurant.php?restaurants_id=67
CUISINE: FRENCH