Tapas

Albany, NY: Anniversary Dinner at New World Bistro Bar [#FoodPorn]

What can I say? Another amazeballs meal from the grey matter of Chef Ric Orlando. I can’t say enough about how much I love this Chef and his menus. After going to the Hell Dinner at Brewery Ommegang I knew that I wanted to take Elise back to New World Bistro Bar for our anniversary.

NWBB is one of those kind of places that has sooo much good food on their menu it’s almost a shame to just order a main for each person. You’re better off getting a bunch of little plates. I’m slacking on a few posts so I’m going to make this quick. The menu for the night:

  • Tie-Dye Pie – Had to try this since I was a little disappointed with the heat (but not the flavor) of the version I had at Ommegang. The crust was much thinner at NWBB but this didn’t take away at all from the experience. The heat was noticeably increased and I did not mind this one bit. Much better this time around.
  • Yellowtail Ceviche with Sweet Potato – Elise is kinda obsessed with ceviche after having it at Ceviche in Florida. I’m OK with this as I find it pretty tasty as well. NWBB’s version was obviously delicious.
  • Wasabi Deviled Eggs – A) I love wasabi. What Asian doesn’t? B) I love deviled eggs. Put the two together and you know I’m game. These were good, and definitely try them if you’ve never had them, but I’ll stick to the ones from the Sriracha Cookbook. Wouldn’t mind seeing Sriracha ones show up on the menu next time!
  • Pulled Goat Sliders – Elise saw goat on the menu and wanted in. She totally surprised me by that but hey, when else were we going to have goat? I don’t even think there was any _sauce_ on the plate when we were done. Get these get these get these!
  • Pork Belly – Wow. This was the most tender I’ve ever seen meat in my life. Literally marshmallow consistency. And the crust! Such a crispy crunchy delicacy. It’s really tough to describe, but this was totally different than the pork belly and kimchi at the Hell Dinner. You gotta go experience it for yourself.
  • Mississippi Mud Pie – Can’t say I’ve ever had this dessert before, but if this is the standard hell yes I’ll try this again. It was basically half cooked brownie with a side of vanilla. As you know, ALL brownies should be half cooked, and the crust of the brownie is the grossest part.* So this dish was perfect for me.
  • Apple Rhubarb – Talk to SWMBO about this one.

Beer or the day for me was “NWBB Etherial Imperial Double IPA” brewed by Chatham Brewing. This was so good that it prompted me to drive down to Chatham Brewing the next morning and pick up a couple of growlers before they headed to TAP NY. More on that later.

I don’t think I have to say this again, but if you haven’t had something by Chef Ric Orlando just go to New World Bistro Bar or New World Home Cooking and have a life-altering dining experience. Now. Thank me later.

* The Perfect Brownie Pan is the bane of my existence. One of my personal hells would be an unlimited supply of brownie batter and only The Perfect Brownie Pan to bake it in.

Lunch at Ceviche [East Coast Road Trip] | Orlando, FL

Patatas Bravas
Chorizo Y Pimentos
Sippin’ on Sangria
Ceviche’s Menu
Ceviche’s Tapas Bar
Tabla De Quesos
Ceviche’s Bar

Like I said, at this point Elise was all beered out and needed a little change of pace. It was gorgeous out so sitting outside was a must. After scouring the internet we settled on a a highly recommended restaurant that was known for their outdoor dinning…except they no longer had the outdoor space. God dammit.

Our second choice was Ceviche and it couldn’t have been a better find. Located on this strip in downtown Orlando, it that reminded me so much of Pearl St. Tons of workers sitting down for lunch, but a lot of bars and “ultra lounges” where douchebags would congregate closed until late night. It was in the low to mid 80s which meant we were the only ones brave enough to sit outside in the “cold”. (We’re talking about Floridians here.)

The waitress brought us out some seriously strong, but good, sangria. We sipped on that and enjoyed some bread and pesto while sitting in the sun waiting for our dishes to arrive. The lunchtime tapas menu was pretty reasonable so we each got two dishes.

The Chorizo Y Pimentos had five different types of sausage in a tomato sauce with roasted tomatoes, onions, and peppers. It was basically fancied up sausage and peppers but was still pretty delicious. The dish that really knocked it out of the park for me was Patatas Bravas. These were baked, then deep fried potatoes tossed in a spicy aioli. Holy crap this was good. The place is called Ceviche so it would have been foolish of us to not get fish tapas. Elise got the Tabla De Quesos (obviously) along with the Ceviche De Mero, which was grouper marinated with lemon and lime juice, cilantro, jalapeno, and sweet onions.

I can’t reiterate how good of an experience this was. I absolutely recommend it to anyone looking for a non-touristy meal while in Orlando and will definitely be back again.