Ostra - San Antonio, TX

I know exactly what you are thinking, and I was thinking the exact same thing!  A restaurant in a hotel on the River Walk!  Absolute tourist trap!  Well, you would think so, but we were pleasantly surprised!

We walked past Ostra and the bar looked very inviting.  From the outside, you could see the soft blue glow of the wine cellar against the bag wall, and the glass topped bar had nice lighting and all the fresh seafood at a raw bar that you could possible want!  That said, we pulled up a chair at the bar, and had some chow.

First I looked at the wine list, and although they had some great wines and great storage conditions, that markups were kind of insane.  That said, we opted for cocktail as I am not a big fan of 300% markups.  Nevertheless, they had a great list, and wines that many restaurants would envy.

We skipped starters tonight and cut right to the chase.  Maybe this was a mistake as the stuff on the raw bar looked great and fresh!  Anything from oysters, to fresh shrimp, to crab, to maybe even sea cucumber.  Everything looked fresh, and some of the stuff was still very alive.  Even so, we were still a bit stuffed from lunch.

Zelda went the seafood route tonight and ordered the Iceland Arctic Char.  She had the choice of having this prepared 3 different ways, and she went with it hot off the grill, and it came out perfectly!  The texture of this fish was perfect, and it was absolutely delicious.  From the picture, the portion doesn't look huge by any means, but it was a decent size.  Not quite a "small plate," but also not a regular sized entree.  Even so, the quality was there, and I am sure she would eat this again.

Being someone who loves the meals that I love, I went the short rib route, and these were Wagyu beef short ribs.  Again, the picture from the Blackberry doesn't do this justice, but these were nicely braised, and fork tender.  The au jus that these were in was delicious, and they were cooked as perfectly as possible.

For sides we ordered two.  The first being the Tempura Fried beans that were OK, but were extremely greasy.  Yes they were drained, and yes I understand that fried foods are greasy, but they were a little too greasy for me.  Zelda ordered the Gold Mashed Potatoes, and they had a nice texture to them.

Overall, this was a pleasant dining experience with good service, and I actually went back here with Budda for a beer one night to see what the raw bar had.  It's not often I'll frequent a restaurant in a hotel as they tend to be let down's, but this was a pleasant surprise!  Cheers!

Ostra at the Mokara Hotel and Spa
212 West Crockett Street
San Antonio, TX 78205
Phone:  (866)605-1212
http://www.mokarahotels.com/sanantonio/menus/ostra_lunchdinner_menu.pdf

Dish - A Restaurant - Red Bank, NJ

Met one of my good pal's from back home, John Rueff here since he was in town and doing some work in Long Branch.  With its proximity to Red Bank, Dish was the perfect option tonight, so I called earlier in the day and left a message on their machine for a reservation.  I then saw their e-mail address on their site, so I e-mailed them and got a reply back, so we were good to go.

Got into Red Bank and there was some serious hustle and bustle on Friday night.  Parking was a bit tough, and I ended up parking a few blocks down the road across the street from Tiffany's.  Not a bad walk in the least, even on a cold December night!

John was standing outside as I walked up, and we said hello, and went inside.  We were immediately greeted and sat at our table.  We had a nice little two top next to a pillar, with another two top next to us.  At this point, the restaurant was pretty full, and had a nice little buzz to it. The place looked nice and vibrant!  From the red color of the walls on the exterior, to the fresh yellow walls inside, with the blonde floors and tables.  The place really was cozy.

I reached into the wine bag and ask John if he preferred pinot noir or cabernet sauvignon, and he called for a cabernet.  That said, out came a 2003 Stag's Leap Winery Cabernet Sauvignon.  Stay tuned for a review of that soon as well. 

Our waitress came over and opened the wine.  I have to say that the stems at Dish are OK at best, and I will remember to bring our own on a return visit.  She went over the specials with us, and gave us a few minutes to peruse the menu.  Meanwhile, we shot the bull and caught up on old times.  So many funny memories!

For starters, John had the Cream of Squash soup, and I ended up ordering the calamari.  I know, it's calamari, but it sounded good tonight, and it was indeed tasty.  The rings were huge, as were the tentacles.  Fried golden, brown, and delicious.  John said his soup was absolutely amazing as well.

For entrees, I ended up going the short ribs route, and these were a rockin'!  The portion was absolutely massive, with two giant chunks of meat, served over a maple mashed sweet potato, and some haricot verts and carrots.  The short ribs were absolutely awesome, flavorful, and fork tender!  I can't believe I forgot to take a picture of these to show just how massive the dish was, but the two were stacked on top of each other and almost as tall as my wine glass. WOO!  These were a hit.

John opted for the rib eye special, and he said it was cooked perfectly, and absolutely flavorful.  I can't remember what this was served with, but it looked delicious.  It may have been topped with a Roquefort or something else, but again, I can't remember for sure.  Seeing how good his steak looked however, I would be hard pressed not to order the NY Strip of Hanger Steak on my next visit! 

From what I read on Chowhound, we absolutely cannot leave without having dessert.  UGH! At this point, I am absolutely stuffed like a pig, and no hungry in the least, but when our server read off the special and I heard bread pudding, how could I resist?  It's a favorite of mine, and a staple!

The bread pudding came out, and this too was massive!  This had a side of whipped cream, and some caramel and chocolate syrup on it.  All I can say is wow!  This rocked, and had great consistency.  It almost reminded me of a croissant, so maybe they use croissants in here?  I have no idea, but wow, it rocked!

All in all, this is a great little restaurant with a lot of charm, and a great place to bring my wife on a date.  It's cozy, intimate, and has great food, great service, and some outstanding desserts!  Maybe next time they'll have the coconut cake that I hear is a must try!  I hope so!  Huge kudos to Dish though!  We'll definitely be back in the future!  Cheers!

Dish - A Restaurant

13 White Street

Red Bank, NJ 

Phone:  (732)345-7070

dishrestaurant1@verizon.net

http://dishredbank.com/

Under the Moon - Bordentown, NJ

Once again it has taken us far too long to get back to Under the Moon in Bordentown, for no good reason at all. It has also been way too long since we have gotten together with Chowhound and Wine Board friends tom246 and his lovely bride DW. But with the snow apocalypse on the horizon, we decided to brave the elements for a little get together at Under the Moon, and as always, we left with happy belly's, and had a wonderful evening. Under the Moon is still one of the treasures in downtown Bordentown. It is a quaint little place on the main drag of Farnsworth Avenue, and us just so friendly and cozy. From the great family and friends who work their, to the dishes made with love and great flavors, you just cannot go wrong. . We arrived at Under the Moon steps behind our friends, and said hello to Mama's crew! Mama is actually on her way back from Argentina as I type this, but her son Santiago had the kitchen well under control, and did a great job. We sat and caught up with tom246 and DW while we were trying to decide on the wine selection. They brought an '03 Richioli pinot noir, as well as an '03 Tablas Creek Esprit de Beaucastel, while I brought a selection ranging from an '05 Kistler chardonnay, '03 Fiddlehead pinot noir 728, '05 Sea Smoke pinot noir Southing, and an '07 Stefania Haut Tubee. We finally decided on going with the Sea Smoke and the Tablas Creek. Feel free to read those tasting notes below once I get them posted! Before ordering, Santiago came over and sat with us for a few minutes, talking about their new menu that they are going to debut next Tuesday, February 9th, as well as their new take out menu, delivery services, etc. Let me say that the new menu looks great, and is also very ambitious in my opinion. There will be many dishes on the new menu, including some of Mama's staples! One thing that I am really looking forward to is the Beef Wellington, and we are also really looking forward to the new guacamole addition to the appetizers! YUM! Regardless, we are wishing them the best on the premier of their new menu! I think it is going to be fabulous! So on to appetizers, tom246 ordered the soup, which I think was a white and black bean soup, and Zelda opted for the Tempura Cauliflower. In the mean time, out came the toasted signature bread and mama's chimichuri, and we just enjoyed some great wine and conversation while catching up. A bit later the apps came out, and the soup looked really nice, as did Zelda's cauliflower, smothered in melted cheese, with a nice breading and topped with tomato sauce. I will say that I am not a big fan of cauliflower, but bread anything and top it in cheese and I will eat it! It was nice and tasty, and a massive portion! Needless to say we didn't finish it all as we had to save room for dinner, and I was determined to save room for dessert tonight as well! For entrees tonight, Zelda opted for the homemade Lobster Ravioli, and I opted for Silvi's Short Ribs. Other dishes at the table included Paella, as well as Joel's Chicken. Dinner came out in what seemed like no time as we were all busy catching up. The paella and Joel's chicken looked fabulous, and as usual, looked like massive dishes! It looked as though there was 2 pounds of paella on DW's plate, formed from a bowl in a large mound, and topped with a gorgeous orange puree of some sort. Tom246's chicken was covered in a beautiful, thick, and chunky fresh tomato salsa, and too was a heaping helping of Argentinean hospitality that can be seen above. Zelda's lobster ravioli looked fabulous, and is there really anything better than homemade, handmade pasta? This was served with a beautiful creamy tomato sauce, that was nice and light in color, garnished with some roasted red peppers. Upon cutting into the ravioli, Zelda pointed out a gorgeous chunk of what looked liked lobster clam meet. WOW! I have never seen such a large chunk of lobster meet stuffed inside of ravioli, but this was incredible. This was not pureed with a bunch of cheese and filler, this was chunks of lobster heaven with some cheese. This is how every restaurant should make lobster ravioli, and was absolutely delectable! Out came my short ribs, and again, another massive portion! Two giant short ribs on the bone, smothered in a sauce that had some mushroom, served over a bed of ginger mashed potatoes, and some Julienne vegetables consisting of carrots and other veggies. These were as tender and fat free as can be, and cooked very nicely. All of the fat had been burned off, and these could be cut with a fork...no knife needed here. The flavors we awesome, and the textured of the short ribs was perfect. The portion was huge, and I couldn't have eaten another bite without killing my appetite for dessert. The ginger mash paired nicely, and were seasoned perfectly. I was a little hesitant about the ginger element, but it was a nice combination. As we finished the bottoms of our bottles of vino, we ordered dessert. I am a huge fan of Santiago's bread pudding, and the apple bread pudding was fresh out of the oven tonight. Really nice chunks of fresh apple, with a nice breading and smothered in a homemade caramel sauce. It again was huge, and I couldn't finish it all. Tom246 and DW went for the lemon meringue pie, another Santiago staple, and it too looked great. Santiago also sent out a piece of his chocolate peanut butter cheesecake for the table to share, and it too was great. . All in all, what can we say other than the fact that we had another great night at Under the Moon with great friends, food, and service. Santiago did a great job as always, and the service from Sarah was once again fabulous! Great job from the Under the Moon family, and as always, we look forward to our next visit! I'll clean this up and make some more comments after doing some snow shoveling! Cheers!