So Valentine's Day made a necessary excursion to a restaurant since I don't have my own house so cooking the romantic dinner wasn't happening. Me and my boyfriend wanted to keep it low key since we didn't want to be in a restaurant with price fixed menus swarmed with thousands of couples, being rushed and pushed by the waiting staff, and crammed into an available table. We decided sushi was a necessity, specifically with a love boat in mind, and actually made restaurants at Sapporo in Wantagh on Merrick Road.
This Japanese restaurant has been a usual for me and my boyfriend because of its' traditional atmosphere with a room to sit on the floor, a couple of mid level booths and the regular tables. We have been going to Kiku in Massapequa as a regular sushi place but definitely not for the atmosphere just merely the great quality. But I would say Sapporo's quality is comparable to Kiku, just the prices tend to be a bit more. So we arrived at 7 with reservations for a booth since my bf doesn't like sitting on the floor and we came to Sapporo for the environment, so the regular tables were out of question. But when arriving apparently they didn't really plan it well to have a booth open and were going to just be sat at a table, without even asked. This started off my night with a bad experience but since it was Valentine's Day I kept my cool and my bf wanted me to be happy anyway so he agreed to the floor. It actually worked out though because we were sat in a section a step higher than the other section so it was pretty private, only one other floor seating available. As we sat down, we weren't given/offered water but it was fine because we wanted to order drinks. I had to ask the young girl who sat us for a menu and she came pretty quickly. But for the waitress to come to actually take the drink order didn't really happen.
Another couple was seated about fifteen minutes after us and was served water and also had their drink requests taken immediately. This was a bit irritating but once again it was Valentine's Day and we were doing it low key so no biggy. Finally fifteen minutes after that couple's drinks were given our waitress took our drink order (same waitress as them). We decided we wanted something hot so did a large hot sake but also wanted a bottle of wine and were intrigued by the plum wine. The hot sake was very good so we were definitely happy with the choice. The plum wine was a bit sweet for our liking with dinner but it was something to try and was very good so we couldn't complain. It took a bit of time for the waitress to take our order but she brought own green beans with a soy based sauce on top and it was a nice hold over. All of a sudden we were brought an appetizer. I know we didn't order one and the table next to us did, but at Kiku they serve a free appetizer so I figured maybe it was a Valentine's Day treat. Well halfway through it we could tell the person who served it messed up and it was meant for the other table but oh well.... they served us real slow anyway. And the waitress had the nerve to come over and say it wasn't even for us.
So when we had ordered the menu said soup or salad but the waitress never presented the question, which I really didn't notice. Unfortunately I really like the salad with ginger dressing, but not so much Miso soup. Well the two soups came out and I figured might as well try it. The soup actually was not half bad. It wasn't too salty and I didn't hate the tofu. I was pleasantly surprised. We also ordered the large sushi platter since I had my idea of a love boat Valentine's dinner but this time was unpleasantly surprised. Out came our sushi platter that was smaller than the price charged and on a plain white plate, no presentation or boat. This was another strike on the restaurant, especially since the table sat 15 minutes after us got their food 30 minutes before us.
We were pretty hungry at that point and dug in. Another unpleasant surprise. The sashimi was a bit fishy, and the sashimi octopus was incredibly chewy. Not something I wanted. There were rolls with tempura crunch flakes inside, something me and my boyfriend both hate. I don't like mayonnaise or spicy mayo but at Kiku when we get the spicy tuna roll, there is such a small amount of mayo in it that I don't hate it. Well here it tasted like a teaspoon of mayo in each roll. IT was horrible. My boyfriend, who loves spicy mayo, did not even eat it. This was probably the most disappointing sushi experience we have had in awhile. What made it worse was we had not had sushi in a month and were really looking forward to it. This is big deal for a couple who eats sushi once a week typically.. but got to save money.
We definitely did not want dessert and ran out as fast as possible. But when the bill was bought our waitress said oh and the appetizer was compliments of the chef. Well if you mess up a dish and bring it to someone who didn't order it, you would only hope the restaurant would not charge... thanks for nothing.
Sapporo is somewhere that will have to earn my credibility before even considering returning. It will be Kiku from now on.. stay tuned for the next review :)
So shifting gears a bit from a bad to a great experience we move on to Rachel's Waterside Grill in Freeport. Me, my bf, and my friend from The Netherlands visited this establishment on Sunday, March 4. I needed to bring my friend somewhere good since she never visited LI and only been to NY once. I thought that the Nautical Mile had to be best since it has an awesome view and fresh seafood (she hardly gets fresh seafood back home). She also loved the varietal menu so we ventured out around 7pm.
Getting there there was no one there, well typical for a Sunday during March. I was most excited because they built glass around the patio deck on the water to make it winter accessible with a nice working fireplace. During the summer the glass opens to have the wonderful water view. As we were seated against the water, the waiter asked to take our drinks. We weren't quite ready yet but I did ask if they had their sangria since it is definitely my favorite sangria, but unfortunately only a summer thing (guess I'll have to go back ;) ). My friend went with a glass of sweet white (can't remember which variety), I went with the house cab sauv, and my bf the dirty martini. Our drinks came out with a great bread basket which I was excited since I love their brown bread with raisins. The wine was very good for a house and everyone else liked their drinks as well.
Our waiter let us call him over once we were ready since there really was no one there. I decided to be adventurous and try the ahi tuna served with seaweed salad. I love seaweed salad but never had ahi tuna before. I really like tuna sashimi so decided there couldn't be much harm in trying it. My boyfriend went with a nightly special of a white fish, can't remember the type, served with new potatoes and a thai lemongrass sauce. And my friend decided to get the steamed seafood special. It included clams, scallops, shrimp, and seafood stuffed flounder. We also went with a half dozen baked clams.
The clams came out first and that was in fact a bit of a mistake. They were tiny tiny and overpriced. But I must say they were delicious. During the summer I order the Rockefeller oysters, much better choice and excited to come back for them! Our food came out in a timely manner, giving us time to digest but not get impatient.
First I tried a piece of the tuna, which had a wasabi sauce drizzled on top. I actually ended up hating it! Turns out ahi tuna kinda tastes like steak, something I hate more than anything. I only eat chicken and seafood so that was bit of a disappointment. But the seaweed salad was absolutely delicious, and that is very important to me since last time I got seaweed salad it was from Asian Moon in Massapequa and I got terribly sick from it. My boyfriend tried a piece of the tuna and he loved it (probably because he is steak obsessed). Yet the wasabi dressing was amazing so I asked for more of that it put a lot of it on it so I could eat something.
The special my boyfriend ordered, on the other had, was right up my alley. It was delicious and had a more than perfected thai sauce. The fish was not fishy at all and the potatoes tasted perfectly marinated in the sauce. He let me eat one piece of the fish while he hate the other since the portion was tremendous, as well was mine. Next time I think I will try to get something similar to that, or stick to my favorites such as the stuffed LI flounder or scallops.
My friend loved her over sized, bang for your buck priced seafood platter. And she got mashed potatoes, something she eats almost daily at home but hasn't had in the US. (she was doing an internship from January until March in DC). She was just impressed with the quality and tastiness of the fish, glad to make her happy. I have had that platter many times before and was not surprised by how much she liked it. I was glad she found something enjoyable.
We all were unfortunately too stuffed for dessert and decided to head out afterwards. I easily will say, Rachel's impressed me once again, with the atmosphere and the seafood quality. To go out to eat, not like your dish at all, yet still come out with such a positive experience really defines a restaurant doing it right. And don't get me wrong, my dish was perfectly prepared and acceptable, but I just found out I am not a fan of Ahi Tuna.
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