Englewood « Two Fat Bellies

Posts Tagged ‘Englewood’

4 West Diner

Friday, December 18th, 2009 by virginia

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The first time we tried to go to the 4 West Diner turned out to be a bust, as it wasn’t opening until the following week. Several months passed before we tried again, and I must say that I was pleasantly surprised by both the food and the décor of the diner.

It’s located in a space that use to house a Bennigans but they’ve totally re-done both the outside and inside. The outside is a gleaming silver highlighted with neon lights, which evokes memories of old time diners and has the benefits of attracting cars passing by on a busy section of Route 4 in Englewood. The inside, however, is nothing like what I expected. Instead of metallic tables and booths covered in brightly colored vinyl, the décor is understated with neutral brown/beige tones, and is actually quite pleasant. The space is deceptively large on the inside, and we were seated along the back wall so we had a nice view of the entire diner.

It was a chilly and rainy night when we went so both Josh and I decided to start with some bowls of soup. I opted for French onion, which is usually a hit or miss at diners. Some seem to dump soup straight from a can and top it with barely melted generic white cheese. Fortunately 4 West Diner took better care than that. The soup was served piping hot, had a nice rich onion-y flavor, and wasn’t too salty. I don’t think the cheese on top was quality gruyere but it was a generous sprinkling and pretty evenly melted.

Pretty good french onion soup

Josh’s matzo ball soup, however, was pretty dismal. The chicken broth was greasy and lacked seasoning while the matzo ball had a really weird rubbery texture to it. Proper matzo balls should be light and fluffy so that they almost dissolve in your mouth, not dense lead-like balls of dough.

Bad matzo ball soup

For my entrée, I chose the chicken bello sandwich, which was served open faced on a square ciabatta roll. Each side of the roll had an enormous slab of chicken breast topped with a portobello mushroom and melted fresh mozzarella. Both sides were huge, and there was no way I could slap them together to make a normal sandwich. Instead, I could only finish one side, eating it with a knife and fork, and saved the other half for later. The chicken on the sandwich was cooked so that it was still nice and tender, and it worked well with the slightly chewy portobello and stringy mozzarella cheese. I just wished there was more balsamic dressing on the whole thing, or more seasoning, as it ended up being a bit bland. The huge sandwich came with a side of fries, which were standard but decent.

Chicken bello sandwich

Josh had the french dip sandwich, which was also served on ciabatta bread and had tender, thin slices of beef. It was real slices of steak, not like deli roast beef, which Josh liked, but he wished that they put some swiss cheese on the sandwich for extra flavor. The dipping sauce was pretty good, not too greasy or salty. The french dip sandwich came with french fries as well.

French dip sandwich

Overall we both thought the food at 4 West Diner was pretty decent and slightly more creative than standard diner food. Prices aren’t dirt cheap but they’re reasonable, and service was fast and efficient. I did like the more upscale atmosphere, though you lose some of the nostalgia factor of eating in a diner. The menu is very extensive so it’s a good place to go if you have a large group or picky eaters, as everyone will find something they like. It’s by no means a destination restaurant but if you’re hungry and happen to be passing by or in the neighborhood, it’s not a bad place to stop.

4 West Diner
412 South Van Brunt St.
Englewood, NJ

Tags: Diner, Englewood, Fries, NJ, Sandwiches
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Tapas de España

Saturday, December 12th, 2009 by virginia

After we ate the pimientos de padron, we had tapas on our mind so we headed out to dinner at Tapas de España in Englewood, NJ with Josh’s parents. We used to go there a lot when the restaurant first opened but it’s been a few years I think since our last visit. It’s always crowded on weekends so we could never get in, but this time it was pretty late in the evening and there were only four of us. We called ahead for a table and luckily we didn’t have to wait too long before we were seated.

They brought us a basket of nicely warmed up baguettes while we went through the menu. The bread was basic but had a nice crispy crust and fluffy innards.

Yummy carbs

Although the restaurant does offer many full size dishes, we were here for the tapas, and the list is pretty long and extensive (no pimientos de padron though!). In addition to the regular tapas menu, they had another sheet that listed the specials of the day. So many things looked appealing to us that we ended up over ordering but at least we got to try a wide variety of the tapas offered.

Of course we couldn’t eat tapas without ordering a pitcher of sangria. The sangria is not to sweet and has lots of big chunks of fruit in it, which I like.

Red sangria with lots of fruit

To start off the meal, they served us some soup made with collard greens, potatoes, and sausage. The broth was light but flavorful, with a hint of smokiness from the sausage. They give the soup to everyone, kind of like an extremely large amuse bouche, and it’s pretty tasty.

Collard green, potato, and sausage soup

The first dish that we ordered was jamon serrano with manchego cheese. Serrano ham is kind of like prosciutto, and we ate a lot of it while we were in Spain (Museo de Jamon anyone?). Unfortunately, the slices we received here were awful. They were stale, lacking in flavor, and totally dried out, making them hard and tough to chew. The slices of manchego were decent at least, but even they couldn’t salvage the terrible jamon.

Decent manchego and spanish olives with awful serrano ham

Fortunately the next dish was much better. It was from the specials menu and was baby squid served in its own ink. The squid bodies were tender, not chewy, and covered in the rich, delicious black ink. I think some people might get a little squeamish from squid ink, but please don’t knock it until you’ve tried it! I can’t really explain it, but the flavor is just so deep and tastes like the sea. I really loved this dish and it was one of my favorites of the evening.

Baby squid in its own ink

They brought out the rest of our tapas on two tall towers so there was a lot of food all at once. I still made sure to take pictures of each dish though before everyone dug in. The beef empanadas were pretty solid. They were freshly fried with a nice flaky crust and the filling was well seasoned.

Beef empanadas

The lightly fried bacalao fritters were recommended by our waiter. The chunks of salted cod were lightly battered and deep fried. They were served with a tasty tartar sauce.

Bacalao fritters

Less successful were the chicharones de pollo, chunks of fried bone-in chicken. The chicken was also lightly battered but they didn’t have enough meat so what was there was really dried out and tough.

Chicharones de pollo

The empanadillas de atun were miniature empanadas filled with kind of a tuna puree. Sounds kind of gross but it didn’t taste fishy at all, and the crusts were light and crispy.

Empanadillas de atun

The patatas bravas, deep fried potatoes covered in a spicy sauce, were very poorly made. The potatoes were soggy and mushy, and the sauce didn’t have a good kick to it. It’s such a simple dish to make that it’s kind of disappointing that they screwed it up so badly.

Poorly prepared patatas bravas

The shrimp in garlic sauce were served with a lot of deliciously garlicky oil/broth, which we sopped up with pieces of baguette. It’s a standard tapas dish that we always order whenever we’re in a Spanish restaurant.

Shrimp in garlic sauce

We also got side dishes of tostones and maduros. The tostones were sliced thinner than at most other places, so they were light and crispy, not too heavy or starchy. And they came with a delicious garlic dipping sauce.

Tostones with garlic sauce

The maduros were soft and sweet and not too oily. We loved plantains in all forms so we polished off these plates pretty easily.

Sweet maduros

We were stuffed after all the food but we still had some room for dessert. We shared a flan, which was a bit tougher than I normally prefer and not quite silky enough. The caramel sauce was good though, and not too sweet.

There's always room for flan

In general, I thought the food at Tapas de España was pretty decent. There were some misses though that highlighted the inconsistency from the kitchen. I don’t think anything was ill-conceived, as what we ordered were all pretty standard tapas dishes. The patatas bravas, for example, were just poorly prepared. Service was ok. They delivered our food kind of all in one shot, and then everyone disappeared for a while. But we were still able to flag someone down when we needed more water or another pitcher of sangria. As I said earlier, the restaurant does get pretty crowded on weekends, and there seemed to be a lot of big parties the night we were there, so reservations are recommended. The tapas might not be the most authentic but the atmosphere of the restaurant is fun and festive, and we had a good evening overall.

Tapas de España (multiple locations)
47 North Dean St.
Englewood, NJ

Tags: Englewood, NJ, Spanish, Tapas
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Nisi Estiatorio

Monday, August 24th, 2009 by virginia

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Josh’s parents have been raving about Nisi Estiatorio, a Greek restaurant in Englewood, for a long time now so when we found ourselves in NJ on a random weekday night, they decided to take us there for a nice treat. The restaurant features fresh seafood that is simply prepared. The fish are displayed on ice and you can choose which one you want; the fish you pick is priced by the pound.

The fish are displayed on ice and you can pick the one you want

The fish are displayed on ice - you can pick the one you want and they'll weigh it for you

Our waitress took Josh and me up to the fish display to select our fish. We decided to try a fish we’ve never had before, a fagri, which is a pink sea bass. The fagri they had on hand that day were big enough for two so we decided to split one. Josh’s mom chose a dover sole, and Josh’s dad decided to go for a special of the evening, a red snapper. We also decided to share some appetizers and side dishes. After placing our order, they brought out the bread basket which had pieces of warm bread brushed with olive oil, as well as a little dish of kalamata olives. The bread had a sturdy and crispy crust and I thought the olive oil was a nice touch.

Crusty bread brushed with olive oil

Our first appetizer was diced beets topped with a whipped feta skordalia. The beets were marinated in vinegar so they had a bit of a tang to them. The whipped feta skordalia was light and fluffy and very garlicky (skordalia is usually a dip made with potatoes and garlic). I didn’t taste much feta, but I thought the combination of the tangy beets and the creamy skordalia was wonderful together. I’ll definitely have to experiment with making this at home.

Diced beets topped with feta skordalia

Next we had a greek salad with huge chunks of cucumber and tomatoes in it, as well as olives, peppers, and onions. There was a big block of feta cheese on top that was creamy, not crumbly, and had a mellow gamey flavor to it. Josh doesn’t normally like feta but he enjoyed this one. The salad was lightly dressed with some oil and vinegar and was very refreshing.

Greek salad with delicious feta

For our last appetizer we had Nisi chips, which were thinly sliced vegetables lightly battered and deep fried. There were thin strips of eggplant, onion, beets, and some other vegetables that I don’t remember. The chips were crispy and not at all greasy. It came with some tzatziki sauce for dipping, but unfortunately the tzatziki was pretty disappointing. It’s usually my favorite dip but this one tasted only like plain yogurt; it lacked both flavor and seasoning.

Nisi chips with tzatziki sauce for dipping

For our main course, the fish that Josh and I chose was brought to us fileted and served with a little drizzle of oil and lots of capers and herbs. We squeezed some lemon juice over the top and it was just perfect – light and simple. The fagri was a meatier fish than I thought it would be, but still had a nice delicate texture to it. My only complaint was that it was served to us at room temperature, not warm. But I still enjoyed it a lot and would absolutely order it again.

The fagri (pink sea bass) we selected

Josh’s mom had a dover sole that appeared to have been floured and pan fried. It had a crust on it that was a bit tough, and the fish was overcooked. I don’t think she was too pleased with her dish.

Disappointing dover sole

Josh’s dad had a red snapper special that was served with roasted vegetables. I only took one bite of it but it was cooked perfectly and nicely seasoned.

Red snapper with roasted vegetables

For our sides, we had a bowl of three cheese smashed potatoes, which were super rich. The potatoes still had a bit of texture to them, which I liked. It was a heavy dish but I thought it went well with the fish.

Three cheese smashed potatoes

Our other side was roasted vegetables, which was a colorful mix of peppers, zucchini, asparagus, tomatoes, and other vegetables. They were lightly seasoned and still retained their crunch.

Colorful medley of roasted vegetables

Overall I really enjoyed Nisi Estiatorio. One bad dover sole aside, the fish for the most part is super fresh and well prepared. All the appetizers were great, and the sides were delicious as well. There were lots of other things on the menu that I’d like to try, such as the grilled lamb chops. My only issue with this restaurant is that it’s pretty pricey, and most entrees are served a la carte so sides cost extra, which means that it’s not somewhere we can go often. The atmosphere is really nice though, and the restaurant is big and airy and nicely decorated, which means it would be perfect for a special occasion. I hope that we will be back here again soon.

Nisi Estiatorio
90 Grand Ave.
Englewood, NJ

Tags: Englewood, Greek, NJ, Seafood
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Baumgart’s

Friday, August 7th, 2009 by virginia

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Josh and I were back in NJ for the weekend and had dinner at one of our old favorites, Baumgart’s. It’s a kitschy retro-looking diner that serves Chinese food and ice cream. A weird combination but somehow it works. The Chinese food isn’t totally Americanized, which I like about the place, and service is always fast and efficient. Plus the ice cream is outstanding.

We ended up ordering a ton of food for some reason, and we still managed to finish most of it. For appetizers, we started off with steamed house dumplings that are filled with a shrimp paste and served with pickled vegetables. These are probably pre-made frozen dumplings but they’re delicious. The skins are super thin and the filling is ample but light. I could eat dozens of these, easily.

Steamed house special dumplings

I think Baumgart’s has the best bbq spare ribs I’ve ever had at a Chinese restaurant. They’re always hot, covered in sauce, super meaty, and tender. The meat comes right off the bone and they’re not covered in fat like at other places. They give you plenty of wet naps to get the sticky sauce off your fingers afterward.

BBQ spare ribs

Our absolute favorite appetizer is the chicken with pine nuts. Tiny pieces of coarsely ground chicken are cooked with pine nuts in a light brown sauce and you spoon the mixture onto lettuce leaves. Then you eat it like a wrap. It’s sweet and salty and crunchy – the flavors and textures of this dish are just outstanding.

Chicken and pine nuts in a lettuce wrap

For our main courses, we got an order of crispy shrimp with honey walnuts. The shrimp is kind of cooked like general tso’s chicken, with coated shrimp that’s fried until crispy and tender and served with a sweet reddish tomato based sauce with peppers, onions, and water chestnuts. The walnuts are coated with honey and roasted until they’re also crispy and taste like candy. This is always a solid dish for us.

Crispy shrimp with honey walnuts

The sesame chicken is pretty standard, with chunks of chicken that are coated and fried with a sweet and tangy sauce that clings to the chicken. This dish can get a little dry sometimes, as they use white meat that doesn’t have a lot of moisture to begin with.

Sesame chicken

The brandied black bean filet is thin slices of filet mignon served over steamed spinach with and topped with the black bean sauce. Fortunately the sauce isn’t too powerful, since I’m not a huge fan of black beans (the fermented Chinese kind). But if you’re looking for that black bean flavor, you won’t find it in this dish. The beef is also hit-or-miss. On this trip, it was tender and still pink in the middle. Other times it has been tough and chewy and flavorless. The pieces of beef are pretty thin so they’re easy to overcook. Overall I’m not a huge fan of this dish but Josh and his dad like it a lot.

Brandied black bean filet

We got two noodle dishes – chicken pad thai and house special flat wide noodles. The chicken pad thai has all the usual ingredients – rice noodles, chicken, egg, bean curd, bean sprouts, etc., but it’s slightly pink which makes me think they put ketchup in it. It’s a bit sweeter than normal pad thai, but not bad. I like that they sprinkle a lot of crushed peanuts on top for extra crunch and flavor.

Chicken pad thai

The house special flat wide noodles come with shrimp, chicken, and beef, as well as lots of veggies. It’s cooked with a “sha cha” sauce, which is like Chinese bbq sauce. This is also a hit-or-miss dish, as sometimes they overcook the noodles and they all stick together in one mushy pile. This time it was cooked well, and the sauce isn’t liquidy like American bbq sauce. Sha cha is more of a paste, so it keeps the noodles dry but you can just taste a hint of it in the background.

House special flat wide noodles

The only major disappointment this time was the whole sea bass that was deep fried. We ordered the crispy ginger version, but we should have gone with the steamed instead. The fish was large but it didn’t seem like it had any meat on it. I don’t know what it was coated in before it was fried, but the entire fish was like one giant crust. It was so hard to get to what little meat there was, and everything was super super dry. It seemed like such a shame to ruin such a big piece of fish that way. I don’t know if it was a bad fish to begin with or if it was just over fried, but I definitely won’t be ordering this dish again.

Deep fried sea bass with ginger

Even after all that food we just consumed, we all saved room for dessert. You can’t go to Baumgart’s without getting ice cream! The ice cream is homemade, though I’m not sure where “home” is. It’s rich and creamy and never icy. I got a black raspberry “mini sundae” which is a large scoop with hot fudge and whipped cream. The fudge was so hot that it started melting my ice cream immediately. They really do put on a thick layer, and I love getting a bit of fudge, a bite of ice cream, and a dab of whipped cream all on one spoon. The black raspberry is not too sweet and has a strong berry flavor. This is definitely one of my favorites.

Black raspberry ice cream with hot fudge and real whipped cream

Josh had the mint chocolate chip mini sundae, also with hot fudge. The mint ice cream is appropriately minty and refreshing. It just tastes “clean”, if you know what I mean. Nothing artificial and it’s not the neon green color. Watch out for the chocolate chips, as they are more chunks than chips. There are huge blocks of frozen chocolate dispersed throughout the ice cream, and finding one is like finding gold. These are not your ordinary chocolate chips. We pretty much inhaled all of our ice cream.

Mint chocolate chip ice cream mini sundae

Even though I don’t generally crave Chinese food, I’m always happy to go to Baumgart’s. Aside from the standard sesame chicken, nothing else is like typical Chinese take out. I think a lot of the dishes are more authentic, even though the atmosphere is more of a 50’s ice cream soda shop than a Chinese restaurant. Even my dad has enjoyed their crispy shrimp, and he’s super picky about Chinese food outside our home. If you go to Baumgart’s during lunch or brunch, they also have really good chicken salad sandwiches and other more diner-ish fare. The restaurant also serves sushi, with a lot of tasty special rolls. This really is a place where anyone can find something to eat. Even the pickiest kids would be satisfied with their grilled cheese or burger with fries, and the adults can enjoy an eclectic asian feast. I definitely recommend Baumgart’s for anyone. And as a bonus, the Englewood location is BYO so bring along your favorite beer or wine!

Baumgart’s (multiple locations)
45 East Palisade Ave.
Englewood, NJ

Tags: BYO, Chinese, Englewood, Ice Cream, NJ
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Solaia

Friday, May 29th, 2009 by virginia

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We were in NJ for the night and ended up having dinner at Solaia, an Italian restaurant in Englewood. Located right next to John Harms Theater, it would be a good spot for a pre- or post-show dinner, or if you feel like having a nice evening out, but clearly the current economic environment has taken a toll on the restaurant. During prime time on a Friday night, it was almost empty, and after our meal, it was easy to see why.

Appetizers and salads range from $12-$16. I started with a tropical salad, which was comprised of Boston lettuce, hearts of palm, avocado, mozzarella, onion and tomato. The ingredients seemed pretty fresh but surprisingly, there wasn’t a lot of flavor to the salad. A sprinkling of salt and pepper helped, but I just felt like it was lacking something, and it definitely needed more acid to brighten it up a bit.

Pretty but bland tropical salad

Josh had a Caesar salad, which came with a nice big piece of parmesan on top, but the dressing was also a bit bland. Portions weren’t huge, so there was nothing to justify the price.

Also bland caesar salad

Entrees fared a bit better, though there was a bit of a snafu when my order of pappardelle with lamb ragu was mistaken as an order for the pappardelle with lobster and seafood, a special that night. An understandable mix-up, I guess, since I’m a low talker (though Josh, who constantly makes fun of me for being a low talker, said I spoke clearly this time), but I was left in the unenviable position of watching everyone else eat while I waited for my dish to be prepared. Thankfully Josh didn’t mind sharing his pasta with me, cavatelli with broccoli rabe and sausage. The cavatelli, which is homemade, had a nice chewy texture, and the broccoli rabe wasn’t too bitter. The sausage had a lot of fennel seed in it, which I didn’t like, but the dish worked well together overall. I don’t think it was worth the $23 price tag though.

Cavatelli with broccoli rabe and sausage

When my pasta finally arrived, at least it was served very hot, but now I had to eat while everyone was watching me so I felt rushed, which isn’t a pleasant experience. The ragu didn’t have a very gamey taste (I love gamey lamb, the gamier the better), but there was a piece of seared sheep’s milk ricotta that provided a very welcomed tang to the dish. The crusty exterior of the cheese was delicious, and I mixed the oozing center into the ragu to create a creamier texture that I thought worked better with the pappardelle.

Papparedelle with lamb ragu and sheep's milk ricotta

Pappardelle with lamb ragu and sheep's milk ricotta

Overall I feel like I wouldn’t come back to Solaia. Prices are pretty high, which would be more understandable if the food was spectacular, but it was just ok. Not bad, but not great, and not worth the expense. With so many other great restaurant options nearby on Palisade Ave. in Englewood, there’s no reason to spend the money on mediocre food.

Solaia
22 N Van Brunt St.
Englewood, NJ

Tags: Englewood, Italian, NJ
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Posts Tagged ‘Englewood’

4 West Diner

Tapas de España

Nisi Estiatorio

Baumgart’s

Solaia

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