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Sunday, March 29, 2015

Weekend Cooking- The River Cafe in Brooklyn

This post is part of Beth Fish Reads' Weekend Cooking.  If you have anything related to food, cookbook reviews, novel or non-fiction book reviews, recipes, movie reviews, etc., head over to Beth Fish Reads and add your post. Or, if you want to read food related posts, head over to read what some interesting people have to say about food.

Last Thursday, my husband and I went to see Neil Diamond perform at the Barclays Center in Brooklyn, his first concert in his hometown. Before the show, we had dinner with two other couples at the River Cafe, located just under the Brooklyn Bridge.

We have walked the Brooklyn Bridge, but never wandered down to this beautiful area. We walked by the famous Brooklyn Ice Cream Factory, but didn't get a treat because we didn't want to spoil our dinner.

The River Cafe is a gorgeous place. It is right on the river, and the entry is surrounded by lush greenery. A huge display of lovely flowers greet you in the entry of the restaurant. The ambiance is relaxing and beautiful.

The menu is a three-course prefix, and at $120 per person, not inexpensive. But you get the whole package here. The waiter brought the ladies a small tufted stool that he placed next to us to put our purses on. I have been to many fancy restaurants, but this was a first for me, and so appreciated.

The service was impeccable and unobtrusive. I had a glass of Chardonnay with dinner, and it was very good, smooth and light. I started with the Pear Salad appetizer, which was my favorite part of the meal and one of my favorite appetizers ever.

They placed a perfectly caramelized pear on a plate with bacon, goat cheese and toasted walnuts on  the pear, topped with frisee and covered delicately with a delicious apple cider dressing. It was heavenly.

My husband enjoyed the Wild Shrimp, Pacific Blue shrimp served Oscar style, with King Crabmeat, white asparagus and a citrus Malaise sauce.

For my entree, I had the Coquelet, a chicken dish roasted and stuffed with chestnut, porcini and sage stuffing, with tiny turnips, a small glazed carrot and a Madeira sauce on top. The stuffing was very tasty.

I chose the Pistachio Semifreddo for dessert, and it was amazing. The pistachio dacquoise came with clementine sorbet and a clementine chip. I loved how the flavors blended together.

The dinner was expensive, but I highly recommend the River Cafe for a special occasion dinner. The view of Manhattan is wonderful, and the food is incredible.

I didn't take photos of the food, as we had dining companions with us.
The River Cafe website is here, and they have terrific photos.


4 comments:

  1. That is so beautiful (I went to the website). What a lovely dinner and certainly appropriate for a special occasion. That food sounds wonderful - especially the pear appetizer. Wow. Thanks for inviting us along!!

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  2. I love that part of Brooklyn and I can just imagine how fabulous your dinner was. I too clicked through the website and I just love the look of the restaurant.

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  3. I always look at that place when I cross the Brooklyn Bridge. Are the views of the city amazing?

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  4. Well, it's a long way, but if I ever get to NY/Brooklyn will certainly have to go that restaurant.

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