I am not in the habit of reviewing restaurants. I may not have the most ‘educated’ palate but I know what I like AND I know what is good. New World Bistro Bar is good – very good.
We had dinner there with our friends John and Hilary. They are world travelers and have just moved back to the US after living abroad in Africa for 10 years. We all agreed that our meals were fabulous.
This blog post is about our overall experience – not a culinary critique.
For starters John had the Steamed Littlenecks with Garbanzos and Rabes. I thought the greens would make the delicate sauce a little bitter but it didn’t. A really good combination.
Steamed Littlenecks with Garbanzos and Rabes
Hilary and I shared the Grilled Octopus. The meat was firm on the outside but soft and buttery on the inside. A really interesting contrast of textures and the char really added a nice dimension to the dish.
Octopus – yummy! I wish I had paid better attention to the ingredients in the sauce.
My husband, Mark, had the Duck Liver Pate with Aspic. It was served with grainy mustard, pickled onions and cornichons. My knife kept traveling over to his plate. The pate was like velvet in my mouth.
Duck Liver Pate – smooth and velvety. Next time I’m going to try the charcuterie.
For dinner John had the Thai Italian Love- Panang Curry Bolognese described as fat noodles tossed with Hudson Valley beef in a nicely spiced tomato, coconut, and kaffir lime sauce.
Fat Thai Noodles – Curry Bolognese? Why not?
Hilary had the Thai BBQ Ahi Tuna. It was glazed with a lime, lemon-grass garlic dressing and served with mung-sprout peanut slaw, organic brown rice and greens.
Thai Tuna – say that 10 times fast!
I can’t comment on their dinners. I have a nut allergy and am cautious with Thai dishes. Hilary definitely enjoyed her dinner. I don’t remember John saying much about his.
Mark’s dinner, however, was absolutely wonderful. Again, my fork kept drifting over to his plate. He had the Big Bowl of Seafood and Ramen Noodles. This is not the ramen that college kids eat. This is all-grown-up ramen full of shrimp, scallops, squid, clams and mussels in a light bonito-kombu broth with root veggies and ginger. On top was miso butter which our server instructed Mark to stir into the dish. OMG! Seriously good! What he didn’t eat I had the next day.
Big Bowl of Seafood and Ramen Noodles – now this is what ramen should be all about
My all natural grain-fed, grass finished strip steak was marinated and grilled perfectly. The meat was a little chewy. My dish, Latino Steak Frites, was served with chimichurri, banana ketchup, fries, broccoli rabes and grilled scallions. The sweet savory combination was really tasty and the portion was huge. In fact, all the portions were huge.
Latino Steak Frites – ok, so the meat was a little chewy but all the flavors melded together perfectly
I’m glad to say that I would recommend this restaurant. I had seen the chef/consultant, Ric Orlando, on the Food Network’s show “Chopped”. An Albany blogger recaps the episode. I was worried that the hype surrounding the chef would result in a disappointing dining experience. I couldn’t have been more wrong.
So if you’re in Albany, you’ll have to visit New World Bistro Bar and be sure to let me know what you think.
New World Bistro Bar, 300 Delaware Avenue, Albany, NY