Adem Baba (Seafood)

Mmmmm... Adem Baba's sole shish kebab.  This place is a bit of a local institution, and on recommendations from Trip Advisor I ordered the fried calamari and some shishes.  A brief tangent, I have not found TripAdvisor to be very reliable.  I was able to find another review of Adem Baba from Istanbul Eats who I do greatly respect.  I'm glad I made the trip.

The bread they give you is good.  The cornbread stuff is dry.  The calamari tasted delicious, and were the right non-chewy, toothy consistency.  Their little sauce that comes with them was also pretty decent, they were just a bit too greasy.  But, the Sole shish kebabs were so delicious I still think about them.  I still crave them!

They were delicious because they were simple.  Sole. Peppers.  Tomato.  Lemon.  Simple grilled, perfectly cooked.  They had the right blend of natural flavor, heat, acid, and grill.  And a few leaves of sorrel.  I love sorrel!  I've tried to replicate them at home, and thus far have failed.  It's not cheap by Turkish standards, but it's not too bad for the average traveler.


Adem Baba
Arnavutköy Mh.  
Satış Meydanı Sokak 2
34000 Istanbul, Turkey
0212 263 2933
3.5 of 5 (shishes get a 5 all day long)

La Mar Cebicheria Peruana

La Mar's Cebicheria Peruvian restaurant installment in New York City was good, even very good, but just not great.  It is well known for its cebiche/ceviche (maybe Cebicheria is a giveaway) - the fish, veggie, and acid combo that leaves the fish (or shrimp, octopus, squid, etc) slightly cooked by the acid but still delicate and quasi-raw.  There is an enzyme reaction that you can see from lemon, lime, orange, pineapple, etc., juices mixing with the seafood that indicates it has been done well.  It normally has some red onion, and then any other variety of ingredients.


La Mar's cebiche was very good.  We ordered a sampling featuring octopus, tuna, shrimp and white fish.  The octopus was an absolute winner.  The tuna was great, but a tad sweet (the pineapple juice I believe).  The white fish was forgettable because the others were much better, and the final Del Tigre spicy shrimp ceviche was probably the best of the lot.  It had a great balance of spice.  Not a bargain, but when at a Cebicheria, do as the Peruvians...


For dinner I ordered the Squid Ink rice and Scallop number, and my first dinner companion ordered the Asian inspired Hamachi while the other got the Grilled Salmon.  My meal was great, and the scallop was excellently cooked, but the one scallop top and one other mixed in hardly read "main course" to me.  The Hamachi was a bit disappointing, and the Salmon was really solid (but basic).   

We got this dulche de leche, with strawberries and guava thing dessert.  I think they were trying to do something deconstructed, but it just ended up being a bit of a jumble.  Sort of mochi ball and crumble with a little leche.  Overall, the meal was nice, great flavors, great cebiche's with few disappointments.  The fact was, however, between the price and the a few misses (Hamachi, weird dessert), it's not quite at the level of 'overall fantastic.'  We all had a great time, and if you are entertaining I doubt your client will be upset, but I won't be rushing back soon myself.

Deconstructed dessert thing

La Mar Cebicheria Peruana
11 Madison Avenue  
New York, NY 10010
(212) 612-3388
3.5 of 5

Branzino

A group of friends decided to descend upon Branzino one night when the wait at Serious Pie was too long.  Between us, we ordered the grilled octopus, risotto, duck breast, gnocchi, pizza, steak, tagliatelle, cauliflower, and chocolate budino and apple pear crisp deserts.  There were some real winners and losers, and unfortunately, we found Branzino had two faces.  One was beautiful, and the other had a sweet spirit.

The grilled octopus was delicious, soft, tasty (note the awesomely fried herbs on the top of the dish), and memorable.  Unfortunately, for the price, the portion was a little meager.

Then there was the lobster risotto.  In a word, it was bland.  Both myself, and another friend who ordered it felt the same way.  It was the day's special, and incredibly disappointing (although it looked good).

My wife's duck breast (excuse the poor picture), was excellent.  The very center was a little under for her, but the remainder of it was a perfect mid-rare.  It turned her on to duck, and that streek lasted for a few months.

I did not get a shot of all the group's food.  I was told the gnocchi were pillowy and delicious.  The pizza was a little disappointing.  The tagliatelle was also good, but the bistecca (steak) was likewise a miss.  The cauliflower side was actually a perfect example of the yin and yang of this restaurant.  A fair amount of it was the most delicious thing that most of us ate that entire evening, while some pieces were over salted, a little charcoaly (from too aggressive a chargrill) and oily.

Then desert hit, and the chocolate budino and mint straccetelli was another solid single before being thrown out standing a little too far off the bag.  The budino was excellent, but the ice cream had a little too much ice - it seemed to have separated or something else unappealing.  The apple pear crisp was delicious, but did not differentiate itself too much from a similar offering you can get at most Greasy Spoons.  The service was likewise good, but not great.  

So what can I say about Branzino's overall?  Middling, in particular given the prices and I doubt we will be back.  I think that it was our fault though for not ordering the branzino, which you have to assume would be delicious...  


Branzino
2429 2nd Avenue
Seattle, WA 98121-1424
(206) 728-5181
3 of 5