An update from a ‘less-than-critical’ critic....

An update from a guest writer, the author's very own father!!!!

City Crab (235 Park Ave S at 19th St)


On the evening of Good Friday, 2008, Katie and Terise and I decided to hit the City Crab restaurant for some good Catholic non-meat eats. By the way, dinner was a precursor for an evening spent visiting Manhattan’s finest Belgian Ale haunts. Another religious thing you see, because the monks do make all those rich Belgians and what better way to be anointed and holy.

We were seated upstairs by a large window (at the author’s request which was met with much disdain from his NYC classy daughter – Katie was quick to point out that the hostess seats you where she wishes due to server station control – forget about the diner’s preference) overlooking 30th Street. Our waiter was a virtual encyclopedia of pertinent menu information. We pondered our culinary course of action over glasses of a wonderful Malbec...yummy with a basket of breads and unusually tasty crackers with herbed butter.


The meals selected were crab cakes, trout and a ‘something-crusted’ tuna cooked rare - forgive the author, his memory is slippery as oysters on the half shell. The tuna was as good as a Roger Clemens strikeout. Breathtaking and so very tasty. We shared meal morsels and agreed that our selections were very good indeed. Terise’s crab cakes were a bit underdone though and she could not complete her assault on those french fries you see in her meal photo. The Malbec was gone too quickly and you may wonder why a red with this Catholic meal...well, think Communion wine please, remember it was Good Friday.

Off to discovery what the Belgian monks are up to!

3 and 1/2 rating forks.





Dinosaur (646 W 131st St at Riverside Dr.)


This was an “I would have waited another hour to eat smoked, tender pork here” restaurant! The experience was a Saturday night excursion into wood smoked barbecue decadence. Our 7:30 reservations turned into two hoppy beers and 8:30 seating. A fun Smuttynose IPA draft beer wait. In attendance were Terise, Katie, the author and two friends of Katie, David and Logan. Interestingly enough, as Terise and I launched our trip back to Cleveburg we spotted this along the train route – notice the signage in the lower middle of the picture!


After lengthy discussions and angst about what to order, the three of us ordered the same thing; with side dish variations...a delightful combination entitled appropriately – Tres Hombres...three different pork portions for the three of us. The only differences being in the salad, simmered greens, Cajun corn, or fries for the accompanying sides. David and Logan, being veterans of the Dinosaur were much more conservative in the selections.


The three meats were brisket – melt in your mouth good, ribs – melt in your mouth good, and pulled pork, which was, surprisingly enough – melt in your mouth good. Sadly one of the hombres was defeated by her entrée...she just had to score a take-it-home doggie bag (the next day’s breakfast). Was it a smaller tummy or perhaps the Dumpling Man seared dumplings that she enjoyed just a few hours before dinner? Speaking of appetizers check this out - where have you had an appetizer sampler that included ‘better-than-Mom’s deviled eggs and fried green tomatoes?


Not to surrender to the night we decided to treat ourselves to a bit more fun by ordering a mud pie / chocolate, peanut-buttery creamy concoction that was really very rich and good and filled us to the eyebrows. A fun, great and filling experience at a fun place.

4 rating forks.