The Mohawk Club

As I mentioned in my previous post, my last day of work was on Friday. It was bittersweet leaving because I will truly miss everyone I worked with - but I'm very excited to start my career in marketing (provided I can find a job). The cake you see below came from Eldo Cake House located in Chinatown, at 36 Harrison Ave.

The cake is a sponge cake, filled with fresh peaches, and covered with strawberries, melon, peaches, and kiwi. The cakes are super light and delicious, but the location is difficult because there's very little parking, and the staff doesn't speak English well so it can be challenging to communicate exactly what you're looking for. Regardless, we order these cakes for every work function because they are truly tasty.

As I was mentioning, I just finished work, and although I was supposed to go to NYC this weekend, Irene had different plans, and I only made it home to upstate NY. My sister's boyfriend, who lives in Manhattan, also decided to seek refuge at my parent's house in upstate, so on Saturday night we decided to go out to dinner. 



My parents have been members of the Mohawk Golf Club for close to thirty years, so that place was like a second home to me when I was younger. I can remember eating grilled cheese sandwiches with ham, by the pool, sipping on a lemonade and soaking up the sun. Although I now prefer a little vodka in my lemonade, I still always enjoy going to the Mohawk Club. The "club" as we call it, has gone through many different chefs, and the quality of food has changed a lot over time, but I must say that in the past several years it has been the best it's ever been. Because of this, we look forward to going to the club whenever we are home for a weekend.

My mother made reservations for us, and at 7pm we headed off to another lovely dinner there. One of the main reasons I enjoy going there for dinner is because you never know who you're going to see, or what type of experience you're going to have. I am usually fighting off belly laughs left and right because of how much fun we are having. Saturday night was a little quieter, most of the usual Saturday night dinner crowd stayed in and out of the storm, but we still had a lovely time. My dad brought his own wine, so my sister and I enjoyed a nice Pinot Noir, while my father and mother enjoyed a Beringer Cabernet.  I was really excited to go to the club because they just got a brand new menu and my parents had nothing but great things to say about it.

Appetizers

Entrees

For appetizers, my mom ordered the chopped salad, Jordan got the shrimp cocktail, and my sister ordered the asparagus frites with cajun aioli.

Chopped Salad

Shrimp Cocktail

Asparagus frites 

Although both the chopped salad and shrimp cocktail were good, the real star of the appetizer round was the asparagus frites. The asparagus was cooker perfectly, had a great coating and crunch, and the aioli was simply divine. The greens under the asparagus also added a nice element of acidity. Overall it was a great dish, and a good appetizer size.

Kay and I having some fun with the corks!

For dinner, three of us, myself included, ordered the cavatelli with lobster,  my mom and brother got the pan roasted halibut, and Kay's boyfriend Chris ordered the beef filet.

Halibut dish 

As you can see, the halibut was served with a leek and tomato compote, a mushroom vinaigrette, mashed potatoes, green beans, broccoli rabes, and carrots. The plate presentation was beautiful, and my mom and brother both really enjoyed it.


Chris's beef disappeared before all of our eyes, so I think it's safe to say he enjoyed it. 

Chris's beef was au poivre, which means that it was cooked with black peppercorns, and served in a sauce of reduced cognac, heavy cream, pan drippings, and sometimes butter, shallots, and dijon mustard. The steak was served with a side of french fries and mixed vegetables.

For the third, and unarguably the best entree, somehow three of us ordered it and yet I didn't manage to take a picture. I am literally beating myself up for not doing it, but it was so creamy and delicious I can't imagine after tasting this dish that I would order anything else. Below I have included a small picture of my sister's leftovers so you can get an idea of the ingredients, but please do not judge this dish by the photo - it was so good!



  

Cheers to a great night!



All and all dinner was very enjoyable, and was a great pre-Irene feast.