Aperitivo

Whenever I am home visiting I always try and go to my favorite Schenectady hotspot, "Aperitivo." Aperitivo, traditionally a meal or small plate offered with a pre-dinner drink,  is one of the many restaurants owned by Mazzone Management Group. This charming bistro specializes in Italian fusion cuisine, and offers a selection of both small plates and full portion entrees, as well as gourmet pizzas. 

I love Aperitivo because it's not only close to my home, but it is a truly unique experience located amongst the other cookie-cutter bars in Schenectady. I also enjoy it because my good friend Jordan is the bartender and he is always whipping up speciality cocktails for us to enjoy.

As we sat down at one of the center bar tables, I prefer to sit in the front room vs. the back (more in the action), we were promptly greeted by our waitress who asked what we wanted to drink. My sister and I opted for a bottle of Pinot Noir (instead of a speciality cocktail which are super yummy there), and then began to wait patiently for the bread to arrive. In the meantime I went over to the bar to chat with Jordan, and realized another friend of mine was sitting at the end of the bar, appearing to be on a secretive date.... perfect. Also, by realized I mean I heard an embarrassing voice yell "Send her down" coming from the opposite end of the bar. I went over and said hello, and then immediately called up my cousin to come and join Kayla and I for dinner (Mr. Secretive is a mutual friend of my cousin and I, and I knew he would enjoy making this situation uncomfortable just as much as I). 




As soon as the bread arrived we were in heaven. Its a warm focaccia served alongside oil and vinegar, and is simply delicious. I really love when restaurants put effort into the kind of bread they serve - I feel like all to often restaurants serve some generic italian bread and just call it a day. 

Shortly after receiving our bread the waitress was back to take our order....

I had been instructed by my cousin to order him the calamari appetizer as his dinner. This is fried calamari, served with arugula and a sweet chili glaze. 

My sister ordered the seared scallops served with a sweet corn puree and corn & bacon hash, and I ordered the grilled swordfish with avocado and almond pesto. 


My sister and I also ordered the Matchstick Fries as an appetizer - one of my sister's favorites. We enjoyed our wine and soon our fries arrived.

I instantly fell in love with this dish because of how whimsical it is (and also how tasty). The fries are topped with toasted garlic and parmesan, and served with three dipping sauces, malt vinegar aioli, herbs in oil, and truffle ketchup. To say these fries are addicting would be a severe understatement. They are heaven in a dainty bowl, and I would eat them everyday if my thighs allowed. So. Good. And for the record, my favorite sauce was a toss up between the aioli and oil.




As we waited for both my cousin and our entrees to arrive, we were presented with a complimentary croquet of mozzarella, served with greens dressed in balsamic. 

I love the idea of sending out this "app" because it is so appropriate with the whole theme of the restaurant, and is essentially the definition of it.

Soon our entrees, and Nick, arrived, and I was once again I was equally impressed (with the food, not as much with Nick.... just kidding.

Calamari

The calamari was so delicious, and had the perfect balance of crunch and spice. It's also a really nice appetizer size. 

The scallops had a perfect sear on them, and the crispy corn and bacon hash had such a great rich flavor. The puree of corn had a nice silky consistency, and the micro green salad (with radish, cilantro, and lime) added acidity that complimented the dish perfectly, and helped to break up the richness. 

My swordfish was juicy, had a great char on the outside, and went really well with the gazpacho sauce and the confit fennel. The potato was also very light and delicious, and had a wonderful hint of olive oil. 


I really enjoyed the pesto as well. Traditionally pesto is a combination of basil, walnuts, garlic, and parmesan cheese. The interpretation of avocado with almonds was a great twist, and had a different texture and taste that I really enjoyed. 


When dinner, and the bottle of wine, concluded, the real fun began. The three of us joined our friend and his date at the bar, and added to the already awkward situation. You can tell the night is going to be awkward when you ask,


"Do you guys work together." and at the same time you get both "Yes" and "No" as a response. Kind of hard to proceed from there - Naturally I asked for some sort of elaboration, in which she insisted they did work together and he adamantly denied it. After some more awkward convo and drinks we finally called it a night (we were also the last ones in the place). 


I would strongly recommend for anyone in the area to go to Aperitivo at least once. It has a great modern atmosphere, friendly (and cute) bartender, and the food is some of the best I've had in the capital district. Trust me, you won't leave disappointed. (And trust me, I will be back there soon to try some more great dishes and report on them!)


  

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.