Ed D.
Yelp
I returned for round 2: dinner with a friend!
I'm happy to see another beautiful resturant in Harlem.
Kudos to the staff (front and backend e.g., kitchen, etc) for making things run seamlessly. My follow up review is driven overall by the service, vibe/ambience and libations!
I finally tried dinner last night and it ranged from acceptable (room for more improvement) to very satisfying! (Delicious!)
I like how they broke down their dinner menu into 3 different sections: EARTH, SURF & TURF.
I think my vegetarian and vegan compatriots can find a few dishes on the EARTH menu to indulge in. I started with the following:
SAUTÉED SEASONAL GREENS
Kale, collard greens, Swiss chard, garlic, ginger $14
FRIED SWEET PLANTAINS
ripened sweet plantains, potato starch, house-made lime salt $12
JERK MUSHROOMS
king oyster, portobello, sweetened coconut, jerk marinade
$16
All these dishes were flavored well. I think I messed up because I started dinner with a bourbon drink on the rocks. And I think it interfered with my taste buds when trying various dishes. Knowing that now, I'll start out with a glass of water so that I can take in and appreciate all the flavors that come out of each dish. My friend order a zero proof cocktail (no alcohol). It was the Virgin Royal Hawaiian (Pineapple Juice, Orgeat, Lemon Juice, Simple Syrup). She gave it a solid 5/5!
The fried sweet plantains were unique. The Jerk Mushrooms were delicious (I actually finished that dish). The Sauteed Seasonal Greens was acceptable. The only qualm was that the kale was not soft enough so it took extra amounts of bites to break it down. YMMV on that!
I excitingly moved on to the TURF menu.
I ordered the COCONUT FISH SANDWICH
(beer battered basa, house-made tartar, bbq slaw, brioche bun)
$23
My friend ordered the CODFISH FRITTERS
(salted cod, onion, garlic, tomato w/ jerk lime aioli
$15)
The coconut fish sandwich tasted excellent: it was crunchy outside yet had a super butter soft texture, inside, when it melted against my tongue! That dish, I completely ravished it and also shared it with my friend.
The Codfish fritters were excellent too. My friend enjoyed it. I could see myself requesting 2 orders of the Codfish fritters next time! Don't say I didn't warn yah!
Reminder to self: the next time I have dinner with food that is super flavorful, I'm not going to start out with the libations I had. I will save the libations for after the dinner experience so it doesn't interfere with the tasting experience. Imagine wearing 5 different fragrances at the same time: the combination of them will smell good but you will not be able to appreciate the uniqueness and beautify in each separate one. Keep that in mind!
And!! Calling all sugar mommas that want to take me out to dinner at The Good Good, I'm taking applications! Just kidding!! I'll keep my day job and rather stay away from pursuing the comedic field!
Anyway, this will be, one of my go to locations, at times, for cocktails and small bites once I get better grasp of which dishes continue tickle my palate on the dinner menu.
Consistency, in all aspects of a dining experience, generally drives a 5 star rating for me. So, I'll be back to try the Turf menu (GOOD GOOD CHEESEBURGER Pat LaFrieda ground beef, sharp white cheddar, dark loom tomato, gem lettuce, sofregit aoli, brioche bun OR HOT HONEY FRIED -
buttermilk fried chicken, fatalii spiced honey, lime) and then brunch on the weekend.
Service: 5/5
Ambiance 5/5
Food: 4/5 (Earth & Turf menu only)
Price: $$$