Restaurant Review: Rheinblick German Restaurant (Canandaigua)

Because I've never done a review before and wasn't really planning to until really recently, I will be establishing a system for this now: 

Restaurants will be given an overall score, 1-10, with general explanation, after being graded 1-10 in the following categories:

Ambiance

Service

Menu/Choice

Dranks (I spelled this correctly.)

Appetizer

My Meal

Partner's Meal (do you really expect me to eat alone???)

Dessert

Coffee

I include coffee because I like nothing better than going to a nice restaurant and having an espresso after a nice meal. Sometimes, even really nice restaurants don't have an espresso machine. 

This is stupid, and bad. If you are reading this blog and you plan to open a restaurant, before you even buy the building,  you must buy an espresso machine. This is good advice.

In addition, "Bill" will be a final category, and will include info on the pricing.

SO, without further ado:

Restaurant Review of Rheinblick German Restaurant.

I'm not going to lie to you and pretend like I know anything about German cuisine, but I do know something about Eastern Europe, and let me tell you: it is very hard for me to imagine anything coming from there that has anything to do with anything OTHER THAN THIS:

(The holy trinity.)

This is because I am Byelorussian, and grew up in a home where I ate these things regularly. This is not to say they were not amazing, because they were, and I cherish them to this day. However, I for some reason associate German food with the same type of thing: really heavy, starchy, filling food. I was incredibly apprehensive when the SO wanted to go to Rheinblick for Valentine's, but in the end let my "aw, what the heck" take over. And we went.

Ambiance: When we went it was pretty late for dinner (8:15pm) and dark, and snowy, but Rheinblick is set on the main street of cutesy historical Canandaigua, smushed in between an alleyway and another shop. This is normally questionably eerie at night, but the warm glow coming from the restaurant windows give a homey feeling to it. To add to this, you enter through the alleyway, in what is basically the foyer of the kitchen. It feels like stepping into Grandma's house. You feel bad for having boots on and dripping on her tile. 

Immediately, we were greeted by the smiling owner, who in accented English enthusiastically welcomed us, assured us she had our table ready and had been awaiting us. (In a very kind way, no doubt.) We were shown into the dining room, which was small, but lovingly designed and arranged with the typical German kitsch (steins, postcards, decorative plates, roughly hewn wooden beams). Our table was awesome--basically a thick, square butcher block slab. Love it. I felt like I was eating in this lady's house. SCORE: 9

Service: Our server was nice, but unremarkable. I am pretty talkative and make a lot of jokes, which he sort of not really laughed at/went along with. I think he'd had a long day. The only time he really lagged was at the end, when it took him about fifteen minutes to bring our coffees. That's ok--we weren't in a hurry, but our ice cream was melting. Lame. SCORE: 8

Menu/Choice: Um, YUM. That's what I have to say. The V-Day menu was awesome, with my immediate choice being the Hasenpfeffer, or the braised rabbit in pepper sauce with Spaetzle and red cabbage. They were out of it. Lame. SO had the Entenbrust mit Semmelknödel und Rotkohl (bless you-Roasted duck breast with orange marmalade and mountain cranberry sauce, served with homemade bread dumplings and red cabbage) and I chose the less adventurous Rouladen (rolled round steak stuffed with pickles, bacon, and Dusseldorfer mustard, served with Spaetzle and red cabbage.) The rest of the menu was great too. A very wide variety of meats and fishes, and a ton of schnitzels--which was to be expected. Unfortunately, there was a ton of pork, and we'd had it for lunch, so we felt a little cornered, but we enjoyed everything else. SCORE: 9.5

Dranks: SO had a beer or two in GIANT mugs (also very expensive, for what it's worth) and I had spiced mulled red wine, which was awesome, but after about half a mug gets a little overwhelming. Their beer selection was good, but not as good as you'd think it would be. After all, after dirndls, beer is my second thought about Germany. SCORE: 5

Appetizer: We ordered the Deutsche Wurstplatte –Leona,  Leberwurst,  and Black Forest Ham with butter & brie cheeses, pickled vegetable garnish and Black Forest Rye bread. Loved it. Fresh, yummy, and did I mention yummy? Prettily arranged and enough for both of us. The liverwurst was great, and I hate liver. But I ate it. I ate a lot of it. SCORE: 8.5 (for lack of variety in cheese--which, btw, wasn't brie.)

My Meal: Ok, I was a little disappointed. I was expecting an enormous pickle+bacon+beef+sauce+mustard flavor, and all I got was...well, just bland sauce+beef flavor. There was no taste of pickle, mustard, or bacon. The spaetzle was amazing--buttery and just perfectly done. I had to liberally salt the meat, and it was a little tough. Again, unremarkable sauce. I am not a huge fan of cabbage in general, especially pickled, so I didn't eat much of mine. But the fact that I ate any means it was GOOD. SCORE: 5

SO's meal: I was so jealous. I love duck, but wanted to try "real" German meat. Mistake. SO's duck was tear-jerkingly perfectly cooked, and his bread dumplings were unbelievably delicious and like me, he just kind of picked at his cabbage. But the sauce was the perfect antidote to the salty starch of the dumplings, which were the consistency or a pasty matzo ball and perfect with the melt-in-your-mouth meat. I am getting hungry just writing about it. SCORE: 8.5 (for the cabbage, which is a little too strong for my tastes, especially on my plate, which was otherwise bland.)

Dessert: We ordered the homemade Neapolitan ice cream, and it was "OK." Nothing special...not even really awesome. Just ice cream. Also, neopolitan anything isn't really German, but we had no room left for the Black Forest cake. Sad face. Their restaurant dessert specialty is actually the Bienenstich, or Bee Sting Cake, but we didn't get this because a) it wasn't chocolate and b) we were, again, too full--but I would recommend this next time. It looked so good, just sitting there on its little plate oozing custard and honey-glazed almonds. As a side note, I love places that have "dessert carts" or plates that they bring around. There is very little stopping me from just leaping headlong onto such a thing and stuffing my face. Maybe on my birthday, I will. In addition, I have also always wanted to say "Just leave it here." and then feasted. SCORE: 5 (for being a little normal.)

Coffee: No espresso machine. Coffee was also pretty weak, despite being a new pot. Sad face. SCORE: 3

Bill: Not too bad...around $85. Worth it? yeah, maybe, if I hadn't gotten the Rouladen. 

OVERALL: I give Rheinblick an 8. Great atmosphere, the food is either a SUPER HIT or a so-so regular meal, and the dessert we had was just blah...but it is by far one of the most authentic ethnic food experiences I've had in Rochester. Definitely give it a try....the people are wonderful.

Website: http://restaurant-rheinblick.blogspot.com/

Tata for now!

Blog Collecting: Part three and final notes

A blog I check every day, several times a day, is Gertie's Blog for Better Sewing. Gertie is this amazingly cute, energetic blogger, who always writes about just the things I want to read: vintage fashion! She has great and informative articles on her adventures sewing from Vogue's New Book For Better Sewing, as well as an ongoing forum for enthusiastic commenters (and her commenters are some of the MOST enthusiastic) to discuss body image and other issues presented to women today. I highly recommend this blog, if you're only going to read one. She updates constantly, and is a joy to read.

Already Pretty is such an inspiring read. The beautiful and tasteful Sally writes this blog, giving pictures of her daily wonderful outfits and tips on putting outfits together. Today, she posted a beautiful post on being womanly, and what it means to different people. Go for the outfits...stay for the food for thought.

Male Pattern Boldness is a blog I just started reading, but I already love it. It's written by the very talented MALE (I know, get excited) sewer Peter Lappin, who is also a reviewer of patterns on Pattern Review, a fab website to check out if you are looking into buying a pattern to sew, and want to know other people's experiences with it. Anywhoo, Peter writes a hilarious and often-updated blog that speaks to universal issues with sewing as well as his adventures in fashion. Love him!


Well, that about wraps it up for the blogs I read. There are a few others, but these are my favorites! Sorry it took so long to update this series!

Blog Collecting: Part two

Long time coming, no? I'll just pick up where I left off, then. ;)

The Pink Teapot is run by Janine, a very sweet and heartfelt writer who offers excellent etiquette advice. She always writes nice length posts on things absolutely relevant to real world situations, while I find that the brand name Miss Manners tends to handle only the most bizarre of all social situations. Which fork do I use underwater when dining with the sheikh, and whatnot. No, Janine always explains gently and gracefully the best ways for normal people to act and be received. Three cheers for Janine, "the people's Miss Manners"!

Letters of Note is such a fabulous and interesting blog. The author posts scans and transcripts of old, extremely cool letters, like this one from the leadership of Israel to Albert Einstein, requesting that he accept the presidency of Israel! Very easy to read, low involvement, and soooooooo cool.  (By the way, he obviously said no.)

Elsie Marley is the queen of tutorials. She makes the best ones, she finds the best ones. That's all there is to it. That, and her incredibly easy-on-the-eyes blog design. ;)

LetterHeady, by the same guy who does Letter of Note, is a fun showcase of some of the neatest letterheads around. Take a look. Great design inspiration, and just great for a little dose of neat-o.

Tavi is just hilarious. She is totally tiny and young (I think 13? Early teens, anyway) and just about the most fashionable and wonderful person. If she and I lived next door, we'd craft hats out of velvet and flounce about in brocade mixed with tulle. I'm just saying. Her posts on fashion are pure joy to read.

Ok! Just a few more! Saving them for another post! ;)

Blog collecting: Part one

Almost as bad as my new fad of pattern collecting is my fad of blog collecting. I have been obsessively adding blog after blog after blog to my Favorites, until it is now officially (within just a few days) longer than my screen is tall. A scroll button has added itself to the bottom of it, and to my dismay I find that I am confused immenselyby what has been updated, what has not...etc. So, if you are into anything I am into, please take a moment to pick my brain (and Favorites) and look through some of these awesome bloggers.  This even has to become a multi-part post because I couldn't possibly marathon the effort needed to write about all of these at once.

(this is but a tiny sample of my Favorites. It's nuts, I know.)

First off, Amy Karol at Angry Chicken is one of my favorites. She has such a candor and ease to her posts that make me feel like a friend, or at least not a stupid sewing or crafting rookie that can't even hope to decipher the "lingo." On top of that, she takes everything with a grain of salt, providing awesome photos, everyone-friendly crafts, and a lovely sense of earth-love and humor. What is earth-love, you ask? Someone who is in touch with this lovely planet we live on, and values it for what it's worth. ;) Amy also runs Tie It On, a blog devoted to giveaways involving apron making according to a certain theme. A longtime lurker, I hope to piece together my first submission for this soon. 

The Queen Bee's Buzz is run by my good friend Regina, a talented quilter and creative genius in her own right. How lucky we are that we don't sit close to each other in the office, otherwise we'd get no work done!!! Her posts are lively and full of great ideas and colors--she has an amazing eye for matching fabrics. Seriously. Her whole family is incredibly creative...and it's so comforting and inviting to read about their adventures together. I highly recommend this blog!!!

Thimble is a wonderful blog to find tutorials and inspiration on. The authoress, (I think her name is Laura), has one of the biggest doses of "good taste" that I've ever seen. Like me, she is in love with bird motifs, but unlike me she is actually skilled in making them work for her in ten million different ways. She is also bold enough to experiment with all sorts of creation--from crochet, to sewing, to getting out that glue gun and pasting things to other things. If only my crafts could come out looking half as decent! Two thumbs up to Thimble!

Alright, kids, it's almost 11:30am, and I really want to go see my horse today. What horse, you ask? Well , his name is Pedro, and though I'm sure he isn't sorry that I haven't seen him in a few days, I am extremely sorry and have a need to go brush on his yak-like orange winter coat. Ta-ta for now!

In which I complete an apron and make the world's best sandwich!

I love the feeling of finishing a project! Sewing is great for this, because the end result isn't a model car or space ship or something, but actually a piece I can wear and/or use. Today, I finished my Valentine's Day Apron.

(I apologize for the terrible picture. I'm working on a tripod. Really.)

Super simple and actually made by following this tutorial over at One More Moore... Basically, a square of backing fabric + rectangles of fabric for ruffles + fabric for the band = apron.

Cool!

I had a little issue with my backing fabric, as after hemming it wasn't exactly wide enough to go around my hips. I have come to terms with this, as it's not really a protect your skirt kind of apron, more of a hosting apron...But, I love to dress up, and I don't have any pink aprons for V-Day, so this is perfect. The fabric is one I got off ebay with a radish fabric I love, but because this one is sheer I had no idea what to do with it...until now. The SO calls it "bacon n' pansies" because the little pink squares totally look like bacon. Ok, I'll buy it. 

It's a prototype, but I hope to make more. Some pointers for next time:

1. Check and RECHECK your ruffle rectangle measurements. I don't know if you can see, but I totally made the top 3 rectangles about 6 inches too short. Oops. I just figured they'd layer for some cascading ruffles, and it doesn't look too bad. Hmm.

2. Find a better backing fabric. I just used white for this, and it's not really all that pretty on the other side. I mean, no fabric will be, persay, but I could get one with a little polka dot or something...which is what the tutorial recommends anyway...Oh well...

In passing, I LOVE the fabric i used for the band. It's some sort of linen-look stretch type thing. Who knows what practical apparel applications this thing has, but it sure was nice to iron. 

Well, onto the sandwich. I don't have any real pictures of this, so I will just have to substitute. I made the world's best sandwich yesterday. 

Not even joking. For some reason, I rediscovered Price Rite the other day, which is like this cornucopia of food for really cheap. And, it's usually pretty good food! So I am in the meat section and I get this CRAZY idea. What if I get these really thin slices of beef and tenderize them, and then make a sandwich out of them?

So, I did. I got this meat, and I got some bread, and pickles, and stuff. And a tomato or two, though winter tomatoes are terrible--but it's just not a sandwich for me without a tomato. And here's what I did:

(except with meat.)

Yup, I pounded those suckers with a tenderizing hammer until they were paper thin. Then, I fried them in butter. Oh, horror of horrors! How will I ever live! Oh, stop it. I don't buy this butter is sin crap. Butter is so much better than any of that nasty processed stuff, and used in moderation is a good way to add NATURAL fats to your diet.

But I digress.

I also sprinkled them with paprika and salt, and once they were just barely cooked, drained them in some paper towels and put them between two slices of whole grain crusty bread with mayo, mustard, pickles, and a tomato.

Heaven.

I highly recommend this. Best thing is that I am still eating these sandwiches...unfortunately, the meat gets tough in the fridge, but I guess that's just my consequence.

Of eating butter, I mean.

Fashion trends I just can't stand, episode 1

Wearing your nice shoes...IN THE SNOW.

Ugh, call me a stickler, call me an old fashioned lame-o, but no REAL LADY wears her work shoes in the snow. 

I live in lovely Rochester, New York, which is a grand name for a place otherwise known as the basement of America. It is a little damp, it is a little dark, but you find a ton of really cool stuff here and it has a good vibe. Oh, and snow. Lots of snow. 

Just this morning I was suiting up for my long day and trying to decide what footwear to bring along to work, because the weather outside wasn't exactly frightful, but the remnants of snowstorm slush were there and I love my shoes too much to subject them to that. So, on went the nasty snow boots underneath my nice, expensive grey slacks, into a little baggie went my NotRated ankle booties with plaid foldover, and off I went.

On my way to class I see this really tall, thin girl with a lovely black coat on, which was perfectly suited to her and very long as well. There was a grey beret present. Nice. I was so intrigued by her sense of style in outerwear (as I generally am by well-dressed people) that I almost said something to her about it, but then my eyes got to her feet and there they were.

The cutest pair of velvet, black high heels with a bow on each delightful little toe.

Slogging through the salty mush.

Getting dirty.

Ladies, please. If you are going to spend money on nice shoes, especially the most heart breakingly wonderful pair of black velvet bow-on-the-toe ones, you need to also invest in a crummy pair of snow boots. I almost knelt to the ground and wept for these poor shoes and this poor girl, who will now have crusty and terrible salt stains all over her tootsies for the rest of forever. 

I don't care how busy you are. I don't care what style of dress you subscribe to. Say no to snow. If your shoes cost more than $20, and you like them enough to wear them in public, for God's sake take care of them.

Ok so you hate boots. 

 SHUELLA's are these fabulous little waterproof covers for your dress shoes. Awesome, they come in different colors. Not awesome: not insulated. But if you don't care about your toes turning black and falling off, then I guess it's ok. Plus they'll last you a while, and they look chic. I would totally pay to get these.

Whatever you do, do it fast. Your shoes will thank you. Now get out of here. I have some loving, gentle whispering to do into my shoe closet.