Thanks to my friend Helen for organizing a get together with my Stony buds to a restaurant week dinner. I've been wanting to try Butter because of Alexandra Guarnaschelli, the executive chef of the restaurant. I was hoping I would get to meet her but it didn't happen. I always see her on Food Network shows like Iron Chef, Chopped and Food Network Challenges mostly as the judge but sometimes as the competitor. As a judge, I think she is great at describing the food, some of her comments can be thoughtful and constructive but sometimes I think she can be harsh with her comments. I guess being a well renown chef with all the experiences you have the right to be opinionated about your food.
All hype aside, the first impression I had walking into the restaurant was a good one. There are two floors, we were escorted to the bottom floor. I felt like I was walking into a forest at night. It was dark with candles glowing and branches on the walls. It was nice, pretty and somewhat romantic. We were seating at the round booth, it was kinda hard getting 8 people around this table because it was really cramped.
The menu was okay, nothing really that spectacular...
Butter serving butter...
Complementary corn and regular bread: I thought they were both hard and stale.
Appetizer #1:
Sauteed Squid with Garlic Breadcrumbs, grilled zucchini, pesto and lemon. The whole dish was very flavorful, lots of pesto taste. There wasn't much squid but some of it was a little crispy. Some of the breadcrumbs soaked up the sauce so it was soggy but it seems meaty so I probably thought they were squid.
Appetizer #2:
Butter Homemade Charcuterie Plate: Homemade salami, duck mortadela, chicken liver on toast with aged balsamic and salad of local greens. I couldn't tell the difference between homemade salami and store brought salami. I wasn't too fond of these ingredients and I thought everything on the plate was just too salty for my taste.
Appetizer #3: Soup of the day:
Mushroom soup (probably had a fancier name for it but I don't know it!) I didn't try this but the eater said it was okay...
Entree #1: Blackened Salmon with summer pea and baby ragout with fresh mint. I love the presentation. I had a bite of this and thought it was tasty and good.
Entree #2:
Crispy duck confit with lentils, crispy onions, chestnut honey gastrique. This was my dish, I thought the whole dish was very heavy and salty. It was only okay...
Entree #3:
Braised Beef Short Ribs with green peppercorn, baby carrots and texas tarragon. I was totally disappointed at this dish. There was alot of sauce on it but it was bland inside. I felt that it should've been braised longer to get more flavor inside the meat.
Desserts #1:
Raspberry Beignets with dipping vanilla sauce. I actually like this dessert, The beignet was warm and soft, it was so good with the warm vanilla sauce. But according to Andy, it tasted like crispy cream with warm vanilla dipping sauce.
Desserts #2:
Assorted cheese and fruit plate. I didn't get to try any, but it looks pretty!
Desserts #3:
Lemon sorbet. According to the eater, nothing special...does it remind you of something =X
Desserts #4:
Dark chocolate sour cream cake with homemade milk jam and vanilla ice cream. This was mine, I was totally disappointed. It was rich and somewhat moist but it just taste like very good brownies to me, nothing special...
Would I come here again umm....I'm not sure, probably not. The food was just okay and with their prices I can get more and better food else where. I gotta say Butter need to work on that restaurant week menu if you want impress people and make them want to come back again. My friend said she went there a few times and each time she was disappointed at the menu....
Happy Birthday Cecille! <3
The first stop we went to was Shanghai Cafe.
We were excited!!!
Our other spy members, Vivian and Ling
We got interviewed by the writer after each bite of the food. The photographer was snapping pictures left and right and telling us to pose.
Our food writer Jeny
Here are some of my favorites from each of the restaurants. You can see the rest of the dishes in the article.
this has some sort of veggies and pork
Over all I thought Shanghai Cafe was so so....I've been here many times so I guess I was sick of the food. And the dish they gave us wasn't anything special.
interesting decoration with a mini looking bridge...
the buns were small but the skin was thinner which I like...
This restaurant went all out and served us their expensive dishes which was mostly seafood. I love seafood!!
crabs with salty eggs, one of my favorite of the day...
crispy shrimp with tea leafs, another favorite of the day...the shrimp was so crispy you can eat the whole thing like a chip...
thumbs up to the chef!!
Mission accomplished!!!
our photographer
Perks being a food spy: I got a souvenir bag filled with goodies, a pin, awesome free meal and being in a very popular food magazine!! yay!! 
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Butter serving butter...
Complementary corn and regular bread: I thought they were both hard and stale.
Appetizer #1: Sauteed Squid with Garlic Breadcrumbs, grilled zucchini, pesto and lemon. The whole dish was very flavorful, lots of pesto taste. There wasn't much squid but some of it was a little crispy. Some of the breadcrumbs soaked up the sauce so it was soggy but it seems meaty so I probably thought they were squid.
Appetizer #2: Butter Homemade Charcuterie Plate: Homemade salami, duck mortadela, chicken liver on toast with aged balsamic and salad of local greens. I couldn't tell the difference between homemade salami and store brought salami. I wasn't too fond of these ingredients and I thought everything on the plate was just too salty for my taste.
Appetizer #3: Soup of the day: Mushroom soup (probably had a fancier name for it but I don't know it!) I didn't try this but the eater said it was okay...
Entree #1: Blackened Salmon with summer pea and baby ragout with fresh mint. I love the presentation. I had a bite of this and thought it was tasty and good.
Entree #2: Crispy duck confit with lentils, crispy onions, chestnut honey gastrique. This was my dish, I thought the whole dish was very heavy and salty. It was only okay...
Entree #3: Braised Beef Short Ribs with green peppercorn, baby carrots and texas tarragon. I was totally disappointed at this dish. There was alot of sauce on it but it was bland inside. I felt that it should've been braised longer to get more flavor inside the meat.
Desserts #1: Raspberry Beignets with dipping vanilla sauce. I actually like this dessert, The beignet was warm and soft, it was so good with the warm vanilla sauce. But according to Andy, it tasted like crispy cream with warm vanilla dipping sauce.
Desserts #2: Assorted cheese and fruit plate. I didn't get to try any, but it looks pretty!
Desserts #3: Lemon sorbet. According to the eater, nothing special...does it remind you of something =X
Desserts #4: Dark chocolate sour cream cake with homemade milk jam and vanilla ice cream. This was mine, I was totally disappointed. It was rich and somewhat moist but it just taste like very good brownies to me, nothing special...
Would I come here again umm....I'm not sure, probably not. The food was just okay and with their prices I can get more and better food else where. I gotta say Butter need to work on that restaurant week menu if you want impress people and make them want to come back again. My friend said she went there a few times and each time she was disappointed at the menu....
