Merry Christmas

Merry Christmas!  I am reporting live from Miami.  Down here with some wine, cheese, family (cheeeseee) and of course our puppies... I just wanted to wish my many loyal (Kent) readers a happy holiday and blessings for a healthy new year.  Speak to you in 2009!

Bin 14

My girlfriend and I tried out Bin 14 this past Saturday night and had a really nice time. This in a nutshell is my kind of place. Great wines, delicious small bites, pizza, not overly expensive, intimate tables and rustic, yet chic décor. This newcomer at 14th and Washington is equal parts cozy wine bar and hip meeting spot. Not only does this nook serve up small dishes and thin crust pizzas from the wood burning oven, but there is a very informed wine sommelier that helped me pick the perfect Spanish Chardonnay. I loved it.

Chelsea and I split two light bites—one lobster salad bruschetta and one pumpkin bruschetta—and both were delicious, but be warned - TINY. Each of us got one bite of each after cutting them in half—so be advised—if you’re going for dinner, you might want to go ahead and order whole menu :)

We sat at the bar, and loved the whole scene. The place was already packed (in a good way) and the restaurant was very gala and abuzz with conversation. I would recommend this place to anybody looking for a nice, low key tasteful date. Actually, if anybody is interested…

Sri Thai

I am searching for the best pad thai in Hoboken. Anybody have any suggestions? I have tried a few places, some verging on inedible and some coming quite close to perfection, yet I am still left wanting. The best to date comes from from Sri Thai (234 Bloomfield Street). The little neighborhood joint serves it up hot and consistently delicious every week without failure. The pad thai noodles are not too firm, the sauce has a nice creamy peanut taste and the serving size is plentiful. I usually order a side of rice and peanut sauce along with my noodles, and unfortunately Sri doesn't have brown rice...or the perfect rich and flavorful peanut sauce for that matter. Oh well, cant win 'em all.

Though I have never been to the restaurant, I have ordered the noodles for delivery a number of times and the service is always prompt.

For those of you that love pad thai as I do, and know the impact a balanced sauce has on the whole dish, I can tell you that Sri is pretty darn close. I have found a spot that meets my thai needs and leaves me happy, but I have not yet found the best. I will move forward with my quest and keep all of my thousands upon thousands of readers waiting anxiously. haha. Ok, I will carry on with my search for the best for some pretty selfish purposes, but until then, I will be a regular Sri Thai customer each Sunday and remain 90% satisfied,