Restaurant Review
Romantic Restaurants
By Ann Blask
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Daniel's
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DANIELS
I believe in love at first sight—especially when it comes to restaurants. And, I must confess, I am always seduced by Daniels.
Owners Daniel and Debbie Johengen, a vibrant young couple, have turned an old house in the village of Hamburg into an enchanting little restaurant that has become a favorite for special occasion evenings. Daniel, one of Western New York’s most celebrated chefs, gets the applause for superb cuisine. Debbie gets equal acclaim for setting the stage.
The decor is elegantly stark with pure white walls and crisp white linen. Tables are spaced for privacy: some in small nooks and corners, one in front of the window, others in the adjoining alcoves. Landscape and still-life paintings are sparingly placed to add soothing visual appeal. The only other accents are small bouquets of fresh blooms and a small candle on each of the 14 tables. Classical music, usually Bach or Mozart, combined with soft lighting adds the final touch.
If the setting and the mood are romantic, so too is the food. Maybe it’s the luscious sauces and accompaniments that seem to turn every dish into a surprising treat. The Duck Breast, a favorite entree, is served with roast pear puree and raspberry sauce. Never mind that this is the most crispy and tender duck you will ever taste, you simply cannot leave one drop of that sauce on the plate. Another showstopper is the Veal Tenderloin served with lobster and lobster sauce.
The list of nightly specials is usually extensive and wonderfully imaginative. Some of Johengen’s typical preparations include Pecan Crusted Loin of Lamb with Creamy Garlic Polenta and Halibut Fillet with Artichokes and Shitakes stewed in lemon and olive oil over Provencale Mashed Potatoes. In case you’re wondering, Provencale Mashed Potatoes are made with garlic puree, diced tomatoes, and diced olives. I know some potato lovers who would probably order this as a main course.
Everything is made from scratch, including the desserts. The “must taste” in this category is the Lemon Custard Tart in an almond pastry shell and garnished with fresh berries.
The wine list is equally impressive. To guide you through it is Mark Strassel, the maitre d’/sommelier. Even though California wines are the most popular here, Strassel has some favorites from France, New Zealand, and Australia.
Four times a year Strassel and the Johengen’s collaborate on a special Food-and Wine-Pairing Dinner. It’s a prix fixe menu designed for people who appreciate fine food and good wine under one luscious meal plan.
DANIELS
174 Buffalo St., Hamburg 648-6554
Open for dinner only, Tuesday through Saturday.
ROSELAND RESTAURANT
For more than 70 years Roseland, on Buffalo’s west side, has been the hallmark Italian restaurant. If you had an Italian grandmother, you’ll recognize the tomatoey-garlic smells as you walk in the door. Even the homey, unpretentious dining room rings with nostalgia, from the lively hum of conversation and Frank Sinatra background music to the glass jars of biscotti on the side buffet.
The menu is rich with Neopolitan mainstays, such as spaghetti and meatballs, manicotti, lasagna, and chicken cacciatore, along with seafood and veal dishes. But the long-standing favorites are Eggplant Parmigiana (topped with tomato sauce and mozzarella cheese) and Braciolone, a pork roll stuffed with meat, egg, and bread crumbs. Like most Italian restaurants, the key to every dish is the sauce. In true Southern Italian style, Roseland’s sauce is slightly thick with a delicious hint of sweetness. The Soup of the Day varies, but few people care. They want their usual: Minestrone a la Romanello, a hearty first course made with several different beans. Be sure to sprinkle some Parmesan cheese on top for an authentic final touch. It’s almost a meal in itself, along with the homemade bread. And you can always follow it up with the hands-down favorite dessert—a fresh-filled, cheese cannoli.
There’s nothing nouveau about this cuisine. In fact, a better description would be “multi-generational.” Most of the recipes can be traced back to Aunt Mary’s kitchen years ago. Mary, who is now 92 years old, made all the sauce in the 40’s and 50’s. Though her cooking days are long past, she still stops in occasionally. And when she does, I hope she sneaks back into the kitchen with a spoon in hand to make sure things aren’t changing too much!
Tradition is as much a part of the Roseland story as the food. Every night you’ll see as many middle-aged diners celebrating an anniversary or engagement and reminiscing over a favorite dinner as you will young couples sharing romantic whispers.
Finally, Roseland’s allure is due to the friendly, comfortable atmosphere. The restaurant occupies the first floor of this typical three-story house in a residential neighborhood. The interior has been updated, but the familiar character has been preserved. The front room bar opens to the main dining room, which has a dozen or more tables, and beyond that is a tiny back room room with a few more tables. It’s dimly lit and has one wall of mirrors and another of brick: a cozy and intimate setting for a private dinner for two.
ROSELAND RESTAURANT
490 Rhode Island St., Buffalo 882-3328
Open for dinner only.
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Chef de Luca, Hillibrand's Vineyard Cafe and
Jean-Louis Groux, Winemaker, Hillibrand Estates. |
VINEYARD CAFE
Getting there is as delightful as eating there. You can take the QEW to HWY 55 or the more scenic route along the Niagara Parkway from the Lewiston/Queenston Bridge. This is the land of the Niagara Region’s famous wine makers and Hillebrand Estates is one of them.
Not surprisingly, wine is an integral part of the dining experience at the Vineyard Cafe. It starts with the distinctive smell of fermenting wines as you enter. Huge color photos of the vineyards highlight the handsome dining room, which is furnished in what the restaurant calls a “California Winery Motif.” It’s open and airy, with light wood furniture and trim. A small clay pot of herbs accents each table. The focal point, however, are the windows. An inside glass wall faces the aging room, filled with stacks of oaken barrels. On the back wall, floor-to-ceiling windows look out to the symmetrical rows of vines that stretch to the rim of the Niagara Escarpment. During the growing season the vines form a canopy of green, protecting their precious crop. During the winter months, the scene is quite different. This is icewine season. Grapes are left on the vine to freeze, then pressed while still frozen, resulting in a highly concentrated and intensely sweet juice that Hillebrand’s famous icewine is made from. It is a precise science. The grapes must freeze on the vine for four days and are then picked only when the temperature drops to specific point. Sometimes that occurs in the middle of the night, or in the evening. In January and February diners are often able to watch the show while they savor their meal.
If the scenery at Hillebrand’s is the essence of the Niagara Peninsula, so too is the food. The cuisine, masterminded by Chef de Cuisine Antonio de Luca, showcases the region’s bounty. Much of the food is locally grown and delivered fresh daily, thanks to John Laidman, the restaurant’s forager. Laidman’s sole responsibility is to search out the finest, freshest products in the area. His cache, whether it’s the root vegetables of winter, or the succulent fruits of summer, determines what Chef deLuca prepares for the day.
The results are wonderfully imaginative. A tasty appetizer, for example, features a medley of grilled woodland mushrooms with glazed nut-crusted raw milk goat cheese in hazelnut-grain mustard and red wine vinaigrette. Lamb, from a nearby farmer, is encrusted with dried fruits and served with a vegetable tian. The veal chop is prepared with ground pine kernels and served with huckleberry icewine sauce. Some foods, of course, must be shipped in. The salmon, for example is from eastern Canada’s Bay of Fundy.
The wine lists even more enticing to read than the menu. There are pages of possibilities to accompany main courses, divided into reds, whites, fruity, dry, and very dry vintages. Aperitifs and dessert wines appear on a separate list.
If it’s all too confusing, don’t worry. The staff are all very knowledgeable about the wines they serve. Of course it’s also fun to mix-and-match according to your own tastes. For dessert, however, I relied on Lisa’s expert, and enthusiastic advice: “Nothing is better than the Dark Chocolate Marquise with Raspberry Sauce and Cabernet Granite.” The “granite,” which are ice granules marinated in Cabernet, make that chocolate-red wine combination a sensuous treat. According to Lisa, it’s not only delicious, it’s the most romantic food/wine combination on earth!
HILLEBRAND’S VINEYARD CAFE
1249 Niagara Stone Rd., Niagara-on-the-Lake, Ontario 905-468-7123
Open for lunch and dinner year round
Ann Blask is a consultant and freelance writer from Orchard Park.
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