Black Forest Brew Haus - Farmingdale

Black Forest Brew Haus
2015 New Hwy.
Farmingdale, NY 11735



The Black Forest Brew Haus in Farmingdale is located in an area that looks like it would be home to a commercial office, rather than a German restaurant. What is inside however will surprise you. We arrived at 6:30 on a Monday and were seated immediately; there were only a few people at the bar and two other parties in the dining room. The restaurant had a traditionally distinct German theme, ranging from the hard wood tables, to the ever-present oom-pah music.

When we were seated we were provided with warm, freshly baked sourdough bread with a sweet cream spread. The bread was the perfect starter; the sourdough flavor was complemented by the spread. We started with the flamecake appetizer, a thin crust that was topped with mascarpone cheese, bacon and onions. The flamecake was delicious, its tender and crisp crust mixed well with onions and the bacon, the mascarpone held it all together. Depending on your taste, you may wish to have the bacon cooked a bit longer for crispness. One downer on the appetizers was the Black Forest Lager Fondue. Although the soft pretzels that the fondue came with were crisp on the outside and tender on the inside, the cheese sauce had a mild cheddar flavor, but not much else. The fondue was much too thin in consistency and failed to hit on the expected flavors. The Brew Haus however should be complimented on their homemade soft pretzels.



The excellent flamecake.



The could be much better fondue.

The “Brew”ben sandwich came highly recommended; it is the Brew Haus spin on the traditional Ruben. The menu described the sandwich as “thinly sliced corned beef with Swiss, sauerkraut & Russian dressing on pretzel bread.” The sandwich was done well, however I’m not sure I would consider the corned beef “thinly sliced.” The pretzel bread was tasty, yet lacked the texture I normally think of when I hear “pretzel bread.” Otherwise, the sandwich was very good, the melted Swiss cheese really brought all the flavors together and the corned beef was tender. The sandwich was served with crispy fries that had a nice crunch and good taste, but nothing spectacular.



The “Brew”ben.

Overall, the portions at the Brew Haus were large and very filling. None of us had the appetite to stay for desert, but from what we saw on the neighboring tables, all deserts looked like solid choices. There were many things on the Brew Haus menu that I look forward to trying in the future. From what we’ve seen tonight, I’m sure we’ll be back.

-7 /10-

Ciao Baby - Massapequa Park

Ciao Baby
5074 Sunrise Highway
Massapequa Park, NY 11762

We arrived at Ciao Baby with somewhat high, yet guarded, expectations. What would unfold however, would become a legendary dinner of immense failure. Adam Richman, host of Travel Channel’s Man v. Food recently stopped at Ciao Baby on a brief tour of Long Island. The food looked spectacular on TV, but as we learned, looks can be deceiving.

After meeting Theresa at the Rockville Centre train station, we met up with Alex and Michael at the Sunrise Mall and proceeded to Ciao Baby. The restaurant was not crowded, but busy, and we were seated rather quickly. The walls were covered in photos from mobster movies and other notable Italian actors. The photos were autographed by celebrities who, if they had any sense of taste, would not return to Ciao Baby.

The restaurant has a type of dual waiter system, one waiter who brings the drinks and desserts, and a second who provides the menus and takes the entrée orders. The first waiter is basically a glorified bus boy, while the second waiter, clad in an odd looking suit, appears to be a used car salesman who got lost on the way to work (and is as helpful as a used car salesman would be serving Italian food). The second waiter presented a colander of dried pasta that you could find in any supermarket. There were no special types of pasta, and this attempt in originality turned out to be an exercise in futility. Unfortunately, both waiters had the same “I’d rather be somewhere else” attitude. After deliberation, we decided to order the rice ball, stuffed rigatoni and “Nona’s Old World Meat Platter.” Although the portions were tremendous, Ciao Baby is the perfect example of bigger not always being better.

The rice ball, a large grapefruit sized monstrosity, was more of a breaded meatball. At first none of us could find the rice, it seemed like dough. After investigation we figured out that what we thought was dough was a mushy paste of overcooked rice. To top it off, the rice ball was burned on the bottom. Theresa had something good to say (kind of) about the rice, saying “you have to break up the monotony of the meat.” What a disappointment.

The main courses were nothing special; the stuffed rigatoni was overcooked and covered in a bland, almost vodka-like, sauce. The meat platter was based in a bland tomato sauce filled with undercooked, almost crunchy, rigatoni and tough sausage. Everything was under seasoned. The only saving grace of this platter are the meatballs, one of the few things that were decent, yet nothing special. All of these dishes would probably be much better (and cheaper) if you ordered them at your local pizzeria. Needless to say, we did not stay for dessert.

Overall, a restaurant with as much press as Ciao Baby should not have reasonable expectations met with such disappointment. If you don’t mind taste, Ciao Baby would be a great place to get full on below-average Italian food. If you actually care for taste, this is not the place for you. I doubt we will be back.

-3.5/10-