A Week from "L"....

Must be my week for experiences with “L”. First Ledo's, then Last night I had a little meeting with some folks and we wound up at Lenny’s. My second visit there this week, but this time was for food and business. I seconded my opinion that the interior renovations resulted in a pleasant space, warm tones with wood, sort of soothing and inviting. In the dining room (which is a different room than the bar) there are about 10 banquettes around the sides, with maybe 5 or six tables in the middle. Provides for some feeling of privacy. Due to our lovely Lex Park traffic I was not the first arrival, and the server had already made first contact so no info on the greeting. And, I didn’t ask. The large menu has multiple sections which I suspect cover both lunch and dinner. On the back is a history of the place, which dates way back to 1952. A bit unsettling when places take credit for “since” some year when you were very much alive! Hmmmm.. The menu contains the usual selections we see at a “one menu does all” with salads, appetizers, sandwiches, pasta, various proteins, etc. They seem to be enamored of the word “from”, as there are sections delineated by “from the” deli, sea, and grill. There is also a section entitled “the comfort zone” where you can find, guess what? (Mom’s) Pot Roast, CFS, and liver and onions. Gotta like that. From the sea includes a stuffed shrimp option, which seems to be disappearing on many menus. There’s also a Beef Lover’s section with the prime rib (lesser 8oz at $16.99 and “Traditional” 12oz for three dollars more). Both are served with “au Jus” which for sake of brevity we won’t go into.

There are some wines by the glass, mostly plebian ones, but there was the ubiquitous KJ Reserve, for $8.25/glass. A bit pricey. They also claim (I gotta take notes) 12 beers on tap, without listing them on the menu, but the little tag line says to test/ask your server to make sure they know them. More on that in a bit. I decided to try the fried oysters, which the menu reports, they have become famous for, and the rest of the table ordered a Reuben Sandwich, a Crab Cake Sandwich (which they are also famous for at $16.99), a cup of soup and Caesar salad, a half pound of steamed shrimp, and After a bit of business, the food arrived, and oddly enough the same server who took the order, very carefully wrote it down, had to ask “who had the reuben?” which was the first arrival at the table. Seemed surprised that I was the one with the oysters. When asked if wanted another glass of wine, I decided that a beer might be more fitting (a better pairing?) and asked if there was a pale ale (remembering to test the staff). The response was that they had Bass Ale. Oh well, just bring a Sam Adams (which worked very nicely by the way). She also had to be reminded to re-fill a water glass. As to the food, it was okay. My oysters were just a little bit short of crunchy, but were the right temperature. They were strewn atop a bed of food service fries which were, well, food service fries. A surreptitious peek at the Reuben looked like luncheon corned beef but I couldn’t fully investigate. The shrimp smelled good, and I was glad to see that the Caesar arrived with actual anchovies on top (which were NOT mentioned on the menu, a plus for me. Of course there are anchovies, why mention it?). It appeared a little short of dressing, but the diner forked up the salad some and there was dressing in the lower layer.

All in all, it was a better experience than I had feared, after hearing many reports of the demise in food quality of the “old” Lenny’s. I didn’t of course have a chance to try the beef which they used to be touted for in the old days, but what we had was at least on a par with what you might get at any of the “chains” around, and given the choice between a chain and a locally owned place, I would recommend local every time.

Other whey’s:

A friend passed along a link to a blog by Roger Ebert whom some of the more experienced readers might remember as film critic. I don’t know the circumstances, but he has lost the ability to eat or drink. He talks about that in his latest post. Some of the things he says are very touching, especially to those of us who are passionate about food. If you have time, you should read the whole thing, but here’s the last passage:

So that's what's sad about not eating. The loss of dining, not the loss of food. It may be personal, but for, unless I'm alone, it doesn't involve dinner if it doesn't involve talking. The food and drink I can do without easily. The jokes, gossip, laughs, arguments and shared memories I miss. Sentences beginning with the words, "Remember that time?" I ran in crowds where anyone was likely to break out in a poetry recitation at any time. Me too. But not me anymore. So yes, it's sad. Maybe that's why I enjoy this blog. You don't realize it, but we're at dinner right now

DFD and count your blessings..

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