Bonefish Grill, Lakeland

Hello and greetings from the food ninja reporting for go gin chow restaurant reviews. My take on Bonefish Grill, the decor is warm and up beat with a nice open floor plan. The food was of great quality but a little more on the pricier side but not too much and the service was great. So now back to the food. I can say that the food was pleasurable to the eyes and to the taste buds. I was happy and so was my stomach and our server was pleasant and attentive but during our dining experience we were confronted by the night manager, confronting us on our picture taking. It seems maybe he was a little rattled by us. Not sure why, it didn't seem to bother the other customers and none of the other customers complained to us or to the staff.  We took these pics at our table and of the food we ordered, no where else. So in my opinion I think that the night shift management could use some tweaking. Because of that confrontation it made the atmosphere unbearable but we hung in there like champs and finished our meals even with that mishap I don't think I will visit  that Bonefish Grill, but I will go to others. But don't let that discourage you from going there, just don't  take any pics ha ha. So take it from the food ninja, Bonefish Grill is a nice place to eat at and you will enjoy!

                                                               Bonefish Grill
                                                               225 W. Pipkin Rd.
                                                               Lakeland, FL 33813
                                                               (863) 701-9480

Complimentary Bread

Caesar Salad

Seared Ahi Tuna 

Lobster Roll

Dory

Sammy's Fish Box, City Island, NY

Greetings from Shadow.  Great place to report on today called Sammy's Fish Box on City Island.  They have been around for years and years and , the company pretty much owns half the restaurants on the island, with  Fish Box being a family favorite, for its lively atmosphere, great service, super fresh seafood and HUMONGOUS portion sizes.  While prices are not the cheapest here, you definitely get what you pay for.  A great deal is their twin lobster special, two 1 1/4 pound lobsters cooked either broiled and stuffed or steamed.  Lobsters have always been super fresh here with super sweet and succulent meat, every morsel being precious.  Their feasts for two (not ordered this visit) have also been a great choice, platters are loaded with giant crab legs, lobster, clams, mussels, calamari and despite being named "for two" there is actually enough food to feed an army.  Everyone who dines here will most certainly not only leave with a doggy bag, but that doggy bag will likely contain more food then was actually consumed while at the restaurant.  The complementary bread platter is wonderful and could be a meal in its own right.  It includes corn bread, a freshly baked sesame loaf, spreadable cheddar cheese, various picked and fresh vegetables and olives. Seafood risotto was great, not only was the seafood in it delicious, but the actually risotto was perfectly cooked rich and creamy.  Deserts were equally as generous, one slice of chocolate cake was a staggering tower enough to feed at table of four.  Lemon sorbet served in a hollowed out lemon had to be one of the largest lemons around, great end to a spectacular meal.  Sadly the only bitter taste in my mouth that spoiled a nearly perfect meal was that despite being very polite, our server refused to substitute a small soup for the salad that came with the meal. In the several times that we have visited th this restaurant in the past, we have not had any problems doing this before, and considering the prices we are paying for the food, this should not be a big deal to make the customers happy.  His excuse was that they only do that for lunch, though I am certain we have been able to do this for dinner in the past.  I doubt they will make an effort change this as this policy will not keep the throngs of customers from coming back (I know it certainly won't keep me from coming back), but if management is paying attention to this I hope they will consider taking better care of their customers so everyone can leave happy.

                                                   Sammy's Fish Box
                                                  41 City Island Ave
                                                  Bronx, NY 10464
                                                  (718) 885-0920

Bread Platter

Salad (alas, no substitutions for soup were allowed this visit, shame!)

Lobster Special (Steamed)

Lobster Special (Broiled)

Snapper

Seafood Risotto

Chocolate Cake

Lemon Sorbet

Haru, 3rd Avenue NYC

Hello everyone, this is Shadow out to get my sushi fix in Manhattan, NYC.  This place is packed!  Very hip, lively and fast paced environment.  Despite the crowd, staff is very efficient and you are seated pretty quickly.  Let's get right to the food.  Lobster miso soup, wow, they really give you a decent amount of   lobster here, for a small bowl it seemed like a whole tail, claw and everything, broth was very salty though.  The king crab dumplings, sounded nice on paper, but the filling was all ground up to a puree, I would have appreciated it if there were some lump pieces of crab in them.  With the crab completely ground up, they might as well have used any other cheaper seafood, I would not be able to taste the difference.   The scallop entree was just ok, portion size a little on the small side and a little bland in flavor, could not taste the advertised truffle, scallops were perfectly cooked though.  The seafood udon was hearty with lots of veggies, shrimp and salmon, scallops, though again the broth was too salty.  Sushi is definitely one of their strengths here.  Fish is very fresh.  Their special roll menu is very secretive, they just mention, the name of the roll and not what is in it.  Took a gamble and went for the Gramercy Park roll and the Third avenue roll.  Both came to the table as beautifully prepared works of art.  The Gramercy park roll was very colorful the outside was wrapped with assortment of different raw fish and paper thin lemon slices, cilantro leafs then topped with a strikingly vibrant assortment of different colored fish eggs.  Taste was a complete explosion in your mouth, the sourness of the lemon, the different textures of the eggs and fish, the spicy mayonnaise sauce.  Did not need to dip in soy sauce or wasabi which would take away from the native flavors of the roll.  The 3rd avenue roll was just as beautiful garnished with red tobiko and scallion, though the taste was richer and the flavors not as complex.  For a chain restaurant (they have several locations throughout the city and in Boston as well), not bad at all.  Happy eating!

                                                           Haru
                                                           1329 3rd Ave
                                                           (between 76th St & 77th St)
                                                           New York, NY 10021
                                                           (212) 452-2230

Salad

King Crab Dumplings

Lobster Miso Soup

Seafood Udon

Scallops with Truffle Salsa

Gramercy Park Roll

 Gramercy Park Roll (Close up)

3rd Avenue Roll

3rd Avenue Roll (Close up)

Jewel of the Himalaya, Yorktown Heights, NY

Greetings from Shadow.  Recently opened, this restaurant is a great find.  They can get crowded pretty quickly, so best to get there before or after prime dining hours.  The place is very, very clean.  The decor is modern and simple.  They have some interesting artifacts on display and  pictures of various scenes from the Himalayas.  A flat screen TV above the counter also plays historical/travel programs on the region.  Music is gentle and relaxing.  Chairs are comfortable leather backed.  I am not really familiar with Nepalese Cuisine, however the menu was pretty extensive with lots of interesting things to chose from.  Service was very friendly and attentive.  The complementary wafer thin bread was well spiced (tasted of fennel seed) and the sauce that accompanied it was nice and spicy and complimented it well.  If you want a variety, the Nepali Thali is a good choice.  It is a set that comes with a main curry dish, several side dishes and a desert.  Chicken curry tasted very fresh and flavorful, meat was tender and juicy, I could taste the coriander,  I would have liked it better if the curry was spicy (though I do not know if the dish is traditionally made like this).  Seafood curry was not bad, again very fresh flavors, I would have like it more if it was not too sweet, though the lobster tail in it was cooked well.  The nan bread was nice, warm and fluffy.  Finally, we couldn't resist the curiosity to try their Pad Thai, it is on their menu after all.  A worthy attempt for a non-Thai place, noodles were cooked dry which is a good thing (something a lot of Thai restaurants cannot get right).  They did use broader noodles than the traditional Pad Thai noodles.  Taste, not quite there, not sure what they used for the sauce (traditional sauce should be palm sugar, tamarind juice and fish sauce).  I think it would taste better if they served it with crushed dried chili's.  Finally they garnished the Pad Thai with sliced ginger, must be a Nepalese twist.  Overall all great place, great service, freshly made food.  Definitely check it out if you are in the area.  Happy eating!

                                                   Jewel of the Himalaya
                                                   34 Triangle Ctr
                                                   Yorktown Heights, NY 10598
                                                   (914) 302-2886

Nepali Thali - Veg Thali

Chicken Curry

Seafood Curry

Nan

Pad Thai Chicken

Boston Lobster Feast, Kissimmee

Food ninja here reporting for go gin chow, here to give my opinion on Boston Lobster Feast. Not a bad place, you won't leave hungry. Decor is typical franchise style decor, nothing really eye popping, but clean.  The atmosphere definitely family oriented  and busy. The service was nice and attentive. I was happy. The lobster, crab legs, and the lobster bisque was great. The salads, not really they should really try to really wake up the salads with  more spices or something to give the salads more flavor, but you have a good amount choices to choose from. Plus you can also get a sirloin steak along with your meal at no extra cost and it was cooked rite to order. The prices is reasonable, the over all experience was nice and it felt like I got my money's worth.  Here's a helpful hint have a coupon and go during the early bird specials. As I always say, please enjoy!

Greetings.  Shadow here.  Best way to tackle this place, follow the below tips (believe me, you will thank me later):
1) Sign up for their online e-mail club, its free and they will send you monthly coupons for a generous discount.
2)  Get there for the early bird pricing (Before 6 pm). You can use the coupon on top of this as well.
3)  Get there when they just open their doors (I believe its 4 pm Mon-Fri, 2 pm Sat-Sun).  The lobsters will be the freshest and not too overcooked because they have not been sitting around too long.
4) If desired, make sure you ask for lobster bisque,  side sirloin (cooked to order), fries/baked potato.  These items from the kitchen (not found at the buffet area) are included in the feast at no additional charge (however the servers may not always suggest these so you should ask).
5)  Go to the Kissimmee location.  It is smaller, but less tourist packed than International Drive location and you won't have to wait in line for the lobster.

Not a bad deal.  All you can eat lobster.  They do serve them one at a time, but you can go back up as many times as you want until your heart's content.  Lobster is not bad considering they are cooked in bulk, as mentioned above get there when they just open and they will not be too over cocked.  They do vary in size from small to large, but the small ones are not too small.  Some of them even come with roe.  All other items are not bad except for the salad, as mentioned above was bland.  Sushi did not really taste too fresh.  I wish they put a little bit more effort into the non-lobster items, I guess they figure most people are not really interested in them, which is a shame because people may want to take a break from the lobster from time to time.  Mussels, London Broil and clam chowder are pretty good.  Desserts are not bad.  Key lime pie, cheesecake and flan were great.  I liked how they served they in small pieces so that you could have the opportunity to try a variety.  They also have ice cream in the back.  Service was spot on.  Very attentive in clearing plates, refilling drinks, providing fresh bowls for shells and extra napkins without having to ask.  You server may also offer to give a lesson in how to crack lobster, definitely worth it even if you already know how they make it look effortless and you might learn a thing or two.  I like the decor.  pretty clean, has the boat house look with lobster crates hanging from the ceiling and lobsters on the walls.  Say hello to the giant lobster in the tank by the entrance.  Sometimes they take him out to show the kids.  Also check out their lobster buggys.  Happy eating!

                                                           Boston Lobster Feast
                                                           6071 West Irlo Bronson Memorial Highway
                                                           Kissimmee, FL 34747
                                                           (407) 396-2606