Hudson River Cafe

It’s been a while since I’ve seen Boney so I was thrilled when I realized we would be able to hang out.  We ended up going to dinner at Hudson River Café.  I recently bought a groupon so it definitely seemed like a good idea.  The restaurant is a beautiful space, but definitely better suited for warm weather.  I had reviewed the menu quite closely and was really looking forward to everything they had to offer.

We started with a couple of appetizers.  The Chicken & Corn quesadilla looked and tasted great.

It was topped with guacamole and the perfect sharing portion. Of course that’s not where we stopped.  We also ordered the Camarones al Ajillo.

The presentation was on point.  Tostones surrounding a mountain of shrimp sautéed in incredible garlic sauce.  Wow. It’s been a while since I’ve wanted to bottle up sauce and take it home.  The entrées were good, but slightly less impressive.  We both had our eye on the Seafood Paella.

I know, not your typically paella.  With regard to the seafood, this was a blend of the usual suspects: Half lobster, shrimp, mussels, calamari, clams and baby scallops.  However, it was served with squid ink saffron rice.  That’s why everything looks so dark.  I’m a big fan of seafood and this tasted pretty fresh, but I wasn’t wowed by the flavors.  The Asopao de Camarones was equally unimpressive.

“Authentic latin shrimp gumbo” with vegetables and saffron rice. Don’t get me wrong – it didn’t taste bad. I just kept thinking about the appetizers.  I also was a bit disappointed because I didn’t use my Spanish skills to realize asopao is obvs soup and I was not in a soupy mood.  Instead I should have ordered the Oven-Roasted Sea Bass.  Oh well!

The experience was overall very good.  The service was okay.  Probably only worth 15% but we tipped 20% since we stayed for 2 ½ hours.  If I go back to Hudson River Café, I will likely stick to the expansive appetizer menu.  There were a lot of items I wanted to try: mussels, taquitos, ceviche, the list could go on and on.  I’m looking forward to returning when the weather is less offensive.  Winter is not my friend.

Hungry yet?