This is is my first blog post so don’t judge me too harshly for my imperfections. It will get more refined over time; like wine!!! I figured that 2019 Newark, Delaware Restaurant Week was a good first blog article. This blog was actually written on
Thursday, January 24, 2019 . Due to having to switch posts the dates don’t match.
I always try to venture out to various restaurants during Restaurant Week in any of the surrounding areas. I, happily, was able to make it out to the 2019 Newark, Delaware Restaurant Week. The restaurant that appealed to me the most was Klondike Kate’s Restaurant and Saloon. I hadn’t been there for years so I thought to myself why not. I called up my foodie in crime, my mother, and made a 5:30pm reservation at the restaurant. They valet parking which is great! This is already a win because as much as I love Main Street sometimes parking can be hectic!
The Arrival for Newark Restaurant Week
The restaurant isn’t too busy yet when we arrive; which is exactly what I wanted. I have to admit when I go out I want attention from the staff. We had a great server named Tyler. He greeted us right away and took our drink order. I was thinking yes I made it in time for the end of happy hour!!!! I ordered a glass of Malbec, my favorite red wine by the way, and my mother ordered a strawberry lemonade. Tyler personally made the strawberry lemonade. He checked back with us almost immediately to make sure we were happy with our drinks. That’s what I’m talking about Tyler! Don’t make me have to find you if I’m not content with my order. We decide since there are only two options for the appetizer, main course and dessert that we will just order one of each and share. Easy peasy!
First Course
First course comes out rather quickly. I was starving truth be told. We had an order of the Fried Calamari and the the Ahi Tuna Tostados. The jalapeno lime aioli was delicious and creamy touch to the fried calamari. We were excited to try the tostados because we are big sushi fans so this will give us our little fix lol!!! The pickled veggies, onions and carrots, were a nice contrast to the tuna and the wasabi drizzle. I personally love wasabi and feel it could have been a little heavier on the wasabi but all in all the appetizers were pretty good.
About halfway through our appetizers our entrees came out. Unfortunately, the timing in the kitchen was a little off. I think we were pretty much halfway through each course when the next course arrived. It was right before the happy hour cut off so I also order another glass of wine to go with the rest of my food. Yes, I had a few more sips left but why wait and be charged double! Oh my lovely precious Tyler then realizes and informs me that my Malbec was not part of the happy hour and he’s really sorry. I then change over to a Merlot which we both know are part of the happy hour. I would have been better off getting a bottle of the Malbec. Duly noted. He’s been such a great server up until now that it was hard for me to get too mad at him.
Second Course
Next, our entrees have arrived. We get to our entrees and thankfully they’re still hot. I’m a little confused when I look at my entree which was the Caprese Chicken which comes with risotto. My plate looked like it had mashed potatoes at first??? Once given a closer look I realize that this risotto is so tight that they were able to scoop it with an ice cream scoop! And trust me it wasn’t going anywhere!!! In my head I could see Chef Ramsey throwing this plate across the room!!! I was so excited for the risotto and then immediately disappointed. Of course Tyler came right back around to check on us and I informed him of my disappointment which he said he would communicate to the kitchen. Hopefully he really did tell them my critique.
I hate to be that person and trust me my mom hates when I make a complaint about our food ESPECIALLY if she hasn’t received all her food yet lol! I do this because I hope that they truly care about what they are serving their guests. If they didn’t know now they know and if they did know and didn’t care then they just make the restaurant look bad. The consistency of the risotto was my only disappointment. The mellow roasted garlic flavor was perfect! It didn’t have that bite that raw garlic gives off. The chicken looked like it might be a little dry but to my surprise it was very juicy inside. The pesto was a great accompaniment to the entree.
My mother ordered the Bacon Wrapped Salmon with mashed potatoes.
The salmon was also pretty delicious! I told my mom you actually get a perfect bite when you get a little bit of everything in one forkful. You have the salmon then a little salty from the bacon a little sweet from the butternut squash add in the mushrooms and spinach and Dijon drizzle and it was one tasty bite! Of course our dessert arrived halfway through our entrees.
Third Course
Now thankfully the brownie in the Warm Brownie Sundae wasn’t that warm so the ice cream didn’t melt while we finished our entrees. The sundae was your typical sundae. Brownie, ice cream, chocolate drizzle and whipped cream. Oh and don’t forget the fanned strawberry!
I was intrigued by the other dessert, a Caramel Apple Cheesecake. I am not sure if the desserts are prepared in house or not but for some reason the middle, which was the apple pie filling, was super cold and almost frozen. The cheesecake itself was very good.
My only disappointment about it was that there was nothing to cut all the sweet. It was sweet cheesecake with sweet pie filling with sweet streusel on top with sweet caramel sauce on the plate with sweet whipped cream. Two small pieces of apple were added to the plate for crunch. There was nuts in the streusel, which I love!!! It was shocking to notice that nowhere on the menu did it say that there was nuts in the cheesecake. My server didn’t ask if I had any allergies either. CRAZY!!!! This day and age that’s a lawsuit waiting to happen. Nobody wants that during the Newark Restaurant Week. Anyway, thankfully I still had some wine to cut all that sweet from the dessert.
Small tangent!!! During all restaurant weeks, not just the 2019 Newark, Delaware Restaurant Week, I always feel like dessert is always left on the side line. So much effort is put into the appetizers and entrees then poor little dessert doesn’t get much attention. When I go out I want my food to wow me from beginning to end. So let’s not neglect dessert!!!
Overall Experience
Overall the service was great for the 2019 Newark, Delaware Restaurant Week! The food left me with some things to be desired but was good. Would I try it again??? Definitely maybe. When it’s not restaurant week. Maybe they hit a few bumps while preparing for the masses. Who knows but nothing was so bad that I would write off this restaurant forever. I hope they get those few things together because they have great potential.
Let me know where you end up this 2019 Newark, Delaware Restaurant Week!!! And by the way parking has gotten substantially cheaper since I was last down main street.
