Author: John Curtas

AQUA KNOX is All Right

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We told Chef Tom Moloney we were embarrassed for having taken so long to re-visit Aqua Knox. It had been at least four years since last we indulged in the superior swimmers they cook here, and our memories were nothing but good. In fact, it was a definitive Dover sole that cemented this place’s reputation in our minds as a first class fish cookery, but inexplicably, we had strolled past at least a hundred times on our way to David Burke, Valentino, B & B, Delmonico or Bouchon without stopping in for at least a nibble.

As Manute Bol might’ve said, “my bad.”

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Hot Hostesses Watch – Three Reasons to SWITCH

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Xia, Ambaar and Laura are but three reasons to switch to Switch for your next meal at Encore.

So professional are they in their hostess-ly duties, that we’d eat here even if  Chef Rene Lenger didn’t serve boffo bison steaks, cheesy morel risotto, or one of the best baked cauliflower dishes in town.

FYI: The eye candy here extends far beyond the hostess desk, as the new patio — directly beside the Encore Beach Club — brings the Jersey Shore crowd right by your table on weekend evenings.

Thanks Encore, but we prefer to look at these three.

SINATRA (and Sinatra) Wine Unveiling

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There’s nothin’ like a wine unveiling (accompanied by first class food) to get our heart a pumpin’.

Truth be told, we weren’t all that excited by another celebrity wine label, until we tasted the big beefy California cab and the sleek, sophisticated sangiovese that Ole Blue Eyes’ kin have hand crafted alongside Wynn/Encore Wine Director Danielle Price.

For those of you who love that extracted, teeth-coating, plummy style of red wines, the Sinatra Family Estate “Come Fly With Me” Cabernet will fit your mood like Frank crooning a tune over a couple of martoonis at 2 am.

We at ELV preferred the more subtle charms of the Tuscan La Voce — a red wine that fit Theo Schoenegger’s food the way a Nelson Riddle arrangement did with you-know-who’s voice.

These wines won’t be cheap, but they will be at Sinatra whenever you’d like a swirl or a sniff, and we can attest that both vintages we tasted were a very good year.