Fancy New-American Dinner at Nubar

The cliche "You are what you eat" encourages people to eat healthier because, after all, you are what you eat. Food sustains you, food gives you energy, and food brings joy to your life. Thus, I find it completely justifiable to splurge on fine dining every once in a while. Cheap food is something my family cannot tolerate because that is essentially tantamount to putting poison to your body. Well, perhaps not as extreme, but you get the point.

A couple weeks ago (yes, I apologize for not updating sooner. I have been so busy!), I went to a newly remodeled restaurant in Sheraton Commander called Nubar, which serves new American cuisine. According to its website, it emphasizes a comfortable bar and dining experience. The restaurant is named after the hotel’s owner Edward Nubar Guleserian, whose family has owned and operated the hotel and restaurant for three generations.

After we made our selection, the waitress brought a bread basket with three different types of warm, toasted bread.

I really like the olive bread. The savory black olives enhanced the warm, moist, and chewy interior of the bread.

Whereas the olive bread had hint of savoriness, the cranberry bread, which had ample amounts of dried cranberries embedded throughout, was sweet and tangy. Again, the inside of the bread was so warm and chewy. I could honestly get full just on the appetizer bread.

My friend I ordered the Meze Plate ($11) to share.

The appetizer was basically a long grilled flatbread cut into six slices with five different dips placed in between the flatbreads.

Here we have the Herbed Ricotta, Lentil and Bulgur Dip, and Olive Salad. The Herbed Ricotta was a little too thick and rich for my liking. The Lentil and Bulgur dip needed a bit more seasoning.

My favorite was probably the Olive Salad dip! The salty, savory olives balanced out the warm flatbread really nicely.

Here we have the two remaining dips: Eggplant Salsa and Pickled Peppers. I am a huge fan of eggplant (my second favorite vegetable after butternut squash!), so the salsa was inevitably delicious. I expected the pickled peppers to be slightly spicy because I thought it had jalepeno, but it was very mild.

Besides the dips, I also loved the flatbread! It was grilled to perfection with beautiful panini/grill marks on the outside, and just thick enough to have something to chew. Here, the thickness is the key because if it's too thick, the flatbread tastes too doughy, and if it's too thin, you don't get the texture.

The olive salad! We couldn't finish the appetizer because we were too full from the appetizer bread already. Besides, our main entree came as we were eating the appetizer and we didn't want to completely ruin our appetite from being too full.

I was really debating between two menus: Potato Gnocchi or Pat's Littleneck Clam Roast (Toasted angel hair pasta, baby shrimp, garlic, white wine, olive oil). In the end, I chose the Potato Gnocchi ($19) with absolutely no regret whatsoever.

The gnocchi was accompanied by chanterelles, roasted fall vegetables, fresh herbs, and piave cheese. I asked to be light on the cheese, and certainly they just put a little shaved cheese on top that I could easily take out. I wished I had known that they sprinkled pine nuts on top because then I would have asked it to be taken off...

The dish looked very healthy and fresh, probably because of the colorful vegetables and fresh spinach. The gnocchi served in the dining hall is often DRENCHED in oil, but that was not the case for this entree!

I am not quite sure the crispy greens on top, but it was so savory! I wonder if it had been fried, which would explain its crispiness.

The potato gnocchi was so good! I loved that it was pan-fried on the outside for the right amount of crispiness without being too rough on the edges. I don't like gnocchis that are mushy all throughout, so this was perfect!

I almost felt like I was eating salad because of the greens and the roasted vegetables. I love root vegetables (squash, sweet potato, turnips, etc.) and the dish sure wasn't stingy on providing that! The grilled mini onions were roasted to golden perfection.

The gnocchi overdose! I couldn't finish the dish, but it tasted almost as good the day after :)

My friend was choosing between the Duck Breast and the Grilled Organic Salmon (Lentils, Horseradish and Glazed Root Vegetables), and the waitress, without hesitance, recommended the Duck Breast ($27)

The slices of duck breast was roasted with Caramelized Heirloom Apples, and served with Red Cabbage and Confit Potatoes.

I would have never guessed something as savory and juicy as duck breast would go with sweet caramelized heirloom apples!

Hmm not a fan of fingerling potatoes, especially when cooked confit (basically cooked in fat).

The visual presentation of the dish could be improved because the sauce at the bottom looked a bit messy.

The duck breast was so juicy and tender, according to my friend. Unfortunately, I don't eat duck because it's usually too fatty (just like pork).

I especially loved the red cabbage, which, like the caramelized apple, tasted sweet. It almost had the texture and the sweetness of cranberry sauce.

Now that I think back, the dish reminded me of a Thanksgiving meal! The duck is like the turkey, the red cabbage & apple is like the cranberry, and the potato is like mashed potato/stuffing!

Devoured. Yum :)