Claret: Helping you to see the Sunny Side of life since December 2008

According to Wikipedia (a most, uh, reliable source), Claret is a name primarily used in British English for red wine from the Bordeaux region. Claret is also a winebar in Sunnyside, Queens on Skillman. Perched on a cute tree-lined corner, Claret offers outdoor seating in the nicer weather and odd interior seating year-round. I say odd because there's a lot more standing space than seating, which is odd considering it totes itself as a wine bar, not a bar-bar.

Now, while I felt their Cote de Rhone was a little overpriced ($10 for a class), the tempranillo that I consumed was delectable and, as stated on the menu, paired beautifully with the prosciutto, ricotta, fig and hazelnut open sandwich I ordered. However, based on what I tasted, the best thing on the menu was the black truffle macaroni and cheese. Oh man, not too much truffle oil, just enough, and the "cheese" part was gruyere, which is one of my absolute favorites. The hummus was okay, a little too oily and the pita served with it tasted a little too "packaged." Average NYC prices for wine and a pretty decent selection, a strong beer list (especially for a "wine" bar) for those who don't enjoy a glass of white, red, or pink, and excellent food with an option of a tapas for 2 as well as cheese platters (in various sizes, which is nice), and an uber sweet dessert menu. (How romantic.) A good date place--share the food, don't share the wine, or a good place to chillax with some friends and catch up. Can get a little loud though, especially with the music which my friends and I felt was a little much. I really liked the artwork on the walls. I'd go back, especially because I'd like to check out the rest of Skillman--seems pretty hopping, even in the rain!

www.claretwinebar.com

Erawan Thai

I used to live in Bayside, NY. Probably as close to the suburbs as I'll ever get. Houses, lawns, quiet... And not all the streets had sidewalks! I only lasted 9 months, but one of the perks was Bell Blvd. and Erawan. So I decided to revisit my Bayside days with two of my colleagues.

There are actually two Erawans on Bell Blvd. so you have to specify. One is upscale and one is thai. We ventured to the one closer to Northern Blvd. The goal was to order three different entrees and split them. We went with the shrimp pad thai, the pineapple fried rice, and one of the "exotic dishes" that involved chicken and curry and basil. Two glasses of mediocre wine (a Malbec and a Pinot Grigio) and a thai iced tea to top it all off. While everything tasted good, nothing stood out to me as incredible. Serving the pineapple fried rice in a hollowed out pineapple was a nice touch, but greasy is the first word that comes to mind when I think of how to describe the taste. Same goes with the pad thai. And I can't even really remember the "exotic" dish. For dessert we had fried ice cream, which was set on fire at our table. I wasn't quick enough with the camera, but after you get over the spectacle, there was a lot left to be desired. The fried part was a bad zeppole and the ice cream was a poor excuse for ice cream. Reminded me of those kindergarten ice cream days where they'd serve you a small container of 25 cent no-brand ice cream in the cafeteria. Grainy and sort of cardboard box-esque. The raspberry sauce drizzled (or spooned, rather) on the side was too sweet. We also ordered a coffee and a thai iced coffee. The thai iced coffee tasted like your mouth the day after smoking a cigarette (or so I'm told). Even our waitress seemed lackluster about the food--when asked about Oriental sausage, she scrunched up her face and told us, honestly, that it wasn't her favorite. Disappointment abounds.

I'll admit, I was starving at this point. So I ate my face off. But... the next day, when I was discussing the meal with my friend, we both reached the same conclusion. Not as good as it used to be. This is a very intriguing discovery considering the fact that my once-favorite sushi place met the same fate. Is it the recession? Are the quality of the ingredients going downhill? Are less people going out to eat and the restaurants are making cutbacks? Who's really in the kitchen? I'm left with many questions, no answers, and an unsatisfied palate.