Dina’s Hideaway: KITCHEN CLOSED (Filed Review)

The kitchen of Dina’s Hideaway is going through a few changes until further notice (August 2010). This review is filed, the kitchen may be closed (temporarily?)

Dina’s Hideaway has just recently opened the doors after a full renovation from the previous neighborhood bar and grill that existed.  The second we collected the menu to add it to our database, we knew we had to give it a try.  The menu is very unique; especially the “Piegati: Folded and Grilled Round Panini Bread” which I have not yet seen on any other restaurant establishments menu.  While adding the photos the bartender has created a few drinks and included one of there signature “The Hideaway” this is the blue drink you will see in the picture.

Let’s get to the review: Usually we allow some time for a place to establish itself before we would review it, but because of the “Piegati” that I noticed on the menu, and always in the mood for something different, We had to come in almost right away and give it a try.  The day we arrived the bar was full and the crowd seemed up beat, thankfully a few tables in the back were free.

The Drink: “The Hideaway” is the signature drink for Dina’s Hideaway, which is developed by a Bartender “Pam”, and had a delicious taste, sweet but not too sweet, just right.  You could taste a bit of Gin but do not have all the ingredients.  This drink alone is worth a try at this establishment.
The Food:WoW! I think the picture can easily sum this up.  Just the look of the Piegati had my taste buds rambling,  We ordered two.  “The Jen” which included Grilled Chicken with House made pepper, Fresh Mozzarella and Pesto Mayo.  “Southwest Barbecue” which had Grilled Barbecue Chicken, Pepper Jack Cheese, Grilled Red Onion, Grilled Corn and Chipotle Mayo.  Both were served with delicious home made potato chips (Recommend by the waitress) we had a choice of others but the way she described these “Home Made Chips” we didn’t even think twice.  They included some special sauce which was just an amazing addition to dip the Potato’s and the Piegati itself.  The food is simply delicious and hope it stays just the way it does.
The Service: Great Recommendation, A personal waitress for the tables which helped with service being quick and personal attention being given.
The Atmosphere: The redesign adds a fresh look and feel to this establishment and is organized very properly.  Bar is located at the entrance, with tables sitting to the right side and also has a small dining area in the back (Where we sat).

Overall Sum-up:  Amazing Drink list, a very unique menu (Recently updated), absolutely delicious food and great sauces, supreme signature drink and a very comfortable neighborhood atmosphere.

Rating: 5 Stars
Notice: As of June 04, 2010, Dina’s Hideaway is no longer serving food.  The kitchen is closed until further notice.

View Menus and Photos of All Staten Island Restaurant on WhereYouEat Menu Directory

Corner House Restaurant Review – Moderate

View the Menu and Photos for this Restaurant
The long lasting established “Corner House” on Lincoln avenue keeps moderate “American and Irish” atmosphere feel and moderate food to this Restaurant and Bar in Grant City.

We have went out for a friend’s graduation, looking somewhere simple and quite serving home made meals and decided to try The Corner House.  The overall feel of the restaurant is that it is a neighborhood bar and dining room (Grill).   Many locals would chose this place for a place to hang out and enjoy a couple of drinks with there buddies while watching the game.  It also a place for a quite dinner on a weekday and friend get-together on a weekend.

The Corner house does not live up to expectations as a “Great Food” experience.  The service was not anything special at the same time.  The food (My Seafood was flavourless) a couple of friends who had ribz, burger and fried fish all said it was great.  So it is possible that only the seafood wasn’t that great (But, I am the one writing the review so we must focus on my meal)

Let’s get to the review:

• Service: Noticeable Slow, I had to get up and ask for gravy, sauces and even to get a refill of our beer.
• The Food: The Ribz seemed decent, something I may want to try next time.  But the seafood platter would something I would not order again as the full meal tasted flavourless.  I do understand that much seafood (Shrimps, Calamari and flounder) naturally does not have much flavour, but it is the way they are cooked that can add a certain feel of taste which Corner House forgot to do.
  -> Seafood included: Crab Cake, Scallops, Shrimp and Flounder with side of Mashed Potatoes and Vegetables.
  -> The Portion was moderate size for 20$.

That pretty much sums up the Corner House, and yes even though I was not satisfied with my Seafood, I still will be back to this establishment for the general feel and atmosphere which is very comfortable environment.  I may chose to enjoy a burger in the future or even come back for there for Corn Beef and Cabbage during Saint Patties.

Star Rating:
Service -1, Food -1/+1, Atmosphere +2, Bar List +2
Overall: 3 Stars

Grand Opening Recession Special Papaya Dog on Staten Island

View Menu, Photos and Information for this Establishment

Yep, the Famous hot dog shop that was opened during the first recession in Manhattan with the famous “Papaya Drink” has unexpectedly finally arrived in Staten Island.  Located in the heart of Staten Island, downtown next to the courts and many municipal buildings is a great location for this “Hot Dog” take out restaurant that also offers delivery.  Unfortunately this establishment is not open 24/7 like the one’s in the city, but if you are around the area from 7am to 4pm, Monday through Saturday give this dog place a try and make sure to enjoy the Papaya drink.

Pronto and Lava Lounge Grand Openings (10306) Menu Updates Also

We have finished updating and adding a couple of restaurants in 10306. Pronto on New Dorp has had a huge Grand Openings which probably attracted people all over by the flying blimp with huge “Pronto” letters on it.  This is the fourth Pronto on Staten Island joining the other 3 located on Bay Street, Richmond Avenue and Forest Avenue.  We wish pronto good luck.

Also we have a Local Bar on Lincoln Ave now serving Food for Lunch and Dinner.  (Gecko Lounge) offers bar style seating. We will see how they do and try to taste the food sometime in the near future.

Pronto Pizza Photos and Menu
Gecko Lounge Photos & Menu

Lava Lounge Open -> Walk-around Coming Soon

Ok Finally, after a few weeks on hold this restaurant, bar, lounge and outdoor dining is finally opening up (Actually already has… Yesterday).

The Menu and Photo Listing page is Here, Menus and Photos will be added very shortly and keep checking up on the blog in the next few hours as we will begin writing a Walk-Around very shortly.

Armory Inn: A beautiful Evening outside

Well for a second we though the summer was actually here (Last week), Remember those 90′s that we hit?  At the first opportunity to go sit somewhere outside we flew off to “Scott’s Armory Inn”, after driving by during the day and noticing they have chairs and tables set up outside.  We are glad we did as we realized there is another restaurant offering “Outdoor dining” and the food was great as well as the atmosphere.  Oh, by the way to search for “Outdoor dining” you can visit the main website Whereyoueat.com Scroll down to the “Advanced Search” and use the “Search by Feature”…  OK on to the Review…  There are two choices of Menus, one from the Bar side of the Restaurant and the other from the Dining Room.  The Dining Room menu is a bit pricey unless you are planning to go out for a nice family dinner or a special occasion, but if you chose to sit outside on a warm evening just to relax, we suggest you go with the “Bar Menu”, which still offers many of the items from the regular menu (Same Portion, Same Size but a couple dollars cheaper).

The Food:  We enjoyed two great meals both included steak.  The Blue Cheese Salad with Steak looked simply delicious, the meet was cooked to perfection with just enough red showing, yet still being cooked and tasting great over the salad with the side of dressing.  I myself had enjoyed an “All American Cheese Steak” and must describe this as Scott’s Armory Inn does not use the regular steak-ums found in many diners and other type of restaurants. They use the real meat (Actually the same steak used in the salad) on a warm toasted hero with mozzarella made this sandwich a delicious choice.  They had many fascinating menu items that I would like to try such as the “Cajun Pita Chicken” which was also recommended by the server.  The menu is huge, if you for some reason can’t find something from the Bar Menu to suit you, you can always look at the larger dining room menu and find a whole collection of different things such as (Seafood, Chicken, Steak, Veal, Pasta) and many meals in each category.
The Service: It was very impressive, the server was able to recommend us great plates as well as come around every so often to make sure we are doing fine and brought us refills when needed. 
The Atmosphere: We sat outside, which was great… But Also the Bar portion of the Restaurant seemed wonderful, it was pretty busy inside but everyone seemed comfortable and enjoying themselves.  That’s great enough, but lets say you like the food but would like to go somewhere fancy tonight? Well they also feature a beautiful (Casual-> Fine Dining) Dining room which can hold private parties as well as small get-together.

Overall-Sum Up: We are now using our Pros & Cons Rating System to create Star Database.
Pros: Real Steak for Cheese Steaks, On Time Service, Comfortable Environment, Perfect Overall Atmosphere.
(+4)

Restaurant is located on 316 Manor Road
View the Menu, Photos, Information & Location

 

Whereyoueat Media Reviews are 100% non-biased, non-advertise based and not factual on any degree.

Fresh Tortillas and Tacos: Victory Blvd: 1 Star (Do Not Enter)

It is Very Very Sad, that we have to write this review but if we didn’t it would not be fair to you, our reader.  This is the Second Restaurant so far on Staten Island, that has made the (DO NOT ENTER) List.  We have ended up at this place due to a “Grand Openings” next door of a African Restaurant called “Mai” and I was hungry for some “Tex-Mex” and it stumbled upon right in front of me.  I must say I was glad I entered… Better Me then You? 

How the One Star came about:  I have pleasantly walked in and picked up a menu to look at and see what they have, The lady who is supposed to take my order yells “WATCHA WANT?”   Me being the undecisive person that I am, I politely ask her which of the lunch specials she can suggest, the Steak and Guacamole or the Steak and Chicken (All served for about 6.10 with can of soda, Including Tax), The reply I get is a very nasty “BOT GOO!”.  I am guessing that is supposed to mean “Both Good”???  ***(I am truthfully not trying to pick at people’s accents, but the attitude was so Nasty that the words sounded worse then they should.  Maybe next time I will carry a Tape Recorder to actually let you hear how this sounded?)*** 

OK anyways onto the Review:

Food: I have decided to go with the Steak and Guacamole, and as many of you already know I do like Spicy Stuff and enjoy “Hot Sauce” with my meal.  after the service already being horrible the way it is, I have asked “You have some Hot Sauce, Please”,  The reply I get is “OVE-DA” (Probably short for: Over There?).  Me being all Happy and Joly about to get my hot sauce, I almost pick up the bottle until I realize all the Crust all over it.  I just walk over to my seat until I remembered that I am now a “Restaurant Food Critic” and I should let everyone see what is going on.  I get a napkin and bring the Sauce back to the table so I can take photos of it: (Please see for yourself).  It is actually kind of embarassing to put the “WhereYouEat.com” logo on top of the photo, but I probably would be more embarrassed to even have that out on display for the customers to see.

The rest of the Meal: The food was nothing special, I had much better Tex-Mex style food on other parts of the Island.  It was your Bland meal which definitely should remove the “Fresh” out of the restaurant name.  It was prepared in about 1 Minute after I ordered (Very Serious).  Although it was a Decent size portion, I would never recommend this place to anybody, Especially this part of the Island having so many other Restaurants (Especially the new: Mai, Offering something different: African Cuisine).

The Closing: Amazingly Nasty Service, Horrible treating of Customers, Disgusting presentation of Sauce.

 

Our New Rating Review System:  We now will use a (Pros and Cons) system to rate and review restaurants.  Every restaurant starts off with a 1 Star, for every Pro that outweighs the Con, it gains a Star.

Pros: Fast Service
Cons: Horrible Staff, Dirty Presentation, Bland Food.
(+1, -3) = 1 Star

Restaurant Information, Menus and Photos

Lobster House Joes Review

This Casual Restaurant offers great food with a great dining room at a very reasonable price.
Rated by whereyoueat: 5 Stars.

              The dining room is nice and simple, it works just right to make it feel like a “Lobster Shack” Lobster House. It features a tank with live lobsters which are available at all times. The meal I am reviewing is the “Joe’s Special” Mussles, clams, calamari, shrimp and all the other good stuff served with pasta on the side. This is a true meal you can enjoy at anytime, Wait time was not long at all about 10 min (During Lunch), price was very fair for all this seafood. The whole place has a pleasant atmosphere even when it gets crowded there is enough breathing space for each table.

The Review:

The Food: Well the picture can probably describe 1000 words?  But if you are a “Seafood Lover” how could you not like what you see?  Yes, it does taste as good as it looks and I hear many people are not able to finish this, I sit there “fishing” for every last shrimp that is covered in the “White Wine Sauce”.  This meal is rated 5 Stars in overall presentation, taste & flavour and portion.
The Service:  Alway’s good.  I visit Lobster House Joe’s very often (For Lunch) and sometimes for dinner.  Service is always very attentive and there when you need it.
The Atmosphere:  A decent size comftorable atmosphere.  This place is a casual restaurant and presents itself in that way. 
Overall Sum-Up: Great Food, Great Service, Large Portions, Great Presentation and a great Casual Feel establishment puts Lobster House Joe’s in the “Hot Spot” listing of WhereYouEat. 

Restaurant Information:

Joe’s Lobster House Menu, Information, Photos and User Reviews

Sushi Excellent: Lounge and Bar Reviewed

 

Sushi, Appetizers, Drinks and a Decent Size Atmosphere.  A few weeks back we wrote the “Grand Re-Opening Walk-Around” for Sushi Excellent (To read it use: Top Navigation [Staten Island-> Grand Openings]).  Well here we have finally tried this restaurant sitting at the new lounge area. Felt really unique and somewhere we can go to enjoy Sushi and a few drinks for Happy Hour.  This is that spot which offers a great variety of cocktails (Strawberry mojitos for the Girl, Lece mojitos for the guy?), and many more great items. The bartender has created great drinks.  Now let’s head onto the review:

 

The Appetizer: We have enjoyed the Duck Salad greatly (This was one of the reason we used to patronize this place before they renovated).  It was greatly prepared and the presentation was excellent which included a side of apples and the duck was on top of the salad.  The portion was a (Medium-Large) size and would be enough to feed a single person.
The Sushi:This is (Sushi Excellent): So the Sushi better be good!  Sushi Excellent has a large Sushi menu, which includes all the regular items such as (California Rolls, Alaska Rolls and all the other basic stuff) for very decent prices (3 Rolls for 13.00 -> Somewhere in that price range)…  But the menu also offers many specialties rolls which makes this place shine (of course, these are a bit pricey [$13+ per Roll], but this is the reason people will come here.  These specialty rolls are simply delicious.  Many house specialties include (Fantastic Eel Roll, Two Way Dragon Roll) and a few others, be sure to view the menu (Link).
The Service: The service was great, Fast, simple to order and easy to communicate. (This place was not too busy the day we reviewed it, so of course this may change if you visit on a busy day…)
The Dessert: What is a Sushi Place (Japanese) have that’s great for dessert? Ah, my favorite Fried Ice Cream.  And yes like everything else, it is simply delicious.Fried Ice Cream of Sushi Excellent.
The Atmosphere: Even though the atmosphere is very fine and unique, there are a few furniture problems (Hopefully it’s fixed by now).  The “Bar-Stools”  bend forward for some reason and it feels like you are about to fall off the stool.  Not all the stools did that, but from 2 of the 3 I tried have.  The rest of the bar looks great, with a fine designed bar and very nice smooth lights surrounding it. 

 

Beer Garden Review: Great Atmosphere, Large Portions

One would think that a “Sports bar & Grill” is exactly that… Serving simple appetizers and wings and would be very surprised to find good food and a wonderful atmosphere.  Well we were surprised, first by the ”Busy Atmosphere” then by the “Large Unique Menu” and to top it off “Large Portions”.  First we started off with a Corona each (To get the taste buds going!!) and while sitting at the Bar Table some patrons next to us had received a Mozzarella Stick (6) Appetizer which were so amazingly huge (See the Photo) that we had to order us a taste and try for ourselves.  They were definitely (Home Made) and tasted so delicious, even though price is $8 for 6 pieces, these pieces are worth the price as they are about 1.75 times the regular size of “Frozen” sticks. 

The full atmosphere was busy and felt great finally being in a place with a crowd, tables were full, bar tables were also full yet the service was great and always someone attended to us when we needed another drink.  Looking at the menu gave many unique items which was not copied for the “Restaurant down the Block” as most restaurants simply copy their neighbors menus, these guys put thought into each one. 

The Food:I have ordered (Fresh Pastrami: Two slices of Rye Bread covered with Fresh Cut Pastrami and Topped with Swiss Cheese) which was under the (Open Face Platters) which comes with homemade potato salad.  It was a huge portion which I could have barely finished and the potato salad went good with the meal.  I would try something else from the menu which looked very appetezing and wasn’t too much overwhelmed with this meal.

My partner has ordered the (Beer Garden Wrap: Prosciutto, Roasted Peppers, Onions, Lettuce, Fresh Mozzarella, Oil and Vinegar) which was under the “Sandwiches and Wraps” which comes with French Fries.  The portion once again was huge and she barely finished half of the meal.  I truthfully could not get a taste as I was busy piling into my pastrami, but she stated the food was good.

Overall Summary Rating:

• Food -> Good (Sports Bar with Grill Rating)
• Menu -> Huge, with many unique items.
• Service -> Excellent
• Atmosphere -> Great Spot to be during lunch, dinner and after college exam “Hang-Out”.
• STAR RATING: 3.5

STAR RATING: Explained:

• 5 Stars: A Unique Menu, Many Home Made Items, Excellent Service and Great Unique Atmosphere.
• 4 Stars: Should include Home Made Mashed Potatoes, Great Service, Excellent Food.
• 3 Stars: Includes either Great Service, Great Food or Great Atmosphere
• 2 Stars: Includes at least one moderate (Food, Service or Atmosphere)
• 1 Star: Absolutely Horrible, Do not Enter, Do Not Eat. 

 

Restaurant Information:
Beer Garden
Establishment Type:  Sports bar with Grill
Cuisine: American
Menu, Hours, Location and Other Information
1883 Victory Blvd,
Staten Island,10314 
Phone :718-876-8900

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