Well, this one isn't a new place. I've been going to Portofino for years. The chef, Brian, is a good friend of my younger cousin Vicki, and he catered both my cousins' weddings. That having been said, this review is way overdue.
Craig and I went there again tonight. He ordered his favorite appetizer, the carpaccio. As always, it was perfect: rare rare rare beef, beautifully dressed with olive oil, capers, shaved parmesan, and lightly dressed spring greens (or maybe arugula?). My appetizer was OMG duck wings. DUCK WINGS! With a chipotle-maple glaze. Absolutely fantastic. Crispy duck skin with a fantastic sweet-hot sauce. Lovely.
Salads were perfectly dressed, not drowned in dressing. Fresh baby greens, grape tomatoes, carrot shreds, and house-made garlic croutons.
Entrees. Oh, my, entrees. Craig had the pulled pork with hand-cut french fries, cornbread, and broccoli rabe. The pulled pork was absolutely AMAZING. It was moist, flavorful, a bit sweet and spicy, and not overpoweringly smoked. The fries were served on top of the pork. They were very flavorful and crisp. The cornbread was of the savory type, with real corn kernels throughout. The broccoli rabe was deep-fried, and its bitterness made a perfect contrast to the rich sweet/spicy/porky goodness of the pulled pork.
I had the linguini carbonara. Pancetta, prosciutto, peas, roasted garlic, red onions, parmesan, tossed in a cream sauce with the linguini. It. Was. Awesome.
Dinner (without drinks or dessert) was about $54 (before tax). If you go there, try the gnocchi. Brian makes the best I've ever had - light, fluffy, and absolutely wonderful.
Hello "Night Owl" (and "Day bird"!),
ReplyDeleteI work on the social media team at Urbanspoon and wanted to say hello. I just stumbled onto your blog and it's great! I also read your review of Portofino and wondered if you would be willing to add your review to Urbanspoon?
It's easy. Users will see a short teaser of your review on Urbanspoon, and we display a link to click through to your blog to read the full review. This is not an ad or a promotion -- just an opportunity to connect our users with awesome bloggers like yourself.
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Please contact me if I can answer any questions or if you need help adding your reviews. Thanks again. I look forward to reading more of your Poughkeepsie(ish) restaurant reviews soon!
Lisa
lisa@urbanspoon.com
Urbanspoon Social Media Team
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Hi, Lisa!
DeleteThanks for your nice comments about the Pygge; it started out as a place for my friend and me to post recipes, but we hope to expand it to more than that.
I'll be sure to link reviews to Urbanspoon. I've used the site to check out restaurants before we go there, so I know what a great site it is.
Thanks again!
Tracy (aka the Nightowl)