Picture it.
You are seated at a large window looking out on Jamaica Bay. Just outside people are dining at tables with
umbrellas. The sand is a few feet away,
but nobody is walking on it. There is
one path that crosses in front of the tables.
Mothers with strollers, walkers of all ages. The evening is warm with a breeze. Another path goes down to the water. One man comes walking up with his kayak. Families are arriving and leaving as the
sunset waits its approach. Out in the
near distance you can see the green of an area known as Jamaica Wildlife. Further out in the distance are some of the
Manhattan buildings as the blue sky shows its clarity.
You have already been aware that you are in a
private community in the Rockaways known as Breezy Point, prior to entering the
parking lot of Kennedy’s Restaurant. It
is one of few historic places that have survived the hurricane and rebuilt by
owners Christine Strehle and Gerard Casey.
Calming hues of royal blue and white line the inside
of the restaurant. It is a busy Friday
evening with local residents meeting up at the bar. A small band plays mood music, soft in sound
so not to interfere with the customers’ conversations. Tables are placed in a way that gives you
some amount of privacy.
As one would expect, the bill of fare features much
seafood. I am dining with a friend prior
to attending a show at Rockaway Theatre Company just minutes away. There is plenty of time to relax and enjoy
our meals.
We each order a glass of pinot grigio. Maggie, our waitperson, recites the specials
of the day with complete descriptions and price, not even having to look at her
“cheat sheet”. That is already a bit
unusual as most places don’t reveal the price unless you actually ask.
I have my favorites when it comes to oysters. However, one is located at an oyster farm on
Cape Cod and the other in Apalachicola in Florida. Blue Point is my choice and probably the best
in the area due to its size and brininess.
I settle for 6.
We choose two appetizers to share. One is a tuna tartare over Hass avocado with
ginger-lime-soy wasabi and homemade crisps (potato chips). It is the next best thing to sushi. I could not resist the second one, “Sea
Scallops in Chilli-Accented Sriracha Beurre Blanc, accompanied by a Chorizo and
Shrimp Risotto”. Every time I watch
Hell’s Kitchen a meal always seems to call for Sea Scallops with risotto and
hearing Gorden Ramsay cursing out the chefs for it not being perfect. Ramsay would have been proud of Kennedy’s
chef. I certainly loved it!
Having our taste buds dancing with the seafood, we
switched to landlubbing. A New York
strip steak was cooked exactly as ordered.
I would have called it a bit “chewy” if it weren’t my own fault of
having older teeth, if you get my drift.
It came with fresh string beans.
I requested risotto vs having potatoes.
This one seemed to be a wild mushroom with a bit of truffle oil. Executive Chef Orville Campbelle adds aged
parmesan cheese for an extra creaminess into the risotto.
One popular entrée is Chicken Puffed Pastry made
with chicken breast and a slice of tomato.
Mushroom gravy surrounds it so not to lose the crispiness of the
pastry. Although I did enjoy it, it
would not be a first choice, considering all of the specials.
Unfortunately our tummies were getting full and I
didn’t think it would be a great idea to doggy bag it to the theatre. Oh well.
There is still a little spot in the belly that saves room for
dessert. With Crème Brulee being a
running joke in my life (an anecdote that sounds as if Saturday Night Live
scripted it), I ordered it. I personally
did not find it to be one of the best.
It wasn’t as smooth as I would have liked it to be and the top was burnt
a bit more than enough to taste the flamed char.
Bottom line. The food did not appear pretentious nor
highly eye appealing, although the quality and flavor was certainly up there
with my taste buds. The location is: 406
Bayside (718) 945-0202. www.kennedysbreezypoint.com
On a negative note:
This is not the fault of Kennedy’s.
I needed a taxi to Fort Tilden.
They called for me with Belle Rock.
I asked for a receipt and the driver did not have one other than Broker
Service vouchers, nor even a business card.
I called a few days later to speak with a dispatcher named Ilya. He said that I should have requested a
receipt when I called and felt that the AAR broker service vouchers would have
sufficed. Sure, let’s place the blame on the customer rather than the person
who should be doing his job correctly. I
requested to have the dispatcher send a receipt in the mail rather than drop it
off in my mail box. He refused (“I don’t
have time for this”) and told me to call back on Monday to speak with either
Willy or Yakov. I will do this as well
as filing a complaint with the Better Business Bureau. Perhaps I should tell AAR that this company
is giving out vouchers.
I did speak with someone from Kennedy’s who said
that they are considering my experience when someone requests a taxi service.
No comments:
Post a Comment