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Tuesday, July 7, 2009

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The Portofino challenge begins Tuesday nights — Plentiful Pasta! Wednesday nights — Hot off the Grill! Thursday nights — Asian Fusion! Friday nights — Caribbean Delight! Saturday nights — Seafood Spectacular! These are the nightly specials on offer at the Portofino Restaurant in the British Colonial Hilton Hotel, and food-themed buffet nights that I'm challenging myself to eat through, and let you know whether it's worth your money. Boy, oh boy, am I putting myself into another tough spot. But don't get me wrong, I'm not challenging myself to eat everything on the buffet on any given night, I just want to hit pasta night, grill night, Asian fusion night, Caribbean night and seafood night. It may take me a few weeks to do it, but I'm going to do it. Actually, I started last week Tuesday, after my niece Aleeiah's graduation. With a group of 12 in tow, I hit the buffet, and at $19.95 per person plus a glass of wine or a bottle of beer, it didn't seem like a bad deal. We got to the restaurant kind of late — most buffets start breaking down at about 10 p.m. — but to my surprise, the Portofino staff didn't rush out to start dismantling like they do at other restaurants, so I was still able to enjoy a meal that was incredibly fresh, and not have to scurry around to quickly grab something to eat before it vanished. And I got to choose from a wide selection of dishes, from soups to salads to a hot pasta station prepared however you wanted it. After perusing the offerings, I started with a bowl of Potato Soup, which I found to be absolutely fantastic — surprise, surprise! The thick, but not too thick broth, was seasoned perfectly and it was hot. Another surprise, especially as it was so late. Eating it reminded me of a hot bowl of soup served on a cool winter day, to soothe the soul. It was good comfort food. It was so good I was tempted to grab a second bowl, and call it a night, it was that good. But I restrained myself. Instead, I chose a piece of chicken caccitore, an Italian dish of chicken pieces simmered in a tomato sauce laden with mushrooms, and served over pasta, but I took mine sans pasta in favor of a piece of the incredibly fresh-looking vegetable lasagna, and a side of cold marinated mushrooms. I was definitely not disappointed in my selections. n See Foodie on L10 The chicken caccitore was fresh and delicious, and simmered to perfection, with the chicken meat tender to the point where you didn't need a knife. The lasagne even held up in a perfect square after being scooped out of the pan, and did not fall apart like other lasagnas I've had, and the vegetables inside were still firm and not mushy. That I gave a thumbs up too. The marinated mushrooms were the perfect accompaniment as far as I was concerned. Desserts are served a la carte, and had to be ordered. The options that night included chocolate mousse, brownies, guava cheesecake and coconut tart. Chocolate doesn't exactly float my boat, but when she said guava cheesecake, my eyes lit up, because I still have memories of the first guava cheesecake I'd had, which was at Alexandra Lynch's August Moon Café, Lyford Cay, so I ordered one of those and a coconut tart. Unfortunately, I did not enjoy the desserts as much as I did the meal. The miniature-sized guava cheesecake, was encased in a pastry crust, which was a turnoff. Actually, as I bit into it, I tasted more crust than filling, and was definitely not satisfied. And the coconut tart, also served as a miniature, was a tad bit too sweet for my liking — and had a cloyingly sweet taste as if it was made with corn syrup. Even though that wasn't the end that I would have liked to the meal, my night was not completely ruined, because my soup and entrée were excellent, and made me want to return to check out the other nights, hence my challenge to myself. I've done pasta night, and was looking forward to trying the other menus in the weeks to come, but have since learnt that to keep you coming back again and again, the chefs don't serve the same thing each theme night. The menu I met there on Tuesday night, won't be the same pasta menu next week Tuesday. This is done to challenge the chefs creativity, and to keep the buffet from becoming boring. So now that I've done a Tuesday night, it seems I've got to return to try another Tuesday night, because I don't know what will be offered. In the meantime, I'm going to complete my mission and dine there on a Wednesday, Thursday, Friday and Saturday. Even though I may complete my mission, it seems that I may have to return again and again and again. My only hope is that the quality of food offered remains as high as it was on my initial pasta night. Now, if only they could do something about dessert . . . By the way, Friday's Caribbean delight and Saturday's seafood night are a tad bit more expensive. Wednesday, June 24, 2009