This is the city, Newburg NY, ...I'm a Yelper, ...I carry a fork. It was cold, breezy with a thick murky rain falling that day. That kind of light rain that's more annoying than a Baptist downpour in a Lousiana swamp. The kind of dampness that creeps into your bonze, making everything creek like grandma's kitchen door. My wife and I were working the stores in the Newburg area in search of affordable shrubbery. We'd been shopping for most of the morning, not having eaten anything since breakfast at about 0530 hrs, ...we decided it was time to make a stop, ...this is my story.
My watch showed 11 o'clock, but my stomach was insisting it was 12. The parking lot was pretty empty when we pulled in, scarcely a vehicle to be seen. The establishment is named Ikaros, you know, pronounced like the Greek myth Icarus. There would be two for lunch this day, preferably in a booth. The patrons numbered in the single digits when we entered, so the choice of seating was ours. This establishment had seen many owners over the past 30 years, as well as changes in name. Some familiar with this place might remember it as 'Johnny Ds.' We were quickly seated and queried about beverages by our waitress. Today was going to be our first visit back in years and our hopes were high.
We wished to keep it simple, a burger deluxe is often our litmus test in these matters. First the service ...it was excellent, our waitress was most attentive. No sooner had we entered than the lunch crowd began to arrive behind us. Our order was two burger deluxes, one with avocado and the other was plane. Second, ...my coffee. I always gauge a place by the quality of its coffee. I find that if the coffee is burnt, weak, or cold, the service and food quality is usually in step with the aforementioned deficiencies. This earned them their first star. The coffee was hot, rich, and quite tasty.
The second star was earned when our orders arrived quickly, hot, and perfectly displayed on our plates. We'd chosen the 'home fries' instead of French fries. This was disappointing for three reasons. They were bland, free of peppers and paste-like, three critical ingredients that were missing. I was able to make them palatable with the addition of pepper, salt, and some ketchup. My wife didn't go any farther than one fork full of her's. The burgers were perfectly prepared, just as we'd ordered. The buns were toasted on the bottom, but soft on the top, preventing the bread from crumbling when grasped in hand. All in all the burgers were well worth the price, ...oh yes, the price. It was comparable to surrounding eateries, not higher, not lower but rather spot on earning the third star.
For dessert, I chose a Napoleon. For anyone who isn't into pastry or perhaps from a culture or area where pastries aren't a big thing, it was fine. However my wife and I are Brooklyn Italians who grew up on German, Duch, Greek, and Italian pastries from mom&pop family bakeries, so we've been spoiled. We immediately identified the presence of cream cheese in the filling, not the correct French cream/custard (there is also a Russian version of the Napoleon, which is ironic to anyone who knows history). The 'pastry' was thick and firm, not flakey and light. The icing on top was just a little too sweet but necessary to offset the overpowering taste of cream cheese. Not that it was intolerable, just not a top-of-the-line Napoleon. We'd inquired as to who prepared their desserts and was told that everything was baked on premiss.
We will be revisiting this place again, there was enough on the 'bone' that would suggest that it's worth a re-visit for something a little more detailed than a simple burger deluxe. read more