34th Street Cafe

Since meeting Raif (aka Chef Justin Raiford) about 6 years ago, I had been a frequent flyer at 34th Street Cafe.

I'll admit it, I was a huge fan of the Hack Salad (although not a Raif-original) and would order it often. Still, the nightly specials, the strange pizza topping combinations, and Raif's love for Chilean sea bass, made the dining experience fantastic and kept me coming back for more.

I hadn't been there in quite a while...since their prices had gone up and I was broke, between moving, travels, wedding gifts, etc... Anyway, I really wanted to take the Italianini (Couldn't believe he hadn't eaten there...or even heard of it!).

I can only think of one word to describe our experience there last night: Disappointing

We started with the seared ahi tuna. It comes on purple rice, spicy mustard and mango salsas, fried shallots and a few raw jalapenos. It was insipid, except for the sauces.

I ordered the prosciutto wrapped salmon. It was so salty I had a really hard time finishing it. It was served over french green lentils which were just plain bad. The texture of the greens was like eating paper, and the lentils were hard and dry. The carrots were just sort of hanging out at the other end of an awkwardly long plate.

Italianini had the hanger steak with green peppercorn demi. It was cooked perfectly, so it melted in your mouth , but the flavor was not the best.

I would have been happier eating the huge pile of string fries that came with it...except for the homemade ketchup. They pride themselves in their honey-ketchup, but the vinegar...ugh...so much, so gross.

We didn't order the oysters since I used to get them all the time and wanted something different...but I regretted it.

Didn't ask if they had the Hack Salad---even though it hasn't technically been on the menu in ages. Maybe for lunch?

Sad. I mean, 34th Street had its regulars, you know? It's one of those you think of as a neighborhood place, a classic for most that live in the area...sigh.

The only good part of the night was that the prices were back to moderate.

Hack Salad-

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