My Tasting Review- The Inn at New Hyde Park!!!!!!
Ok ladies, if you booked at the Inn you have NOTHING to worry about. If you haven't booked at the Inn, RUN, don't walk! It's incredible!
When we booked our date back in January, Frank suggested that we do the tasting for a special occasion so we decided to do it this past Saturday which is out 11th anniversary and exactly one year to the date of our wedding. This was great because we got to celebrate our anniversary in style (for free) and we got the see the Inn as it will look next June for our wedding (when we booked there were 6 inches of snow on the ground!)
We arrived late, but Frank was waiting for us and personally gave us another full tour. I had called and asked to see the grounds and also to be about to show my FMIL the CH and ballroom since she had not been there before. He gave us the full tour, down to every last detail. He even showed us the bridal suite again and showed me a cart that is being built for the cold displays in the CH room.
While we were walking through the halls, there was a bootmark on a door from a waiter and Frank flagged down someone from the staff and asked them to clean it immediately. By the time we walked back down the same hallway it was gone. They actually close the entire place down on Tuesdays just to clean every surface, eery carpet, every chandelier. The attention to detail is amazing!
Now for the details. I was going to bring my camera and obsessively take photos of everything, but I do that at every wedding, every party, every vacation, so I decided to just relax and enjoy the day, so no photos.
When we walked in they were setting up for a wedding, so they had lots of photos on the tables when you first walk in and on the main table in the lobby. They also had a photo over the mantle. The couple had donea canvas and hung it up unframed. With the height of the nail where they hang it it looked pretty strange without a picture frame, so I would recommend a frame for that image.
On the center lobby table with the photos there was a gorgeous yellow floral arrangement with orchids.
We went up to the CH room where the Pizza oven is completed! They're still building the awning, but the pizzas are happenning. He also pointed out some small areas in the back corners with more tables which looked nice and intimate. Love it.
The grounds were absolutely gorgeous. So many places to take photos, fountains, benches, statues, even a putting green! They were planting more flowers even as we stood there, and Frank was saying he was going to try to add more purple for next year (we share the same favorite color!)
If you're doing the outdoor CH, they are building new bars that match the stone of the patio. Should be gorgeous. They are constantly improving the place. I am ina we all the time when I notice more details. They placed the largest order ever at their european chandelier company and company is so impressed that they are doing photo shoots at the Inn to advertise their product. LOVE the chandeliers! We saw the ballroom as it was being set up for a wedding. It looked great. the couple ahd chosen to have the ice sculpture in the room (saw the stand not the sculpture) and the Inn provided a really nice stand that totally blended in with the ballroom decor for the birdcage. The room was being set for 230, I am expecting 180, so I was worried it would look small. Frank said they stagger the tables, but they can also put lounge furniture in the far corner by the bar. I think that's a really cool idea, especially for a younger crowd.
FINALLY to the tasting!
They seated us at a table for 6 in the back of the restaurant. They was only other table occupied so it was very quiet and we basically had the room to ourselves. Throughout the meal Frank and Chef Alan came over no less than 6 times each to ask if we had any questions and to see how things were going. The waitress was phenomenal.
They handed us all menus which inside had a mockup of OUR menu with out names and wedding date. I loved it! After we got a chance to look at them, the waitress took them out of the sleeves and put them aside so we could save them.
From the CH we had bakedclams, eggplant parm, calimari , mozzarella and tomato, and tortellini.
it was was all delicious. I felt the eggplant was a little bland but everyone else at the tasting said it was great (I'm a spicy food lover). Some of us felt the calimari was the best we'd ever had. perfectly cooked. You can't go wrong with mozzarella and tomato, but it was presented beautifully with just the right amount of balsamic. The tortellini was delicious and we completely finished it, it had a light creamy sauce, and I'm kind of dreaming about it and wondering if I can sneak into a CH to have some (It's one of the pasta choices)
All of the servings they gave us were HUGE, BTW. They wrapped it all up for us and we had another huge meal the next day. YUM.
Next was Salad. We had the 'Inn Salad' which was mesclun with walnuts, blue cheese, pears and a DELICIOUS raspberry vinaigrette. They made one with no cheese for FH and a caesar salad for FMIL to accomodate their tastes.
I should also mention the DELICIOUS basket of assorted breads they gave us. I don't know if they would have this at the wedding or just one roll per table, but I am going to request the multigrain roll. YUM.
On to dinner. They brought out one of each entree choice and more:
-Shrimp Oreganata
-Sea bass with shrimp and clams
-Horseradish crusted salmon
-Chicken monaco
-Duck w Grand Marnier Sauce
-Filet Mignon
-Porterhouse
-Vegetable Purse.
I'm a (lacto-ove-pesco)vegetarian so they also brought out grilled and steamed vegetables as another alternative.
I only tried the fish and veg entrees, but all of the entrees were good. They came with either shredded veg and rice or asparagus and mashed potatos. Tasty, but nothing to write home about (the sides), though the shredded vegetables seemed to be in a white wine/butter sauce which I quite enjoyed as I gobbled them up.
If you have to choose between the filet and porterhouse, my family LOVED the filet and fought over the leftovers![]()
. The chicken monaco was delish according to them. I am not a sea bass person (in fact I hate it), but I did taste it and it was really well seasoned, ALMOST made me like sea bass. The shrimp oreganata was the best i have ever tasted. SO delicious. I also loved the salmon.
On to the vegetable purse..the pastry itself was to die for. It tasted so so so so so good. The vegetables inside were good, but it was a little bland. Chef Alan said he likes to leave it up to people to salt their own dishes, especially vegetarians who may be more health conscious. He siad he'd be glad to make adjustments. I said it would be great with a roasted red pepper coulis He said 'I have just the sauce for you' and came out in 2 seconds with a piping hot red pepper coulis. I swear! haah. It was so good. He told me to write it down and make sure to tell Frank at our final because he has 150 brides per year and may not remember. By the time Frank got to our table next he had already written it down because Chef Alan found him and asked him to!
Oh I forgot to mention that they offered us anything we wanted from the bar. I had a pomegranate martini, others had mojitos and long island iced tea. All drinks were delicious, huge, and STRONG.
Then we got a tray of assorted desserts. All were delcious, but I think most wedding desserts are ordered in, so it's not much to say. The coffee was delicious, even the decaf.
Frank is awesome. he made us all feel like family. The food was amazing. I had been talking about how I'd just been at the florist and they had a purple floral arrangement froma prior wedding in the lobby and Frank offered it to me and even rbought it into the restaurant entrance so I wouldn't forget it.
Honestly I can NOT rave about this place enough, it is the BEST and I am so excited to have my wedding there in less than one year!!!!!!
When we booked our date back in January, Frank suggested that we do the tasting for a special occasion so we decided to do it this past Saturday which is out 11th anniversary and exactly one year to the date of our wedding. This was great because we got to celebrate our anniversary in style (for free) and we got the see the Inn as it will look next June for our wedding (when we booked there were 6 inches of snow on the ground!)
We arrived late, but Frank was waiting for us and personally gave us another full tour. I had called and asked to see the grounds and also to be about to show my FMIL the CH and ballroom since she had not been there before. He gave us the full tour, down to every last detail. He even showed us the bridal suite again and showed me a cart that is being built for the cold displays in the CH room.
While we were walking through the halls, there was a bootmark on a door from a waiter and Frank flagged down someone from the staff and asked them to clean it immediately. By the time we walked back down the same hallway it was gone. They actually close the entire place down on Tuesdays just to clean every surface, eery carpet, every chandelier. The attention to detail is amazing!
Now for the details. I was going to bring my camera and obsessively take photos of everything, but I do that at every wedding, every party, every vacation, so I decided to just relax and enjoy the day, so no photos.
When we walked in they were setting up for a wedding, so they had lots of photos on the tables when you first walk in and on the main table in the lobby. They also had a photo over the mantle. The couple had donea canvas and hung it up unframed. With the height of the nail where they hang it it looked pretty strange without a picture frame, so I would recommend a frame for that image.
On the center lobby table with the photos there was a gorgeous yellow floral arrangement with orchids.
We went up to the CH room where the Pizza oven is completed! They're still building the awning, but the pizzas are happenning. He also pointed out some small areas in the back corners with more tables which looked nice and intimate. Love it.
The grounds were absolutely gorgeous. So many places to take photos, fountains, benches, statues, even a putting green! They were planting more flowers even as we stood there, and Frank was saying he was going to try to add more purple for next year (we share the same favorite color!)
If you're doing the outdoor CH, they are building new bars that match the stone of the patio. Should be gorgeous. They are constantly improving the place. I am ina we all the time when I notice more details. They placed the largest order ever at their european chandelier company and company is so impressed that they are doing photo shoots at the Inn to advertise their product. LOVE the chandeliers! We saw the ballroom as it was being set up for a wedding. It looked great. the couple ahd chosen to have the ice sculpture in the room (saw the stand not the sculpture) and the Inn provided a really nice stand that totally blended in with the ballroom decor for the birdcage. The room was being set for 230, I am expecting 180, so I was worried it would look small. Frank said they stagger the tables, but they can also put lounge furniture in the far corner by the bar. I think that's a really cool idea, especially for a younger crowd.
FINALLY to the tasting!
They seated us at a table for 6 in the back of the restaurant. They was only other table occupied so it was very quiet and we basically had the room to ourselves. Throughout the meal Frank and Chef Alan came over no less than 6 times each to ask if we had any questions and to see how things were going. The waitress was phenomenal.
They handed us all menus which inside had a mockup of OUR menu with out names and wedding date. I loved it! After we got a chance to look at them, the waitress took them out of the sleeves and put them aside so we could save them.
From the CH we had bakedclams, eggplant parm, calimari , mozzarella and tomato, and tortellini.
it was was all delicious. I felt the eggplant was a little bland but everyone else at the tasting said it was great (I'm a spicy food lover). Some of us felt the calimari was the best we'd ever had. perfectly cooked. You can't go wrong with mozzarella and tomato, but it was presented beautifully with just the right amount of balsamic. The tortellini was delicious and we completely finished it, it had a light creamy sauce, and I'm kind of dreaming about it and wondering if I can sneak into a CH to have some (It's one of the pasta choices)
All of the servings they gave us were HUGE, BTW. They wrapped it all up for us and we had another huge meal the next day. YUM.
Next was Salad. We had the 'Inn Salad' which was mesclun with walnuts, blue cheese, pears and a DELICIOUS raspberry vinaigrette. They made one with no cheese for FH and a caesar salad for FMIL to accomodate their tastes.
I should also mention the DELICIOUS basket of assorted breads they gave us. I don't know if they would have this at the wedding or just one roll per table, but I am going to request the multigrain roll. YUM.
On to dinner. They brought out one of each entree choice and more:
-Shrimp Oreganata
-Sea bass with shrimp and clams
-Horseradish crusted salmon
-Chicken monaco
-Duck w Grand Marnier Sauce
-Filet Mignon
-Porterhouse
-Vegetable Purse.
I'm a (lacto-ove-pesco)vegetarian so they also brought out grilled and steamed vegetables as another alternative.
I only tried the fish and veg entrees, but all of the entrees were good. They came with either shredded veg and rice or asparagus and mashed potatos. Tasty, but nothing to write home about (the sides), though the shredded vegetables seemed to be in a white wine/butter sauce which I quite enjoyed as I gobbled them up.
If you have to choose between the filet and porterhouse, my family LOVED the filet and fought over the leftovers
On to the vegetable purse..the pastry itself was to die for. It tasted so so so so so good. The vegetables inside were good, but it was a little bland. Chef Alan said he likes to leave it up to people to salt their own dishes, especially vegetarians who may be more health conscious. He siad he'd be glad to make adjustments. I said it would be great with a roasted red pepper coulis He said 'I have just the sauce for you' and came out in 2 seconds with a piping hot red pepper coulis. I swear! haah. It was so good. He told me to write it down and make sure to tell Frank at our final because he has 150 brides per year and may not remember. By the time Frank got to our table next he had already written it down because Chef Alan found him and asked him to!
Oh I forgot to mention that they offered us anything we wanted from the bar. I had a pomegranate martini, others had mojitos and long island iced tea. All drinks were delicious, huge, and STRONG.
Then we got a tray of assorted desserts. All were delcious, but I think most wedding desserts are ordered in, so it's not much to say. The coffee was delicious, even the decaf.
Frank is awesome. he made us all feel like family. The food was amazing. I had been talking about how I'd just been at the florist and they had a purple floral arrangement froma prior wedding in the lobby and Frank offered it to me and even rbought it into the restaurant entrance so I wouldn't forget it.
Honestly I can NOT rave about this place enough, it is the BEST and I am so excited to have my wedding there in less than one year!!!!!!
