Oh Sweet Nektar! « Buffalo Rising News

Oh Sweet Nektar! on Monday, March 8th, 2010

The amount of food I eat during the winter could be mistaken for pre-hibernation prep work. That's why it was a good thing that my boyfriend and I recently found ourselves at Nektar on Elmwood Avenue. Owner Stavros Malliaris was very gracious and he came out and made some recommendations. It turned out that we were familiar with Stavros from his other establishment (next door)-- Ambrosia.

The decor of the restaurant is very modern with simple colors and concepts. Even though it was hard to take photos in the darker setting, the place felt very comfortable... very nice for a date.

As we were going over the menu, the server brought out bread from the local bakery Dolci with a dip of olive oil, herbs, and balsamic vinegar. Right off, we tried the Sweet Potato Gnocchi, Stavros' Lamb Chops, and the BBQ Ribs. As we had hoped, we got so much food - though if you are in the mood for a lighter dinner the 'small plates' menu is a great option. Out of these three items, my favorite was the Sweet Potato Gnocchi. The gnocchi was delicious! It had a very nice texture, and I loved the sweet, fruity flavors in the cream sauce.

The gnocchi was great and I'm very glad that we had Stavros' Lamb Chop to balance out the sweet flavors of the dish. The lamb lollychops were served on top of a bed of fries with Greek dressing, feta, chopped onions and tomatoes.

My boyfriend, Keith, loved the BBQ Ribs. They were falling off the bones and he didn't bother with forks and knives. Before I had a chance to take some more pictures he was already setting the bones on the bread plate. I had to remind him that we still had entrees coming.

For dinner, I had the Beef Short Ribs and Keith had the Angus Kansas City Steak. The braised ribs were served with rosemary polenta and brocolini. The beef was soft and I was told that it had been cooking all day-- it tasted like it. I love hearty meals like this during the Buffalo winters. Keith's steak entree was cooked to his liking and it made him regret wolfing down so much BBQ ribs earlier in the meal.

For dessert, we had the Vanilla Bean Creme Brulee and the Bread Pudding ala mode. I confess: I love Creme Brulee and this Vanilla Bean Creme Brulee made a really great ending to the dinner. The bread pudding with the ice cream was awesome. This is a great dessert for two people to share.

We left very happy with left overs for lunch the next day.