NY Grill & Bistro

With a name like NY Grill & Bistro, one probably wouldn't expect something like Butter Chicken or Greek food to appear on the menu.  Alas, the eclectic variety can be partly attributed to the former restaurant and former owner of the place.  With renovations happening in and out, the new owners are trying to bring a bit of NYC to the restaurant that bears its name.  I was invited to try some of their offerings and I brought Inner Fat Girl (hey, she chose the nickname!) to help me with the eats.

We were started off with the Honey Garlic Chicken Wings served with a side of ranch dressing.  Cornmeal encrusted and fried until crunchy (even with the sauce), the meat remained moist and tender.  Although the honey garlic was sticky, sweet and tasty, there could've been a touch less of it.  With what was probably the most surprising dish of the meal, the Home Made Butter Chicken was money.  Creamy in consistency while being tangy at the same time, there was a noted spiciness to go with the impactful flavours.  Unlike many other versions of this dish, the flavours were not one note nor salty.  The side of naan was not exactly tandoori-baked (hence no blistering), but they were still decent nonetheless being fluffy with a slight chewiness.

Onto some more "regular" items, we tried the Salmon Burger with a side of fries.  Interestingly seared (only lengthwise), the salmon itself was moist and not-dried out.  There was a definite salmon taste as the juices were still flowing out of the meat with each bite.  Although this might be nit-picking, we would've liked to see fresh-cut fries instead of the ones found on the plate.  With that being said, they were okay.  Next, we had the NY Ribs with Caesar salad.  Despite being a small rack of ribs, the preparation was good.  The meat was fall-off-the-bone tender (through par-poaching) and nicely seared and sauced (mild, not too tart nor sweet).  It could've used a touch more charring, but that didn't make of break it.

Since we loved the butter chicken, we went ahead and tried the Butter Chicken Wings as well.  Once again, the wings were fried up crunchy with a firm cornmeal crust while maintaining its moisture.  As much as there was a tonne of butter chicken sauce, the actual butter chicken dish was more impactful.  With that being said, the wings were still good.  Not sure why there was ranch dressing though.  With a bit of coaxing, I tried the NY Raspberry Kisses Martini which was much lighter and sweeter than say, a Cosmo for instance.  Therefore, I labelled this dangerous because one could actually down it quickly rather than sipping.

For dessert, we were presented with the Cherry Whiskey Cheesecake and Trufflicious Cake.  Light and mildly sweet, the cheesecake provided little nuggets of cherry throughout.  Although not classic NY-style, the fluffiness of the cake was welcomed.  We thought it didn't need the whiskey syrup on top as it took away from the cheesecake.  Chocolaty and smooth, the trufflicious cake was easy on the sugar.  This was rather impressive as we were surprised to find out these were made in-house.  In fact, one would be rather surprised at the overall food quality and reasonable prices at NY Grill & Bistro.  Definitely a good alternative to many of the more expensive chain restaurants including the nearby Match Eatery.

*All food, beverages and gratuities were complimentary*

The Good:
- Inexpensive
- Decent eats

The Bad:
- Due to the old building, decor needs to be updated (in the process of)
- Menu could be a bit more focused