Red Newt Bistro, Hector, NY

Restaurant Review by Jennifer Kumar.

Meet and Greet

On Mother’s day we entered the door of Red Newt Bistro and were immediately sat at a table that we had made reservations for the day before. I suggest, however, if you want to attend Mother’s day brunch at this location to make your reservations as sooner than we did. We were lucky to get the last reservation of the day calling 24 hours in advance.

(Photo: Toasting to Mother’s Day at Red Newt)

Mise en Scène

Sitting down next to the window, we had a nice view of the greenery and valleys surrounding Seneca Lake. There is a winery attached to the eatery, and if we had come earlier than our reservation, a wine tasting may have been a nice activity before food. Seating is all tables with metal backed chairs. It is very comfortable. The dining area is tastefully and simply decorated. There was no overt dress code; we saw people dressed semi-formally to formally. I am also guessing since it was Sunday, some may have come straight from church to the brunch, arriving in their ‘Sunday best.’ Though the weather outside was warm, we opted to eat inside. Eating out on the verandah would be a nice touch for our next visit.

We did use the restrooms. They were clean and inviting.

Choosing a Veggie Treat

When planning our Finger Lakes Mother’s Day tour, I did a lot of research on finding a nice place that had a good balance of vegetarian and non-vegetarian choices (as my mom likes to eat meat). Red Newt not only had unique menu items I have not seen in any other eatery, but had good prices. I also thought it might be a nice touch to take my mom to a winery for a meal because there would be a choice of wines to try. Though we are not wine drinkers, after asking questions to our waitress about our preferences, we decided to try the Blue Newt White. The fruity, juicy taste was quite refreshing. Mothers on this day could also choose from one of three glasses of special brews. My mom decided to try the champagne.

Choosing a veggie meal was not difficult because of checking the internet the night before. However, as we had the last reservation of the day, the veggie dish I had been dreaming of all day – the handmade ravioli was all sold out. It was a sad moment, but while listening to the description of the fettuccini dish, my feelings about the ravioli were put on hold. The non-vegetarian dishes ordered by others were savored slowly. Since we did not get appetizers, we had plenty of room for desert, chocolate torte and almond roulade (pictured to the right). (See the slide show below for more photos.)

Checking In

Wait staff checked on us on regular intervals. Drinks were refilled as required. Service was friendly and helpful. Everything was great.

See you later

We were given the bill in a leisurely fashion and payment also collected leisurely. Since we were in no big hurry to pay and leave as we were enjoying ourselves here, it’s all the better!

Pay Scale
$21-25 per person (main course, meal and a bottle of wine)
Tips – 15% or more of bill because the service and everything is fabulous!
Star System 4.5/5
(I still am a bit upset my original menu choice was not available. I am also optimistic I can up this to 5/5 when we make the next visit.)

To find/Contact:
Red Newt Cellars Inc
3675 Tichenor Rd
Hector, NY 14841
(607) 546-4100
Get directions
More Reviews at Google

Photos in this post taken by Jennifer Kumar.

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White Water Grill, Charleston, West Virginia

Restaurant Review by Jennifer Kumar.

Meet and Greet

We had come for a Sunday Brunch to meet some of my mom’s classmates for their 40^th high school reunion. Because of this, we did not have to wait in line. This was a good thing because the wait seemed to be more than 30 minutes at 11am.
Soon as we sat down the waitress offered us a choice of menu or buffet and offered us a choice of drinks. Within minutes coffee was served.
Also, as more people were added to our party, the wait staff was efficient in adding on to our table by moving in more tables and chairs.

Mise en Scène

Nice and spacious eatery. Dress seemed to be casual to semi-formal. Many people were in jeans and t-shirts. The areas were very clean and in order. The buffet was also well stocked and very clean. We were seated in a small room off the side of the main dining hall. It was nice and private. Besides, our party (about 15 members) only few other couples were seated in this room, which had easy access to the buffet.

**We did not have to use restrooms, so no comment on that ambiance!

Choosing a Veggie Treat

Looking at the menu there would have been several interested veggie omelets (I do eat eggs). But, as the majority of us looked through the items on the buffet, we decided to have the buffet. The buffet had breakfast items (a create your own omelet bar, fresh made pancakes and waffles station, fresh fruit, cereal, milk, and other hot breakfast items), lunch items (pasta, plain steamed vegetables, soups, and a few meat dishes), and deserts. Overall, I was impressed by the number of vegetarian options on the buffet. It was easy to find something to eat, and eat a lot!

Checking In

Wait staff came by frequently to clear plates and offer more drinks as we emptied our glass. No complaints. In fact, it was the most courteous, efficient wait staff I have interacted with in a long time!

See you later

The wait staff had given us the bill as she noticed we were finishing up. The bill with the credit card was collected as soon as it was ready. We had left the tip on the table in cash, so I had altered the staff as the room was empty and wanted to assure the tips got into the right hands. Even on our way out, the line was going strong. People seem to really like this buffet. I can understand why this place is busy- (1) friendly and efficient wait staff, (2) clean buffet with a lot of choices, (3) clean atmosphere, (4) price is economical for variety.

Pay Scale
$6-10 per person ($7.95 Bruch for Kids – price includes drinks)
$11-15 per person ($14.95 Brunch for Adults – price includes drinks)
Tips: We left $10.00 (over 10% of total)
Star System 4/5
I would definitely go back again!

White Water GrTo find/contact
White Water Grill
200 Lee St E
Charleston, WV 25301
(304) 353-3636‎
Whitewater Grille at Marriott Website
**This eatery is located inside the Marriott hotel in downtown Charleston, West Virginia.
Directions TO White Water Grill

Other reviews at Google

Note: As of November 2008, I changed the rating from 5 to 4. As I have more experience in what we are looking for in rating vegetarian restaurants, I realize this can not be a five from my limited experience. We have not eaten here during any other meal time and had to choose off the menu. I am not sure what options there would have been for vegetarians off the menu.

Hicks & McCarthy- Pittsford, New York

Restaurant Review by Jennifer Kumar.

We ate Sunday brunch here. It was very nice. I'd describe the atmosphere as an upscale diner. Apparently they also do an afternoon tea on weekends. We want to try that. The caveat to that is you need reservations, and we've heard it is costly.

For vegetarians that eat eggs, this place has a wide variety of tempting vegetable fillings in their omelets. We each had an omelet - I had a daily special with artichokes, brie cheese, spinach and tomatoes and he had an omelet with mushrooms, spinach and Swiss- the 'Florentine.' Each omelet had a side of herbed potatoes (real and not frozen) and toast. We had the Ghirardelli hot chocolate to drink.

The omelets were tasty as the added ingredients are not added into the egg batter but folded into the plain, cooked egg and flipped in half. The egg was a nice yellow color and evenly cooked on both sides. The ingredients complemented each other and were very fresh. They do not add extra salt or butter the toast, which I quite prefer. So, if they regularly do not butter toasts, remember to ask for butter on the side when you visit.

We think the service was quite good and we look forward to going there again to try some more omelets.

To find Hicks & Mc Carthy Restaurant
http://www.hicksandmccarthy.com/
23 S Main St., Pittsford, NY 14534
(585) 586-0938