So here are the much-delayed photos from Grad Night 2008. It was a splendid dinner party at Olivia and an awesome after party at 909. Why didn’t we do this more often?
It is MUCH smaller than what the photos on the Olivia website would have you believe.
One of the rare occasions where we get to dress up for a night out. Cos Ithaca is just not worth the effort.
Seared tuna. They served us Chinese dinner-style (i.e. serve food on a huge plate and everyone just helps themselves). I was expecting individual portions so that was a bit of a let down. Frankly, the food was not great. Some dishes were not even of an acceptable standard. The rice they served was bland and hard. Any respectable restaurant should have gotten rice right. That is not to say I didn’t enjoy myself. I love what Sheryl and co did, what with all the fun activities and the awesome gifts they made for us seniors. But then again, dinner at last year’s Sheldrake Point was a let down too. Which brings me to believe these restaurants can’t cater to a huge party. That say, kudos to Sheryl and co for an awesome grad night.
So judging from that dinner, here’s the final on Olivia:
Service: 1.3/2 thumbs up
Food: 0.8/2 thumbs up
Value: 0.8/2 thumbs up
Overall: 1/2 thumbs up
After dinner, it’s after-party at 909. Kings and Never Ever Ever (I forgot how many Evers are there in the name) are the best drinking games. Period. And there is always the requisite drunk clown, who in this case is Ian Mr Puke. Copious amount of alcohol drunk later, there were many many happy people that night (and one massive cleaning up of a bathroom stained with Mr Puke’s dinner).
Junch’s midnight snack for us. Chocolate and corn crepe (?) with erm…I forgot what it’s called. Some chocolaty thing but it’s mighty good!
I’m still waiting for photos from Grad Night @ Olivia’s so until then, I can’t blog about it. I promise that will be the first thing I’ll put up once I get my hands on them. It was a fun time though, with a smashing after-party at 909 where we christened one of our fellow seniors Mr. Puke. More on that later.
Though this has been a while, I still think The Heights Cafe & Grill is one of Ithaca’s gems. I had this with C last Valentine’s Day and it was one of the better restaurants I had in Ithaca so far.
Beautiful appetizers. I can’t remember what it is though, but it was really really good. Oh hell, who cares if I can’t remember what it is. Don’t the pictures say it all?
I think this is a roasted half ducking but I can’t be sure. According to C, the thigh was overcooked, but the other half was just nice. But the skin was crispy and that burst of duck oil is just to die for.
I love my veal porterhouse with sea scallops and beggars purse. The beggars purse was a bit too rich with the meaty veal, but I liked how the scallops balances out the richness. The veal was cooked nicely, and really, what else could you complain about a perfectly-cooked huge chunk of veal?
So all in all, a nice 1.4 thumbs/2 thumbs up.
If I had to use one word to describe Lucatelli’s at Ithaca, it’s disappointing. We happen to stop by for dinner whilst grocery shopping since J always wanted to try it. Since it was unplanned, no photos as I have no camera 
But, take my word for it, if you happen to be in Ithaca, and you are choosing between Lucatelli’s and Wegmans’ Fish Fry, choose Fish Fry. My pasta with clams was dry and there was hardly any clam taste in the almost non-existant white sauce. The only saving grace was that they were not stingy with the clams, though I think the chopped up clams were from a can. Oh and they have a free salad bar with soup so if you like quantity (esp veggies), Lucatelli’s is not that bad.
1 thunb/2 thumbs up
It’s been 3 years since I came Ithaca. I have never really blogged about it since, well, I just assumed it will always be there in my life. But now I’m about to graduate, I guess I can’t take it for granted anymore. Yeah, I’ll still be here for 1 more year, but 1 year passes really fast and before I know it, it’ll be time for me to go back to the Lion City.
This is what I have been doing the entire semester for 14 weeks. I’ve been designing an MTBE decomposition plant to manufacture isooctene from MTBE for further gasoline blending. Sounds nerdy, I know, but when you have devoted a good part of your 14 weeks to this damn project (sweat and tears), you gotta take some pride in it.
Mussels at Zaza’s Ithaca! The reputed Italian restaurant to go in Ithaca. Sadly, doesn’t live up to the hype. The mussels were not as delicious as the one at Caseus at New Haven. A bit bland I think.
The lobster risotto was better than the mussels though. One of the better ones I had. I liked the requisite bread and olive oil they give. Pity the photos didn’t turn out well. Overall, a nice 1.3 thumbs/2 thumbs up.
