http://www.nicksonmainst.com/
http://www.siliconvalleyrestaurantweek.com/
Today we ate at Nick's On Main in Los Gatos. It's part of Silicon Valley's restaurant week which let's you eat a fixed price 3 course meal (35$). Since Nick's had the best rating on Yelp of the participating restaurants (in Los Gatos/Saratoga) we decided to give it a go.
Nick's is a tiny place with a black/white theme. They had an old brick wall with some nice character, I didn't see much else. We brought our own wine (20$ corkage) and they brought out some soft foccacia and olive oil with sun dried tomatoes to dip for the bread. Let's talk about the appetizers.
Butternut Squash Soup: all three of us agreed it was tasty. It had a nice texture and was seasoned well.
Crab/Lemon Risotto: Alicia and I agreed this was the best appetizer. The risotto was a perfect al dente and hot and creamy. The crab was light and fresh and in good amounts on top of the risiotto:
Wild Mushroom Ravioli: Three ravioli's (house made pasta) with cut up and sauteed asparagus and tomatoes along side. The ravioli's had no mushroom flavor and were filled with a mild green filling. Were these spinach ravioli by accident? Couldn't have been, spinach has a very unique taste. I guess it was mushrooms blended with an herb which gave the green color. Really bland. The side vegetables were nicer than the ravioli. There was also too much oil thrown on the ravioli for dressing at the end. It was edible but not really enjoyable.
For the main courses:
Nani's Meatloaf: My Mom got this, we all agreed it was good. It came with a nice mushroom sauce and it was tender and moist and spiced well. The mashed potatoes it came with were standard.
Ahi Tuna: This dish was a little weird. To start with the quality and cooking of the tuna were great. It was a clean and fresh tasting tuna seared just enough on the outside. It came with a side of white Italian beans which were cooked to a nice al dente texture much like the risotto. The weird part was all the crap thrown on top of the tuna. There was a chopped mix of herbs and garlic with goat cheese on top of the tuna. It was way too much and made the quality of the tuna get lost in the mix. Goat cheese and tuna do not mix. The goat cheese was good with the herb mix but on top of tuna? Oh yeah, it came with asparagus.
Pork Tenderloin: My favorite of the three. Three medallions of tenderloin with a nice crispy char on the outside but tender sweet pork down below. There was a nice bourbon glaze on the pork as well. It came with string beans and mashed potatoes which went well with the pork. It also came with some tomato reduction on top but this was just overkill again. With that nice subtle glaze with crust and nice quality meat I didn't need that crap on top of it. It tasted fine too it just didn't belong on the pork.
Okay, it was a 3 course meal so here comes desert.
Chocolate Decadence Cake: Like a flour less chocolate cake (maybe it was). Rich and dense served with some raspberries. It was likable but I'm sure you've had better chocolate deserts somewhere else.
Creme Brulee: Alicia loved the crust (she is a sugar crust snob, has to be just right for her). She thought the custard was tasty but needed to firm up. To me the custard had the consistency of creme anglaise and therefore I took one bite and was done. So what if you can burn some sugar, give me a good custard mate.
Banana Bread Pudding: This is a must get if you like bread pudding. What I really liked that set it apart from other bread puddings I've had is again a nice crust on the top probably from being finished under a broiler (or accidentally burned in the oven?). Either way I love things that bring a contrasting texture to the dish. Whether intentional or not. There was a maple and caramel after taste and this is probably the perfect desert for a comfort food type meal. This was my favorite bread budding I've had that I can recall.
If you go to Nick's I've got the perfect meal for you. Get the Butternut Squash Soup, follow that with Pork Tenderloin, and finish with Banana Bread Pudding. The ultimate comfort food meal. Go during restaurant week and this is 35$. Go another time and throw another 10$ on probably for regular prices. I should also mention the servers were very friendly and professional, very much appreciated. This is a nice place to dine if you don't mind the prices. I think they are overdressing some things (mushroom ravioli, the ahi tuna, and even the pork). But you can just push that stuff off with your fork.