You Haven't Had A Grilled Cheese Like This

RESTAURANT:  Jack's Wife Freda

DATE: April 7th, 2015

LOCATION: 50 Carmine Street, New York, NY 10014

Jack's Wife Freda is an eatery as charming as the name sounds.  White tiled floors, marble counters and long tables with cushy seated benches makes this place an attractive date-night spot.  I was here back in April, but my taste buds still recall most of the dishes the girls & I ordered.

Salt & Pepper Eggplant — I love eggplant but I was afraid this would be a plain and boring dish.  It was a pleasant surprise that the eggplant had a nice crunch/fried texture to the outside.  I liked this eggplant dish so much, I've attempted to recreate that slightly fried texture when I cook eggplant myself but have been unsuccessful so far.

Spiced Beet Dip —As somebody who doesn't usually have beets in my gastronomic vocabulary, I enjoyed this dip a lot.  And anything is better with crumbled cheese on top!

Mint Lemonade — The drink menu sounded pretty strong, as confirmed by my lushy friends :)  But I didn't want to be the odd duckling without a fun looking drink, so I ordered the Mint Lemonade.  Great mojito mocktail without all the excessive mint leaves! *thumbs up*

Peri-Peri Duck Wings — Speaking of ducklings, Esther & I were most looking forward to the duck wings.  We thought peri-peri sounded like a spicy and exotic sauce.  While the quality of the duck wings itself was perfect, the peri-peri sauce did not live up to all the anticipation and hopes that we had.  Rather than a fiery, spicy kick we were expecting, the sauce tasted rather lackluster.  Another disappointing point lost is the fact that the order only gives 2 drumsticks.  Too pricey and not worth the splurge unfortunately.  Perhaps if more wings/drumsticks came with this order, I'd be more inclined to re-order this.

Prego Roll and Madame Freda - As for the entrees... I'm so glad that I keep excellent foodie company.  It is just not as fun if I am not eating with a fellow foodie to indulge with.  With that said, I was torn between ordering the Prego Roll or the Madame Freda.  My bestie has newly joined our dinner crew this year, and it's no wonder we are the best of friends.  Great appetites eat alike!  We each ordered these sandwiches and went halve-sies. (Note: These dishes also come with a choice of a side of fries or a salad!)

What can I say about these scrump-didly-ump-tious sandwiches?  I was a bit worried about the Prego Roll at first, since I tend to expect steak to get overcooked in sandwiches.  But this Portuguese skirt steak was juicy and impeccably cooked.  The garlic butter definitely ups the ante on the taste bud flavor!  My bff preferred the Prego Roll, and while I thoroughly enjoyed eating it, I was blown away by the Madame Freda.  A pressed sandwich with duck prosciutto, cheddar béchamel, gruyere & a sunny side up egg.  Oh my oh my!  This was such a heartwarming, FANCY grilled cheese-like sandwich.  But calling it a grilled cheese sandwich just sounds too low-class for what this was.  If this was classified as a grilled cheese, Madame Freda is the crème-de-la-crème!   Oh-so-swanky and fancy, this isn't one that should be served up straight out of the frying pan.  It deserves to have a butler serving it on a silver platter, and held pinky up!

Bottom Line: The food is a hit all-around.  While the Peri-Peri duck wings are a quality tasting poultry, the quantity of wings in an order and the less-than-thrilling sauce are a bit disappointing.  Go for the Prego Roll if you're craving meat.  Get the Madame Freda for a melding of flavors.  This would be even more amazing if it was a brunch sandwich!

Happy Noshing, Jeanne