Poached Pear Point Pleasant

No questions about the food, just love the alliteration.

Seriously though, going this Saturday and was wondering if anyone has been and what to order.

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The white chocolate risotto - part of some mains or as a side.

Very curious to hear how it is, as this has been on my radar for a while!

We were there for the first time in May. The menu doesn’t seem to change much (though there might be some seasonal changes or additions). You can’t go wrong with any of the things we had, all perfectly prepared and delicious: Duck Ravioli Confit, Rack of Lamb Persillade, Grandma’s Cheesecake, and House Made Ice Cream. I’m sure you know it’s a BYO. Mr. RBI brought a Côte-du-Rhône. Service was excellent, and the atmospherics are pleasant. We’ll definitely be going back but have been waiting for the summer crowds to dissipate.

Poached Pear Bistro Photo Set

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Damn…that looks good enough to eat, Roz! :slight_smile: Thx for sharing the report and the pics!

@seal - We’ve been there countless times and pretty much have had everything on the menu. Our go to items are the short rib carpaccio, shrimp appetizer, pear pizzette, tuna entree, and grandma’s cheesecake. While we love the place my only criticism is the fact that they haven’t changed the menu since they opened and the only special is the de-shelled lobster over crabcake and mashed potato. Otherwise, the food, service and space are top notch. Let me know if you have any questions. Good luck.

Thanks for the posts.

Looks like we are in for a treat. From the menu it seems the risotto is only available with the strip steak ( my least favorite cut) so I likely won’t be getting that but we will see.

Wow - major disappointment.

The first thing you notice upon walking in is the noise level - out of control! I don’t understand why they didn’t do something about it when they did the major reno after taking over the place. Do not go here if you want to talk.

The menu looks good and with all the positives I read I was ready to enjoy some quality food. The shrimp appy I got was very good. I liked the sauce a lot and so did my companions as the plate got passed around for all to dip their bread in. The other apps, a pear and gorgonzola with balsalmic pizzette and some very overcooked gnocchi were not as good and the pizzette went half eaten though we were all hungry.

I got the strip steak as my main almost as much so I could try the touted white chocolate risotto as for the meat, but the meat was cooked a bit past my ordered medium rare and even the spice rub didn’t make it that much better. The white chocolate risotto was horrid. I forced everyone to try it thinking maybe it was me, but they all confirmed my judgement.

The guest of honor’s duck breast with foie came almost raw and the lone piece of foie was so tiny you could miss it if you didn’t look carefully. Our resident vegetarian ordered the veggie risotto and was decidedly underwhelmed, saying it lacked any real flavor. Change the menu indeed - maybe change the chef.

Even the desserts were just meh, with the exception of the Grandma’s cheesecake. And it was a lot of money too. Not rushing back here.

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@seal - I am sorry that you didn’t enjoy your meal. Although you seemed to like two of my favorites (the shrimp app and the cheesecake), the remaining items were evidently not properly prepared. Did you alert the server or the manager and give them an opportunity to correct them? Either way, I agree that it is a pricey meal and completely understand your disappointment. When I try the restaurant again, I will advise if my opinion about the food has changed.

We dined at The Poached Pear for the first (and certainly not last) time, and enjoyed an excellent dinner. It was well worth the 2 1/2 hour round trip. The dining room was very nice and the service was very friendly. Below is a link to the details and pictures.

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That’s some meal

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It was very good; just a few minor issues with the food. The Duck confit ravioli was delicious, but the sauce was a little too sweet, and didn’t compliment it. Also, the wonton under the lobster and crab cake got a little mushy and lost it’s crunchiness. It would have been better off to the side. The lobster itself was perfectly poached.
I see that a lot of people complain about the chef keeping the same menu, but they had a lot of specials (besides our poached lobster and excellent veal porterhouse), including a Corvina; a filet mignon with shrimp; thinly sliced octopus and shrimp salad; and 3 mushrooms in a puff pastry, (on top of their already huge selection on the main menu). You can dine there several times without having the same thing twice. The fried asparagus was addictive. The place was jam packed on a Sunday (not an empty table in either room). The formal dining room, where we dined is very nice, and they have installed a lot of sound resistant pads throughout the room to absorb most of the noise. The other room was more casual and not as nice.

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One of my favorite NJ chefs (Zod Arafai) used to tell me that as much as he wanted to change his menu at Blu (now closed SNIF), many regular customers complained if their favorite dishes were missing, which is how the specials came along. I suspect this is a common issue at local beloved restaurants.

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One of our favorite restaurants.

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Yes, I only wish they were closer. It is about a 2 1/2 hour round trip for me, but worth it. The food, service, and the room are all top notch. The owner put a lot of thought into the design of the formal dining room, with all sorts of sound softening cushions tastefully incorporated throughout the room.

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It did occur to me, while reading your post and enjoying the photos, what a ride that is for you. Speaks volumes to the restaurant though, I agree. On the rare occasion my wife can persuade me to dress for dinner-a meal there is well worth the experience!

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