Binghamton Restaurant Review: River Bistro

When it comes to food, I like to think of myself as an explorer...meaning I like to explore foods from Italy, Thailand, China and such. But one area I don't usually step into is food of the more refined nature. So for Binghamton Restaurant Week, I decided to step out of my comfort zone and try some foods a little more fancy than I'd normally eat.

For lunch, I went to the River Bistro inside the DoubleTree by Hilton on Water Street in Binghamton. I went straight from work without changing my outfit and was a little concerned that I might be under-dressed, but the waitstaff was extremely welcoming and I was happy to see that I wasn't the only one wearing jeans and a henley.

I've been fighting a knock down nasty sinus infection, so when I saw soup was an option as an appetizer, I knew I had to try it. The soup was roasted cauliflower with toasted pine nut crisp and let me tell you, it warmed me to the soul. I can't believe I'd never had roasted cauliflower soup before today.

I had a tough time deciding on my entree because all of the options looked amazing, but I  went with the chicken francaise. For whatever reason I had a brain lapse and forgot that I've had this before, but let me tell you this- I was not disappointed with my choice. It was like a little piece of heaven entered my body with each and every bite that I took. If you're not sure what chicken francaise is, it's francese means "in the French manner," but it also refers to a food that is dipped in flour and egg, then fried, then covered in lemon juice or lemon sauce. My chicken was served with lemon butter and capers. Also served with my meal were roasted red potatoes and haricot vert, which is a type of green bean. I'm a dipper and my plate was given a nice portion of lemon butter sauce, which was so good that I used it on my potatoes and green beans as well.

I was completely stuffed after my meal, but couldn't turn down dessert, especially since it was included in the special pricing. My taste buds were screaming for me to pick the local apple crisp, but my brain reminded me that I was there to try new things, so I went with the pot de creme. I learned that pots de creme is not pronounced “pawt deh creem” but rather  “Po de Krehm.” Pot de creme is a French dessert custard made with eggs, egg yolks, cream, milk, and a flavor, often vanilla or chocolate- in my case it was chocolate. My pot de creme was topped with toasted almonds and whipped cream. There's only one word needed to describe this dessert: delicious! Oh, and I have no idea what the orange thing is that topped my dessert (I'm thinking some sort of candied orange), but whatever it was I could have devoured all that the restaurant had in stock- that's how much I enjoyed it.

My entire meal from the soup to the entree to the dessert was just $12. Can you believe that? I almost felt like I was getting away with theft because I was given so much food for such a low price. And the reason for the unbeatable price is that it's Binghamton Restaurant Week.