Sand Spring – Modern Cuisine

My wife and I were staying at the Mount Airy Casino resort for the celebration of our 1yr anniversary and needless to say we got extremely ill from Reds Steakhouse which you can reference my review. So I did some Unilocaling for day two of our stay and found this little gem which is only about a 7min drive away from Mount Airy. We were only the second table full in this small, empty but imminent setting and the first table ended up leaving shorty after we arrived so full attention was focused on us. We started off with the usual complimentary bread being served and the spread for the bread was unlike any spread I’ve ever had! It seemed to be a mixture of pumpkin and carats it was very delicious if you enjoy sweetness and myself and my wife do. The next thing was we dove right into the the menu we ordered I think four or so appetizers starting with the foie grass (superb), crab cake (superb), tuna tartar (superb), pumpkin ravioli (different but decent), homemade mozzarella (just okay too much lettuce and not fresh enough like true Italian cuisine like IL Milanos or other high end Italian restaurants. It wasn’t bad but not superb), and the black bean soup which my wife ordered and I’m not really a fan of black bean soup but it was okay we ate around half of it. For our entrée, I ordered the seafood plate which consisted of a butter poached lobster tail, walnut covered tuna, scallops, mashed potatoes and spinach. For me this and the soup is where it fell off a little bit. The lobster tail was supposed to be «butter poached» which I am a chef myself and when I butter poach lobster I use sweet cream salted and at times unsalted butter to poach lobster. It’s a very simple French technique which you melt enough butter in a pan and submerge the lobster tail in the butter for about 5−7mins. This will produce the most succulent butter flavored lobster that you’ll ever taste. However this was not the case here. The lobster was not buttery enough and simply lacked enough flavor to be claimed as butter poached. The scallops were probably the best thing on my plate but there was only two of them :(. I explained ahead of time, I don’t really enjoy cooked tuna I personally think that it destroys the flavor of good fresh tuna. In my own opinion this particular taster on this plate should be eliminated and extra scallops should be added or something more creative. So I asked if they could sear the tuna hoping that it would turnout better. Unfortunately it did not and I was unsatisfied with the tuna. The mashed potatoes and spinach seemed to be thrown together and the spinach was definitely overcooked steamed and lacked any type of flavor. My wife ordered the duck and it came fixated in a brown stock and mixed with cabbage. It was a very unusual presentation of duck but the duck was okay. Nothing to ride home about in my opinion. We had a bottle of some delicious imported Italian desert moscato and that was definitely a highlight. If I return back here I would double order the foie gras and crab cake for an appetizer. I would then order the scallops for an entrée or try their filet. For desert we ordered the cream burlee because the desert menu was definitely lacking a bit with choices of: homemade ice cream, root beer floats, lava cake (which the cook personally said was really rich and I’m not into super rich lava cake) or the cream burlee which we decided was the best option. It was okay a little thick and on the custard side but tolerable and we left after paying around $ 230 for our dinner which was still cheaper than Reds Steakhouse and a lot better. I did receive some gas and bloating from our dinner and a few trips to the John back at the hotel but nothing major and definitely not even comparable to the sickness I got from Reds Steakhouse at Mount Airy Casino. It’s possible we just over ate at this place and the sweet wine made us have to expel some waste but needless to say I didn’t get the runs or anything but definitely a little bit of gas and a few minor poops. I’m not sure why but both myself and my wife felt this way. From my extreme experience with fine dining if it’s all impeccable then I nor will she get any stomach aches or pains or bathroom trips. Once again it could’ve of been the super sweet wine or maybe the black bean soup who knows other than those few issues this is my complete and honest review.

We had better. The décor is a bit weird if i had to say 1 word about it. When you get there you will see what i am talking about. The first impression means alot. The food took quite a bit of time with the place only ½ full. i did have to ask the waiter to reheat my appetizer as i believed it was the first one done and someone forgot to place it under the heat lamp. Our portions were all right but you pay the price at this place, very expensive for what you get. We believed the apps and entrees were overpriced from $ 8 to $ 12, especially for their specials which are not too special if you know the price of them. The service was quite good. We would probably not go back unless their prices change for the better.

I found Sand Springs by surfing the web looking for someplace new to dine while out in the Tannersville Area. The menu online looked very good so we gave it a try. The restaurant is smaller than I anticipated which lended to it’s charm. Our reservation was held using Open Table (the first time I used Open Table by the way).
In a nutshell, the meal was outstanding. Everything was homemade from the pasta to the ice cream and you can tell
At first I though the portions were small, but I found myself full at the end of the meal, which was nice. I guess the food was so good I just wanted more.
Sand Springs was very good but it was also expensive. Entrees are between $ 35-​$ 50, appetizers $ 8 – 14, salads $ 8-​$ 12 and wine anywhere from $ 8 to $ 13 a glass. For this reason, I can’t recommend it as a staple, but unlike Ruth Chris or other commercial expensive restaurants, for special occasions, Sand Springs ranks with the best.
Be sure to have the GPS ready as it is not the easiest to find, but well worth looking for.

We shared a calamari appetizer; it was excellent with their homemade marinara. I had the eggplant parmegiano, my companion had the crab cakes. Both outstanding, but the crab cakes won by a nose. Sadly, we had no room for dessert, as all the desserts are homemade including the ice cream.

Great service. Exceptional food! Mongolian beef from the bar menu is to die for. Very happy we found this gem of a place in Poconos. Will definitely come back at the first opportunity.

Great bar, elegant atmosphere, attentive service and most importantly excellent food.

This place is amazing the food is always out of this world. Very cutting edge. The service is always perfect and nothing is better then when the Chef comes to your table to see how it was.

I was in the Poconos with my daughter for a weekend getaway and decided to treat ourselves to a nice meal. Sand Spring is in the middle of nowhere and the outside looks like a charming country cottage. Inside the décor is a bit more modern but a warm modern style.
The service was perfect — warm and friendly waiters who really know the menu. The food was superb. We had the foie gras appetizer and it was seared to perfection while keeping that melt-​like-​butter texture inside. For entrees I had the sea bass and my daughter had the 12 oz. rib eye. Both were really amazing and I’m drooling just remembering the meal. As a foodie I had to make the sad confession that I do not like steak. I never did, even as a child but I do continue to try little bites of it every now & then just to see if my palette has changed. The rib eye at Sand Spring was the first and only time in my life that I tried steak and really liked it. It was delicious. My daughter who is 16 and weighs all of 95 pounds, ate every last ounce of food on her plate and lamented on how she had never eaten so much in her life. Of course, we did order dessert — a trio of ice cream which included chocolate covered bacon. It was really good. Overall I would most definitely make it a point to eat here whenever I’m in the area, and yes, it is even worth the drive from NYC just to eat there. It’s THAT good.

My oh my! the food! that lobster puff appetizers…
Amazing! … We were at skytop for the weekend and decided to come here to grab dinner before we head home. The food was so fresh! so creative and delicious
This place is in the middle of no where… little town that is empty on a saturday afternoon … off the main road… but so worth the detour… These chef can hold their own in manhattan anyday! probably can go up against an iron chef or two also :)
Cons:
Didnt think the décor fit poccono … I guess its personal taste. But i would rather a warn woodsy feel rather than the sorta black and white modern décor in a beautiful old wooden house…
Also my crème brûlée wasnt that great :(… truffle ice — cream? lets just say truffles they need to leave truffles in their pasta and potatoes and stop putting it in ice cream.
But the food itself makes those other cons totally forgivable … 5 stars all the way

Espresso martini made perfect. Veal parpadelle rich and tender would have gladly made a meal out of this generous portion. I had beef tenderloin with fois gras, creamed spinach on crusty bread. It was the best meal I have had in a long time. My husband had a lamb porterhouse and he said it was the best meal he has had in a long time. Atmosphere is elegant and service was good.