Showing posts with label Brunch. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Brunch. Show all posts

Monday, January 11, 2016

Fun Playing With Food in South Florida

We did something completely different for Thanksgiving this year. Instead of visiting friends or Bob's family or cooking, we winged it to Highland Beach Florida and spent a long week and the holiday with my parents. My sister and brother also joined us for several days, so it was a nice family reunion. We enjoyed a nondescript Thanksgiving Dinner at my parents' club, then proceeded to do some playing with the local restaurant food. 

The siblings all stayed at Delray Sands Resort Collection in Highland Beach. This was Bob's first trip following cervical spinal surgery, and we were distracted by a few health issues over the first few days. But the weather was mostly delightful, as were the ocean views from the beachfront hotel.

We were even treated to some rainbows!


Our first meal outside the hotel was at the Green Owl Restaurant, a small, cash-only breakfast-and-lunch establishment in downtown Delray Beach.

Bob's Corned Beef Hash & Eggs,
Mine: Cheese Omelet with Grits
We each received a serving of rye toast on the side. Even though Green Owl is owned by Steelers fans, we recommend them for a nice breakfast and the lunch food looked good also.

Our first dinner out together was at City Oyster, also on the Atlantic Avenue strip in Delray Beach. 

Bread Service
We started out with a smoked fish dip for appetizer, which was accompanied by the most lovely house-made crackers.

Whitefish dip with homemade crackers and pickles,
Bob's:  Yellowtail Snapper Hong Kong Style
Bob's fish was pan roasted, and accompanied by Jasmine Rice, Sesame & Ginger Sauce, and Vegetables.

Mine


This dinner special of Swordfish over fresh tomato ragu and polenta offered a refreshingly different take on the fish dinner. Both dishes featured fresh fish prepared well. I couldn't finish mine and enjoyed the leftovers at my parents' place the next day. Yeah, City Oyster is a little pretentious and expensive - but the food and service were very good. 

Just a few doors down from City Oyster is a newish place called Tryst, where we had another aquatically themed dinner, this time composed of small plates which we shared. I confess, I missed the house-made crackers with the fish dip, but the dip itself was delicious. 


This dip, rather than relying on whitefish, was made from salmon and yellowtail. Different than the whitefish dip, but very tasty. 

IPA Steamed Florida Clams  with Housemade chorizo, serrano chile, basil, orange, blistered grape tomatoes & ciabatta
Plate-licking good, though they need to serve it with a spoon (or two). The only plate we came close to finishing (we were a little overly generous in ordering).

"Angry Pig" Slider: Sicilian Pulled Pork, Orange Marmalade, Pickled Fresno Chilies, Fennel Slaw, Basil
This sandwich is as small as it looks, but packs a lot of flavor! We split it in half and it was enough, given how much else we'd ordered.

Nueske's Bacon Mac & Cheese
Proving that I am capable of ordering a non-fish/seafood dish when in Florida. It had Neuske's bacon, after all! One of the best mac n cheeses we've sampled.

Tuna "Poke" Lettuce Wraps: Toasted cashews, pineapple sambal
More pristine fish with beautiful accompaniments. Tryst was my favorite culinary find of the trip.

On Sunday, we treated my parents to the Unlimited Champagne Brunch Buffet at Latitudes Restaurant, at the Resort. The Resort was formerly a Holiday Inn, but the entire property (including the food service) has been renovated over the past 2 years. My parents had brunched here before in the old incarnation, and we all looked forward to seeing what the renovations would bring. Given the $50 per person price point, I expected better than average hotel food service, and Latitudes did not disappoint. 

My "first course" plate

Though the sushi rice lacked profundity, the fish and seafood was of very good quality. The smoked salmon and trout, and seared tuna were nice, and yes, those are shrimp at the back of plate - no smell or taste of pyrophosphate on them. The crab gazpacho was mostly gazpacho and a little crab, but the shellfish was pristine. 

My "second course" plate
Staying with the seafood theme, I can endorse both varieties of scallop and shrimp on this plate. The pulled pork (which I put over potato cake rather than tortilla) and guacamole were both good but nothing to write home about. I did not care for the coconut crusted fish, left middle, which didn't taste fresh.

 The buffet included a selection of charcuterie, carved meats and casserole-type dishes.

And a bountiful selection of sweets, many of which were food-service grade. Despite it's likely Sysco origins, I really liked the red velvet doughnut.


The blintz, which is also offered on Latitudes's regular breakfast menu, was also food service and not made from scratch (the cheese filling suffered a little from the freeze-thaw cycle). The key lime parfait was very tasty. And of course, I could never say no to caramel.

Carmel Parfait

The Mimosas (and coffee, for those who care about coffee) kept on coming, and there were many other food options on the buffet that I didn't try or photograph, as well as an egg/omelet "made to order" station. We enjoyed our brunch in a most leisurely fashion and never felt rushed as we enjoyed the food, beverages and the built-in ocean view. We ate at Latitudes several times over the course of the trip, and the service was always exceptional and the food mostly good to very good. Prices were reasonable.

Our next adventure took us to Gary Rack's Fat Rooster, also on the strip in Delray Beach, for brunch. As of Thanksgiving 2015, they've eliminated separate brunch and lunch menus in favor of a single midday menu 7 days a week. Worked for us!

Fat Rooster has a "fun playing with food" feel and an eclectic environment and menu. Our server used to live in Northeast Ohio, near to us!

Bob's
This "Special" consisted of a housemade biscuit, pulled pork. 2 fried eggs, tomato, hollandaise, potato-sweet potato hash. 


Mine also featured their signature biscuit, topped  with Fried Green Tomato, Avocado Smash, Fried Egg, BBQ Hollandaise and served with the same potato-sweet potato hash. I loved this slightly lighter/smaller take on the typical Eggs Benedict.

For Bob's 65th birthday, my folks took us all out to City Fish in Boca Raton for dinner. And here I hit the culinary motherload: a perfect stone crab claw. I loved the way the fishes and seafood product were displayed where the diner can see them, and the server was expert on everything served.



A thing of beauty, loaded with sweet crab meat


This salad comes with every entree. Pre-plated and a little cold, but very nice.

Bob's: Blackened Black Grouper and Fries 
Mine: Sauteed Black Grouper and sweet potato 


My sister had to leave on Monday, but since Bob's actual birthday was Tuesday, we who remained assembled at Josephine's in Boca Raton for dinner accompanied by a song stylist. We had a great time, though I don't think I'd order fish there again (though the clams were excellent - the taste of the veal I sampled was even better).




You can see that the bread isn't really fresh; toasting saved it.

This clam appetizer was lovely; a shame that the fin fish didn't have the same freshness and skill of preparation. Beautiful shellfish, cooked just right.


The salad was way too cold, and a bit slimy. First fail.

Bob and I both got this; he ate his
Fish "special": Swordfish, olives, capers, tomato sauce, pasta. Fish was overcooked and old, pasta from a box nothing special. Mom gave me a few clams from her dish that she didn't want, and I was good.

For our last meal in Florida, we headed south on the Intracoastal to Prime Catch in Boynton Beach, where we enjoyed a lovely lunch. 



CRISPY THAI SHRIMP
Sweet Thai Chili Sauce, Rice Paper & Scallions - this shrimp passed inspection, though frying does cover a thousand sins! The fried rice paper was a nice touch and deftly sopped up the chili sauce. A very successful dish.








Bob and I both had Yellowtail Snapper: Bob's grilled with the Thai Chili Sauce on the side and fries, mine pan seared with paprika, sweet potato fries. The oil must have been a little too hot when they dropped my fries, because they were a little overcooked. But other than that, a fresh and delightful lunch to see us out of town. We had fun playing with South Florida food!


Sunday, October 21, 2012

Fun Showing Off Cleveland Food - Luxe (and Momocho)

Last weekend, we entertained our Chicago friend, food writer Cynthia Clampitt, on her first ever trip to Cleveland. This also gave us an opportunity to return to a couple of local favorites that we've missed, and to sample Chef Brian Okin's fare at Gordon Square's Luxe Kitchen & Lounge

We began Saturday evening, at Ohio City's Momocho,1835 Fulton Road (216.694.2122). Cynthia's research project involved corn (as will her next book), so we took her to the most corn-centric restaurant we could identify. Alas, I have no photos to share, due to the dark and red-lit room, but I assure you that Chef-Owner Eric Williams (who was off on family duty that night) and his amazing staff are whipping up Nuevo Latino food that is worth a drive from almost anyplace; Cynthia pronounced it her new favorite restaurant (and given that she has about 1,200 to choose from in her hometown, that's pretty high praise).

We began with a trio of the made-to-order guacamoles (which the house kindly comped, after our 9:30pm reservation had slipped into the next hour before we were seated). The table favorite was the honey crisp apple, mango, thai basi, chile serrano, followed closely by the garlic confit, bleu cheese, chile verde version and the mix-in featuring pickled corn, crab, chile, chipotle. Cynthia and I both enjoyed the beer braised short rib tamales, and Bob chose the Waygu Beef Albondigas (meatballs). We also shared a side order of light and tender smoked gouda tamale dumplings. Though we were too sated to even look at the dessert menu, our server treated us to a small ramekin of Momocho's signature dessert, Capirotada: gingersnap, jalapeno bread pudding with burnt sugar and whipped crema. This sweet-spicy-warming-soothing treat is highly recommended. We returned home wondering how we'd ever be hungry for brunch the next morning.

Sunday morning brought us to Luxe, 6605 Detroit Avenue, Cleveland (216-920-0600). We had been wanting to get there since Brian Okin (co-founder of Dinner in the Dark, and former Chef at Verve and Fountain restaurants) took over the kitchen. I had actually given Cynthia about a half dozen options (we're not big Sunday Brunch eaters) and she chose Brian's menu. As luck would again have it, family duties called  Brian away, and we were left in the hands of Brian's able staff. Luxe is the third Cleveland restaurant I know of that lives in a converted bank space (after Dante in Tremont and Crop in Ohio City) and it also contains an interesting assortment of recycled/repurposed/classic decor.

Our repast began with a basket of freshly baked muffins and butter:


Between this basket and our salad plates, we had the opportunity to taste several different muffin flavors, including blueberry, cranberry, cherry, and my favorite, pumpkin. 


The beet salad at the top of the menu intrigued us, so we decided to order one to share. After Cynthia asked if it would be of sufficient size for us to put in the middle and have at (which the server answered in the affirmative), three plates identical to the one above appeared. This Baby Beet Salad included small rounds of pickled radish that I (who normally finds radish too bitter) really enjoyed, arugula, a generous slice of avocado,  and a topping of crunchy nuts and cheese.

Scramble with chorizo, hot peppers, manchego, tomato-cilantro salsa.
We all swooned over our taste of Bob's plate; fresh chorizo (sourced from the West Side Market, we were told) will do that.

Eggs Benny: English Muffin, Smoked Salmon, Poached Eggs, Hollandaise
Knowing that our dinner plans included Lolita and lots of pork, I decided to go to the marine side with brunch. The salmon was assertive without being fishy (in a belly lox kind of way), and the Hollandaise accompanied it well (a more mild salmon might have drowned in the richness). We all loved the fried potatoes that came on each plate, and were surprised to learn that no animal fats were involved in their preparation; they were that tasty. 

With price points between $6 and $16 for entrees (most in the $9-12 range), Luxe offers tasty fun for everyone on Sunday morning. Now all we need to do is drag ourselves back westward to sample Brian's dinner menu! 

Monday, April 14, 2008

Fun at Fire Playing Slowly with Maple Syrup

Yesterday, the Northeast Ohio Convivium of Slow Food held its second "tasting" event at Shaker Square's fire Restaurant. It was about two years ago that we had a "bacon tasting" at fire, followed by brunch. This time, the featured item was Maple Syrup. Ten syrups, as a matter of fact. After tasting and scoring all of the syrups, we were served a delicious brunch by Chef Katz's kitchen. But first, the tasting!

When we arrived at fire's back room, we found the tasting set up as follows:



The syrups for two of the glasses (#5 and#6) arrived a little late - but in time for everyone to enjoy them. We each had a scoresheet and a small pencil - and the table held a whole lot of little bitty spoons!











#6


#7







Let the tasting begin!





This little guy wasn't the only youngster - bravo to the parents who are educating their children about where their food comes from! After everyone had tasted, Kari Moore revealed which syrup was which - and there were a couple of surprises. The biggest surprise what that some people liked #10 a lot - #10 was Mrs. Butterworth's. I confess, I had started at the end and worked my way up, so I tasted #10 first and #1 last, though #6 & #7 were my actual last tastes, as they arrived after my table had gone through the line. #10 did not taste very "maply," but it was very tasty, with a lot of caramel/butterscotch flavor. It coated my palate, and seemed thicker than the other syrups. Thank heavens #7 came to rescue me from choosing a fake food as favorite! It's scary how such artificial food can taste so good!

The real syrups lined up as follows, I hope (Kari - please feel free to comment and correct any mistakes I may have here):




Miller Farm 2007 Light Amber




Kari said this was also from Miller Farm, but the label says Sutton's
2008 Medium Amber





Godell Farm 2008 Light Amber




Godell Farm 2008 Dark Amber

I don't seem to have a photo of #5, which is ironic since that syrup, a 2008 Light Amber, is the fire "house" maple syrup, produced by Snake Hill Farm in Geauga Country. One of the proprietors, Savery Rorimer, was our guest speaker, and she told us about the syrup making process and answered questions.





Snake Hill Farm 2008 Medium Amber




Snake Hill Farms 2008 Dark Amber

This was the personal favorite of me and my husband; we were very happy that Ms. Rorimer brought some to sell!




Vermont Maple Syrup 2007 Dark Amber, Grade B (the only sample that was not Grade A)




Holden Aboratorium [spelling??]

This was from 2007; Kari was not sure whether they are still producing syrup.

I did not photograph Mrs. Butterworth, but you know what she looks like!

The servers then began to appear, bearing goodies. First, an exquisite clay oven bread topped with cinnamon sugar that melted in the mouth:





Next, two warm pancake toppings:


Blueberry Compote


Snake Hill Farm 2008 Light Amber Maple Syrup (tasting #5)

Next, plates of meaty sides appeared:


Applewood Smoked Bacon

The bacon was perfectly cooked to slightly chewy crispness - and what a taste difference from supermarket bacon!


House Made Breakfast Sausage



I'm not a big sausage eater - but I really loved this!


Lemon Souffle Pancakes







Once everyone was served, plates of fresh pancakes came out for each table.

This event was a perfect way to play with nine natural, sugar, corn syrup, color and chemical free Maple Syrups, while enjoying a delicious brunch! Thank you, Chef Katz and Slow Food for a lovely event.