We headed back over to bluezoo on Friday night, if you follow our twitter feed (@extrawdwmagic) then you already know about most of the meal…
BUT here’s a recap, and a story…
When we arrived, we noticed that Monique was behind the bar! Yay! Nick could order a Boulevardier (Monique has been working to get the proportions correct). Chad made sure that the proportions were spot on… 2 parts bourbon, 3/4 parts vermouth, and slightly over 1/2 part campari… it was perfectly delightful.
Nick’s favorite – a Boulevardier (with particular proportions)
I went with my new standard… One Night in Mexico… I know that it has a habenero shrub and mezcal… I know that the drink doesn’t suffer as the ice melts… the flavors are complex and strong even though I drink this rather slowly.
Nora’s current favorite – One Night in Mexico – tall glass and crushed ice
Lately, we’ve had oysters and/or clams as our starter… Low calories and quite yummy… Dustin (our server) told us that the Wainnos were from Massachusetts. (we’ve had these a few times and we really enjoy the meatiness and brininess of them) and that the Chef Creeks were from British Columbia (when we first started ordering oysters, we went for west coast every time, but our tastes have changed over to east coast because we really enjoy the brininess, they taste like the Atlantic ocean smells)…
I took a photo after I’d eaten all of my oysters, my current favorite topping is a little lemon juice, raw horseradish, and a drop of sriracha – the Wainnos were on the left and the curly fancy ones are the right are Chef Creek
Parmesan & rosemary lavosh, onion bread (it probably has a fancier name), and ciabatta
Chef Ryan sent out an amuse bouche for us… Foie Gras! I’ve had it before, but this was a first for Nick. It came with sweet potato foam and pickled vegetables.
Foie Gras with sweet potato foam and pickled vegetables
Comments:
- Nora – I like the pickled vegetables, I’ve had foie gras before but not this good, WOW all three together, nice saltiness, OMG this is good
- Nick – I like the sweet potato foam, the fatty unctuousness is multiplied again and again, this is really nice! all three together is a nice nice balance
Chef Ryan wasn’t able to stop by and see us (busy busy busy). Chef Bobby came by a couple of times and chatted as our meal progressed… he asked what we were having for dinner and we told him the Chef’s Creation (Florida black grouper, clams, root vegetables, and asparagus foam). He said, good choice 🙂
Black grouper and root vegetables, can you say “yummy” and “buttered vegetables rock”?
Clam, potato puree and asparagus foam
I really liked how the vegetables and butter tasted, Nick was fond of the blending of the potato puree and the asparagus foam. Interestingly, my plate (the one I took photos of) had green olives (there’s one peeking out of the clam) and Nick’s plate had black olives [Oh yes, we split the entree if you’re curious]. We both really loved the texture of the grouper (it’s one of our favorite fishes). Dustin had recommended a pairing with Roth Pinot Noir (Nick had a glass) – the pairing worked quite well, not sure if it was the richness of the fish or the butteriness of the vegetables, but it all came together as a very good pairing. My notes regarding the food say “buttery, briny, sparkling flavors, bright vegetables, smooth seafood, great.”
Okay, here’s the story that I promised you…
We were enjoying our after-dinner drinks (a.k.a. dessert 🙂 Macallan Fine Oak Scotch for me and Angel’s Envy Bourbon for Nick – they were out of Highland Park scotch) when Chef Bobby came out and told Nick to “move over” on the banquette, then he sat down and just b-s-ed with us for a while. We talked about food, we talked about different places that Chef Bobby has lived and worked, we talked about whiskey & bourbon, and we talked about things that I can’t remember 🙂 It was really very, very cool. He also asked us what we were having for dessert & we held up our drinks. He said “oh, we have a new apple dessert, presenting it tonight for the first time, I know you two watch what you eat, you really should try it, just a bite or two…” Then he called over the Assistant Manager and asked him to go back to the pastry kitchen and bring out “one of those apple things, these people are going to try it, I’m buying.”
Apple custard, a creamy apple cake pop sort of thing, and apple lasagna toped with spiced bread ice cream – the bright green bits are compressed green apple and the cinnamon gel is agar gelle
Nick’s favorite was the spiced bread ice cream and mine was the compressed green apple – they would make a lovely garnish or accompaniment to a wintery spiced cocktail. Chad said that the bartenders would probably go bananas if he told them they had to make a cocktail with compressed green apple bits (ha ha). The apple lasagna, in technique, was reminiscent of a potato pave, there were very thin slices of spiced apple compressed into a block and sandwiched between two cookie crusts. The cake pop was nice, but given the color and that it was apple, I expected the coating to have flavors of candied apple or caramel or cinnamon – it didn’t. The custard had a nice creaminess and a little bit of spice from the apples. It was really nice of Chef Bobby to treat us to dessert.
Thank you everyone: Dustin, Gary, Chad, Ryan, and Bobby… as always we had a lovely evening at bluezoo and we love all the memories that you help us create.
