We were recently at bluezoo, as is our wont… On this particular evening, we weren’t really that hungry and planned to have oysters and to split a couple of appetizers.
Steamboat Oysters (Puget Sound, Washington state) a.k.a. Totten Oysters… with Nora’s favorite accompaniments (plain horseradish, lemons, and sriracha)
We each had two of the Steamboat oysters (Oyster Guide and Foodchef.net have more details). Our reaction to these oysters was pretty much like a Statler & Waldorf routine (not quite that severe though!)
First Impressions: Nick thought that the texture was just right, but the flavor wasn’t briny enough; Nora thought that it was a bit buttery tasting (don’t know where I got that from!) with a nice aroma (it’s not wine!)
Final Thoughts: Nick said “this is pretty bland”, we both said that it needs more salt or brine… and, that we really didn’t want to order these again
We’ve since learned that these are really fast growing oysters and I suspect that’s why the flavors aren’t very pronounced. I guess we just prefer brinier, more ocean-ish oysters.
On this particular evening, we learned that bluezoo had found a new Chef Du Cuisine, Jimmy (he came from within the Swan & Dolphin resorts). We were fortunate enough to taste Chef Jimmy’s rendition of the Cobia Crudo currently on the bluezoo dining room menu…
Cobia Crudo – Lovely to look at and delightful to eat.
This version was served with pomegranate seeds, micro greens, pomegranate infused oil, and coarse sea salt. Nick was impressed with the level of salt in this dish (yes, we’re back to salt and brine), the butteriness of the fish and the tartness from the pomegranates were well balanced with the salt.
The flavors of this dish were quite subtle, but they came together and “danced on your tongue”. I was impressed that the pomegranate seeds were perfect without being bruised (I can never seem to do that consistently at home).
Without the correct salt content, this dish would have been rather bland and not too interesting.
Good job!
Next, we ordered two appetizers to share: Pork Belly and Beef Short Rib & Scallop
Pork Belly appetizer from the dining room menu
Of course, this was great. The brussels sprouts were cooked perfectly and the aroma when this was brought to our table made my mouth water.
Scallop and Beef Short Rib appetizer from dining room menu
This is one of Nick’s FAVORITE things from bluezoo. The presentation was changed slightly from the past and the beef seemed different somehow. Unfortunately, the scallop was a bit overcooked (first time EVER), yet it was seasoned and seared perfectly (perhaps too much lag between plating and delivery?), it was still silky. The beef seemed less fatty than usual to me (but I started with the fatty, unctuous pork belly) – it was still good, but seemed a bit dry. The greens are a new touch, I liked them for the bitterness and crunch they provide.
As always, a pleasant evening at bluezoo.
Thank you Chad, Chef Ryan, Chef Jimmy, Liz, Erin, Paul, Monique, and Gary 🙂