Gastronomie

Bern's Steakhouse

Sometimes, you have a dining experience that you can barely put into words. Usually, it's some combination of food, service, atmosphere and company. Last week in Tampa, C & I had one of the best meals of our lives at Bern's Steakhouse. (As it happens, it also coincides with The Delicious Life's Queen of Cuisine).

This is one of those meals I'm going to break up into two posts. There is just too much to talk about in one... suffice it to say that we had an 8:30 reservation, and didn't leave the restaurant until 2am.

Every aspect of the experience was lovely, from the 45 minutes spent perusing the wine book over some amazing Iranian Osetra (which I haven't had in 8 years), to the unbelievable tour of the kitchen and 100,000 bottles of wine on-site (there are another 400,000 off-site) before being whisked upstairs to a private booth to celebrate our 2nd anniversary with after dinner drinks and dessert.

I'm going to talk first about the actual meal and wine; tomorrow, I'll post about the restaurant, its history and service. I have some really neat pictures of the tours, so please do come back and check in.

Meanwhile...

BlueZoo Restaurant - Orlando, FL

I've discovered one of Orlando's dirty little secrets: it's something of a culinary abyss. Calling it a "wasteland" would be a little too harsh -- I'm sure there are plenty of good ethnic dives. But when it comes to business dining... well, let's just say that I'll be happy never to go to another work conference in Orlando.

I had dinner at Todd English's bluezoo (located at the Disney Swan & Dolphin hotel complex) twice, and found a few rather nice dishes. Plus, as decor goes, this might be the funkiest, coolest restaurant on the "resort strip" -- it was certainly better than any of the restaurants at either the Gaylord or the Marriot World Centre.

The interior of the restaurant is beautiful -- words like oceanic, cooling and sexy describe it well. At the entry, a long, curved bar is illuminated from within by aqua lights, and a sculptural "wave" adorns the back wall. Light fixtures that look like a family of jellyfish or anemones hang above each large table. Columns are covered with slender tubes of stainless steel that shimmy seductively.

Five Books - A New Meme

Amy tagged me for this new meme. And of course, as befits the food blogosphere, it's taking a turn towards cookbooks!

I don't have a lot of cookbooks, so I'm going to go traditional on this meme. It's been interesting to hear how some other bloggers are answering the questions -- it's always fascinating to hear what books mean a lot to people.

Eating While Traveling

So, y'all know I was headed to Florida on Friday. I usually take the red-eye to the east coast since I can  nap on the flight, and I am loathe to lose an entire day on a plane.

This time, I didn't notice that I was on a US Airways (via United) flight -- as a Premier Executive United flier, I try to keep to United flights because they make it pretty easy to upgrade.

Anyway, long story short, I landed in Orlando after a miserable night of flying and promptly passed out. When I woke up, I needed to find myself a bite to eat because... well, I needed something to absorb the "adult beverage" I was ready to enjoy.

I headed to the Cabana Grill at the Swan Hotel and ordered a "Mediterranean Plate". This was several pita wedges served with three dips.

First was a completely forgettable, and frankly nearly inedible, hummus. I left nearly the entire thing untouched. A squeeze of lime might have brightened this, but it just wasn't worth the effort.

Next was a delicious roasted eggplant dip with chunks of fresh, roasted eggplant and tomatoes, with a little bit of spice. Delicious.

Finally, there was this amazing Tuna Salata. Basically, a very simple but incredibly creamy tuna puree. There was definitely some dairy, and a fair bit of olive oil. This was possibly the tastiest canned tuna dish I've ever had, and I enjoyed every bite--without the pita!

There is something incredibly luxurious about enjoying a light lunch like this poolside, in one's swimsuit, and washing it all down with a proper gin & tonic.

So far, so good.

What is it, #4

This is a good one, I think.

Your only hint is that it's one of C's favorite things, and we are sure to eat some in Florida... perhaps more than once!

The reveal on this one won't come until Saturday night or Sunday morning, so you have some time!

Heading to Florida tomorrow

It's that time of the year again, and I'm off to Florida tomorrow for our annual trade conference.

I'm spending 4 days in Orlando, 1 in Tampa then 3 in Fort Myers. On the list of places we're eating are:

• Norman's (Orlando)
• bluezoo (Orlando)
• Bern's Steakhouse (Tampa)
• The Bubble Room (Ft. Myers) -- This was C's favorite restaurant growing up (kind of like Ground Round was for me), and I'm excited to experience it.

I'll be doing some posts from the road, and you might even see a couple of "What is This" quizzes, so stop by daily!

Red Snapper en Papillote

As many of you probably know, en papillote refers to a method of cooking, where the ingredients are wrapped up in a pouch and baked. Cooking fish this way practically guarantees a moist finished product, and allows all of the ingredients to infuse the fish, imparting an incredibly fresh taste.

It's also a wonderful mid-week dish because, from start to finish, it takes well under an hour.

The Housewarming Gift

This past weekend, I went to a housewarming party for my friends J & K. These two are about to be engaged, and thus about to register for a million household items that they actually want.

With that in mind, I decided to do something really different, and not buy stuff that they probably didn't need, and might end up tossing when the get the stuff they register for. So, I put together what I thought was a really cool housewarming gift, and wanted to share it with you.

Fatemeh's Wine & Food Pairing for new Homeowners*

1. Head to your favorite wine shop, or even CostPlus.
2. Assemble a half case (or certainly, you could do a full case) of unique mid-price wines, trying to keep food pairings in mind, and trying to provide the giftees with a well-rounded selection of high-quality, best-value wines.
3. Keep the bottles diverse -- something for ever mood, as it were. In my case (no pun intended) I included things like Christian Moueix Merlot, Alois Lageder Pinot Grigio, Woop Woop Shiraz and Faunus Primitivo di Manduria.
4. Next, on one side of a 5"x8" card, write tasting notes and suggested food pairings. On the other side of the card, using removable glue or tape, attach a 4"x6" card containing one recipe that would pair perfectly with the wine.
5. Punch a hole in the corner of the big card, and tie it onto the bottleneck with ribbon or twine.
6. If you can get your hands on a really nice wooden 6-bottle crate, wonderful. Otherwise, simply put the bottles into a standard half-case carrier, and deliver!

My friends LOVED this gift. And I hope that it will lead them to toast to each other, their home, and their future for months to come!

Salut!

*Remember that most new homeowners are flat broke. Between closing costs and unexpected expenses, most of them are either tapping the REALLY good stuff in their cellars or drinking, well, swill. Save these poor souls.

A word about "Umami"

Umami is one of those words that I learned a long time ago, and understood to mean "good taste." But really,  it's so much more than that.

Alice did a really fabulous job here of breaking down the chemical compounds that are umami.

All that said, I am realizing I chase umami (in the form of glutamates) like some people chase chocolate or caffeine -- that is, I need a "fix" regularly, and I get very cranky if I don't have it.

So, what are the critical elements I keep on hand and in the house at all times to prevent an epicurean meltdown? Keep reading...

The Answer: Zoolbia

The correct answer to yesterday's quiz is zoolbia (or zoolbiya, zoolbeeya, zoulbeya, take your pick).  Congratulations to Molly for putting her Tehrangeles knowledge to good use!

Traditionally served with another Persian sweet called bamieh, zoolbia is very simple, made only with cornstarch, yogurt and a bit of sugar, then piped, just like a funnel cake, into hot oil. Next, the fried pastry is soaked in a rosewater simple syrup solution, and served.

I have to tell you, I was VERY surprised that no one guessed funnel cake!