Time to chow down with long time friend and fellow chef Kerry Chace. The Chaceman travels a ton, so it was great to catch up with him over a nice meal. Linda and I had a grand time working through a huge and some what over-priced wine list to start. Bacchus is part of the Bartollota restaurant group based in Milwaukee, a collection of high-end, chef-driven venues serving on-trend food with spot on service. The service was fine - a little haughty since the server tried to sell two chefs a $88 porterhouse for two when asked what was a "not miss" on the menu. Come on, I know Tuesday evening is slow, but really read the guest better. We did find him to continue to be a bit competitive as it related to talking about food, wine and beverages through the whole meal (I'm getting this for my house, etc.). The menu was a smart list of starters, salads and entrees that echoed the seasonal goods available.
Linda and I shared the Tuna tartar with Wasabi tobikko as appy. Cucumbers and won ton chips rounded out the dish. The tuna was well seasoned and ice cold perched atop diced cucumbers that really gave the dish a bitter note instead of enhancing the sweetness. The won ton chips were super crispy platform for enjoying the tuna and the wonderful bursts of the wasabi tobikko really made your taste buds stand up and notice, all in all a solid 'B'. Kerry worked over the Seared Sea Scallops “Bartolotta” with sauteed mushrooms, truffle vinaigrette and Parmigiano: two beautiful day boat scallops that were perfectly seared. He must have enjoyed them because they were gone in a matter of minutes. The first course was in the books and all of us enjoyed the beginning of the evening. As far as wine, we selected a bottle of 2004 Paraduxx from Duckhorn - a meritage blend that was damn fine and tasty even though a bit over marked up.
Next up a walk through the garden - salads arrived - Linda and Kerry had Roasted Beets & Hidden Springs Cheese with grapes, Marcona almonds, arugula and “Blis” sherry vinegar salad. I had the Baby Spinach Salad with a grainy mustard dressing, house cured bacon lardons and a soft poached egg . Well, the beets on the beet salad were very one-dimensional and lacked any real seasoning or flavoring - I know beets. Linda is the one who introduced me to the joys of a well roasted beet, and this salad lacked any of the pizazz of hers. I think they both said their salad seemed deconstructed and did not deliver on the description. My salad also fell short of delivering the experience I was expecting. The house-cured lardons ended up being maple-cured, delivering a shock of sweetness I had not planned on. And the poached egg was actually soft boiled, which made the yolk firm and did not allow it to deliver the creaminess to the rest of the salad greens. Give this course a 'C' for showing up. I was hoping that this did not tip the hand for the entrees!
Here comes dinner - and none too soon... we all were very hungry! Kerry had the yummy Red Wine Braised Shortribs with sweet potato puree, parsnips and pearl onions a nice winter braise! Linda and I had the same thing, American Red Snapper with sweet potato puree, caramelized fennel and red wine-honey sauce. Both dishes were plated in an almost old-school style: an over worked and sauced plate that was a step back in time. Lots of demi glace and contrived use of orange, red, brown and white on both plates. Even though we 'eat with our eyes', these dishes tasted far better than they appeared. We enjoyed our entrees and finished the evening with an after dinner cocktail: Oban scotch for us and a Woodford Reserve for Chef Chace. We suggested he try it with a twist of orange to bring out the caramel and orange notes of the single batch bourbon, I think he found a new drink! We wrapped the evening and scooted out the door to our next stop, having a wonderful full tummy, and ready to rock out the rest of the evening.
Would I go back to Bacchus? Yes - I think it is a place worth visiting and getting to know when you go to Milwaukee!
Showing posts with label scallops. Show all posts
Showing posts with label scallops. Show all posts
Monday, February 16, 2009
Saturday, December 13, 2008
Recipe of the week - Ruby Red Scallop Ceviche
It is time for a little taste treat, we enjoy this dish and feel like we have traveled to a warmer place. You can substitute shrimp or lobster for the scallops for an added recipe twist. I love to use Texas Rio Star Ruby Red grapefruits this time of year they are so wonderfully juicy and sweet. Linda and I will be teaching at Orange Tree again in January. Check out their cooking school website for more information on classes. Happy Saturday and good cooking.
**NOTE: ALL RECIPES ARE ORIGINAL
Scallop Ceviche servings 4
8 Diver scallops, sliced in half
1 Ruby Red grapefruit, peeled and sectioned
¼ cup Lime Juice
¼ cup Rice Wine Vinegar
2 Tbs. Mirin
½ cup Red onion, shaved
¼ cup Peppadew pepper, sliced
2 Tbs. Cilantro Leaves
As needed Salt & Pepper
Place the scallops on a cutting board and remove the abductor muscle from the side. Slice in half through the equator of the scallop to form two disks. Repeat until you have cut all eight scallops.
In a mixing bowl place the sections of the grapefruit, lime juice, rice wine vinegar, Mirin, red onion, Peppadew and cilantro leaves. Toss to mix.
Add the scallops and season with salt and pepper.
Place in the refrigerator and allow to “cook” for about 2 hours.
Remove and stir mixture before plating.
Divide the ceviche between four plates with 4 pieces of scallop on each plate, adding a little of the grapefruit-onion mixture.
Garnish with a small drizzle of the marinade juice and serve.
© Doak & Krantz 2008
Recommended beverages:
Lighter lager beers
Chablis
Champagne
Chenin Blanc
Riesling, esp. Alsatian or German
Sake
Why? Ceviche has a lot of acid, and so the wrong wine can finish sweet against the acid. Choosing a wine that has acid tastes (lime, lemon, etc.) will compliment the ceviche.
**NOTE: ALL RECIPES ARE ORIGINAL
Scallop Ceviche servings 4
8 Diver scallops, sliced in half
1 Ruby Red grapefruit, peeled and sectioned
¼ cup Lime Juice
¼ cup Rice Wine Vinegar
2 Tbs. Mirin
½ cup Red onion, shaved
¼ cup Peppadew pepper, sliced
2 Tbs. Cilantro Leaves
As needed Salt & Pepper
Place the scallops on a cutting board and remove the abductor muscle from the side. Slice in half through the equator of the scallop to form two disks. Repeat until you have cut all eight scallops.
In a mixing bowl place the sections of the grapefruit, lime juice, rice wine vinegar, Mirin, red onion, Peppadew and cilantro leaves. Toss to mix.
Add the scallops and season with salt and pepper.
Place in the refrigerator and allow to “cook” for about 2 hours.
Remove and stir mixture before plating.
Divide the ceviche between four plates with 4 pieces of scallop on each plate, adding a little of the grapefruit-onion mixture.
Garnish with a small drizzle of the marinade juice and serve.
© Doak & Krantz 2008
Recommended beverages:
Lighter lager beers
Chablis
Champagne
Chenin Blanc
Riesling, esp. Alsatian or German
Sake
Why? Ceviche has a lot of acid, and so the wrong wine can finish sweet against the acid. Choosing a wine that has acid tastes (lime, lemon, etc.) will compliment the ceviche.
Friday, November 21, 2008
Friday night dinner at Lombardino's 11/21
We love having dinner at Lombardino's the chef/ owner Patrick is by far one of the most consistent and innovative chefs in Madison. He really creates a wonderful menu and specials sheet using local and seasonal ingredients that really tempt the taste buds.
As with most trips to Lombardino's we like to sit at the bar - the service is always excellent with personal attention from Micheal Banos the GM of the restaurant. This evening we had to sit at one of the high top tables at the end of the bar. - A great spot to watch people and enjoy the energy of the dining room near by. As usual we ordered off the specials sheet - not that the main menu items are not great - we just love the items that are featured - this evening we shared three of the antipasti items - the Beet Salad, the Duo of Scallops, Sausage & Peppers - all three really fun and delicious. While dining we each had a glass of the Zenato Ripassa - one of our favorites - rich fruit, with a little raisin and dried currants and Amarone at half the price.
The beet salad was a classic with roasted beets, greens, Gorgonzola, nuts and lightly dressed greens. It was great way to start the evening it really was nice since we had happy hour downtown at Broccah but that is another story. The nice thing about splitting items at Lombardino's is that they split them in the kitchen when the dish allows, we love this extra little special attention. Next up the duo of scallops which combined a chilled slice of salmon and scallop mousse over baby arugula on one end of the plate with a hot offering of a seared scallop with truffle and brown butter crumbs pasta. The cold half of the duo the mousse was not very pleasing a slight miss in our opinion. The salmon in the mousse was to over powering for the scallop and made the entire item taste really fishy. On the other end of the plate the hot half of the duo really delivered a nice punch. The scallop was perfectly cooked the black truffle with the brown butter crumb was just rich and luxurious on the palate. We quickly noshed on the scallop and sopped up every last crumb with their wonderful bread. The flavors of the earthy truffle with the scallop's freshness of the sea taste all tied together with the light caramel notes of the brown butter make this dish a must repeat, yum!
We rounded out the meal with the final course, a classic sausage and peppers. Patrick puts a nice spin on this favorite by first using a wonderful piece of Frabonis coiled Italian sausage. The sausage it self had been grilled which added a nice smoky note to the dish, He then combined peppers and onions that are almost caramelized, but he used poblano peppers instead of just bell peppers. The poblano provided a wonderful glow of heat to the dish that separated it from being ordinary.
We enjoyed the rest of our wine and then headed back to the eastside since we could not find any music we were interested in this evening. We always look forward to the great food from Patrick and the awesome service from Micheal and his team. Thanks for making our Friday night a tasty one!
As with most trips to Lombardino's we like to sit at the bar - the service is always excellent with personal attention from Micheal Banos the GM of the restaurant. This evening we had to sit at one of the high top tables at the end of the bar. - A great spot to watch people and enjoy the energy of the dining room near by. As usual we ordered off the specials sheet - not that the main menu items are not great - we just love the items that are featured - this evening we shared three of the antipasti items - the Beet Salad, the Duo of Scallops, Sausage & Peppers - all three really fun and delicious. While dining we each had a glass of the Zenato Ripassa - one of our favorites - rich fruit, with a little raisin and dried currants and Amarone at half the price.
The beet salad was a classic with roasted beets, greens, Gorgonzola, nuts and lightly dressed greens. It was great way to start the evening it really was nice since we had happy hour downtown at Broccah but that is another story. The nice thing about splitting items at Lombardino's is that they split them in the kitchen when the dish allows, we love this extra little special attention. Next up the duo of scallops which combined a chilled slice of salmon and scallop mousse over baby arugula on one end of the plate with a hot offering of a seared scallop with truffle and brown butter crumbs pasta. The cold half of the duo the mousse was not very pleasing a slight miss in our opinion. The salmon in the mousse was to over powering for the scallop and made the entire item taste really fishy. On the other end of the plate the hot half of the duo really delivered a nice punch. The scallop was perfectly cooked the black truffle with the brown butter crumb was just rich and luxurious on the palate. We quickly noshed on the scallop and sopped up every last crumb with their wonderful bread. The flavors of the earthy truffle with the scallop's freshness of the sea taste all tied together with the light caramel notes of the brown butter make this dish a must repeat, yum!
We rounded out the meal with the final course, a classic sausage and peppers. Patrick puts a nice spin on this favorite by first using a wonderful piece of Frabonis coiled Italian sausage. The sausage it self had been grilled which added a nice smoky note to the dish, He then combined peppers and onions that are almost caramelized, but he used poblano peppers instead of just bell peppers. The poblano provided a wonderful glow of heat to the dish that separated it from being ordinary.
We enjoyed the rest of our wine and then headed back to the eastside since we could not find any music we were interested in this evening. We always look forward to the great food from Patrick and the awesome service from Micheal and his team. Thanks for making our Friday night a tasty one!
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