Honeymoon Gluttony: The Tasting Menu

After our chef's table experience, we were looking forward to trying some of the resort's other dishes. So we were excited about our reservation for the tasting menu (just one day after the chef's table - we were still full). After the chef's table experience the night before, Steve and I both felt like this:

(Photo from Willy Wonka and the Chocolate Factory)

Let's just say that I'm REALLY sad that we didn't have a working camera at this point because the pictures would seriously speak louder than anything I can say.

The tasting menu was huge. HUGE. The three-course tasting menu turned into five courses of the biggest platters of food I've ever seen.

We started, so naively, with bread and olive oil with fresh basil from the hydroponic farm. The butter served with it was seriously salted...and heavenly. The kitchen also sent out a complimentary basket of fry bread with carrot and pumpkin dip. The dip was okay - a little too sweet for me though. Since we were hungry at that point, we gave in to snacking on that. We should have waited.

Course 1 looked innocent enough when we were presented with it. The server came out with a bowl of pumpkin soup for each of us. The soup had the most amazing goat cheese ravioli at the bottom of the bowl - I could have eaten a plate full of that. The goat cheese was creamy and sharp and the ravioli was perfectly cooked. Definitely adding goat cheese ravioli and pumpkin soup to my list of things to make.

Then they set the tray down in front of us and we realized that the soup wasn't the first course. It was one of FIVE small plates that comprised the first course. The other plates were as follows:

- Crayfish with a fresh salad and vegetables.
- Chicken dumpling with a mango sauce.
- Seared scallops with sweet potato mash.
- Tuna tartare wrapped in seaweed and rice tempura with a watermelon sauce.

Of all of them, I think the scallops, tuna tartare and pumpkin soup were our favorites. The chicken dumpling seemed a little out of place and the crayfish, while good, didn't beat out the others. The tuna tartare was fantastic - you could taste how fresh the fish was. And the tempura added that extra little crunch. The scallops, of course, were delicious. They were seared in butter (what could be better?) and had this beautiful golden glaze on them. While I don't normally go for mashed sweet potatoes, these accompanied the scallops perfectly - a bit of sweet flavor to go with the fat, tender scallops.

Our next course was sage sorbet made with sage grown in the hydroponic farm. Again, it was strong and I couldn't finish it (like the ice and armangac at the chef's table). But it was still good.

Course 3 was like the first one - five small plates as follows:

- Pea and mushroom risotto.
- Rack of lamb with gnocchi.
- Beef with bearnaise and French potatoes.
- Tuna with a stir fry and sweet pepper puree.
- Mahi mahi with a sesame crust and braised sweet potatoes.

Of all of these, we both really liked the risotto. Steve really liked the lamb and I agreed - it was seasoned and grilled perfectly - nice and tender, very flavorful and not overcooked. Overcooked lamb is the worst. Everything else tasted good and cooked well, but nothing really captured us.

At this point, we were so far beyond full. Stuffed. Wanted to lay down for awhile. I was eyeing the lounge chairs over by the pool and starting to feel like Violet Beauregarde again.

But we thought dessert would probably be just one or two things, so we finished course 3 and moved on to course 4.

Wrong again! Course 4 was just like the rest. A bunch of smaller dessert-type items.

- Creme brulee
- Raspberry hibiscus sorbet
- Strawberry macarons
- Mint and ginger sorbet
- Madeleines
- Strawberry sorbet with some sort of jelly
- Gazpacho of basil
- Mango puree

I was so full that I tried a couple bites of things (the creme brulee, the mango puree, the sorbets) and that was it for me. I was dunzo. Could. Not. Eat. Any. More. Which was SO disappointing because the dessert tray was really really beautiful.

So when they brought out yet another plate of desserts (a small plate), I was really surprised. It was just a couple small bites - chocolate malted balls on a strip of chocolate, etc. I can't even remember what else was on the plate (which is horrible!). I was in a food coma.

All in all, the food was good. A few standouts that we want to try to make at home. I don't mean to paint the tasting menu in a negative light at ALL. We were just stuffed! Again!

More to come on our cooking class with Chef Daniel and our trip to Sandy Ground...

Honeymoon Gluttony: The beach bar

For our honeymoon, Steve picked the CuisinArt Resort and Spa on the island of Anguilla.

Anguilla is a gorgeous, teeny tiny island that thankfully hasn't been overdeveloped or taken over by the big names (Westin, Ritz, etc.). In fact, a new resort just opened up on the island - Viceroy - and the locals were commenting that it was "too fancy" for Anguilla. I'm sure it's beautiful though. I certainly wouldn't turn it down.

The island is REALLY laid back. Even at the nicer restaurants, you can wear jeans. And NO ONE pays attention to time, which was nice (even though it would come back to bite us. More on that later.).

Anyway, back to the food.

For the first few days, we were total beach bums. Laid out on the beach, walked on the beach, ate at the beach and drank at the beach. The beach bar is a little round bar - wait for it - on the beach. It has a little deck with tables set up and a grill where the chef prepares the food for the bar.

Since we wanted to take advantage of the local food, we ate there almost exclusively for the first four days of the trip. The beach bar's specialty was skewers that were grilled (right in front of you) and served with a fresh salad. (Side note: I will be posting on the hydroponic farm later - but when I say fresh, I really mean fresh. Lettuce, cherry tomatoes, peppers, eggplants, herbs - they're all picked the day you eat it. Amazing. And you can really taste the difference.)

 (Photo for CuisinArt)

So Steve and I tried every single one of the skewers throughout those first few days.

They had tuna, lamb with rosemary, chicken, lobster with cherry tomatoes, shrimp with basil, beef with peppers and then a vegetable skewer. Of all of them, the tuna was my favorite. It's hard to resist fresh tuna that was delivered straight from the boat that day! Steve loved the lamb...it was really delicious.

The skewers also came with chips and a sundried tomato and olive dip. I'm pretty sure Steve could have just scarfed down the dip without the chips - every time it was brought out for us, he commented on how much he loved it and wanted to make it at home. We asked them what was in it and - surprise! It's just sundried tomatoes, olives, olive oil and a bit of salt and pepper. I'd probably take the salt down a bit since the olives are salty enough, but it was GOOD. And it'd probably keep well (although it wouldn't last long in my fridge).

At night, the beach bar served more standard fare for dinner. We ate there a couple times and it definitely did not disappoint. Each time we started with caprese salad - it was impossible to resist. The tomatoes were so fresh and the mozzarella was so yummy and the basil pesto they put on top was heaven. I commented more than once that I could have just eaten a giant plate of that. So. Good. I got the mahi mahi every time and we agreed that it was the best dish they had. It came with either rice and peas (standard island sides) or a baked potato served with the most delicious fresh sour cream ever. Steve tried the snapper with rice and peas the first visit (which was really yummy) and grilled chicken with the baked potato for the second visit. All of the food was grilled or prepared about 10 feet away at the edge of the deck.

The other beach bar plus? Bartender Sam. He was super friendly and was fun to talk to while we were eating lunch (read: Steve scarfing down the sundried tomato dip) or getting a drink. And the drinks were AWESOME. Favorite? The frozen mojito. The mint came from the hydroponic farm and Sam used real cane sugar. I had never thought to make a frozen mojito, but I'm definitely trying it now!

Honeymoon gluttony posts on the chef's table, the catamaran trip, the tasting menu and Sandy Ground coming soon...

This summer's restaurant to-do list

Since Steve and I aren't really going anywhere this summer (except to celebrate Mike and Britt's wedding, chronicled here), I've decided that this will be the summer of eating.

And consequently, the summer of the gym.

But mostly of eating.

I keep a running list of all the restaurants that have been suggested or I've read about or just walked past and wanted to try. So here goes (in no particular order) - all the places I'm trying to hit by the time it gets cold!

Kushi
Ted's Bulletin
Ray's the Classics
Rasika
Restaurant Eve
Policy
Posto
Cafe Saint-Ex (I hear brunch is awesome!)
Mendocino Grille
Eatonville
Birch & Barley
Corduroy
Vidalia
Bangkok Joe's
2 Amys
Komi
Westend Bistro
Tabard Inn
Againn
Marvin

Did I miss any that you think should be on the list? Tell me! When I'm not cooking this summer (more to come on that later), I want to be trying new restaurants!