Delray Beach, Florida has certainly come a loooooong way since I moved here 12 years ago. While some may say it’s lost some of it’s old school charm, I like to think we’ve made tremendous gains in the quality of our local cuisine! Unlike neighboring cities, Delray Beach has largely eschewed chain restaurants and given rise its own unique foodie culture instead. In order to spread the word about all this local deliciousness, I’ll be happily highlighting my favorite Delray dishes here on the blog in our segment: Delray Foodie Faves. Our first installment brings us to Brulé Bistro and their positively mouthwatering and supremely comforting Potato Croquettes.
Brulé Bistro is located in Delray’s tony Pineapple Grove Arts District, and since it’s incarnation in 2007, it has evolved from a gourmet market into a delightful American bistro and wine bar that is beloved by Delray locals. While I have enjoyed many delicious meals there over the years, there was just something about these potato croquettes! It was also by pure accident that I even tasted these delicious morsels and I hate to think how close I came to missing them – thanks, Matt!
Hearty, flavorful and perfectly seasoned, the croquettes were served piping hot, topped with a dusting of bright green chives. The generous discs of mashed potatoes were lightly coated in bread crumbs, fried and then crowned with a delicious trinity of applewood smoked bacon, Cheddar cheese and a savory, smoky aïoli. I had already ordered a split of Heidsieck Monopole Brut Champagne and the two together were sheer perfection! Now this is definitely not a healthy dish, nor particularly flashy and definitely does not require any fancy foodie technology, but if you are in the mood for some edible comfort, I defy you to find a better dish! I’m no psychic, but with the Fall and Winter months upon us, I see many more potato croquettes in my immediate future.
If you live in Delray Beach, what are some of your favorite local dishes?
Where: Brulé Bistro, 200 NE 2nd Avenue, Delray Beach, FL 33444 or
Website: www.brulebistro.com
What: Potato Croquettes – they usually have them in one form or another on their menu but if you don’t see them, ask your waiter!
How much: approximately $7 for an order of 2
Bon appétit,
The post Delray Foodie Faves: Brulé Bistro’s Potato Croquettes appeared first on The Glamorous Gourmet.
With social media playing such a big role in our lives these days it’s hard to keep anything secret and if we’re friends on Facebook you might have heard I had a birthday last week. If not, well, the jig is up and yes, it’s true, I’m 29 (again) but more importantly I wanted to share a special birthday experience... Read More
The post Glamorous Getaways: A Special Day at Eau Spa in Palm Beach, Florida! appeared first on The Glamorous Gourmet.
If you’re planning on indulging in our Steak au Poivre a Deux this Valentine’s Day, why not continue the indulgence into dessert with this deliciously decadent recipe for Red Velvet Cake. Not only am I obsessed with the delicious flavor of the bright red cake slathered with cream cheese frosting and topped with crunchy chopped pecans, this recipe has sentimental... Read More
The post Valentine’s Day Sweets: The Bubble Room’s Red Velvet Cake! appeared first on The Glamorous Gourmet.
This time of year in South Florida we are obsessed with Stone Crabs, a delicacy only available from October 15th through May 15th. While these crustaceans can be found in waters as far north as Connecticut, the best are widely believed to come from Florida. The world famous Joe’s Stone Crab in Miami’s South Beach is the authority on these... Read More
The post Which Wines to Pair With: Florida Stone Crabs! appeared first on The Glamorous Gourmet.
This time of year in South Florida we are obsessed with Stone Crabs, a delicacy only available from October 15th through May 15th. While these crustaceans can be found in waters as far north as Connecticut, the best are widely believed to come from Florida. The world famous Joe’s Stone Crab in Miami’s South Beach is the authority on these crustaceans, also known as Menippe Mercenaria (Menippe = Greek, meaning force or courage and Mercenaria = Latin meaning something of value).
Unlike most other crabs including Maine’s Peekytoe, Chesapeake Blue, or the Pacific Dungeoness, only the claws of the stone crab are harvested and the crabs are not killed during the process. These crabs are captured in baited traps and only one claw per crab can be taken so it can still defend itself against predators. The claws make up about half the weight of the entire crab and once harvested, the pricey appendages are classified and priced according to weight – Colossal size claws can weigh up to 25 ounces or more! Once harvested, the crab is returned to the water where the claw will regenerate in approximately 12-24 months.
The stone crab gets its name from their extremely hard shells and the claws must be cracked prior to eating – an art form in and of itself! Stone crabs have a delicious, sweet flavor and their texture is somewhere between the delicacy of crab and the decadence of lobster. They are traditionally served with a mustard sauce which complements the delicious meat although many prefer to eat them plain with nothing at all. Many establishments are know for their mustard sauce and there’s some debate as to which type of sauce is the best. Some folks lean towards a spicy mustard sauce (like us!) while others tend towards sweet with the addition of some honey. Which type of mustard sauce do you prefer if any at all?
Wine pairing suggestions: In order to complement the texture and flavor of the crab as well as the tanginess of the mustard sauce, opt for wines with notes of citrus and stone fruit with a racy, cleansing acidity. Champagne, Sauvignon Blanc, Vermentino, and unoaked Chardonnay are wonderful choices to pair with Florida Stone Crabs. Here are our recommendations available at The Wine Atelier:
1.) Champagne Ayala Brut Majeur, Champagne, France, NV ($44) – a light, fresh style of Champagne which will complement the texture of the crab meat beautifully!
2.) Round Pond Estate Sauvignon Blanc Rutherford, California ($20) – notes of juicy citrus and white flowers characterize this California beauty!
3.) Banfi La Pettegola Vermentino, IGT Toscana, Italy, 2013 ($20) – light and bright with notes of green apple, apricot & grapefruit with a racy acidity!
4.) Drouhin Vaudon Chablis, Burgundy, France, 2012 ($25) – Notes of apple, citrus, and white peach characterize this mouth watering Chardonnay!
Cheers,
The Cambridge Dictionary defines the word “icon” as: “relating to or characteristic of a famous person or thing that represents something of importance.” While we’re accustomed to hearing this word used to refer to a person, what exactly does “icon” mean when used to refer to a wine? Much like Joan Rivers was a true comedic icon, the term refers... Read More
The post Wine of the Week: Chile’s Iconic Don Melchor Cabernet Sauvignon & Winemaker Enrique Tirado appeared first on The Glamorous Gourmet.
The Cambridge Dictionary defines the word “icon” as: “relating to or characteristic of a famous person or thing that represents something of importance.” While we’re accustomed to hearing this word used to refer to a person, what exactly does “icon” mean when used to refer to a wine?
Much like Joan Rivers was a true comedic icon, the term refers to something that is original, exceptional and enduring with a proven track record and standard of excellence to which others rightly aspire. In wine, excellence is dictated by many factors including vineyard location, soil type, grape variety, climate, viticultural practices, winemaking techniques, and how these factors come together to consistently produce an excellent product year after year even in the face of adverse conditions. Recently I had the distinct pleasure of meeting Enrique Tirado, Winemaker of one of Chile’s true icon wines, Don Melchor Cabernet Sauvignon.
In 1883 Don Melchor Concha y Toro planted the first noble vines he and his wife brought back from Bordeaux in the Maipo Valley at the foot of the Andes mountains. This planting laid the ground for what would later become Concha y Toro which, after decades of growth and expansion, became the world’s first winery to have its shares traded on the New York Stock Exchange. Today it is a global brand whose distribution extends to 125 countries around the globe. In remembrance of its founder’s entrepreneurial spirit, Concha y Toro created Don Melchor in 1987, a wine which paved the way for a new era in Chilean wine, proving the country could in fact produce some serious, world class wine.
Enrique Tirado joined the Don Melchor team in 1997 and, after proving his winemaking acumen and demonstrating his tireless dedication to research of different terroirs, was appointed as the wine’s sole winemaker in 1999. According to Tirado, “Don Melchor’s style captures the complexity and finesse expressed through the perfect balance of the stony Puente Alto soil, the Andean breeze, the generous Maipo Valley climate and the thirty years vines have taken to produce their best grapes.” His enduring passion for the Puente Alto terroir was evident during a recent trade tasting at Miami’s Capital Grille. During the tasting we were able to sample all the Don Melchor vineyard parcels allocated to this storied wine. The vineyard is divided into seven parcels of which six are planted to Cabernet Sauvignon and one is planted to Cabernet Franc. Sampling each individual parcel and noting the distinct differences of each proved to be a wonderful lesson in the art of blending; Parcel 1 demonstrated expressive notes of black fruit and sweet tannins; Parcel 4 had wonderful acid and tannin structure accompanied by ripe red fruit; and Parcel 7, the sole Cabernet Franc parcel, was characterized by the variety’s hallmark notes of black tea, earth and candied violet. It quickly became obvious how selecting the right proportion of each parcel could prove to be a daunting, yet rewarding task.
After sampling the parcels, Tirado got to his specialty: blending! First, he created a blend which represented each parcels’ percentage of the 127 hectare Don Melchor vineyard. For example if Parcel 1 was 22% of the entire vineyard, the wine from that parcel comprised 22% of the blend. Based on this approach, our group generally concurred Blend #1 was very expressive with plenty of ripe fruit character, however, lacked structure and acidity. To remedy this, Tirado asked us (yes, us!) which parcels we would add more or less of to improve the blend. With some guidance from him, we examined the parcels and decided to add more of Parcel 4, raising it from 17% to 30% of the blend, as well as decrease the amount of Parcel 5, taking it from 20% to 8%. This blend, creatively dubbed Blend #2, had more acidity and tannin however the wine was not balanced. We all agreed it would probably benefit from additional time in the bottle although it would not quite fix everything that was wrong with it. Tirado made a very valuable point that if a wine’s tannins are out of balance when it is made, no amount of cellar age will fix it. As a group effort, I think we actually did pretty darn good and as it opened up in the glass, most of us actually preferred Blend #2 to Blend #1.
After our blending tutorial, we were rewarded with a glass of 2010 Don Melchor, a blend of 97% Cabernet Sauvignon and 3% Cabernet Franc (we were not privy to the parcel percentage breakdown) aged for 15 months in French oak barrels (76% new, 24% second use). The 2010 vintage was characterized by lower than normal temperatures which delayed the onset of harvest so the grapes could adequately ripen. The result is a full-bodied wine with an intense, ruby red color and expressive aromas of red and black fruit, graphite and earth. On the palate, mouth-filling flavors of pomegranate, plum, cocoa and hoisin are seamlessly integrated and accompanied by elegant tannins and a fresh acidity making this wine perfectly enjoyable now, yet it will definitely benefit from years in the cellar. Critical acclaim and accolades for this icon wine are indeed plentiful with six vintages of the Don Melchor Cabernet Sauvignon ranking among Wine Spectator’s Top 100 Wines of the Year; the publication also awarded the 2010 vintage 95 points.
We enjoyed our assortment of wines with a delicious lunch consisting of a flavorful Steak Tartare with Truffle Deviled Egg followed by a melt in your mouth Filet Mignon (perfectly cooked medium-rare) accompanied by au gratin potatoes and roasted green beans and garlic. Needless to say the Don Melchor Cabernet Sauvignon made a perfect pairing for the filet and was a delightful conclusion to a very informative and enjoyable tasting.
For information on purchasing the 2010 Concha y Toro Don Melchor Cabernet Sauvignon ($99) please click here to visit the Wine Atelier.
Cheers,
The post Wine of the Week: Chile’s Iconic Don Melchor Cabernet Sauvignon & Winemaker Enrique Tirado appeared first on The Glamorous Gourmet.
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