Saturday, January 19, 2013

Best Meals 2012 # 6 Billecart Salmon Seafood Dinner @ Edge Steak & Bar

                             



I decided mid way through the year that I wasn't going to do a best meal or best dish list this year because there were already way too many great ones in the mix. From the delicious and fun visiting chef Pop Up Series hosted by chef Michael Schwartz at Harry's Pizzeria, to the great monthly themed dinners hosted by chef Aaron Brooks at Edge Steak & Bar, to some wonderful wine and champagne dinners along the way and of course, the "underground and experimental" dinners we throw with some creative and talented chefs over at Cobaya Miami.

But some of these meals were truly exceptional and memorable. And I wanted to go back and give them the credit they deserve.

I must admit that ranking these meals was very difficult as all were truly outstanding. As with my normal "tiers", these rankings take all facets of the meal into consideration. While food is the primary component, phenomenal wine or simply a great time will bolster ones rating.

I intended on limiting the list to my Top Twelve for 2012 but it was impossible to cut down to 12. Thus, I went with my top Fifteen plus a tie.

Big thanks to all of the chefs, kitchen crews, managers, sommeliers, bartenders, servers and support staff for making 2012 another happy year for my belly!!

Rankings:

#11 Cobaya "Dundee" @ Edge Steak & Bar
#10 Tasting of Bordeaux @ Bourbon Steak
#9   Barbuto Pizzeria, Jonathan Waxman @ Harry's Pizzeria
#8   Empire State South Pizzeria Hugh Acheson @ Harry's Pizzeria
#7   Omakase with Jeffrey Brana @ Tuyo


Chef Brooks strikes again!  His third appearance in the rankings comes in at number six. It is courtesy of the scintillating Billecart Salmon Seafood dinner at Edge Steak & Bar.  The great bubbles of Billecart Salmon were flowing freely throughout the meal and chef Brooks plated some truly outstanding seafood to go along.

Once again, I failed to write about this dinner.  Thus, I included some of my tweets from the dinner to capture my live thoughts about the meal.

With three spots in the top fifteen, I think it is safe to say that I highly recommend paying a visit to chef Brooks and Edge Steak & Bar.

Thank you chef Brooks for making my 2012 food year extra special.



The evening started out on the patio of the Four Seasons Hotel where chef Brooks showed off his shucking skills.  The Apalachicola oysters were abundant and delicious.  I easily devoured a dozen of these while sipping on Billecart Salmon Brut.
         

                                                                   



Once seated in the private dining room inside Edge we were served a pristine yellow fin tuna and St. John's River blue crab.  They were paired with Florida citrus, sesame and jalapeño.  This was paired with Billecart's non vintage blanc de blanc.  Perfect combination all around.




Bad shot but these were OUTSTANDING royal red shrimp insanely fresh (12 hours) @BrooksChef @EdgeMiami

My tweet says it all. These royal reds were some of the best shrimp I've ever had.  They were paired with a flavorful black olive polenta, tomato and tarragon vinaigrette.  If you see these on the specials menu, get them!

This was paired with a nv extra brut.




Great bouillabaisse- clams, grilled octopus, cobia, rouille from@BrooksChef & chef King @EdgeMiami Billecart-salmon dinner.

Chef Brooks followed the awesome shrimp with a very easy bouillabaisse consisting of middle neck clams, cobia, grilled octopus, heirloom potatoes and an unreal rouille.  This was paired with a delicious rose.  




Red Snapper!!


The last seafood course was a perfectly cooked red snapper which was baked "in the sea".  It was paired with fennel mash, okra and sweet corn succotash.

A dynamite Billecart Salmon Nicolas Francois 2000 was paired with it.



Dessert was a "floating island" comprised of a goat cheese brioche ice cream and watermelon soda.


One of the best meals I've had all year tonight @EdgeMiami thanks to @BrooksChef & Chef James King You need to pay them a visit #firstclass

1 comment:

Kurt Ruiz said...

That Red Snapper is my target next week! Edge Steak & Bar was my 2012 favorite. Now I'm craving for Persian food!