Meat Market Cocktails & Cuisine 5.22.13

                            


Meat Market launched its Cocktails and Cuisine Summer Dinner Series last week and chef Sean Brasel along with award winning bartender Ezra Pattek delivered a fantastic meal.  More importantly, a portion of the proceeds were donated to the victims of the Boston Marathon tragedy via The One Fund.Stay tuned for the next dinner in the series.

The evening started with a set of outstanding canapés around the bustling bar area.  First out were fresh Kumamoto oysters topped with Fresno yuzu sorbet.

A delicious white truffle "Kobe" tartare served on Parmesan crostini followed.

A wood-grilled chili caramel lamb tenderloin on sugarcane was a tasty treat.

The last bite at the bar was a nice combination of Prime Angus short rib and smoked corn empanadas.

The first cocktail pairing from Ezra was A Smokey “Aperitivo” Cocktail.  It featured several ingredients that worked really well together. Talisker 10yr, Campari, Pear Puree, Mandarine Napolêon Liqueur, Oloroso Sherry and Fresh Lemon Juice, Bacon Smoked Sea Salt Rim.  This was probably my favorite cocktail of the night.

Once the group was seated we were treated to wonderful combination of fresh tuna carpaccio with a vodka tuna olive aioli, wood-grilled sourdough and fried capers.

Ezra paired the tuna with a smooth "Honey Mountain Bloom" featuring Double Cross vodka, fresh honeydew melon juice, tarragon infused honey, Swedish herb bitters, fresh lemon juice. 

The second course was a tasty Vegetarian Choclo “crab” cake with  king crab salad and tequila yogurt remoulade.

It was paired with another balanced and tasty drink, Mercado. This featured Avion Reposado tequila, passion fruit juice, mint, fresh lime, habanero yucateca infused agave, salt & pepper rim
 

The home run dish of night for me was the Certified Angus wood-grilled Deckle which is the second cut of brisket.  It was a dynamite cut of meat and seasoned perfectly.  It was accompanied by a delicious truffle ricotta potato ravioli, gin fennel cream spinach and fried chili onion rings.

Holland Rhubarb Fizz was another multiple ingredient drink that worked.  Here, Ezra paired Nolet’s gin, fennel, rhubarb, ginger, fresh lemon, Mandarine Napolêon Liqueur, Dutch colonial bitters and a splash of bitter lemon soda.

For dessert, we were treated to a George Dickel chocolate bourbon walnut pie with brown sugar bourbon ice cream and sour whipped cream.  They had me at George Dickel and slayed me with bourbon ice cream.  A great ending to a great meal.

Ezra went out in a blaze of bourbon glory with The Waltz comprised of George Dickel 12yr bourbon, Pierde Almas Mezcal, cold coffee and walnut liqueur, topped with vanilla & praline whipped cream. 

Sean did a fantastic job incorporating Ezra's cocktail pairings into each dish and took some creative chances that all worked.

Ezra's cocktails featured a tremendous amount of ingredients all of which resulted in surprisingly balanced and tasty drinks that most importantly avoiding being overly sweet. 

It was a very impressive job by both. 

Fun, creative and delicious collaborations are what great dinners are all about. And at $75.00 it is a good deal.  I'm looking forward to attending the next in the series. See you there.

Meat Market is located at 915 Lincoln Road on South Beach. 

(305) 532-0088.  

www.meatmarketmiami.com