February 11th, 2010
Comcast was here even though they could not promise me anything this morning. I was so nice; not upset or frustrated that they decided to make my stop the last one of their route. They really looked tired.
I have pictures of the different storms we have had but, you know what? I am finished with the snow. It is getting old. I am looking forward to an Easter Pet Parade in Delray, green grass, clear beaches, the awakening of Spring and Summer. So, the following pictures are a reminder of better days to come:
 Dog Days of Summer  Spring!!  Fresh Seeds  Easter!!  Figs Growing!!  Paradise Island  Puerto Rico  Nantucket  Pacific Highway, California  Malibu, California  Captiva, Florida - The whitest sand  Beautiful Rehoboth Beach
The perfect pairings with Spring and Summer could be:
Rum Collins
2 ounces white Puerto Rican rum
1 fresh lime, halved
1 tsp. sugar
Soda Water
Squeeze half a lime and drop into a highball glass. Add and dissolve sugar.
Add ice cubes and rum.
Stir and fill with soda water.
Rum Martini
2 ounces white Puerto Rican Rum
Dash of dry vermouth (to taste)
1 fresh lime peel
small white onion or stuffed olive
In a cocktail shaker, stir rum and vermouth with ice and pour.
Add twist of lime peel and onion or olive.
This can also be served on-the-rocks.
Rum Sour
1 1/2 ounces dark Puerto Rican rum
1 ounce fresh lime juice
1 tsp. sugar
Orange slice
Maraschino cherry
In a cocktail shaker, shake rum, lime juice and sugar with ice cubes.
Strain into sour glass and garnish with orange slice and cherry.
Cruzan Swizzle
1 bottle (4/5 quart) St. Croix rum
4 ounces fresh lime juice
1/4 cup (4 tablespoons) sugar
1/2 tsp. Angostura bitters
3 cups crushed ice
Pour all ingredients in a large pitcher and mix well with swizzle stick, until pitcher frosts.
Serve, unstrained, in a tall glass
It serves 6.
Note: Dark Puerto Rican rum can be used instead of St. Croix rum.
A Salsa Cruda should carry you over until dinner:
Salsa Cruda
1/2 large garlic clove
1 large jalapeno pepper
1/4 medium onion
1/4 cup of cilantro leaves, chopped
1 1/4 cups unpeeled ripe tomatoes, chopped
1 tablespoon fresh lime juice
1/4 tsp. sugar
1/2 tsp. salt
1/8 tsp. freshly ground black pepper
1/2 cup black beans
Peel garlic and chop. Cut pepper in half and remove seeds and ribs, then chop.
Peel onion and also cut into small pieces.
Mix all ingredients. Serve at room temperature or if made ahead, just place in the refrigerator.
Note: You can also chop the vegetables in a food processor.
It will make about 2 cups. Serve it with your favorite chips, on top of a baked potato, over a salad, add chopped avocados. Really, whatever makes you happy.
Remember to enjoy it and make it your own.
See you soon…..
January 10th, 2010
For being the first week-end after New Year’s I was surprised to see that Rehoboth and Coastal Highway were crowded. I thought everyone would be pretty much worn out after all the shopping, partying, and eating.
Debbie and I were getting together for lunch. You remember her? She went kayaking with me this past summer in Fenwick Island and has been with me to some of the restaurants I have reviewed.
We ended up at Casa DiLeo on 721 Rehoboth Avenue, Rehoboth Beach, DE 19971. Tel 302-226-8660. The owner and Executive Chef is John J. DiLeo.
Casa DiLeo has been in the area for some time now. It has a big following and back in October they expanded their restaurant. This is the first time that I have seen the expansion and it looked good and certainly added more seating availability.
The hours of operation are: Mondays through Thursdays 11 a.m. – 10 p.m., Fridays and Saturdays 11 a.m. – 11 p.m. and Sunday 1 p.m. – 10 p.m.
Any time that my friends and I get together for breakfast, lunch or dinner, we must drive the wait staff crazy. We just talk, might glance over the menu, and without missing a beat we keep on talking. We tell them to come back in a little while, many times. It’s just the way it is. But, isn’t it nice to be able to share a meal with best friends? I love it.
Casa DiLeo is a fullfledge restaurant, but I am going to be reviewing lunch time. That is why I went there today. My favorite room is really the first one when you come in. As I come in, the music is playing and I feel the welcoming atmosphere of a Italian trattoria. The colors, the prints; all add to that feeling.
A trattoria is an Italian style eating establishment, less formal than a restaurant, but more formal than a tavern. The service is casual, with the food being mostly regional and local.
Casa DiLeo has a full bar and a very good selection of wines, including the PortoVino Italian wines. Try them and let me know how you like them.
This restaurant has take out and delivery. The specialties are New York Style Pizza, Pasta, Subs, Calzone/Stromboli, Soup and Salads. For dinner, some of their offerings are: Chicken & Eggplant Parmesan, Chicken or Veal Marsala, DiLeo’s Homemade Chesse Lasagna, which is very good, DiLeo’s Homemade Meat Lasagna, which is also delicious.
I usually get the Greek Salad with their balsamic dressing. Both, Debbie and I ordered it today, but we added a slice of pizza for each of us. I had really forgotten how big their portions are. But, check the picture of one slice of NY Style Pizza. The salad was fresh, full of vegetables with a nice slice of Feta cheese on top.
Casa DiLeo has a wide variety of subs. From the traditional subs like Italian to the unique ones like Sausage Parmesan or Veal Parmesan.
The same goes for the Calzone and the Stromboli. Chef DiLeo has his own “Boli” like the DiLeo Boli which is ground beef, Italian seasonings, sauce and cheese.
Calzone? Stromboli? A Calzone is like an Italian turnover which is stuffed with tomato and mozzarella and possibly other ingredients like pizza toppings. The stromboli is a type of turnover filled with various cheeses, Italian meats and veggies. The dough is Italian bread dough.
Everyone has something to say about pizzas. Whether you like the thick or thin crust, I would have to say that Casa DiLeo has a pretty good one. They have non Premium Toppings like tomatoes, low fat cheese, mushrooms, onions, sausage, etc. and they also have Premium Toppings like Bacon, Spinach, Feta Cheese, Anchovies, Portabella Mushrooms and more.
The House Specialty Pizzas; Low Fat Veggie, Diablo Pizza (red devil-hot), Supreme (8 toppings), New York White Ricotta, Mediterranean which has feta cheese, Kalamata olives, spinach, artichokes, fresh tomatoes, and extra virgin olive oil. I have had the Diablo Pizza in the past and really enjoyed it.
Casa DiLeo offers about 8 pasta sauces, so you have your pick from tomato sauce to Pomodoro (red) clam sauce.
We come to the sweet endings and how could you leave without having a Canolli with DiLeo’s homemade cream? Very popular and award winning is DiLeo’s Chocolate Mousse, and one of my favorite desserts is the Zabaglione with fresh berries. We did manage to leave without having dessert.
Zabaglione is a dessert made with egg yolks, sugar, Marsala wine or Prosecco and sometimes cream, mascarpone cheese or whole eggs. It is a very light custard.
And off we went, with a slower gait, but happy…
Another cold night in the beautiful Delmarva Peninsula…but I will talk to you later…
Note: Information on trattoria, Calzone, Stromboli and Zabaglione was taken from:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/trattoria http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/calzone http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/stromboli_(food) http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Zabaglione
January 8th, 2010
You know they are coming. Whether you have invited them or not, those foodies will be showing up to watch their favorite teams. I will be watching the Ravens.
You need to be prepared. It will be a cold week-end ahead. So, here is a little bit of help, just in case friends are coming to your house.
Black Bean Salsa
2 (15 oz.) cans black beans, rinsed and drained
1 (17 oz.) can whole kernel corn, drained
2 large tomatoes, seeded and chopped
1 purple onion, chopped
1/4 cup chopped fresh cilantro
3-4 tbsps. fresh lime juice
2 tbsps. olive oil
1 tbsp. red wine vinegar
1 tsp. salt
1/2 tsp. pepper
Mix together all ingredients and refrigerate. Very good with corn chips. And so versatile that you can put it on eggs or baked potatoes.
Note: This recipe is gluten free. Read labels of canned goods.
Oyster Broccoli Chowder
3 cups milk
2 (11 oz.) cans condensed cheddar cheese soup
1 (10 oz.) pkg. frozen chopped broccoli
1 cup frozen loose-packed hash brown potatoes
1 small onion, chopped
1 pint shucked oysters or two oz. cans whole oysters
In a 3 quart saucepan, combine milk and soup.
Stir in broccoli, potatoes, and onion. Cook, stirring occasionally, over medium heat until bubbly, breaking up broccoli with fork until thawed. Simmer, covered for 10 minutes.
Remove from heat; cool. Cover and chill.
At serving time, reheat soup. In a saucepan place the fresh undrained oysters; cook over medium heat until edges curl.
Add to broccoli mixture; heat through.
Note: If using canned oysters, just add undrained oysters directly to soup and heat through.
Macaroni & Cheese Salad
1 (16 oz) pkg. Rotelle large shells
1 1/2 lbs. sharp cheddar cheese, cut into small squares
1 pkg. radishes
2 medium green peppers
1 1/2 cups mayonnaise
2/3 cups milk
3/4 tsp. salt (optional)
1/2 tsp. cracked pepper
Sugar to taste
Cook macaroni, drain and set aside.
Cut cheese, radishes and green peppers to bite size pieces.
Mix mayonnaise, milk, salt, pepper and sugar together.
Combine everything together and serve at room temperature or chill.
Note: Just add a tsp. of sugar first, then taste it and adjust.
To make this recipe gluten free you will need to get gluten free pasta.You will only be able to get the small shells. Buy the block of cheddar cheese and shred it yourself. Hellman’s mayonnaise is gluten free.
Shrimp Cakes
4 cups chopped cooked shrimp
2 cups mashed potatoes
2 tsps. dry mustard
1 tsp. Worcestershire sauce
2 tsps. Old Bay Seasoning
4 tbsps. chopped parsley
1 1/2 cups shredded potatoes
Mix first 6 ingredients; cover and chill.
Form into patties then coat with shredded potatoes.
Pan fry until golden on both sides.
Makes 8 cakes.
Note: To save time you can buy the frozen shredded potatoes. Make sure you chop the shrimp in very small pieces. If you decide to serve them as an entree then just add a salad. But, you can make them smaller and serve them as an appetizer. Have a little bit of tartar sauce for dipping.
To make this recipe gluten free you should shred your own potatoes and instead of tartar sauce you can just dip the cakes in Emeril’s mustards.
If you really have a large crowd, then you can try this recipe. Just let me know how it comes out.
Elephant Stew
1 medium size elephant
2 rabbits, optional
Lots of brown gravy
Salt and Pepper to taste
Cut elephant into small bite size pieces. This will take approximately 2 months.
Add enough brown gravy to cover. Cook over a kerosene fire for about 4 weeks at 465 degrees.
This will serve approximately 3,800 people.
If more are expected, the 2 rabbits may be added, but do this only if necessary, as most people do not like to find hare in their stew.
I just want to make sure you are reading the blog….
Make them your own and talk to you later…
December 17th, 2009
We managed to get together again Tuesday evening. It was so nice of Donna to open her home to us. We all brought appetizers to eat and some wine as well. It really turned out so well because some of us had not seen each other in a long time and we were able to catch up in a comfortable setting instead of a restaurant.
The topics of conversation were varied and interesting. It was an all women’s soiree, what can I say?
Donna’s house was fully decorated for the Holidays. I love the traditional colors and her house had all those beautiful reds and greens; so pretty and festive this time of the year.
I decided to make an Asian Noodle Salad that has been pretty popular for some time. The recipe was given to me a long time ago by Mary Jo. I used to make it a lot but then I took a break from it. I thought that for our get together it would be the perfect dish since it is easy to assemble and it is served at room temperature. So, here it goes:
Asian Noodle Salad
1 lb. fresh or dried Asian wheat noodles. I used regular thin spaghetti.
8 ounces snow peas cut on the diagonal into rectangles
1 cup finely chopped green onions, including some green tops
1 cup coarsely chopped unsalted dry roasted peanuts
1/2 cup chopped fresh cilantro (optional)
1 cup chopped poached chicken breast, roasted duck, or cooked shrimp (optional)
Asian-Style Vinaigrette:
1/3 cup rice wine vinegar
1/4 cup soy sauce (I use reduced sodium soy sauce)
1 tablespoon minced fresh ginger root
1 teaspoon minced or pressed garlic
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon freshly ground pepper
2/3 cup cooking oil, using equal parts sesame oil, vegetable oil and hot chili oil
In a bowl or covered jar, combine rice wine vinegar, soy sauce, ginger, garlic, salt and pepper. Whisk or shake well to blend. Add the oils and, again, whisk or shake until emulsified. Use immediately or let stand at room temperature for as long as overnight.
In a large pot, bring water to a rapid boil; drop in noodles and stir. Cook, stirring frequently until barely tender and still quite firm to the bite. About 1 minute for fresh noodles or 5 to 8 minutes for dried. Do not overcook. Drain; rinse quickly under cold running water and drain again.
Transfer the noodles to a large bowl; add about half of the vinaigrette and toss well. Cool to room temperature, stirring occasionally to keep noodles from sticking together.
Bring water in a large saucepan to a boil. Add the snow peas and cook until tender-crisp, about 1 minute. Drain, then plunge into ice water to hald cooking and preserve color. Drain well.
Add the snow peas, green onions, peanuts, and cilantro. Then add chicken, duck or shrimp, if desired, and remaining vinaigrette to the noodles and toss gently but thoroughly.
Serve at room temperature.
This recipe will serve approximately 10 people as a salad course and about 6 for a light main course. It is the perfect entree to take to someone’s house, just like I did.
Note: To make this recipe a day ahead, omit snow peas, onions and peanuts when tossing. Cover and refrigerate. Bring to room temperature; add snow peas, onions and peanuts. Toss and serve.
I would like to mention that you may be able to make this recipe gluten free by using rice noodles or any other gluten free noodle and wheat free soy sauce. You will also have to make sure that the peanuts do not contain any wheat.
So, enjoy it and make it your own….See you later….
November 26th, 2009
I love the smell of the turkey cooking in the home on Thanksgiving Day. I also like to have a gray and cooler day. I have tried different ways of cooking turkeys and bought the organic ones, the free range ones, the different brand ones but one of my favorites has been the turducken.
I have also have bought the turducken from a few companies but my best one has been from a company called the Cajun Grocer, from LaFayette, LA. Their website is www.cajungrocer.com. Besides being delicious, it is also a conversation piece.
A turducken is a semiboneless turkey stuffed with a deboned chicken, stuffed with a deboned duckbreast. In between each bird a Cajun dressing is placed to create 6 layers of stuffing. Different varieties of dressings are available.
As you sliced the turkey, you will get a taste of all the different birds.
Its funny when you start thinking what to do with the turkey leftovers. Sometimes I really don’t have that much leftover; maybe for one more meal. But, if you do have leftovers, here are a few recipes that you might enjoy.
Quick Curried Turkey
3 cups hot cooked white rice
1 medium green pepper
1 medium red pepper
4 cups turkey, either chopped or shredded
1 tblsp. ground curry powder
2 tsps. cornstarch
1/2 tsp. ground ginger
1/4 tsp. salt
1 garlic clove, pressed
1 can (14 ounces) light coconut milk
1 can (24 ounces) pineapple chunks in juice, drained
2 tblsps. chopped cilantro leaves
Chopped peanuts or toasted coconut
Prepare rice according to directions.
Cut peppers. In a bowl, combine curry powder, cornstarch, ginger and salt; mix well. Add turkey and toss to coat evenly.
Heat a 12 inch skillet over medium heat until hot. Lightly spray pan with nonstick cooking spray. Add turkey and garlic. Cook and stir about 5 minutes. Remove f rom skillet.
Add peppers and cook for a couple of minutes. Stir in coconut milk, pineapple and turkey and bring to a boil. Reduce heat and simmer over low heat about 10 to 15 minutes or until sauce thickens. Add cilantro and mix gently.
Serve over the rice. Sprinkle with the peanuts or toasted coconut or both.
Note: To toast the coconut, just spread it on a cookie sheet and put it in a 350 degree oven and keep watching it because it will toast before you know it.
If you do not have enough turkey, you can substitute chicken. If the turkey or chicken is raw then add more minutes to the cooking on the skillet.
Serves 4.
Sweet ‘n’ Sour Turkey Sloppy Joes
1 tbsp. olive oil
1/2 red pepper, finely diced.
3 scallions, chopped
2 garlic cloves, sliced (optional)
1/4 tsp. Italian seasoning
1/4 tsp. black pepper
4 cups turkey, shredded or finely chopped
1 can (8ounces) tomato sauce
1/2 cup bottled barbecue sauce
2 tblsps. sugar
4 hamburger buns or soft rolls
In a medium size skillet heat oil over medium heat. Add red pepper, scallions, garlic, Italian seasoning and pepper. Cook for about 4 minutes or so.
Add turkey and cook until well heated.
Stir tomato sauce, barbecue sauce and sugar. Simmer about 3 or 4 minutes until slightly thickened.
Remove from heat and spoon into hamburger buns or rolls.
Note: If you don’t want to have the rolls then serve it with tortilla chips as a dipping/salsa sauce.
Serves 4 with rolls and a few more if used as a dipping sauce.
Note: The above recipes can easily be adjusted to be gluten free.
Have a Great Day!! Happy Thanksgiving or Feliz Dia de Accion de Gracias!!
November 14th, 2009
Beseme, Besame or Dame un Beso, all mean the same; Kiss me. This bistro wants you to remember their food like an unforgetable kiss; to “linger in your mind long after it’s gone from your lips”….
I wanted to go back to Beseme since I have not been there in ages and Lewes is one of my favorite towns. So, Debbie, Cindi and I decided to make that restaurant our meeting place today. The 3 of us have not had lunch together in a long time and I really do enjoy keeping in touch with friends. I think you know that already.
For a Saturday, and with the weather not been the nicest, Lewes was crowded. Actually, the Delaware Beaches were all crowded.
Beseme is located on 142 Second & Market Streets in historic downtown Lewes. The telephone is 302-645-8108. The website is www.beseme.biz. It is open year round. Breakfast from 8 a.m., lunch from 11 a.m. and dinner from 5 p.m.
I entered through the entrance on Market Street, which is the main entrance. The entrance on Second Street is through the Hotel Rodney.
Beseme is bigger than it appears from the outside. A very pretty bar with lots of wood is the first thing I saw. Two rooms for dining that were nicely decorated and not crowded. This is a historic building so the woods and atmosphere are very warm and inviting.
We were presented with the lunch menu. There were soups and starters, salads as main courses, omelettes, crepes, and burgers with your choice of bison, lamb or beef.
Their all natural meats come from BAR Farms in Lewes and Wells Meats in Philadelphia.
Since I already knew I would be posting on my blog, I asked that we all have something different. I decided to go with the bison burger with provolone cheese, Debbie had the Macho salad which had roasted chicken, goat cheese, figs, baby corn, tomatoes, pine nuts, avocado, cornmeal croutons, with a champagne vinaigrette.
Cindi had the Temptation Omelette, which had eggplant, tomatoes, onion, green pepper, Gruyere & Parmigiano-Reggiano.
Their organic eggs come from Cleckner Farm in Bivalve, Maryland.
We all decided that our food was very good. My burger came with their house cut waffle chips. I would say that you could get addicted to those.
For our sweet ending we ordered only one dessert and we chose the crepe with berries. Our waitress throught we would like that one. This restaurant is known for their crepes and this one was light and refreshing. Really, a perfect ending to our lunch.
I would suggest that you go and visit Beseme’s website. They have events and menus plus a lot of other pertinent information.
Tomorrow, Sunday, the 15th at 6 p.m. Keith Mack will be performing. And, on Tuesday, the 17th at 7 p.m. the Rehoboth Beach Writers Guild will have poetry, short stories and prose.
Besides their lunch menu, they also have the traditional dinner menu and a small plates menu, which is like a tapas way of dining. With this type of dining you can order several dishes for the table and everyone can sample the food. The restaurant has a full bar but you may also get wines by the glass and they have a very good selection from Chile, Italy, South Africa, Spain, California and Argentina.
As usual, part of having a good meal is sharing it with the people that mean a lot to you. Cindi, Debbie and I have been friends for a long time and every time we are together laughter is not far behind.
We really did enjoy Beseme so let me know how you like it.
See you soon….
November 7th, 2009
Just like in the Delaware beaches and Ocean City, Maryland, Delray Beach, Florida is another of those popular beach towns where businesses are popping everywhere. Two of the newest ones are:
Unique Boutique
This small but very sophisticated jewelry shop opened last February on 204 East Atlantic Ave., in Delray Beach. Telephone is 561-272-6654. The e-mail adress is uniqueboutique2@comcast.net and the website is www.uniqueboutiquejewelry.net.
Besides jewelry, it also has accessories, but the jewelry is what attracted me to the store. The owner of the store is Karen Beaton and she buys from 9 designers. The jewelry is distinctive, with great combination of stones and metals. Very affordable as well. Sometimes when you are on vacation, it is good to splurge a little so check out this store and you might be wearing something new for that special evening ahead.
Unique Boutique is not the only jewelry store that Karen Beaton has. There are 2 more and their locations are:
Mashpee Commons, Cape Cod, MA 02649 and the telephone is 508-477-3900.
1185 Third Street South, Naples, FL 34102 and the telephone is 239-643-8900.
The other business that opened on Atlantic Ave., and is actually next to Unique Boutique, is Linda Bean’s Perfect Maine.
Yesterday, Thursday, Anita and I decided to have lunch at Linda Bean’s Perfect Maine. I wanted to experience it so that I could write a post. It was a beautiful day to have lunch outside.
The address of the restaurant is 200 E. Atlantic Ave., Delray Beach, FL 33483 and the telephone is 561-276-2502.
Linda Bean’s Perfect Maine is owned by Linda Bean and if the name sounds familiar is because she is the granddaughter of L.L. Bean. She is 69 years old and sits on the board of L.L. Bean.
This is the first restaurant, and I believe, the idea is to sell the franchise. We spoke to one of the employees that told us that it opened 1 month ago and it has been crowded and exceeded expectations. We wondered why Delray was picked and he said that it was because it is a hot bed for franchises.
Anita had the lobster roll and I had the Fancy Green Salad with lobster and chili lime salsa. This was a large salad with a lot of lobster and it was $12.95.
Anita’s Lobster Roll, which was a quarter of a pound was $15.50 and she really thought is was very good.
Even though we had iced tea with our lunch, this restaurant serves wine and beer. They even have Dogfish 60 Minute IPA, which is from the Dogfish Head Brewery in Milton, Delaware, near the Delaware beaches.
It is a very casual restaurant; ordering at a window and food brought to the table by a server. Actually, very relaxing.
They have a very good menu with live and steamed shellfish, seafood roll baskets, panini sandwiches, a simpler fare like the “Pause for Claws”, which is a quarter pound Maine lobster claw meat, with melted butter, and, of course, Maine Clam Chowder and Linda Bean’s Lobster Stew.
For the salad lovers there are plenty of them. I told you that the one I had, the Fancy Green with the Lobster, was delicious.
If you would like to have more information on Linda Bean’s Perfect Main, please visit the website www.lindabeansperfectmaine.com.
I think they are going to do very well. Check it out and let me know what you think.
Note: In a perfect world there would be a gluten free roll for the lobster and seafood rolls.
There are other business about to open for the new season, so be on the look-out because they will be here before you know it.
Sooooo…once again, writing from Delray Beach, Florida….I remain…
November 4th, 2009
Knowing that there are many reviews available on-line, I chose not to read any for this particular restaurant. I just wanted to feel the experience of just going in with a blank slate and then put it into words.
Last night was one of those beautiful full moon evenings in Delray Beach; a light wind and the ever present palm trees swaying in their own unique way. One thing that separates this town from others is the availability to eat outdoors. And, last night was the perfect night for such a thing and in my household, the mood was beef.
I have not been to Cut 432, even though this restaurant has been in Delray for about a year and a half. The address is 432 E. Atlantic Avenue, Delray Beach, FL 33483. The tel. is 561-272-9898 and the fax is 561-272-9797. The website is www.cut432.com.
Brian Albe, Brandon Belluscio and Chef Anthony Pizzo are the owners of Cut 432. Even though these owners are fairly young, between them are many years of experience in the restaurant business.
My husband, son and I arrived with no reservations and they sat us right away on one of their outdoor tables. For a Tuesday evening, it was comfortably crowded.
The restaurant and the bar inside have modern lines, but the chandeliers give it sophistication.
Johnny was our waiter and I cannot tell you enough how professional he was. I had so many questions for him regarding the menu and he was able to explain the ingredients and make suggestions. Definitely, he is an asset to the restaurant.
If you have read my blog in the past, you will know that my husband has to eat gluten free. It was so refreshing to see the eagerness of Johnny to put us at ease and go back to the kitchen and ask the chef if the creamed spinach could be made without the breading or make sure a particular sauce was gluten free. And even nicer was the fact that the restaurant wanted to accommodate us, as well.
So, in that respect I want to say Gracias a Johnny por habernos atendido tan bien, and thanks to Cut 432.
The menu is very well presented and easy to read. You should visit their website above mentioned because you can read their menu, check when the catering menu will be posted, read the bios, look at the pictures and see what this company is all about. You can even download their award winning wine list.
A couple of cocktails that attracted my attention were the Pumpkin Pie, which is a pumpkin infused vokda, cream and candied pumpkin. The other was the Jalapeno & Pineapple Margarita, which contains Gold Tequila, slice of jalapeno and pienapple juice.
The menu is divided into Raw Bar, Cheese Bar, Soup and Salads, Appetizers, Cuts, Fish, Potatoes, Sauces, Vegetables and Entrees. Desserts? Don’t worry, they will be discussed at the end of the meal.
Okay, I was looking at the menu and when I saw that for an appetizer I could have a grilled cheese; I knew what my choice would be. It was so delicious, but this was no ordinary grilled cheese. It had truffled gouda, short ribs and heirloom tomato soup. The actual sandwich was cut in two and the tomato soup could be use for dipping or just eaten with the spoon. Can you imagine? Of course, I dipped and double dipped.
My husband had the Local Ceviche, Peruvian Style with Aji Amarillo. Served in a Martini glass with the fish being grouper, it was very tasty; sweet with the right amount of heat.
Since my appetizer was quite a portion, I decided to go with the Sea Bass, which is one of my favorite fish. It had a Miso sauce that complemented the lightness of this fish so well. My husband had the 8 ounce filet and my son had the 12 ounce one. Both raved about their choices; cooked to perfection.
All side dishes are family style so the portions are big. They are served on cast iron cassouletes. Our choices were the Pancetta Brussel Sprouts, Creamed Spinach and Potato Gratin. All went perfectly well with our dishes. I was tempted to order the Buttered Edamame, since I never see it as a side dish, but to tell you the truth, we had a lot of food already.
Cut 432 is one of the restaurants that I have found have the key ingredients to make a successful restaurant:
Quality of Ingredients – If the restaurant has the money, they should buy the best.
Culinary Competence – This is the chef responsibility; to make the best with the ingredients he has available.
Service – Prompt; anticipating what you need.
Ambiance – Tranquil and relaxing.
Price – Cut 432 is pricey, but after the service and the food we experienced, it was worth it and, really, a cut above the rest.
With all that said I hope that visitors to this beautiful Village by The Sea will take the opportunity to pay Cut 432 a visit and experience it for themselves.
Until next time and writing from Delray Beach….talk to you later….
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