Paramour Restaurant at Now Sapphire Cancun

Have you ever wanted to go to a restaurant and order "one of everything" from the menu?   That was what we did tonight at Paramour the French restaurant at Now Sapphire.  

They started with a bread service of an onion bread and cheese bread. 

The onion bread was very much like a crossaint.  Flaky and buttery, with great savory onion flavor.  The cheese bread was the standout.  It reminded me of something I had at Unico 2087 last year - although this version topped it.   It was sort of like a cheese blintz.  But instead of a ravoli-like texture it was a buttery biscuit.   Warm, almost sweet cheese inside.  Based on this, I expected great things to come.  

The three appetizers were Beef Tartare, Grilled Vegetables and Fruit and Mediterranean Ceviche.  

The clear winner was the ceviche.  There was a steamed mussel and two shrimp that had been poached in a savory broth and served in a shell. Ceviche wasn't quite the right name for this dish. But it was delicious. Tartare was also a standout. The beef had been finely chopped and combined with onion and garlic - but not enough to overpower the beef.  Served with some homemade caraway seeds crackers. And of course the addition of a runny poached egg brought it all together.   The veggie and fruit were tasty although I would have preferred that all the fruits and veggies had been grilled.  It seemed that only the zucchini had been grilled.  All the well prepped veggies were on a long schmear of goat cheese which helped keep the dish savory especially with all the fruits.   

The soups were the classic French onion and a vegetable veloute - essentially a cream of vegetable.

 The onion was my favorite.  Where most onion soups focus on a salty broth and gooey   cheese, this version really concentrated on the rich onion flavor.   Such deep notes in the broth. It was served with a crouton which had a gruyere cheese.  The vegetable soup had a strong essence of celery with some notes of peas and onions.  A very creamy, rich soup. I would order both again. 

Entrees were Salmon Fillet, Pork Tenderloin and Shrimp and Scallops.  

The salmon was my favorite.  It is very hard to get salmon cooked medium rare.  Too often it is cooked to medium well where any moisture is left on the flat top. Even cats would turn their nose.   Here the salmon was so moist and delicious.  One of the best pieces of salmon I have had.  Over the top they had poured a thyme and orange buerre blanc.  Such a creamy sauce.  But the orange zest really cut the richness of the salmon.  And little additions such as the dehydrated lemon, petite peas and mini corn added some needed texture to the dish. And the beurre blanc brought it all together. 

The pork tenderloin was very good.  Moist and tender pork slices wrapped in smokey bacon.  The menu said it also had peaches but it was actually apples.  And they were very welcome since pork and apples are such a great combination.  I only wish there had been a few more apples for some sweet to contrast with the smokiness.   A very good dish that I would order again. 

The shrimp and scallops dish was good.  It was very much like a shrimp scampi with a deep garlic flavor.  But not overpowering the delicate seafood.   The scallops were the standout.   Here is a another protein that is hard to get medium rare.  Overcooked scallops are almost as bad as grilling a burger to its death.  These were a perfect medium rare.   The shrimp were also well cooked and cleverly served in an asparagus spear.   Such a great idea that I had not seen before.  

Such a great dinner tonight.  Never be afraid to order "one of everything".  Especially when you are dining with adventurous eaters.

Dinner at Portofino at Secrets Los Cabos

 Dinner at Portofino Restaurant at Secrets Los Cabos

If you have stayed at a Secrets resort, you will find that they all have some similar restaurants.  This helps with brand loyalty so that when you visit a new Secrets, you can find your favorites.  This is true of the italian restaurant Portofino.  This was dinner for our first night.

They brought a great selection of bread and poured olive oil and balsamic on a side plate for dipping.  I usually don't eat the bread, but here it looked so good I had to try. My favorite was the focaccia with onion.  The cracker was also so tasty.  I expected it to be super crisp, but it had a nice flaky texture - almost like thin pie dough.

Started off with a delicious beef carpaccio.  This was delicate, thinly sliced beef with arugula, olive oil and some especially tasted crunchy parmesan crumbs.  Hard to describe them any other way.  Parmesan is a staple of most carpaccios but to see it used in a more creative way says a lot about the chef.  Added some much needed crunch.

Next up was something I also order at an italian restaurant.  Just like I will always try the burger and fries at a pub, you can see a lot about the chef at an italian restaurant by trying the lasagna.  

This wasn't the best lasagna I have ever had.  For that you would have to go back to my blog from Live Aqua from earlier this year.  That one would be hard to beat.   This one at Portofino had it's merits.  The pasts was cooked properly and not gummy.  The bolognese sauce was not overly complicated.  You could clearly taste the tomato and meat.  It could have used some more savory notes  It was topped with a creamy bechamel sauce with some drizzles of pesto.    I would order it again.  But they may want to visit Live Aqua for some pointers.

Next up was shrimp favoli.  This was delicate pockets of pasta with just cooked shrimp.  Simple and delicious.  I usually don't order shrimp in restaurant because I find they get overcooked to easily.  And like most seafood, it is not forgiving when overcooked.  The sauce may have had a bit of fontina cheese.  It complimented the shrimp and was helped by a reappearance of the pesto drizzle.

I also tried the mushroom risotto.  This had deep mushroom flavor. The arborio rice was cooked to al dente but the dish had been over reduced.  It wasn't salty, but the result was a little gummy.  So great flavor.  Just more like asian sticky rice than risotto.

The last dish of the night was my least favorite.  It was a beef tenderloin and spicy pasta special.  I had asked for medium rare and the beef was medium well.  It did have flavor, but was a bit tough due to it being cooked too much.  The pasta was cooked al dente and the sauce did have a nice kick.  They kept it simple since it seemed to only be tomatoes, red pepper flakes and probably a little sugar and salt.

I would return to this restaurant but probably start here for appetizers and move on to a different restaurant for entrees.  What is your favorite italian dish?  Leave me a comment.

Best Milkshake in Hobby?

With a promise like this, how could I not try one?  Truth be told, this was my first milk shake in Hobby so I have no others to compare to. I only saw one other place here that had milkshakes and it was a Wendy's Frosty 

Being from New England, I would  call it a frappe.   It met all the requirements of a good frappe.  Thick and creamy with great chocolate flavor.   And the extra drizzle of chocolate inside the cup bumped up the taste.  It is the best one I have had in Hobby.