The Importance of Plating

What is that old saying that people eat with their eyes first?  I have been reminded of that this week during my stay at the Hard Rock Riveria Maya.  Does food taste better because a chef spent time on the best way to arrange food on a plate?   Can it have a reverse effect where you expect something to taste a certain way based on how it looks and it surprises your palate.  Or maybe disappoints.  

Exhibit A.  This was steak tartare from Toros the steak house.  

The plating here definitely grabs your attention and makes you wonder what those yellow globules are.  Are they egg?    Lemon?  Mustard?  And you get a sense of the texture of the tartare.   It is definitely in a thick marinade.  And you guess that the greens might be there for some texture. And then maybe that is lemon or sharp  mustard is there to cut the richness of the beef.  

Then you taste it.  Where you hoped for some sharpness to contrast with the asian-influenced marinade, there is only a muted mustard taste. Hardly enough to cut through even the mildest marinade.  So this is a case where the plating made your palate expect (and hope) for something that wasn't provided.  Expectations vs. reality.  And there is no real indication on how one should eat this.  Should I mix it all together?    Take small amounts of the tartare and dip into the mustard? 

Exhibit B.  This was a beet salad from Le Petit Couchon which is the French restaurant here at the Hard Rock Riveria Maya.  

It is hard to look at this salad and not immediately think of a beet.  It is in the shape of a beet and has finely chopped pieces of beet you can see.  The texture looks creamy,  like a dip which then leads to a connection to the "chips".  The chef has given us some guidance on how to best enjoy this dish.  And it worked perfectly since the chips had that saltiness you expect in a good chip, contrasting nicely with the sweetness and creaminess of the beet salad. 

QUICK BITE:. What the Heck is Beef Juice?

Have you ever seen something listed on a menu and wanted to try it just because how strange it sounded?  That was me last night at Toros, which is the steakhouse here at Hard Rock Riveria Maya. I was handed a menu and started scrolling through. Under soups I saw something called Beef Juice.  How could I not order such a strange soup?

First out came the broth. 

This was a slightly separated broth, such as when fat rises to the top of a soup and you skim it off.  In this case it wasn't fat but merely some solids that sunk to the bottom, leaving a clear liquid on top.  Mixing the two liquids together produced something close to a slurry.  Now for the taste.   It had a good amount of beef flavor and some salt but was a little flat.   The solids also had a grittiness,  almost chalkiness, that didn't match your palates expectations for a broth. While there was no help provided for the texture, a separate bowl of condiments was provided.  

Here we had line wedges,  cilantro, chopped onion and diced Serrano.   I added some of each of these, one at a time, and then tried the "juice" again.  The lime definitely brightened it up.  The onions added some sharpness. The cilantro some punch.  And finally the Serrano some much needed heat.  The flavor was actually very pleasing after mixing in all the add-ons.  But the texture was still playing games with my taste buds.  I am certainly glad I tried it, but wouldn't recommend this unless you want the challenge of being able to come up with the pefect mix of juice and condiments.  After rereading the ingredients, I saw where beer was listed. Perhaps that was in the broth?   Or maybe it was a recommendation for what to have after the soup to cleanse your palate from the grit.  

#HRRiveriaMaya #Mexico #Soup

QUICK BITE: Asian Appetizer Trio

Last night we went to Zen which is the Asian restaurant at Hard Rock Rveria.  Such an amazing meal.   They do something very smart here.  They have many smaller sized  appetizers on the menu.  Instead of bringing them to you one by one, they bring them creatively plated. 

From left to right above:

Cucumber roll which was a thinly sliced cucumber with crab salad.  Siracha was on the side for dipping. 

Tuna Tenaki, which is a tuna hand roll. Nori (seaweed) wrapped around rice, sliced tuna and green onions in a cone shape.  A closer look of the ingredients. 

Tuna Sashimi which is as simple as it gets. Thin slices of raw tuna. 

QUICK BITE: What exactly is Amaranth?

"What exactly is amaranth?", was not a question I was ready for today. But when I went to order some breakfast from room service, I was intrigued. 

It turns out the it is a seed from a very commonly used plant around the world and here in Mexico.  Other parts of the plant are also used, such as the leaves for salads.  The seeds, which look like quinoa, are a common snack in Mexico. They are also used as a thickener for sauces and stews, perhaps like tapioca beads. These would seem to swell in liquids.  They also have lots of protein and iron.  And they came with this fruit plate along with some honey.  

How to eat it together?   I treated it like fondue!!   Dipping a piece if fruit in the honey, then rolling in the amaranth. The texture is a bit crunchy but more like small pieces of puffed rice cereal.  This variety had no flavor except a slight bitterness.   I read that some varieties can be peppery.   It added a nice crunch and texture to the fresh fruit.  

#Amaranth #HotelBreakfast #RoomService

QUICK BITE:. Can you find good French food at a Mexican all-inclusive?

We arrived last night at the Hard Rock in Riveria Maya Mexico.  After unpacking it was time to find some dinner.  We decided on Le Petit Couchon which is their French restaurant.   Can French food possibly be good at a Mexican resort?   Yes.  And yes.  

Started with the beet carpaccio. 

Most fine restaurants these days will feature a beet appetizer and it ends up being disappointing since beets aren't the featured ingredients. That wasn't an issue here. The beets were finely chopped and molded into a beet shape.   There was also a bit of creme fraiche to add some creaminess.   It was presented as a dip since there were chips that were crispy wedges of potato.  Such an outstanding dish and a wonderful start. 

Next was the foie gras.  

This had a slab of deliciously savory foie gras.  And on the sides were sweet offerings including marinated plums, sweet cream and some cookies that were like vanilla wafers.   I appreciated that there was sweet and savory combinations, but as I got to the end it was tasting more like a dessert.   And this could function as a very interesting dessert.  I would have preferred it to be more savory.  

Next up was onion soup which has such an interesting presentation.  We were served a large mound of carmelized onions on top of a crouton. And then a delicious broth of onion goodness was poured on top.  Too often an onion soup features goopy cheese and a soggy crouton.  In this preparation, the crouton had a subtle essence of cheese but it wasn't overpowering.  And since the broth was poured tableside, the crouton still had some texture. 

My main course was grilled scallops with  what was stated as a mushroom risotto.  The scallops were perfectly cooked medium rare and had the flavor from the sea - just like they should. I think the only seasoning they used was some salt which was all they needed.  The "risotto" certainly wasn't traditional.   It was a mound of somewhat mushy rice on top of a delicious mushroom sauce.   Great flavors, but it wasn't a composed risotto.  

My wife tried the mushroom stew which was such a simple dish, but had great complex flavors.  It was really just sauteed mushrooms on top of a cauliflower and potato puree.  So simple and could have very easy to just throw together into a tasteless mess.  But here the mushrooms were so meaty and savory, and perfectly complimented by the barely underseasoned puree.  There was plenty of butter throughout the dish to bring it all together.  While the beet carpiccio was my favorite dish of the night, I would definitely order the mushroom stew for my main next time.  

So you can have great French food at a Mexiy all-inclusive.   They also had some more traditional French dishes such as duck and filets with complex bourginon sauces.   We are here for six more nights so we may have to come back.  

QUICK BITE:. Good Hospital Food?

Definitely the best hospital food I have ever had.   This was from The Library last night which is a restaurant in the bottom floor of John Hopkins Hospital in St Petersburg. 

Started with fried brussels sprouts. I had never seen such a large portion.  They came with grilled lemon wedges and a garlic aioli.   I think they had been brined, then roasted, flash fried and then tossed in a sauce that had red pepper flakes.  The seasoning was good but I think the brining and subsequent roasting made them too salty, especially with so many!

The Mediterranean salad was excellent!  Fresh spinach, sweet red peppers, artichokes and a flavorful balsamic vinegarette. 

The spaghetti Bolognese had so much flavor from the veal and sausage.  I liked the addition of the basil, but it was more sauteed than fried.  Could have been crispier.  

Overall a very nice meal!  Next time you are in St Pete give this place a try.

#BrusselsSprouts #HospitalFood #StPetersburg

QUICK BITE:. A pretzel stuffed with what?

What could possibly be inside this pretzel?   Why it is a cheeseburger of course!!  Standard theme park burger, somewhat elevated. Has all the standard cheeseburger flavors and the addition of dill pickles really helped.  Needed some ketchup and mustard on the side to being it home!!

#ThemeParkFood #StuffedPretzel