I’ve been on a sushi kick lately. Fresh, tender seafood that melts in your mouth, Asian flavors that meld together, artfully prepared all make for a perfect meal. One that I could have nearly every night of the week. Still, there are some people who feel that sushi and raw fish are not for them. Heck, they won’t even glance at a menu to see the creative menu items. Oh, are they missing out?! Now, sushi has taken a modern twist and there’s something for everyone — from your BBQ fanatics to the raw foodists — you are all now covered. With this, we take you on a tour of some of the country’s more unusual choices.
Photo by Brett Hufziger
We start off our tour of exotic sushi rolls with a stop at a local South Florida BBQ establishment — Smoke’t Southern Kitchen & Tap in Coral Gables for their BBQ Pork Roll. Served with Smoke’t Blazin Hot Sauce, this roll of pulled BBQ pork, cole slaw and sticky rice offers the perfect crunch to each mouthful.
Smoke’t Southern Kitchen & Tap is located at 1450 S Dixie Highway, Coral Gables.
We continue our tour of exotic sushi rolls with a visit to Haru for the Red Hot Mama Roll ($15) where we get our fill of Louisiana flavors. This specialty roll available at all of the Haru locations (in New York, Philadelphia and Boston) combines crawfish, mango and cilantro. It is then topped with yuzu tobiko and a Japanese remoulade.
Sushi takes many shapes and sizes and at Kerry Simon’s L.A. Market, located at the J.W. Marriott Los Angeles, it even comes as a pizza. This fresh take combines Angeleno’s long obsession with sushi with the latest pizza craze and brings you one of the most popular menu items at LA Market — the Sushi Pizza.
LA Market is located at the JW Marriott Los Angeles, 900 W Olympic Blvd, Los Angeles, CA. (213) 765-8930
It’s time to play with fire at The Colony at the Hyatt Regency Waikiki where a quick flick of a blow torch comes into play with this innovative line of sushi dishes. Choose between the Miso Glazed Maguro with Kaiware (sprouted daikon radish seeds) and sesame or the Cream Cheese Flamed Smoked Salmon with lavendar onion and lemon. Add in a brief stint with the blowtorch and you’ll have a nice, charred finish to the dish. Are you feeling brave? Chef says that this flavor enhancement can also be done at home with a small hand-held blowtorch and a tangy miso sauce of garlic, white miso and mayo.
The Hyatt Regency Waikiki is located at 2424 Kalakaua Avenue, Honolulu, HI. 808 923 1234
Photo by Hannah Kaminsky
In Connecticut, sushi takes an even healthier twist at Health in a Hurry and becomes vegan-friendly. For this Raw Vegan Sushi Roll ($7.95), the rice is substituted with a vegan ‘rice’ made with nut pate, almonds, ginger, tamari, scallions and miso that have been blended together to form a thick pate resembling rice and having a sushi flavor. These rolls are then filled with fresh vegetables like avocado, carrots, beets, red peppers, celery and sprouts. This is served with tamari dipping sauce.
Health in a Hurry is located at 1891 Post Road, Fairfield, CT (203) 254-5777
A meal is not complete without dessert and for that we present you with Fruishi ($2.50 for the first roll, $1.50 for additional) at Orange in Chicago. This twist on your typical roll features fresh fruit for a sweet, light ending to your meal. Orange has multiple locations in the Chicago area.
Where do you like to go for sushi? Do you enjoy standard rolls or would you try something a little out of the norm?
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Whoever said hotel restaurants were sub-standard? No really, I’ve come across more and more that leave me with sumptuous food memories. The latest discovery — Sea Level at Harbor Beach Marriott and home to Chef Jason Connelly.
Chef Jason Connelly
I met Chef Jason at the Taste of the Nation a few months ago, as he was serving up some gazpacho. Farm fresh cuisine, good energy and a passion for being creative in the kitchen all drew me to this chef and I knew that the Dine Club would be paying him a visit, and am I glad we did. This restaurant is still an undiscovered gem that I was glad to introduce our members to at our last Broward County Event.
Pears wrapped in smoked salmon
This casual indoor/outdoor restaurant offers the perfect meeting place when you want to enjoy the ocean setting. A relaxed feel and the breeze from the ocean created the perfect setting. While the beachfront restaurant at a hotel is often associated with mediocre food, Sea Level offers gourmet fare like Wild Mushroom and Goat Cheese flatbread, buckets of mussels, Jamaican jerk wings with mango dipping sauce and pears wrapped in smoked salmon (seen above).
They also offer a creative cocktail menu, including a refreshing one made with Ultimat Vodka, cucumber and mint — that we thoroughly enjoyed.
Once the food began, it didn’t end and we happily tried a melange of creative hors d’oeuvres, specially prepared for our group including Watermelon and Goat Cheese Flatbread, Pistacchio and Blue Cheese Grapes, Beef Empanadas and more.
And of course, these decadent chocolate truffles.
While we were there, we snapped some more photos of the group.
Sea Level is located at the Marriott Harbor Beach, 3030 Holiday Drive, Fort Lauderdale. 954-765-3041
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It was a return to our first Palm Beach County Dine Magazine Happy Hour location this week as we stopped at Spoto’s Oyster Bar in Palm Beach Gardens. The group gathered in the Blue Point Lounge for a glass of wine and a bite to eat.
The Frei Brothers Merlot proved to be a crowd favorite with it’s cherry and cocoa flavors, but the Whitehaven Sauvignon Blanc from New Zealand wasn’t far behind. These paired up nicely with a sumptuous selection of hors d’oeuvres that were served.
These Chicken Potstickers were a favorite of mine to satisfy my craving for Asian flavors. Other standouts were the BBQ bacon wrapped shrimp and the tuna pate.
Guests enjoyed returning to this PGA hot spot, and were happy to discover the 1/2 price drink offers and $4.75 appetizer specials. Take a look at some of our photos from the event.
Spoto’s Oyster Bar is located at 4560 PGA Blvd in Palm Beach Gardens. Whether you are looking for a destination to gather for drinks, want some oysters or a fresh seafood dinner, Spoto’s Oyster Bar should be on the top of your list.
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Who said the cupcake fad was over? Not if Michelle and Vinny Garcia have their way. It’s time to move beyond your basic choices — chocolate, vanilla or even red velvet and whip up a batch of White Chocolate Wasabi cupcakes. The Garcias show you how in their new cookbook, Who You Callin’ Cupcake? Based on the recipes used in their award-winning, yet edgy Chicago bakery, this outrageous cookbook begins with recipes on all your basics including Devil’s Food Cake cupcakes, Vanilla Bean cupcakes, butter cream frosting and ganache. From there, twist things up a bit and let your creativity run. The more imaginative you get, the better.
The chapters are divided into themes like Happy Hour with Sangria and Chocolate Cherry Stout flavors; World Tour featuring White Chocolate Wasabi and Tres Leches and Roasted Pineapple; and Blue Plate Special with Chicago Style Pizza and Pancakes and Bacon; and more. From there, it is time to improvise and create something exotic. Colorful photos are attached to many of the recipes.
What will you come up with? Sweet, savory — there is no limit. The challenge is on.
And if you are close to Chicago, a visit to Bleeding Heart Bakery is a must where they offer a selection of breakfast foods, cakes, cupcakes and other decadent desserts and use only local, organic and sustainable ingredients.
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Whether you are preparing for a special celebration or just want to improve your culinary skills, a cooking class is the perfect way to spend your evening. Sign up and learn from expert instructors, mingle with like-minded gourmands and taste your way through the evening.
Here are some local offerings:
- Bice, 313 1/2 Worth Ave, Palm Beach (map). During the summer months, Culinary Diva Maude Eaton pairs up with Chef Elmer at Bice for an evening of food and wine. Guests will learn to make signature Bice dishes in this demonstration class, sip on Italian wine and sample everything being prepared. They will then leave with all of the recipes from the evening. Cost is $45. (More details)
- The Biltmore Culinary Academy located at The Biltmore, 1200 Anastasia Ave, Coral Gables (map). The Biltmore now has a culinary academy and it requires full audience participation. No slacking off here! Whether you would like to learn the signature dishes from Palme d’Or ($110), take part in a bootcamp ($450+) or want to bring the office in for some corporate team building — you will do so Biltmore-style. They even have a special program for children. These classes are available for every skill level and are taught by the chefs from The Biltmore’s restaurants.
- Chef Jean-Pierre’s Cooking School, 1436 N Federal Hwy, Fort Lauderdale (map). Chef Jean-Pierre’s Cooking School offers the most complete line-up of recreational cooking classes in the area. Classes are offered nearly every night of the week. Topics range from 10 minute gourmet meals to a Romantic Dinner for Two, or you can rent out the entire studio for a private party. If you want intense instruction, why not sign up a Basic Skills Class and learn all your basics– selecting a knife, salads and vegetables, sauces, pastry and desserts and preparing the perfect meal. Guest instructors from local restaurant also offer classes at the cooking school. Classes start at $65 or $55 for the knife classes.
- Chef Allen’s 19088 N.E. 29th Ave, Aventura (map). Have you always know what it would be like to spend the day in the kitchen with your favorite chef? Chef Allen offers his ‘Be a Chef for a Day Program.’ Perfect for any skill level and available for either 1-2 people, you can now learn the tricks of the trade with Chef Allen. From conversation and tips to participating directly in the kitchen activities, this is for a day of intense instruction. Cost is $195 per person and is based on availability. These interactive classes take place Monday-Friday from 3-7:30 p.m.
- In the Kitchen, 389 Tequesta Drive, Tequesta (map). In the Kitchen offers a variety of culinary classes, something for everyone- both interactive and demonstration classes. Whether you are looking to improve your skills, learn a new technique or enjoy a social night out, you will find something to your liking. Past classes have included the following topics: Evening in Barcelona, where guests learned to make Spanish tapas and Five Favorite Ingredients, fabulous food with simple ingredients. The classes take place during the week, in the evening. Prices start at $60 and go up from there. (schedule)
- Ortanique on the Mile, 278 Miracle Mile, Coral Gables (map) Cindy Hutson will guide students through an interactive cooking class on Saturday afternoons. While the them varies from class-to-class, students will learn to prepare her signature dishes. The group will be divided up into groups of 6, with a chef from the restaurant guiding the group through the lesson. Each table elects a head chef and the sous chefs to assist. Class is limited to 18 people. What class would be complete without champagne and wine flowing throughout, and students will learn further their skills of food and wine pairing. Students leave with a gift and recipe book from the day. Cost is $90 and up.
- Whole Foods Market, various locations. Visit your local Whole Foods Market for a list of upcoming classes, that are informative, good for you and down-right affordable. With topics ranging from French Cuisine to exploring Artisan Cheeses to hands-on sushi classes, you will become a pro in the kitchen in no time. Some are taught by the in-house staff, while others are taught by your favorite chefs from local restaurants. Stay on top of the schedule, as new events are always being scheduled.
- Wok Star Cooking Classes with Eleanor Hoh, Miami area. Eleanor Hoh teaches you how to make an easy, one dish, wok dinner using a lightweight cast iron wok. Her no recipe, no measuring approach is perfect for any skill level, and will leave you with a new confidence for cooking with a wok. Students will learn how to make a Rainbow Lettuce Wrap, Shrimp and Asparagus Stir Fry and more. You will also become familiar with a variety of Asian ingredients during this interactive class. Classes cost $55, and take place at a variety of venues and times so check her schedule.
Photo Credit: Hiltsch @ flickr
This article first appeared on PlanetEye Traveler.
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