At the oyster throwdown I had tried the Santos Cruz, a citrus/rosemary/balsamic/tequila drink concocted by Bobby Heugel from Anvil as he was showcasing the drink menu he designed for Stella Sola. I tried it again this time, and it was still good, but not quite as good as the ones I remembered from a few months before, they probably take a few shortcuts that Bobby wouldn't take with his own drink.
Suprisingly, our selections from the menu really mirrored what we had eaten at Reef a couple months ago. We were underwhelmed by our experience at Reef, so maybe we were trying to make a few comparisons between Brian Caswell's two restuarants. Based on our experiences, Stella Sola definitely shined brighter. Here's what we ate:
Flounder Crudo: Wow. REALLY good dish. Even better than the snapper carpaccio that was the only real highlight of our visit to Reef. The waiter said that the had recently changed the dish, including apparently switching it from Amberjack to Flounder, but I can't imagine that the original one could be much better than the one we tried. The fish was marinated in citrus and served delicately with a little bit of salty caviar, chiles, some vegetation, and a really delicious mayonnaise-y type sauce that we ate to quickly for me to be able to figure it out.
Scallop and Rock Shrimp risotto: Kimmy was a little bit let down because she was expecting some larger seared scallops instead of little bay scallops cooked in with the risotto, but it wasn't a bad dish. The rice was a little undercooked for a risotto, and the sauce was too rich to enjoy int he portion that was served, but the flavors were pretty nice.
Roasted Grouper: This is where I realized that I was hoping Stella Sola could make up for the Reef disappointment. I tried a similar dish at Reef and the fish was way overcooked, but this time it was absolutely perfect. Nicely seasoned and just barely cooked through, so that the fish just melted in my mouth. It was served with some celery pesto (VERY good, I wish there had been a little more of it on the plate), a little bit of sunchoke puree (a new taste for me but they least interesting thing on the plate), some braised chard, and some really tasty mushrooms. I managed to make a few perfect bites with just the right proportions of everything on the fork, and that's when everything really shined through. A really thoughtful dish.
Caramel Turtle Affogato: VERY rich dessert, tons of candied pecans in between scoops of saleted caramel gelato (really interesting flavor, a little bit of saltiness in a very sweet ice cream) topped with espresso chocolate. Kimmy loved the chocolate, I loved the gelato, the pecans were good but there was just too much of everything for us to make a respectable dent in it.
There's still so much more on the menu that I need to try, so we will definitely be back. The chef's specialty is curing meats - charcuterie, and he showcases that on the menu with a "Meat Market plate," a selection of presumably these sausages hanging to cure next to the endless rows of wine bottles. I'd also like to try their Bone Marrow service, and some of the non-seafood main courses, but that will all have to wait until next time. If anyone else wants to go, I'd definitely be up for a return visit.
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