And so it continues ... a brand new set of tastes for 2017 ...
here's the FOURTEENTH of FIFTY tastes of FLORIDA
(coming to you on sequential Thursdays. All. Year. Long.)!
ADMIN NOTE: This location is now closed.
Establishment: Sublime Restaurant and Bar
Location: Ft. Lauderdale
Meal: Dinner
Drink: Grapefruit Mule
(tyler's of london gin, giffard pamplemousse, fresh grapefruit juice, ginger beer)
Appetizer 1: Polenta Herb Fries
Appetizer 2: Soup of the Day
(potato corn chowder)
Appetizer 3: Pretzel Dip Medley
(soft pretzel, roasted tomato hummus, caramelized onion dip, key lime mustard)
Main: Mushroom Ravioli
(housemade, filled with cashew cream, slow-roasted tomato butter sauce, basil)
Side(s): n/a
Dessert: Chocolate Nirvana
(chocolate cake, kahlua butter creme, dark chocolate ganache)
Server: Jennifer
Website: http://www.sublimerestaurant.com/home.html
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/sublimerestaurant/
In light of all of the pictures previously posted in this series that were meat-focused -- not to mention the fact that there is a whole category worth 20% of the overall score dedicated to the presence of bacon in the meal or on the menu -- one might be surprised that tonight's Taste is a VEGAN restaurant. First, it might just represent a glimpse into the future, as I will one day be at the very least a vegetarian, what with how confident I feel that we are living in apocalypse adjacent times (whether zombie, armageddon or a second term of Trump) during which I will not be able to kill animals for food myself in order to survive. Or maybe it was just that a college friend was in town who had dietary restrictions and it was the proper host-move to find an eating establishment that honored such requests. Regardless of the reason, see how the Troy-score came together below:
AMBIANCE: 10/10 (after so many strip mall restaurants [a regular thing down here in Florida], it was nice to set foot inside a large building dedicated to a number of different nooks and niches to enjoy a quality meal -- from the separate dining room with the waterfall windows [see photo] to the bar area with its row of booths [you know I love me a booth] to what I can only assume is a private dining room for all the celebrities that give testimonials on the website ... plus there's a great big parking lot in the back that abuts one of the many Ft Lauderdale waterways replete with ducks who probably know that they'll never be slathered in an orange sauce for hanging out nearby)
FOOD: 9/10 (as a well documented carnivore, the question was really one of "would a meat-eater miss the meat in the meal" -- and the answer was a semi-resounding "not so much!" ... admittedly, I chose my menu items very carefully [you can't go wrong with ravioli!] so as not to have to evaluate meat-substitutions [although shout out to the sublime picatta ordered by my tablemate and pictured below, which served its purpose well enough] ... and I enjoyed every bite I put in my mouth -- from those polenta fries to that amazing dessert ... the one point deduction is just for a general comment that sometimes it felt like the emphasis was on finding a textural substitute over a flavorful one)
SERVICE: 9/10 (our server was very knowledgeable about the menu and either knew the answer to my tablemate's questions or returned with the information if she didn't AND she willingly became photographer when we asked her to capture our college reunion in a photo ... the only reason that there is a single point deduction is because her attention to our experience seemed to wane slightly toward the end of the evening -- perhaps because she got busier or maybe because we were taking our time with the meal seeing as how we were catching up after a twenty year lag in face to face interactions)
BACON: 5/10 (oh the dilemma ... how exactly does one provide a score in the bacon category for an eating establishment that clearly wants all pigs to live free from any future bacon status? ... we're going to do so by splitting the difference and awarding half the points in recognition of its mission statement that puts 100% of its profits to support animal welfare ... or, if nothing else, you can consider those five to be guilt points)
BONUS: 10/10 (+3 for having that aforementioned key lime mustard sauce, which was both a nice nod to soflo living and indicative of how seriously they take their mission statement seeing as how they believe that bees should be able to keep their own honey, +3 for those pretzels though -- as I could have made a whole meal of just them and their sauces, +3 for not being afraid to pipe a nearly subliminal message style song about washing your hands into the restrooms [you had to be there], and +1 for being a place to which we will return the next time someone visits with a similar culinary POV [we've already returned once to purchase a gift certificate for a housewarming gift for just such a friend])
TroyScore: 43 out of 50 -- aka 86, a B
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