Birthday Dinner in St. Augustine!
For my birthday, Kim Chalmers and I hit up Lotus Noodle Bar in St. Augustine. Kim had been to Lotus twice before, and she knew I would like it, so she decided that was where we were going for my birthday. She was right!
This was my first time at Lotus, so I had no idea exactly what I was getting into. Kim, on the other hand, already knew the place and had a pretty good idea of what she wanted. I was happy to let her take the lead and see what happened. Always a wise choice.
We started with a bottle of Wandering Poet Junmai Ginjo sake. I picked that one because frankly, I was feeling poetic. A nice clean round flavor with a finish that, yes, wanders poetically away. You simply have to have another sip!
At this point I'll add that the service was comfortable, friendly, casual, but certainly on-point. We were seated on the back patio with a nice breeze and a view of their little Japanese-inspired garden. The first smells of the moment, a lovely lemongrass. My first thought is, what is that heavenly smell? It's Florida. Organic chemical-free mosquito spray. Ha ha. It's the little details that truly matter.
Our first dish was the Hamachi Nikkei Ceviche, with hamachi, yuzu tobiko, purple sweet potato, pickled red onion, chili oil, micro cilantro and a sweet mochi cracker, with a yuzu-coconut milk emulsion. Chef Barry Honan came to our table, introduced himself, and actually sauced the hamachi for us with the coconut-yuzu emulsion. Nice personal touch. I'm always interested in chefs who actually come out of the kitchen and interact with their customers, rather than just staying back there somewhere while everybody else does the talking.
The hamachi was outstanding! Top tier. One of the best dishes I've had this year and the last. And there was a lot going on with this dish without it becoming one of those plates where you can't figure out what you're eating. The yuzu and pickled onion gave it some acidity, the chili oil added some heat, and the coconut emulsion tied everything together. The little mochi cracker added a nice bit of sweetness and crunch. I drank the last of the sauce like a pig.
For my birthday, Kim Chalmers and I hit up Lotus Noodle Bar in St. Augustine. Kim had been to Lotus twice before, and she knew I would like it, so she decided that was where we were going for my birthday. She was right!
This was my first time at Lotus, so I had no idea exactly what I was getting into. Kim, on the other hand, already knew the place and had a pretty good idea of what she wanted. I was happy to let her take the lead and see what happened. Always a wise choice.
We started with a bottle of Wandering Poet Junmai Ginjo sake. I picked that one because frankly, I was feeling poetic. A nice clean round flavor with a finish that, yes, wanders poetically away. You simply have to have another sip!
At this point I'll add that the service was comfortable, friendly, casual, but certainly on-point. We were seated on the back patio with a nice breeze and a view of their little Japanese-inspired garden. The first smells of the moment, a lovely lemongrass. My first thought is, what is that heavenly smell? It's Florida. Organic chemical-free mosquito spray. Ha ha. It's the little details that truly matter.
Our first dish was the Hamachi Nikkei Ceviche, with hamachi, yuzu tobiko, purple sweet potato, pickled red onion, chili oil, micro cilantro and a sweet mochi cracker, with a yuzu-coconut milk emulsion. Chef Barry Honan came to our table, introduced himself, and actually sauced the hamachi for us with the coconut-yuzu emulsion. Nice personal touch. I'm always interested in chefs who actually come out of the kitchen and interact with their customers, rather than just staying back there somewhere while everybody else does the talking.
The hamachi was outstanding! Top tier. One of the best dishes I've had this year and the last. And there was a lot going on with this dish without it becoming one of those plates where you can't figure out what you're eating. The yuzu and pickled onion gave it some acidity, the chili oil added some heat, and the coconut emulsion tied everything together. The little mochi cracker added a nice bit of sweetness and crunch. I drank the last of the sauce like a pig.
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Then came Snowfall Over Hokkaido, the Hokkaido scallop with pickled Asian pear, jalapeño, ikura, burnt citrus oil, mint and a truffle-citrus granita. This was a standout. The scallop was terrific, but I really liked the combination of the cold granita, the citrus, the truffle and the little pops of ikura. Then you get the pear and jalapeño in there. It's a strange combination when you read the list of ingredients, but it makes all kinds of sense when you eat it.
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By this point I was beginning to understand why Kim thought I'd like this place.
It also got me interested in Chef Honan. His résumé is pretty impressive. He worked at Le Bernardin under Eric Ripert and eventually became sous chef there. He's also worked at Eleven Madison Park, Alinea, Per Se and The French Laundry. That's a serious education in cooking. But what I like about Lotus is that you don't get the feeling he's simply trying to show off his résumé. He's taking all that experience and doing something pretty personal with it.
For my main course I ordered the Udon Carbonara & Caviar. That's half an ounce of Ossetra caviar, koji-cured pork belly bacon, Grana Padano, crème fraîche, toasted togarashi and chive.
Now, you probably know why Kim suggested this. I've been working toward my caviar sommelier certification, so putting caviar in front of me is generally going to get my attention. And I was particularly curious about this dish because caviar can sometimes be treated like jewelry in a restaurant. Put it on something, charge another $50 and call it a day. That wasn't the case here. The Ossetra actually worked with the dish. The saltiness of the caviar was a good counterpoint to the richness of the bacon, cheese and crème fraîche, and the toasted togarashi gave it some heat. It's basically carbonara made with udon and then somebody decided it needed caviar. I have no argument with that decision.
Kim ordered the Garlic Noodle Mazemen, with blue crab, koji-butter, ajitama, cilantro, scallion, toasted sesame, fried garlic and togarashi. Naturally, I had to try hers too. The blue crab and koji-butter made it rich, while the fried garlic and sesame gave it a lot of flavor and texture. The togarashi kicked it up a little more. It was one of those dishes where you take a bite of somebody else's dinner and immediately start wondering if you made the wrong choice. Of course, neither of us made any wrong choices this evening.
It also got me interested in Chef Honan. His résumé is pretty impressive. He worked at Le Bernardin under Eric Ripert and eventually became sous chef there. He's also worked at Eleven Madison Park, Alinea, Per Se and The French Laundry. That's a serious education in cooking. But what I like about Lotus is that you don't get the feeling he's simply trying to show off his résumé. He's taking all that experience and doing something pretty personal with it.
For my main course I ordered the Udon Carbonara & Caviar. That's half an ounce of Ossetra caviar, koji-cured pork belly bacon, Grana Padano, crème fraîche, toasted togarashi and chive.
Now, you probably know why Kim suggested this. I've been working toward my caviar sommelier certification, so putting caviar in front of me is generally going to get my attention. And I was particularly curious about this dish because caviar can sometimes be treated like jewelry in a restaurant. Put it on something, charge another $50 and call it a day. That wasn't the case here. The Ossetra actually worked with the dish. The saltiness of the caviar was a good counterpoint to the richness of the bacon, cheese and crème fraîche, and the toasted togarashi gave it some heat. It's basically carbonara made with udon and then somebody decided it needed caviar. I have no argument with that decision.
Kim ordered the Garlic Noodle Mazemen, with blue crab, koji-butter, ajitama, cilantro, scallion, toasted sesame, fried garlic and togarashi. Naturally, I had to try hers too. The blue crab and koji-butter made it rich, while the fried garlic and sesame gave it a lot of flavor and texture. The togarashi kicked it up a little more. It was one of those dishes where you take a bite of somebody else's dinner and immediately start wondering if you made the wrong choice. Of course, neither of us made any wrong choices this evening.
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We also had the sangria, which came with a single huge block of ice with an orange slice and a cinnamon stick frozen inside it. I thought that was pretty cool. As the ice melts, the drink changes a little, and the whole thing looked great sitting on the table. It's one of those details that I remember.
Then there was dessert!
The NYC Dreams is white chocolate cheesecake mousse with brown butter sable crumbs, ancient-strain red rice sake reduction, cherry, yuzu and Ossetra caviar. Yes, caviar on cheesecake. At this point I was beginning to think Chef Honan has a thing about putting caviar in places people don't expect it. This concept is Tom Miller approved!
You've got the sweetness of the cheesecake and cherry, the yuzu providing some acidity, the brown butter crumbs adding another flavor and texture, and then the little salty pops of caviar. It's unusual, but not unusual just for the sake of being unusual. It works. It's mind-bending.
Then there was dessert!
The NYC Dreams is white chocolate cheesecake mousse with brown butter sable crumbs, ancient-strain red rice sake reduction, cherry, yuzu and Ossetra caviar. Yes, caviar on cheesecake. At this point I was beginning to think Chef Honan has a thing about putting caviar in places people don't expect it. This concept is Tom Miller approved!
You've got the sweetness of the cheesecake and cherry, the yuzu providing some acidity, the brown butter crumbs adding another flavor and texture, and then the little salty pops of caviar. It's unusual, but not unusual just for the sake of being unusual. It works. It's mind-bending.
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We finished the evening with an Alvear Pedro Ximénez Solera Sherry. Rich, sweet and raisiny, it was pretty much dessert in a glass and a good way to finish the meal.
So Lotus Noodle Bar in St. Augustine rocks.
There are some very serious culinary credentials behind this restaurant, but the food doesn't come across as stuffy or overly serious. There is Japanese technique, French training, Italian influence, caviar, noodles, seafood and a fair amount of experimentation all going on at the same time.
I also appreciated that Chef Honan came out and introduced himself to guests. That may not sound like much, but those are the things I remember about a restaurant. The food is obviously the main event, but the experience around it matters too.
All in all, the kind of experience I'll remember for years. Kim, thanks for a fantastic snoot! Lotus Noodle Bar, keep the lights on. Like Arnold always says: We'll be back.
LOTUS NOODLE BAR
So Lotus Noodle Bar in St. Augustine rocks.
There are some very serious culinary credentials behind this restaurant, but the food doesn't come across as stuffy or overly serious. There is Japanese technique, French training, Italian influence, caviar, noodles, seafood and a fair amount of experimentation all going on at the same time.
I also appreciated that Chef Honan came out and introduced himself to guests. That may not sound like much, but those are the things I remember about a restaurant. The food is obviously the main event, but the experience around it matters too.
All in all, the kind of experience I'll remember for years. Kim, thanks for a fantastic snoot! Lotus Noodle Bar, keep the lights on. Like Arnold always says: We'll be back.
LOTUS NOODLE BAR
Chef Barry Honan
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