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Seasoned with sophistication
[Times photo: Cherie Diez]
A salad of fresh baby greens, toasted pecans, oranges and julienne tomatoes with balsamic vinaigrette and a main dish of seared breast of duck and confit with coffee, Kahlua and wild cherry reduction is served at St. Pete Beach’s newest restaurant, Aqua Blue Grill. |
By CHRIS SHERMAN, Times Staff Writer
© St. Petersburg Times
published April 4, 2002
ST PETE BEACH -- Corey Avenue has rarely seen the like.
Corey Avenue in St. Pete Beach, home to a five and dime and a newsstand, gets a touch of refinement with the addition of the Aqua Blue Grill.
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Oh, there were times when Cadillacs, Lincolns and Olds 88s with Midwestern plates cruised these blocks, but in recent decades, swells congregated around the Don CeSar far to the South.
While Corey had its share of shell shops and such, it's been more beloved as the sun-burned main street of a beach town that was a small town, too, with a five and dime, a real newsstand, a Last Picture Show with $1.50 popcorn and other vanishing pleasures.
Sophistication on Corey was limited to London papers at Scotties, foreign flicks at the Beach (no small things) and eggs Benedict in La Croisette's barnburner breakfasts.
But foie gras, Beluga, duck breast, pecan risotto and a $35 veal chop? And people to eat them?
Yep. Right there where the Nautical Shoppe used to sell old brass and whatnots is the Aqua Blue Grill with snappy black and white awnings and windows you can barely see through. Peek past the frosted glass, however and you'll see the inside completely redone with tile floors, Oriental carpets, Regency chairs, overstuffed couches and blue (what else) glass plates amid white tablecloth formality. At night, this viceregal setting is overlaid with jazz standards, live and on tape.
The more impressive stuff on the plates, however, comes from fresher decades, when American chefs turned to dramatic presentations, new seasonings and combinations. Even in Florida, and on Corey Avenue, chef Duffy Robinson can stack a crisp fillet of red snapper on a mound of mashed potatoes enriched with chives and cream cheese, top it with crinkling leeks and spike it all with ambrosia fruit salad.
This all comes to St. Pete Beach courtesy of Ryszard Jurkiewicz, a sauve Pole who was the maitre d' at the Don's Maritana Grille. His partner provides the song styling.
(And it's not the only touch of the Continent on Corey: A few doors away Der Eisenhut has upgraded and expanded to a fuller bistro selection, including Alsatian choucroute and venison with berries, cabbage and dumplings.)
The mere sight of uptown food in a fancy place (with fancy prices) has wowed locals and tourists alike. Some would say it's over the top, but most think it's overdue.
I'm pleased to see every bit of creative food arrive on the beach, especially when it shows the imagination Aqua Blue has in side dishes and sauces. The kitchen's chief fault is a tendency to lay on the luxe and the sweet too thick for me, but it may be just fine for cushy palates and wallets on vacation.
The indulgence I enjoyed the most was a lobster tail with a silky sauce of saffron and porcini mushrooms. Otherwise I was drawn to more straightforward fare, if you can call a lamb rack glazed with thyme and Madeira simple.
The lightest dish I found was halibut dusted with herbs, very lightly cooked and served with a white wine sauce over pureed sweet potatoes spiced on the hot side. Odd but light, and it worked for me until I got to the asparagus. I like the stuff and this was fresh and cooked right, but it's an odd flavor. (Note to chef: asparagus and grape tomatoes are a fearsome combination on the duck that already has a sauce of cherry and Kahlua.)
Stuffed dates with an appetizer of duck breast were unneeded but pleasant. But almond-crusted orange sections were too heavy to go with prosciutto; give me melon with my ham. Likewise wilted spinach with bacon and pine nuts and oyster mushrooms needed a lighter, crisper sauce than bechamel.
The best combination on my tongue was lobster in puff pastry with a sauce of corn and vanilla. Although rich, these flavors are delicate and came together as sweetness and light indeed. Of the trimmings, bread was dull, but the wine list was nicely varied by the glass, including a good range of dessert wines.
Service was appropriate to high-end dining: polished, vested and not especially pretentious. More important, servers had a pretty good knowledge of the food and wine (one waiter thought a Chilean wine was from California, but he described the flavor correctly). And Jurkiewicz oversees it all with an imperial grace rare on this side of the Atlantic (or 1900).
This adds up to a pretty big ticket, one of the few over $100 for two on the beaches. If you choose right, this odd combination of old-school finery, mid century cabaret and new-wave cookery can be worth it. I'd like more consistency, a lighter touch and better bread. We cannot live by luxury alone.
Still, Aqua Blue Grill has achieved a lot already; It's the most promising restaurant the beach has seen in years.
Aqua Blue Grill
- 371 Corey Avenue
- St. Pete Beach
- (727) 360-1919
- Hours: 5 to 10 p.m., Tuesday through Thursday; 5 to 11 p.m. Friday, Saturday.
- Reservations: Recommended
- Details: Most credit cards, beer and wine, no smoking, wheelchair access.
- Prices: $18 to $35.
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