The Belleview Biltmore Beach Club infuses its sandy setting with a little contemporary creativity.
By CHRIS SHERMAN
Published December 4, 2003
[Times photo: Scott Keeler]
The Belleview Biltmore Beach Club, in the former cabana club of the hotel, has a gulf view and a kitchen with ambition.
SAND KEY - The Belleview Biltmore has begun an unusual beach reclamation project, trying to establish a bit of contemporary flair in casual dining on the great wall of condos on Sand Key.
The starting point is the former cabana club of the century-old hotel, which served as a sales center and banquet hall for the condos that were built here in the last boom, bizarre eight-story imitations of the grand wood-frame landmark, complete with pitched green roofs. Whatever the built environment here, the beach still charms for walking and wave watching.
The food starts with chef Michael Rabidoux, who won a following at Backwater's across the road, and a new culinary direction at the hotel itself is from Philippe Wilhelm, who comes from some of Disney's more sophisticated properties.
As the beach menu shapes up so far, it is short and aims for style. Lunch does include a burger and a grouper sandwich, yet there are roasted beets in the salad and a splash of Terra colors in the chips, mussels are offered as tapas, and pizzas are styled flatbreads with sundried tomatoes and goat cheese. No wings, no captain's platters.
Dinner steps out farther with more modern trimmings: Salmon comes with spaghetti squash, shrimp are glazed with tamarind, and pork is brushed with grapefruit. But you can also get a steak or grilled local amberjack (in an uptown ginger broth).
On my first visits, the beach club and the clientele were only a few weeks into exploring this style, but it's clear that it's a lovely location with tasty ambitions. Meals are best eaten outside by the pool.
Flatbreads are the rustic ovals served on thin boards in the modern fashion. Mine was a hearty, woodsy affair with oyster mushrooms accented by Gorgonzola, but it needed a minute more crisping. The grouper sandwich was well done, but at $11, it needed more on the plate. Shrimp sauteed with chili oil and served over rice needed heat on the stove to match the fire in the sauce.
At dinner outside in the November dusk, a pumpkin soup with cream and nutmeg had all the warmth of Thanksgiving. Open-faced lobster ravioli was a rich surprise, pasta with bite and lobster gentle to the tooth. A rare glass of PX sherry made a fine dessert to watch the waves by.
There's work to be done. The dining room was understaffed at lunch, the interior needs to lose its institutional look and the plants their sad branches - or bring resort prices down to match. I'm sure the menu will change and probably bulk up in size.
The bigger challenge is whether beachgoers, whether those trucked in from the main hotel or the neighbors in $500,000 condos, want to hold the fries when on vacation.
I hope new tastes can find a home on the beach. The stunning creativity at Rusty's at the Sheraton has been lonely too long, and it would be grand to see the Biltmore make up for decades lost on the beach and back up on the bluffs. A new breeze has begun to blow.
Belleview Biltmore Beach Club
1592 Gulf Blvd.
Sand Key, Clearwater
(727) 595-1807 Hours: 11:30 a.m. to 10:30 p.m. daily
Reservations: Accepted
Details: Most credit cards accepted, full bar, smoking outside only
Prices: Lunch, $6.99 to $10.99; dinner, $14.99 to $25.99
