Sauce and Bread Kitchen does some great dinners. I have been to several and have enjoyed them all. Last month, they did one that they claimed was simple food. They called the dinner Bistro by the Sea and as can be guessed, featured bistro-style dishes with seafood. While I will grant that there were a few simple dishes, like the first, even the simple dishes were done very well. We started out with a couple of Oysters, one East Coast and one West Coast. The East Coast Oyster was from Misty Point, Va and the West Coast was from Willapa Bay, Wa. They were served with an Apple Cider Vinegar/Hot Sauce Mignonette, Lemons, and Horseradish. I will frequently eat oysters in the shell in one swallow, so admittedly I probably lose the finer details of the taste, but while they did have slightly different tastes and the West Coast Oyster was bigger, they were both briny and tasted very good. Due to the shape of the shell, it was smooth, the West Coast Oyster was easier to swallow.
For the second course, they did something that falls right into their wheelhouse, It was a bread plate called a Pissaladiere, which is a bread dish originating in Nice, France, with Olives, Caramelized Onions, and Anchovies. For our course, it was served in squares loosely stacked on a bread board with Canned Anchovies. The bread used Green Peaches, that were treated with lye like olives, Caramelized Onions, and Tomatoes. We put the oysters on the bread as we liked. The bread actually lasted longer than the Canned Anchovies, which was fine because the bread was fantastic on its own. It was soft, fluffy, and very salty and flavorful, while the oysters were good with it, it was good on it's own.
From the bread, we went to a Salad Course. It was a Smoked Trout and Spinach Salad with a New Potato and Heritage Weisse Cheddar Waffle, Crispy Shallots, and Mustard Vinaigrette. The spinach was very fresh, crisp and flavorful. The mustard vinaigrette was had a nice spicy mustard flavor, the trout had a lightly crisp exterior, but was pretty tender and flaky. The most creative part of this though was the waffled cheddar. It was crispy, chewy, waffled, and had a great fried cheddar flavor.
For our main course, we had Bouillabaisse, a fish stew that originated in Marseilles using bony fish that the fishermen were unable to sell, as well as sea food and shellfish. This version actually had no fish. It had Mussels, Shrimp, Clam, Koji Cured and Smoked Pork, Fennel, Magic Broth, a Mayonnaise based sauce that we mixed into the broth, and Baguettes. There was a lot of shellfish in the stew, so it was a good thing that we had an extra bowl for the shells. the meat in the shellfish was big and flavorful and the sauce added a richness to the broth. The baguette was crusty and was great for soaking up the broth, but admittedly, I ended up tipping the bowl up and drinking the broth after the shellfish and baguettes were gone. It was very good.
Finally, came our dessert. It was called a Tarte Fromage Blanc avec Black Raspberry Meringue Coulis. Translated, that would be a White Cheese Tart (Cheesecake) with Black Raspberry Sauce. It was also served with Ice Cream. It had a nice crust on the outside and the tart was a little more savory than your standard cheesecake. The Black Raspberry Coulis was tart and the ice cream added some sweetness. It was a nice finish to a very good meal. I really enjoy the creativity that SBK brings to their evening meals and I will continue to go to them.
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