With some 50 restaurants lining just a few blocks of Atlantic Avenue, there's a lot of savoring to be done at Delray Beach's annual Savor the Avenue food orgy.
Eighteen restaurants will offer multicourse, prix fixe dinners, with each course paired to wines from Chile's Santa Rita winery. Among them are such well-known establishments as 32 East, Tramonti, and Cut 432. But there are also a few new and soon-to-debut restaurants in the mix, and for them, it's a chance to show off their wares to diners who haven't previously made an effort to seek them out.
Here's a look at who they are and what they'll be doing.
Café de France
110 E. Atlantic Ave., 561-455-2140
Chef-owner
Olivier Le Gloahec is a sixth-generation restaurateur who's turned the
former Cold Stone Creamery on Atlantic Avenue into a chic bistro where
the portions of his classically inspired French cuisine are as large as
the space itself is tiny. Along with such culinary stalwarts as
bouillabaisse, duck a l'orange, and chicken cordon bleu is an array of
exquisite pastries: tarts, quiches, napoleons, breads, cakes, and ten kinds of croissant.
Menu: $60 per person.
Hors d'oeuvres: Charcuterie or cheese platter
Appetizers: French onion soup or goat cheese-arugula salad
Entrées: Roasted duck with sweet orange-Grand Marnier sauce or almond-crusted sea bass with champagne risotto
Dessert: Almond meringue with white chocolate mousse or chocolate mousse with raspberry ganache
Wines: Sauvignon Blanc, Merlot, Cabernet Sauvignon, Chardonnay
Linda Bean's Perfect Maine Lobster
Using
her family's clout and resources, Linda Bean (that's Bean as in L.L.)
has positioned herself as a defender and promoter of Maine's crucial
lobster industry. Her cute, seafoam-green and white restaurant in downtown Delray
is now one of only two outside the Northeast but is part of a planned
expansion to more than 100 eateries throughout the country. Whether her
signature lobster roll, lobster panini, lobster stew, or steamed
lobster, at Linda Bean's it's all about the bug.
Menu: $55 per person.
Hors d'oeuvres: Maine lobster gazpacho
Appetizers: Maine lobster salad with chili-lime salsa dressing
Entrées: Maine lobster claw and Alaskan king crab pasta with saffron cream sauce
Dessert: Key lime pie with Chantilly cream
Wines: Sauvignon Blanc, Chardonnay
The Office
201 E. Atlantic Ave., 561-276-3600
One
of the most-anticipated restaurant openings of the year, David Manero's
contemporary American café may have parted company with chef Mark
Militello, but that hasn't stopped the crowds from swarming the place like
ants to a gourmet picnic. An eclectic design that features everything
from vintage brass mailboxes to a sleek Philippe Starck-designed desk
is matched by a menu that ranges from Nobu-esque miso-glazed black cod
to a specially formulated prime beef burger.
Menu: $59 per person.
Hors d'oeuvres: Terrine of foie gras, lentils and pulled pork with house-made mustard
Appetizers: Beer and cheddar soup
Entrées: Guinness-braised short ribs with morels, spring onion-asparagus ragout, and parsnip puree
Dessert: English toffee truffle
Wines: Chardonnay, Carmenere, Cabernet Sauvignon
Taste Gastropub
169 NE Second Ave., 877-418-2783
There's
no bigger name in South Florida dining than Allen Susser, so it's big
news when the original Mango Ganger makes Delray's Pineapple Grove
neighborhood the site for his first Florida venture beyond his seminal
Chef Allen's in Aventura. Set to debut in early April, Taste will be
moderate in price but not in ambition, with a smartly urban ambiance
and dishes like peekytoe crab sliders and stout-braised brisket.
Menu: $55 per person.
Hors d'oeuvres: Sangria-glazed wild Florida shrimp or gin and grapefruit ceviche
Appetizers: Lobster mac 'n' cheese
Entrées: Tamarind-chili braised short rib or chermoula seared tuna with ratatouille slaw
Dessert: Key lime pie with brown sugar meringue
Wines: Sauvignon Blanc, Chardonnay, Shiraz
