Today's post will be about my experience at the upscale country club restaurant, Bourbon Steak. In the most recent issue of Boca magazine, the local stylista magazine of Boca Raton, FL, there is the annual feature piece "Best of Boca" which lists many best of's for not just Boca, but the entire South Florida region, which includes West Palm Beach, Boca, Fort Lauderdale, and Miami. In this issue, it lists tons of best of's for dining. Bourbon Steak at The Fairmont Turnberry Isle Resort & Club was named as the Best Hotel Restaurant and the best "Excuse to Blatantly Consume Calories" because of its sinfully tantalizing duck fat fries and foi gras sliders.
Well after reading about this, I had to check it out for myself. So I did a little research online (http://michaelmina.net/mm_bourbonsteak_miami/) and found a whole bunch of other delightful items on their menu. Not only did they have duck fat fries and foi gras sliders, they also had Kobe beef burgers, Kobe steaks, roasted marrow bones, and truffle mac & cheese, just to name a few items. My mouth instantly began to water and my heart skipped a beat with joy. From that moment on, all I could think about were duck fat fries, Kobe burgers, and marrow bones. I actually laid awake at night in bed thinking about these things... a little sick, I know.
I had been inspired to try all of these treats due to 2 of my favorite foodie tv shows -- Anthony Bordain's No Reservations and Hell's Kitchen with Gordon Ramsey. Bordain LOVES marrow, and eats it any time he can. He says it's his favorite thing to eat, so of course I had to try it out for myself. And on an episode of Hell's Kitchen, Gordon Ramsey took the winners of one of his challenges to a restaurant in California where they had Kobe burgers and duck fat fries... I assume that it was one of the restaurants owned by Michael Mina, owner of Bourbon Steak.
So, last night, on a whim desire, my boyfriend and I decide to go to Bourbon Steak and splurge on $22 burgers and $15 marrow bones at Bourbon Steak. We roll up to the very posh country club and mozy on over to Bourbon Steak, a beautiful restaurant filled with huge vases of sunflowers, warm colors, and smooth textures. The tables, made of smooth chocolate brown leather, were fitted with cozy chairs and soft couches. To our delight, for starters, the waiter brings out a trio of duck fat fries and potato focaccia bread. There are three types of fries, paprika, truffle, and herb, and they are each accompanied with 3 homemade sauces -- barbecue, truffle aioli and herb tomato ketchup. I was actually a little disappointed by the fries. As you may know from my previous blog entry, I know what duck fat should taste like from all of the Chinese roasted duck I've eaten over the years, and these fries, my friends, did not have that rich fatty flavor I was looking for. They kinda just tasted like... fries... The ones dusted in paprika were different, and the herb ones were tasty, but overall, they were lackluster for me (and my boyfriend, too). The best part about the fries, I must say, was the truffle aioli -- that I could eat with a spoon. But I'm glad I at least got to try them. And the potato focaccia was very yummy -- super buttery with just the right amount of herbs.
Then came out the Kobe beef burgers and roasted marrow. I was pretty excited to try the marrow since so many great chefs love to eat it and it is such a delicacy. I tried it, liked it, but not enough to want more of it. I expected the marrow to be richer. Its flavor and gelatinous texture simply tasted like the run off fat after you've roasted lamb. So it was good, but nothing really special for me. And as for the burgers, we originally ordered them to be medium, but when they came back, they were well done -- a no no for Kobe beef! We sent them back, feeling super horrible we were sending back Kobe burgers, but we knew we were paying a lot of money for these, so we wanted them to be right. And when we got our fresh new ones, they were perfect.
They were rare, which I usually can't do with regular burgers, with just a little bit of seared brown around the edges and a perfectly pink center. The patty lay between a perfectly golden bun and had 2 slices of perfectly ripe, richly red, slightly roasted tomoto slices, fennel slaw, and watercress greens. On the side was more duck fat fries and not-your-ordinary pickled onion slices, shitake mushrooms, and cucumber slice. The meat was so juicy and tender; my first few bites I had a mix of juices from the meat and the slaw running down my hand. I had to keep a "dirty" hand and keep myself from compulsively wiping my hands after each bite like I usually do. The meat was heavenly and so flavorful just on its own. The pickled items were a nice refreshment after every few decadent bites. By the end of the meal, I struggled to finish my burger, but gosh darnit, I finished it. I couldn't live with myself if I left a bite of Kobe on my plate. That burger was the highlight of the meal, and it was worth every penny. I couldn't even imagine what a Kobe steak tastes like (which Bourbon Steak offers in the range of $64 to $175). One day, I hope I can afford to try it ;-) But for now, I can have a Kobe burger and be completely content.
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