Read Drink & Be Merry

Finn and I had just completed his first swimming lesson and while he was feeling peckish I was in desperate need of a martini. Heading into the Fan we got a call from M who was heading back from the middle of BFE, I mean West Creek, and she informed me that she was hungry as well. A couple of minutes of different restaurant names and genres were thrown about and we decided it was time to re-visit deLux. We had gone last February and had enjoyed it but for some reason or another had not made it back yet.

The first thing I noticed when we arrived was that they had opened all their windows. It was very nice on such a gorgeous day but I thought they were very brave as there were no screens and flies tend to annoy. The second was the bartender. I didn’t remember her but she remembered us, what we drank, and what we ate on our only visit nearly 4 months ago. I was impressed. Drinks quickly in hand (I had to settle for Bombay Sapphire as they still don’t carry Tanq 10) we looked over the menu. The verdict was for heavy grazing on an array of appetizers.

WEB SITE WARNING – The web site is a single page that informs you of a full site coming up in March, 2008. They’ve missed that deadline. The hours on the site and those posted in their window do not match. They no longer seem to be open for breakfast during the week. The pdf menu that you can download off the site is way out of date. They have refined the menu quite a bit over the last couple of months and the old menu does not completely reflect their current style of offerings.

The first appetizer we tried was on a lark and could have been good or really scary. Captain Crunch Fried Shrimp. The menu described the sauce as a lime, rum, and garlic sauce. I would have described it as a Thai chili sauce of sorts. Regardless, the heat of the chili pepper flakes in the sauce and the sweet crunch of the coating on the shrimp were excellent.

At the same time came another app, French Fries Tossed In Truffle Oil with Asiago Cheese. The delicate flavours of the truffle oil, the bite of the Asiago topped off with chopped chives were a nice combination. Two problems with this dish. What’s the point of truffle oil if your going to offer people ketchup and cover up the taste? We asked for mayonnaise (an garlic or truffle aioli would have been better!). For $7 I get a bit disappointed if the fries are frozen. For that kind of money and to appreciate the ingredients you really need fresh cut potato. Finn had no complaints with this dish and after finishing the fries proceeded to eat the bits of Asiago left on the plate.

For the next course M opted for the Avocado BLT, which we had last time and had enjoyed. Still good.

I had the Seared Tuna appetizer next. Dabbed with wasabi and served on home made chips it was ok. Not a real stand out and just seemed to be missing something to make it more enjoyable.

With the tuna came a plate of Seared Scallops with Pancetta and Mushrooms. When the plate was set down M commented that she thought it smelled fishy. The scallops did have an odor but I didn’t think it was a bad one, just a strong one. The scallops weren’t the real large ones that are all the rage but as there were 7 or 8 and they were perfectly cooked I wasn’t complaining. The mushrooms got a bit lost in the mix but the pancetta added a smokiness and richness to the scallops. My only problem with the pancetta was that I kept flashing back to this weeks episode of Hell’s Kitchen and Matt slicing off part of his thumb while cutting pancetta and the subsequent search for the missing digit (was it just me or did they never find the missing piece of flesh in the pancetta?).

Even if we hadn’t enjoyed the food and drink so much we would probably still go back based on the staff. With all the competition for our dinning dollar and when you can find the same or similar dishes in a dozen different places, being remembered and treated well can tip the balance when making a destination decision.