Recipe for Success
First Anniversary Dinner boasts the best of Blueprint of 3rd.
By Jan Walsh
Tonight’s first anniversary dinner begins with a prayer. And ends in a toast. And in between we discover new, highly recommended dishes at Blueprint on 3rd.
This restaurant’s success could be a blueprint for other new restaurants to follow—yet not an easy one to replicate. From the careful sourcing of every ingredient to the hiring and training each staff member, the model begins and ends by drawing deliciousness into and executing excellence on every detail. Much credit goes to owner and operator, Dean Robb, and to his wife and co-owner, Jenny Walls Robb, who graciously greets guests making all feel welcome. The core team also includes Robb’s son, Brandon, who serves as assistant manager, executive chef, James Huckaby, and Sean Wattson, as restaurant manager and sommelier.
We start with Champagne, oysters, cast iron pimento cheese, tomato salad, and calamari. The melt in my mouth oysters are baked in creamed spinach with apple smoked bacon, parmesan. Blueprint’s tomato salad is as good as it gets. A line up of local tomatoes is topped with field pea salsa, fried Vidalia, and a creamy green goddess. The calamari is a platter full of golden and crisp goodness, served with two sauces: a tasty ginger ketchup and a vibrant cilantro-serrano chimi.
For entrees, Kev selects the pork tenderloin, and I opt for the red fish. His pork is smothered in—not your daddy’s onions—but a beautiful burnt onion peach compote. The tender, juicy pork is nestled on a bed of wilted spinach in a generous bed of yellow creamed corn, bursting with fresh, sweet, and local flavors. Kev raves and highly recommends! My fish is a beauty—delicate, mild, and sweet. The fish floats on a bed of haricot verts and roasted red potatoes. And it is topped with a marvelous medley of summer veggies: fresh cut, yellow corn kernels, cucumber, field peas, and tomato. This dish has it all!
For dessert we finish with scrumptious strawberry shortcake and house made ice creams paired with a luscious dessert Sauternes wine.
If the first year is truly the hardest with a new business, then I can’t wait to taste the second year of Blueprint.
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Fish Fetish
Where to go for our anniversary dinner? Ocean Restaurant.
By Jan Walsh
Kev and I are regulars at the bar at Ocean. We love to pop in for a relaxed dinner and watch chefs George Reis and Rick Trent prepare our meal in the open kitchen.
George and I go way back. Ocean was the first restaurant to join Birmingham Restaurants, before it launched in 2007. And prior to this, I had been dining here and reviewing the restaurant for print pubs. Seems like yesterday… And I have followed Rick’s culinary career, dining on his deliciousness, from Ocean to other local restaurants and back to Ocean.
Upon our arrival George greets us at our table, “I saw you on the reservations list, and said, ‘What, a table?’,” George laughs. We enjoy catching up with him, as we order cocktails and our favorite app—baby lobster tails. The tails arrive perfectly curled, steamy hot, with aromas of hickory wood and George’s secret “the love” spice recipe.
Rick stops by the table and shares his recent discovery of cooking kudzu leaves. I never knew kudzu was edible and am intrigued. He also says you can make jellies of their blossoms. Who knew? And tonight, he has made a kudzu pecan pesto for the Georges Bank Sea Scallops. No one does scallops better than Ocean, so I am in. Kev orders the Snapper Whole Fish from the Gulf of Mexico, hickory grilled. And we pair our entrees with flutes of Cava. A trio of enormous scallops arrive with bright green kudzu pesto, drizzled over and alongside the dish, which includes a colorful lady pea hopping john. The pesto’s earthy, nutty, and spinach-like flavors accent the scallops without overpowering the mild, sweet flavors of the delicate scallops. And the hopping john rounds out the dish with its light and lovely mix of rice and veggies. Kev’s snapper is a beauty! Never a whiff of a fishy smell in all the years we have ordered fish here. And tonight, is no exception. The whole fish is fresh and pristine. Each bite of the flaky, white snapper speaks to its quality and freshness. And it is served with a creamy, comforting side of sweet potatoes topped with cauliflower and Brussel sprouts that add a lovely layer of texture to this plate.
For dessert George surprises and treats us to a trio of temptations and Cava, which makes our anniversary here even sweeter. I fall for the tangy lemon custard lava cake, decorated with an artful design of flowers, using the plate as a canvas. Kev loves the sweet baklava purse. And we both devour the gourmet strawberry short cake. Once again, the desserts at Ocean are exceptional in their uniqueness, presentation, and most especially, their deliciousness.
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