Smooth sailing

The sultry summertime has a love/hate relationship with restaurants. In tourist-packed beach areas, restaurants bustle with patrons who don't want to cook on vacation.  In the less tourist saturated cities, restaurants are often slow because people are on vacation.  Sometimes, it's simply too hot to eat, & people stay home by the pool.  This lull in activity allows time for chefs to test their creative juices.  Prix-fixe menus, appetizer-heavy happy hours, & specially dinners are all products of such fusion.  In fact, I had the privilege of attending a cocktail dinner last week at Beausoliel restaurant, right here in Baton Rouge.  I've said it once, & I'll say it again: their award-winning chef, Nathan Gresham, continuously outdoes himself in the kitchen. He created a menu around five fabulous cocktails that were crafted by general manager/co-owner Jeff Conaway & his talented bar team.  As always, chef Nathan & Jeff stayed true to the local/independent vendor & chose Smooth Ambler as the spirits to feature for the dinner.  Smooth Ambler is a small, artisan distiller located in West Virginia, that uses locally sourced ingredients in the making of all their liquors.  The perfectly designed menu featured cocktails made with Smooth Ambler's gin, bourbon, & vodka.  I have been to my share of wine & beer dinners before, but I have never been to a cocktail dinner.  In fact, I was skeptical of attending the dinner, as I didn't think I would appreciate the varieties of cocktails.  I could not have been more wrong:  the dinner & pairings were absolutely fantastic.

The meal began with hand passed hors d'oeuvres of fried pork belly with ancho bbq sauce and skewers of local watermelon & seared tuna.  These delights were paired with 'peaches & streams', a refreshing (& gorgeous) cocktail made with fresh peaches, Smooth Ambler gin, & St. Germain. It was an outstanding opener for this dinner.

Next came a Louisiana seafood lover's dream:  BBQ shrimp & jumbo lump crabmeat set atop fried local eggplant.  This plate was paired with the 'old boulevardier' cocktail made with Smooth Ambler bourbon.  The delectable sweetness of the crab paired beautifully with the bold flavor of the whiskey.  The flavorful breading of the eggplant provided enough spice to make the taste buds sing with every sip of this cocktail.   

I was starting to get full at this point (the bite size fried pork belly pieces did me in), but I have never been a quitter when it comes to good eating!!  The next course was light & delicious & served with, perhaps, my favorite cocktail of the evening.  A beautiful piece of pan sauteed cobia topped with a fennel & apple coleslaw appeared in front of me.  Chef Nathan described this plate as his play on a picnic of catfish & old-fashioned coleslaw.  I love this grown up dish!!!  It was served with a stunning cocktail of lavender & honey infused Smooth Ambler gin, fresh lemon juice, & simple syrup.  The 'lavender fields', as it was called, had an ice ball in the middle that had either fresh lavender or flower inside.  It was not only tasty, but also a visual masterpiece.  The gin had a slight edge to it, but the mild fish & tart slaw cut the flavor with precision.

For real, it can't get any better, right??  How will chef Nathan create more flavor?  How will Jeff & the team one-up the whimsical drink?  These questions were answered in the next course.  It turned out to be my favorite dish:  pork cheeks confit with caramelized onions, figs, a pickled black eye pea relish, & arugula pecan pesto.  This dish was so complex & full of flavor that I was almost speechless.  Almost.  I let out a 'WOW!', & the look on my face said, 'are y'all eating what I'm eating'????? The pork was crispy & smoky, while the figs were sweet & juicy.  It was the perfect combination of sweet & salty.  The pickled pea relish gave the dish an earthy tone that paired well with the cocktail selection of mezcal, jalapeno juice, pineapple juice, & Mathilde orange. It was appropriately named 'where there's smoke, there's fire.' This drink was garnished with a thin slice of fresh jalapeno, & it lent a subtle spice to the dish.  Standing alone, the cocktail was a bit smoky & spicy, but when sipped followed by a bite of the food, it was as if the two were made for each other.

At this point in the meal, I'm thankful that I'm wearing a long, flowy dress that is hiding my very happy stomach. I'm near certain there is no way I have room for dessert.  How in the world will I manage?  When a gooey, chocolate concoction was set in front of me, I somehow magically found the strength to gobble up every bite.  The sweet ending was a chocolate torte set in salted caramel & topped with a blackberry sorbet.  All the elements on the plate could have stood alone & made a fine dessert, but all three just blew up the senses.  My goodness, this was a fantastic dessert!! I'm the first to ask for salt over sweet any day, but I believe the salty caramel was the star of this plate.  A bite of the torte with the caramel dipped in the sorbet was, in my opinion, better than scoring a Chanel handbag at a sidewalk sale.  This sweet end called for a sweet cocktail, so we were served a 'mountaineer'. It was a delicate blend of cream, blackberry infused Smooth Ambler vodka, & chocolate liqueur.  It lended a contrast to the sweetness of the torte  It truly was a perfect ending to a well-planned & executed meal. 

I did my level best to clean my plate at each course.  I did, however, come home with a small container of the pork cheeks, & it was just was incredible for lunch the next day.   As for the cocktails, I only finished the lavender fields & shared the rest with grateful friends at my table.  It was one of the best meals I've had in Baton Rouge.  My hat goes off to Nathan & Jeff for creating such a diverse & delicious menu.  It is much more difficult to create a dish around a cocktail & vice versa than it is to create a dish around a wine or beer.  This team really knocked it out of the park.  Not only did they pull off a specialty dinner for the evening, but the staff of Beausoliel also allowed for the front of the restaurant to have normal dinner service.  This speaks volumes to the restaurant team & their experience AND expertise to allow for a special event while not disrupting service.  I'm already nagging chef Nathan & Jeff to create the next specialty dinner!!

If you have yet to make it to Beausoliel, you are missing out on culinary greatness.  This gem nestled in the Bocage shopping center is turning the Baton Rouge dining scene into a force to be reckoned with. Brunch is served on Saturday & Sunday, and lunch/dinner is served from Tuesday-Friday.  The daily plate lunch specials & nightly dinner specials are crafted with care from local ingredients.  Beausoliel happy hour is one of the best in town, & there is a beautiful umbrella covered patio to relax in.  The staff & team are friendly & knowledgeable & happy to make recommendations.  Make plans to have a meal there very soon.  Your tastebuds will thank you.