Dining Out: Carefully chosen combos blend the unexpected at Verdi's

By JENINE OUILLETTE, Special to the Islander
December 24, 2004

Forget culinary fusion fashionistas!

For a really superb meal, I'll choose the innovative chef who creates an unexpected combination of sauces and primary ingredients that complement rather than compete.

And that's what I got last week at Verdi's American Bistro.

An example of how confidently chef Guy Verdi crafts his creations is found in a little box at the bottom of the menu.

"No substitutions please," it reads. "Great care has gone into pairing specific food combinations."

Of course, he's no kitchen tyrant, and he'll gladly compromise and serve a side order ($2) of any potato or vegetable.

Now, back to the more interesting starters, such as the house signature Mom's clam chowder: ethereal of substance, subtly seasoned and full of sweet, briny clam pieces.

A word of caution here: Portions are quite ample. I could have made a meal of our other first course, duck pot stickers. These six crisply fried morsels were fairly bursting with tender duck filling complemented by a tangy ginger hoisin sauce with faint plum undertones. We all agreed it was simply superb.

A nicely paced salad interlude followed. We opted for the house salad with roasted garlic vinaigrette. My friends shared an optional side of Gorgonzola cheese and graciously shared the contents of the generously filled ramekin with all.

I even scooped out the tasty crumbs to slather on my slice of crusty — but feathery within — slice of baguette du jour from our napkin-lined basket.

Entrées are served with either a house salad or a half Caesar substitute. A full Caesar is one of the appetizer offerings, along with escargot in white wine sauce topped with puff pastry, a seductive shrimp egg roll with sweet wasabi drizzle, or warm baked brie creatively embellished, to name but a few.

On to the main courses, especially one of the evening's specials, veal flank steak sliced and fanned out atop a mound of tender leaf spinach, drizzled with a marvelous veal demi-glacé-based sauce, and served with crisp, oven-roasted herbed potato wedges. A royal repast!

This was no ordinary piece of meat. It was unbelievably succulent, pink and juicy. My palate is forever spoiled for the mundane beef version.

An equal culinary tour de force was the chicken breast in phyllo, stuffed with spinach and Boursin cheese, with a side of fluffy garlic mashed potatoes.

Wait, there's more.

How about grilled snapper served atop a mound of fragrant jasmine rice with an orange and fennel glaze? It was simply heavenly, as was the marvelous Mediterranean-style Chilean sea bass. Pan-seared with cannellini beans, oven-dried tomatoes and artichoke hearts, it was magnificently mi bella!

I could go on and on, but I'll just mention the crispy duck, semi-boneless (the better to eat, my dear) with jasmine rice and la franaise with raspberry or Chinoise with ginger hoisin sauce. If you smile sweetly, you'll get a ramekin of the alternate sauce on the side — twice the delight in one dish.

For you dyed-in-the-wool carnivores, there's grilled New Zealand rack of lamb lavished with port, lamb and mint demi-glaze or, of course, an 8-ounce filet mignon grilled with a Gorgonzola crust.

You'll have to come and see the rest of this innovative menu for yourself.

I'm partial to Verdi's freshly brewed iced tea, but all kinds of soft beverages are available for quaffing, along with bottled imported and domestic beers.

Last but not least was the professional, friendly service of our server, Milo, paired with the wonderful pacing of our courses.

Memorable meals deserve memorable desserts, and Verdi's delivers that and more. Ice creams are by Haagen-Dazs, but the stuff dreams are made of is created strictly on the premises.

I swooned with every spoonful of sinfully rich panna cotta, elevated to ethereal heights when made with heavy cream rather then the usual milk and tarted up with raspberry coulis and fresh berries. I reluctantly shared so I could savor a few spoonfuls of the equally enriched Cuban coffee crme brulée topped with a crunchy caramelized sugar glaze.

There's much, much more, but you'll expire from envy if I tell!

Jenine C. Ouillette is a retired features editor of the Key West Citizen and a former food writer and restaurant reviewer for other publications in the Keys and mainland Florida.