My Favorite RESTAURANTS...
Most dine out for convenience, price, lack of cooking skills, or dislike cooking in general. I dine to enjoy the art of the industry and indulge in great tasting food.
…ill be the first to tell you, its never about the price!
I’ll explain throughout this post!
Me and my wife met through the connection of food and drink. We love enjoying ourselves at many local restaurants here in Fort Wayne, Indiana. When deciding where to dine for an evening of just US. Some of our favorites will be featured in this blog. I am excited to try the food of our city and share it with you.
I am going to give you insights of how a certified executive chef breaks down food and reinterpret the dishes at home based on flavor, textures, presentation and ingredients.
First up…..
Eddie Merlots
What can I say, spending time with my amazing wife surrounded by spectacular decor, atmosphere, comfortable lounge chairs is the cherry on top to the service and food. Don’t get me wrong, I love bar foods just as much as fine dining. I feel that many people give the fine dining scene a bad reputation. Everyone has heard the sayings, too pricey for me, money doesn’t grow on trees, i can’t afford this type of eating out, blah blah blah. I have the solution to your problem.
Did you know that even the fine dining restaurants offer a happy hour menu, bar menu, smaller portions, promotional deals, etc? Well, well, well…you do now and the pricing really isn’t that high when considering the level of service, quality of food, and that comfortable ass chair you’re sitting in.
Eating fine dining for less $$$…..Think about this for a second, do you really need to order off the regular dinner menu? Answer is NO. Try hitting up the Lounge Menu from 4:00-6:30 Monday-Friday and get yourself served a prime cheeseburger with your choice of cheese, served with chips or fries for $14.95 + take off the additional $3 for happy hour and that’s a whopping $11.95 for that burger or a burger from Applebees $11.29?
Hmmmm, see i’m telling you its not about the price! I do believe it is how we view ourselves dining out at particular restaurants including fast food to fine dining. I have worked in this industry for more than 20 years now and have witnessed it over and over again, am I welcome here? do I stick out? are my clothes good enough? Here’s what I say. Be you, appreciate the food and share your gifts
Now onto our dinner…..
1st Course
Fried Oysters | $17.95
Four fried oysters over a ravigote sauce topped with fennel and cucumber salad. Finished with a lemon vinaigrette and fennel fronds.
Chef Review
The overall presentation of the dish was neat, clean and visually appealing. We eat with our eyes first, right?
Fried Oysters- The oysters had all of the characteristics I look for when it comes to fried food. Crispiness, well seasoned, non-greasy. However, the oysters were not hot upon arrival. More on the later……
Fennel and cucumber salad- I would have included red onion in the description as it was bold in flavor, a vibrant presentation and I love red onions that are properly dressed with a vinaigrette. The use of English cucumber held a very nice crunch to garnish. The only fennel I tasted was the fronds (aka the green herb looking garnish in the photo). Garnish placement is critical for the complete dish. I would have spread the fennel bulb out a little bit more than just the one spot from the photo. My wife must have eaten all of that, haha.
Ravigote Sauce- traditionally a French sauce that is made similar to mayonnaise, but with Dijon mustard and no eggs, that offers a little acidity. The ravigote tonight reminded me more of a tartar sauce or a remoulade sauce. I woulnd’t say it had much of a dijon mustard taste. I tasted a pronounced amount of capers. I did enjoy the sauce with the combination of all ingredients.
Service-
The oysters took some time to come out of the kitchen. They were served on a clean rectangular plate with a small pair of stainless steel serving tongs.
Chef Adjustments
As a chef I would not change much of the appetizer. I would change how it is garnished and served to the customer. When trying food as a customer I want to taste everything that is listed on the description. Making sure that every oyster is surrounded by the complete garnish. Also, the garnish here was cold. I would pull 2-3 orders of the garnish from the refrigerator allowing it to get to room temperature. WHY? The ice cold salad will cool down the oyster. Patrons expect food to be hot!
Running food = the biggest nightmare a chef concludes to on the daily. Something I was always told from my early days in a kitchen. It’s real simple, HOT FOOD HOT - COLD FOOD COLD. The bar and lounge are the biggest areas for improvement across the board when it comes to running food. Bartenders and cocktail waitresses never leave the bar or lounge. The result someone else running their food = a lot of unsatisfied customers eating cold food.
Pricing
The pricing seems a little bit high for four fried oysters considering each oyster most likely costs roughly .70 each. Food Cost 20%.
2nd Course
Beef Carpaccio | $14.95
Raw filet mignon slices, capers, onion, cracked black pepper, balsamic glaze, watercress, olive oil, house-made potato chips.
Chef Review
We get this appetizer at every dining experience at Eddie Merlots. When eating as a chef I think of the following: Visual appearance, taste, texture, acidity, temperature and smell.
Beef Carpaccio- The beef was in fact tender, sliced thin enough to enjoy eating raw. This is accomplished by freezing the beef completely and slicing it on a slicer paper thin. The beef needed just a touch of sea salt to really bring out that natural earthiness.
Garnish- The capers, onion, cracked black pepper, balsamic glaze, watercress, olive oil, house-made potato chips add tremendous amounts of flavor to this dish. Honestly never realized that balsamic glaze was on the completed dish. WHY? I never tasted it on any bite I have ever consumed. The chips are wonderful for the tender beef. The crunchiness was perfect, the seasoning was lite. I am not sure whether the cracked black pepper is done table side or not but we had no traces of black pepper on our plate.
Chef Adjustments
I would only add two components to this dish. A really nice sea salt, such as Maldon to the beef slices. A quick squeeze of fresh lemon juice over the entire dish upon serving. The lemon will provide a nice touch of acidity and freshness that will enhance the complexity of the appetizer.
A way to introduce seasoning instead of garnishing would be to take the beef tenderloin and season it on the flesh, sear it quickly to adhere the seasoning and roll tight in plastic wrap, freeze and slice.
Pricing-
I love this dish and do not have a problem spending the $15. The great thing for restaurant chefs/owners is that what some consider trash is truly a chefs treasure. A beef carpaccio can be made from “tail” of the filet. The “tail” is not considered a cut to serve for filet mignon but can be thinly sliced raw. Food Cost 12%-15%
3rd Course
The Big “E” Burger | $15.95 with Fries
Two "smashed" prime burger patties, cheddar cheese, lettuce, tomato, onion, Louie sauce
Corn Casserole | $8.95
Bourbon creamed corn loaded with jalapeños, cherrywood smoked bacon, and pepper jack cheddar cheese, baked until bubbly and browned.
Chef Review
The burger….it was big for the wrong reasons, even with us splitting it. I probably would not get the burger again for the following reasons. it had more stuff on it than it did actual “smash” patties. Here’s my BEEF with burgers on a menu, I want to actually taste what i’m paying for, the BEEF. I couldn’t care less about the garnish on a burger, sure it serves a purpose but at the end of that last bite, my wife literally had 1/3 of the bun left with no meat inside of it! As a chef/customer or person of food this bothers me to the furthest extent. I have had the traditional burger and the sliders, both are far better than the newest member to the menu.
Fries- The fries were hot and let’s just say for those that know me, way to salty. (I think my students would agree that I hardly ever say those words when it comes to seasoned food). Tonight was the night, a touch salty. The garlic aioli is very good, we always ask for a side of it.
The trio of sauces are your typical- mayonnaise, dijon, ketchup and pickle was served on the side.
Corn Casserole- I was very excited to try this dish, it sounded like comfort to me. I was not the biggest fan of the casserole. A tremendous amount of cheese was melted on the top to the point where I think there was more cheese on the dish than CORN. The bacon and jalapeño came through nicely, the corn was just missing in the action. I did not taste any bourbon at all. I think the casserole was overcooked in the oven as the edges had a nice crisp but the creaminess was devoid.
Chef Adjustments
Start with the beef, make it the star not the garnishes. Choose a smaller bun for the “smash”. Option, make it a single '“smash” and when its cooked it will still cover the entire bun. Check out the picture, WHERE'S THE BEEF?
Saltiness- a chef must taste the food every so often when leaving the kitchen. From my days as an Executive Chef I learned the following. We can crush 99/100 customer meals and still have a failing night. By no means am I saying they failed, I am offering the reality for the way chefs think. That is the nature of the business.
The no-corn casserole was my least favorite dish of the night. I would suggest the obvious by adding more corn, and remove some of the cheese from the top. The biggest area for improvement might be coming from the cooking itself. I believe that the cook left it in the oven for to long, resulting in the dry flavors.
Pricing-
Burgers on a restaurant menu will fall into the 20-22% range on Food Cost. The industry standard for fine dining is 30%+. Majority of the cost for the burger is in everything except for the beef. I would guess that the “smash” burgers combined weight is 6 oz. not very BIG for all the other garnishes. Even if the beef is $5 a pound that is only $1.88 in overall cost which is only 11.7%. I love breaking down food cost.
Dessert Course
Peach and Apple Cobbler | $7.95
Warm sliced apples and peaches with an oat and brown sugar crisp topping, served with a scoop of vanilla bean ice cream.
Chef Review
The dessert was phenomenal. The warmth of the cobbler mixed with the creaminess and cold bite of the ice cream took us to our happy place in food. The portion size was massive and worth every penny of the $8.
Chef Adjustments
Wanted more, that’s all.
Pricing-
This is where restaurants make their $$$
Wine Pairing
Bottles and Glasses on Wednesdays are half off. Our drink of choice for the evening was Quilt Cabernet.
Chef Review
The quilt cabernet is very good. The wine is from the caymus family and delivers on all levels.
Wine maker notes
Deep, dark brick red to blood plum. A seamless blend of crème de cassis, hazelnut, cocoa, blackberry preserves, a charry meat toastiness, dark fruits, and blackberry pie along with suggestions of dark licorice, stewed rhubarb, strawberry, spice, and vanillin. Rich and satisfying with chocolate brownie, yogurt, molasses, brown sugar and rhubarb notes presented in perfect balance with higher-toned fruit emphasis. The wine’s weight is first felt on the front of the palate but then coats the entire mouth with placating tannin and light, pleasing grittiness. This weight, ideally counterpoised alongside the acid, leaves the mouth-watering. Great persistence on the finish.
Chef final thoughts
We love going to Eddie Merlots on a weeknight. Sit at the bar or in the lounge where all of the action is for the evening. The food on this night was above average but the company was outstanding. We met a very nice couple at the bar and chatted for over an hour about food, wine, family and career. It was our pleasure to meet people in the community that have similar interests and an overall love for food and the service industry. We will continue to go back to Eddie Merlots to try new items and old.
Cheers,
Joseph