Primetime @ Ocean Prime

So after a fun day of golf and (I start a lot of these posts that way huh?) a short nap, it was time to eat.  Sol has been telling me to go to Ocean Prime for a while and last week I found out a friend of mine's brother works there as a bartender.  Those two things were enough to give it a shot.  Luckily my Mom was in town so she was able to come out to the extravaganza, and that is exactly what it was...

Three hours earlier...we pulled up to valet, because EVERY place in Dallas has a valet, even the sports bar, the tex-mex restaurant and the Cantina.  As we got out of the car there was a red carpet leading us to the glass doors that opened up into the restaurant.  The greeter was very friendly as we told her we would be going to the bar.  We found a seat on the right side of the U shaped bar.  It was very clean cut, LOTS of bottles of liquor and wine in neat rows, all of the finishes were polished and glimmering showing the new restaurant off.  We took a peek outside at the patio before going in and it was very rich also we later found out they dropped about a million on it.  If I didn't know any better i'd say we were in Beverly Hills - there was plastic every where, and not on the walls.

My friend's brother, Micah (My-kah), was our bartender and  asked us what we would be having.   He explained that they had "hand crafted cocktails" meaning they used fresh squeezed juices, fresh garnishes and house-made syrups.  My kind of place.  Folks if you haven't been listening to me - THESE ARE THE BEST KIND OF COCKTAILS!  Go get some, you can get a great deal on their cocktails at happy hour.  I will say you do need to be patient because hand crafted cocktails take some time to make, just like a good work of art.  Similar to the other places, the bartender tasted the drink with a straw to make sure it was right, if he needed to balance it out he would add a little more of this or a little more of that. 

While we waited...the bartender put a bowl of popcorn in front of us, drizzled with truffle oil, very nice.

Sol ordered a "Cucumber Gimlet" - Bombay Sapphire gin, muddled fresh cucumber and hand squeezed lime. Let me say, the fusion of cucumber and gin is a natural one. I believe this is the 3rd cucumber-gin cocktail I have written about and though all have been very different they have all be very good and well balanced, the Cucumber Gimlet was no different. The green you see was a cucumber peel for a garnish.

 
Next, I ordered a "Whiskey clover"
Gentleman Jack whiskey, Hennessy VS, honey water, hand squeezed lemon and orange.  You'll notice in the background of the Cucumber Gimlet picture the bartender is hand squeezing the orange juice to go in my cocktail.  This should give you an idea of the freshness of every concoction.  If you look hard enough you can see the built in wood cutting board that every garnish is cut on.  My Whiskey Clover was amazing, the perfect amount of fruit juice and liquor.  Micah, cut a piece of orange peel about quarter sized, heated the outside up with a lighter, then with the flame close he bent the peel squeezing a burst of juice out of the rind and the flame popped like someone was blowing fire out of their mouth, it was a nice touch.

We started with some bar appetizers: Sonoma Goat Cheese Ravioli with Golden Oak Mushrooms - a light, fresh slightly tangy dish.  The ravioli were small and bite sized.  What an easy dish, I have had this once before at a place called Anteprima in Chicago - I can't say one was better than the other but they were both wonderful and if you have an opportunity to try this dish or a variation of it, you should.

The next was as Micah put it: Texas "Surf n' Turf" - Diver Scallops, Slow Braised Short Ribs over a bed of mashed potatos.  The scallops were seared perfectly and the inside was tender and moist.  I LOVE scallops.  The addition of braised short ribs was a nice touch to this dish.  I am not going to lie before we ordered these flavors did not seem like they would go together but they did in a fantastic way.

I hate to do this to those of you that read this blog on a regular basis, but we ordered deviled eggs again...I'm sorry, No, No I'm not because they were amazing.  Devilled eggs are getting more and more trendy, and I can say, I'm not upset about it, because I love them.  These particular ones were "White Truffle Caviar Deviled Eggs".  So how could we not?  Truffle makes everything better.  They were a little salty but since I love salt they were perfect for me.  For those of you not into caviar, like my mom, just pop it in your mouth, close your eyes, and enjoy!  Go ask her, you can't even taste it.

We just relaxed for a while, did some people watching.  Oh, and in walks pretty much the whole offensive line of the Dallas Cowboys!!!!  I am an AVID fan so yes I knew their names.  Marc Columbo is the first one I recognized, then some of the backups.  It's crazy how us guys remember meaningless information like the 2nd string offensive line's names.  The punter and the EX-kicker were there too.  It was pretty cool, I was a little star struck.  Then we saw some cougars perusing the bar, apparently this is a pretty hoppin' place.  Obviously,I didn't get the memo.

After we worked up an appetite people watching we ordered some dinner.  My mom and I ordered Filets and Sol ordered a Chilean Sea Bass.  Our steaks were good and the Sea Bass was light and flaky.  For sides we asked the bartender what he liked and he said the creamed spinach.  He said it was cooked in bacon grease and though he normally doesn't like spinach it was to die for.  How could we not take his advice?  We didn't regret it, it was amazing, definitely not the spinach Popeye used to give him his strength.  Then there was the Chophouse Corn, a staple of mine when it comes to a steak dinner.  A real treat was mixing the corn and spinach together.  I am not sure if the bacon grease hopped the train or if the corn was cooked in bacon grease also.  Either way they were to die for both together and seperate.  Mom picked the starch and ordered a Scallion Twice Baked Potato with Cheddar Cheese & Bacon.  This was a monstrosity of a potato.  I mean that in a good way, the cheese was oozing, the bacon bits were crispy and the scallions were fresh.  How could we fit anything else in?

Fun fact:  Did you know our bodies were made so that when we we're done with dinner a pocket opens up in our stomachs for dessert?  It's some weird physiological thing where the stomach communicates with the brain.  I am happy we were constructed this way cause I love me some deeeeesert!  We ordered chocolate cake, a dessert we NEVER order.  Unbenownst to us it was actually more like a soufflé topped with homemade vanilla ice cream.  The chocolate filling rushed out like lava out of a volcano, the ice cream cooling it off to an edible temperature it was great.  My only gripe is I wanted more ice cream. Overall it was an excellent end to a fantastic meal.  I don't believe I have ever had a soufflé before so that was a nice surprise.

It was a pleasure showing my mom what Sol and I enjoy doing.  Galavanting around town to nice places enjoying life.  Soaking in the creations of great chefs and bartenders alike.  Trying something new or tasting a recreation of something old.  This is the life my friends.  Here's to you!

Flashy Ambiance_Hand Made Original Cocktails_Great Service