Jan Norris: Food and Florida

My Fresh Chef's Fuzzy Melon in the making

Watermelons are still all over, and the weather is still sweltering. Here’s a recipe for a watermelon cooler from creative chef Jeremy Hanlon of West Palm Beach (My Fresh Chef – he caters and does private cheffing and is working on a TV show). I love his use of fresh fruits and vegetables in every dish he makes. Bold flavors in unusual combinations from fresh foods – that’s Hanlon.

You can go to Hanlon’s blog to read his story about the drink and vacation – but here’s the recipe for Fuzzy Melon (that’s my name for it that won his Facebook contest). A non-alcoholic version follows.

Fuzzy Melon

• 3 cups ripe seedless watermelon – coarsely chopped
• 1 lime – juice only
• 1 ½ cups Peach Vodka (quantity may vary according to mood)
• 8 ounces ginger ale
• 4 sprigs mint – ripped into small pieces
• 8 basil leaves – ripped into small pieces
• 1 ½ tablespoon confectioners sugar
• For garnish – mint leaves, lime slices
  

Place watermelon, lime, and vodka in blender.  Whip on high until watermelon is pureed.

Combine watermelon mixture, ginger ale, torn herbs and optional sugar in a large pitcher.  Stir to combine well and fill with crushed ice.

Serve in tall cooler glasses, garnished with a lime slice and mint leaves.

Makes 6 to 8 drinks.

Non-alcoholic version: Substitute 12-ounce can peach nectar for the vodka; continue as above.

Next month, the 2011 Calendar of South Florida’s Hottest Chefs comes out, courtesy of Taylor Morgan and her team at South Florida Dines.

The calendar features a dozen “hot” chefs from Palm Beach, Broward and Dade counties who are the helm of some of the top restaurants in the area.

Along with their portraits and a brief Q&A with the guys and a gal, you get dining certificates worth $25 each at the restaurants featured.

The calendar will cost $25, and comes out in September.

Mr. January - Allen Susser

The chefs featured are: January – Allen Susser (Taste Gastropub, Delray Beach’s Pineapple Grove)

Mr. November - Michael Wagner

August – Zach Bell (Cafe Boulud, Palm Beach in the Brazilian Court Hotel)

Spoto’s Oyster Bar, Palm Beach Gardens

Happy hours: Monday-Friday, 4 p.m. – 7 p.m. at the bar and in the Bluepoint lounge.

The crowd: As with most happy hours, the earlier you go in, the more likely you are to find retired types enjoying their bar favorites. Spoto’s is no exception. Toward evening, the after-work crowd pours in.

Surrounds: Long bar, coupled with the separate Bluepoint Lounge room, means you’re not likely to be turned away. The bar also offers enticing views of the oysters and clams on ice.

Barback: Take your time. No need to shout your orders. Service here is efficient.

The sips: Half price on specialty drinks off the menu plus beer and wine. Delicious is the word for the Mandarin Martini with Grand Marnier, vodka, and “a splash of sour espresso.” The drink prices can vary depending on what you want in them. This martini was $5.50. The Samuel Adams beer, on tap, was a long, cool drink at $3.75. The house wine runs $3.50.

The noshes: A tasty selection of appetizers makes up the bar menu at $4.75 per selection. The chicken tenders were fine, but I preferred the BBQ bacon-wrapped shrimp. Crunchy and juicy. The star of the show is definitely the bluepoint oysters, which I was salivating for as I watched them nestled in their icy beds. $1.50 each adds up, but these oysters – why else would you be at an oyster bar? – are not to be missed.

Tunes or noise: Blessedly quiet enough to hear happy chatter.

Rating: 4 out of 5 olives.

Spoto’s Oyster Bar

• 4560 PGA Blvd., Palm Beach Gardens.
• 561-776-9448; www.spotosoysterbar.com
• Happy hours: 4-7 at the bar, and Bluepoint lounge
  

Carolyn Susman, a West Palm Beach reporter, covers happy hours in the area, giving the readers at JanNorris.com a look at where to go for great little plates, super sips and mellow music….after 5. Contact her at AfterFive@JanNorris.com

Be among the first to check out The Blind Monk, a wine bar on Evernia in downtown West Palm Beach that opens at 3 p.m. today.

The smallish spot (950 or so square feet) is the concept of Ben Lubin, a former Marine who did grad studies in international affairs before deciding to launch a wine bar. And why?

“I am from West Palm Beach, and when I came back (after tours of Asia, Afghanistan and Iraq), I couldn’t find anything around that I really liked to go to. There was something missing – something low-key and sophisticated. So I decided to open my own place.

“I’ve always enjoyed tasting wine and the whole experience – you drink it with good food, good friends or loved ones, and are in the moment. The cares of the day are left behind for a while,” he said.

Bubble glass for lights and ‘motion’ art

The decor is tongue-in-cheek chic. Above the bar are spheres of glass, symbolizing Champagne bubbles. On the wall, old black and white films are shown – these are “motion art.” Leather seats and walls of wines fill out the comfortable room.

By the glass or bottle

More than 90 wines will be poured by the glass, and there are more than 300 bottles on a list that encompasses wines from around the world with what Lubin calls a “robust selection.” Prices start at $6 a glass, or $24 per bottle.

Cheese plates and other small wine-friendly plates are served – cold cuts, cold seafood, fresh fruits, crackers and dark chocolates are among the offerings. Both wine and food specials will be available on a weekly basis.

“We’ll start with Dom Perignon specials,” he said. The wine bar’s name references the noted Dom, a Benedictine monk who is said to have tasted grapes blindfolded to determine the best for his now infamous Champagne.

Non-wine selections will include 13 microbrews, a coffee bar with espresso and cappuccino, and sparkling juices.

The Blind Monk

• 410 Evernia St., West Palm Beach
• 561-833-3605
• Open daily, 3 p.m.-1 a.m.

We’ve all been there – with a nice bottle of wine, a loaf of bread and some thou beside us in a wilderness – or urban area – with no corkscrew in sight.

Here’s a lesson in opening a wine bottle using a shoe. The tricks are:

a) Have a hard-soled shoe – a tennis shoe won’t cut it. So carry around an old man’s shoe if you prefer not to remember a corkscrew…

b) Pound gently just to get the cork far enough removed to pull it the rest of the way with your hand; and

c) Don’t do this over white carpeting. Oh, and don’t do it with Champagne. You don’t need more wine if you can’t figure out how to pop open a bottle of bubbly…

Watch and learn! (You’ll figure it out, but the guy is saying here’s how to do it: use a flat bottomed shoe, hold the wine bottle securely inside the shoe perpendicular to the wall or other vertical surface, and don’t bang too hard.)