Columbus Day Feast at Bar Americain

The idea of having Columbus Day as a holiday from work was quite a novelty for me, this being the first time I have worked for a company that made it an official observance. In fact, I hadn't realized that this was even a possibility except for those in the banking and perhaps scholastic professions. So, In honor of the occasion and newly discovered holiday it seemed appropriate to celebrate with a fine evening meal.

In thinking about the appropriate choice for this particular day, our first thought was perhaps something Italian. But wait, we thought; perhaps Spanish would be more appropriate. After wrestling with the choices for a few minutes we hit upon the perfect choice: Bar Americain. What better way to celebrate the arguable and somewhat dubious discovery of the continent then by sampling celebrity-chef-rendered versions of some of the best cuisine subsequently to develop there.

A side note about Bobby Flay: by now it is fashionable for foodie snobs to look down their noses at celebrity chefs and the food TV network that once seemed so novel. I have to admit that I myself used to enjoy the sport of making disdainful comments during the many episodes of Bobby's shows that I somehow found myself watching against my better judgement. How did this guy get a TV show, I wondered, remarking at how he came across as a kid with an undeserved sense of culinary entitlement rather than a knowledgeable authority on food and cooking.

But, this was before I had visited any of his restaurants. After my first trip to Bolo, I began to have second thoughts. The food there was excellent, with interesting and well-presented menu choices. I reasoned that this could be explained by a top-notch supporting staff. How much time did Bobby really spend there, anyway? Surely by that point he was just coming in to an occasional cameo between book signings and endorsement photo shoots.

After that, though, intrigued by the experience at Bolo, I had the opportunity to visit pretty much all of his other restaurants, in both New York and Las Vegas. Each time I visited New York, I found myself looking forward to revisiting his places more so than any other. I had to admit that whatever involvement he had or whatever he was doing to supervise his restaurants and their menus, they were all unarguably good, and Bobby deserved a large part of the credit, if for nothing else than assembling the staff and creating the right environment for them to flourish.

So, our expectations were high as we went in to Bar Americain for dinner. I am happy to say that we were not in any way disappointed. Everything there is executed very well, from the bread baskets that include among other items herbed corn sticks.

Our favorite appetizer is the Lobster and Avocado seafood cocktail, which we shared along with a simple mesclun salad. We followed that with the rack of pork, which was served along with a nice take on creamed corn that included red bell pepper and green onions. My wife had the daily special buttermilk fried chicken, which came with biscuits and a honey-mustard horseradish dipping sauce.

We debated about whether to have dessert, but the waiter made such a big deal about cleaning the table of crumbs and bringing out a new white napkin to cover over the spots of sauce from the pork that I had strewn across the table while transferring portions between plates that we gave in. I know that's the reason they do it, and it always seems like the ritual is a bit insulting, as if to say that somehow there's now way they can let you continue the meal until they can clean up some of the mess you have made. Nevertheless, they went to some effort and we didn't need that much convincing.

Between the three of us we had a chocolate layer cake with ganache, peanut butter, and rocky road topping, a black-bottom tart with roasted figs, and also a plum tart with vanilla gelato. All were exquisitely prepared and presented, and tasted just as good.

Say what you like about Bobby Flay, we will be going back again for more.