We were very happy to find Cuvee Bistro open for Christmas day brunch. It is owned by Chef Tim Creehan, who according to his web site is multi-award winning chef to the stars and best in the Florida panhandle. Suffice it to say, we had high expectations.
The restaurant is very pretty - open and airy. We were warmly greeted and shown to our table right away. Our server took excellent care of us. It was a cold rainy day and we were seated next to a gas fire place. Upon arrival, it was unlighted and a cold down draft made it quite chilly. We asked if it was possible to have the fire lighted and were accommodated, although it took a good half hour to do so. That made the ambiance perfect - really the best table in the place.
On to the food. The menu gave drink choices as "Bloody Mary’s, Bellinis and Mimosas." I had been looking forward to a Bellini as that is one of my favorites, but I was informed that was not available so we settled on a bottle of Gewurztraminer wine.
The bread was outstanding. It came with two spreads, one with parmesan cheese that was very nice. One of the salads on the menu was "Classic Caesar with Roasted Chicken or Blackened Shrimp". My husband, Barry, asked for a plain caesar salad as a starter and was told this was not an option. I find it odd that a chef owned restaurant is unaccommodating and inflexible to so simple a request. Barry ordered the "Gulf Coast Seafood Bisque" instead. It was terribly under-seasoned. He salted it three times before it was right. I had the "Seared Foie Gras with Asian Pears, Figs and White Truffle Honey served on a Grilled Tuscan Bread". I believe this is the first time I've had foie gras and I was not disappointed. It was luscious.
Sorry for showing the same photograph in this post as one of my prior posts. This was the only one I took - I'm still trying to get in the habit of photographing everything before it's consumed!
Barry's choice of entree was "Petite Filet, Green Peppercorn Sauce, Yukon Gold Mashed Potatoes and Vegetable Du Jour". The vegetable was brussels sprouts which seem to be the "it" food of the moment. This was done very nicely, caramelized with bits of bacon. I choose "Creehan’s Signature Black Pepper Seared Tuna with Braised Spinach & Soy Ginger Sauce". This was lacking... the slices were paper thin and limp, definitely not what I would rate as worthy to be called a "signature" dish and not even close to the picture on the web site. Perhaps they had limited supply of tuna and were trying to stretch it out? Chef Creehan needs to sample Ruth's Chris appetizer seared tuna for comparison's sake.
For dessert we chose "Duo of Vanilla and Chocolate Creme Brulee with Fresh Fruit and Candied Walnuts". Again, this was extremely disappointing... the brulee consisting of unmelted sugar crystals and the creme hardly there at all. This dessert simply isn't worth the calories.
Brunch for two people came to around $120.00 (including a bottle of wine and one glass of port wine with dessert). This is on the high end for this area and for that kind of money, one expects outstanding service and food. While I have no complaints about the service, the food was inconsistent in quality, did not justify the prices and did no service to the reputation of Chef Creehan.
I recommend checking out OpenTable.com. It's free to join and allows you to search for restaurants wherever you like, check out reviews and reserve online. They have a convenient iPhone app as well.
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