Grille Offers
High Quality
By Kathryn Martin
For The Sun News
Atmosphere - Casual and spacious. Adding to
the "big as all outdoors" feeling is a huge vaulted ceiling that
rises atleast two stories high. A coffered center section is painted
with faux clouds, perhaps suggestive of a night under the Australian
sky. Tall windows at one end offer a view of marsh grasses and
a small private marina on the Intracoastal Waterway.
The dining room is big, but is oversized furnishings
and carefully broken-up space keep it from feeling barn-like. Paintings
that appear to be contemporary reproductions of Australian aboriginal
art, decorate the dark wood-paneled and stone walls. Alas, those
hard wall surfaces tend to add to the noise level, which is considerable
when the room is full.
There are many big, roomy booths for those
who like them, with deep, upholstered backs and seats so cushy
that we initially sank down a little too deeply. A thoughtful hostess
solved the dilemma with a pair of leather-covered cushions that
brought us back up to table height.
There's even live entertainment of a sort;
the big kitchen is separated only by a partial wall of glass that
allows a view from virtually any table in the room, That can be
particularly exciting when one of the chefs stokes the grill and
a head-high tongue of flame shoots up. Food - forget shrimp on
the barbie. While offering an occasional nod to the renowned golfer's
Aussie roots - Australian beef and lamb, and Aussie beef potpie
and a Tasman sea mussels appetizer - the menu has more in common
with San Francisco than "Crocodile Dundee."
Call it eclectic Pacific Rim, or maybe just
global cuisine. With mostly seafood and beef dishes that combine
Asian, continental and Southwestern touches, the menu choices are
almost as fun to read as they are to sample. Fried calamari gets
paired with chili sauce and red curry aioli; tuna tartare mingles
with sesame-cucumber salad and fried coconut rings.
As is often the case in eateries where every
creation is a work of art, the work doesn't come cheap. Only three
entrees go for less than $20 (Aussie potpie is $16) and many go
a lot higher, including rack of lamb at $36 and T-bone steak at
$37. Appetizers run from $7 to $12; salads (not included with entrees)
are in the $6 to $7 range. On the other hand, portions are not
stingy. We shared a zesty Caesar salad that could probably have
been split four ways as easily as two.
Following our waiter's recommendation, we chose
the miso and mirin marinated sea bass ($24.50) and a spicy concoction
called Devil's steak ($26). Both came stacked in layers a good
6 inches high. At the base of the sea bass dish was a crispy, fried-rice
cake that also included sweet corn and peppers, next came a seared
mass of marinated cabbage, and on top was a thick slab of fish.
Grilled to a golden brown and lightly flavored with the sweet marinade,
it was delicately moist, tender and delicious inside.
The Devil's steak was also a winner. It's a
thin-sliced tenderloin flavored with a ginger-barbecue sauce and
sizzling habanero peppers, then rolled and tied, and serve atop
a fresh baked popover with Asian noodles.
For anything but "well-done" aficionados, the
chef has real challenge in such a thin cut of beef. I made it even
harder by ordering it rare, but it was letter perfect: lightly
charred outside, reddish-pink inside, and fork Tender. The sauce
was spicy-hot enough and the portion large enough for two.
Spirits - The restaurant has a full bar and
an extensive wine list, big like everything else here. There are
more than 100 wines, both American and Australian. Not surprisingly,
a number of them are Greg Norman's own vintage.
Dessert - The specialty of the house is called "fallen
chocolate cake" but is really a souffle. The bad news is its time-consuming
to prepare and needs to be ordered early - before you realize just
how big that entrée is going to be. The good news is, if you saved
room for it, it's a chocoholic's dream come true; a warm cake-like
exterior oozing a dark chocolate filling with a tangy raspberry
puree gracing the plate.
For those who don't like chocolate there's
a selection of other daily specials. The night we visited, these
included, a pecan torte, key lime cheesecake, bread pudding, a
sorbet and a few flavors of ice cream.
Service - This big operation runs like a well-oiled
clock. Our server was attentive, efficient and extremely knowledgeable,
right down to knowing just how spicy the sauces were on every dish
and the precise way our meal would be cooked. Other staff members
from kitchen crew to busboys, provided smooth, well-timed assistance
when needed.
Summary - Greg Norm's offers superb, high-quality
cuisine and attentive service in a comfortable setting. The price,
however is pretty serious splurge for most of us - the sort we save
for a really special occasion. But if what you're after is a unique
and sophisticated dining experience, this one's the ticket.
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