Two years ago this week, we decided as an experiment to begin checking out low-cost summer dining deals being offered by some of Vero’s top restaurants.
That first year, we found many of the so-called summer specials were little more than renamed early birds (how we hated trying to reset our body clocks to feel hungry at 5 p.m.)!
But by last year, the summer special idea had really caught on. Restaurants vied to come up with ever-more creative ways to keep their tables filled all night long.
Some of the deals would have astonished their snowbird regulars.
This summer, our guess is the specials are going to be more competitive than ever.
To launch the summer special season, we visited a wintertime favorite, Bijou, which coincidentally last week moved into a new 14th Avenue location.
It’s a good thing Bijou’s new building (the site of the old French Quarter) is much larger than the old, because the food seemed better than ever – and the summertime deal is fantastic.
Basically, the all-night summer special is two courses – a soup or salad, followed by an entrée – plus a bottle of wine for $50 for two.
If our wine choice, the 2012 Nicolas sauvignon blanc, is any guide, it would be hard to pick wrong among the half-dozen French and Argentine wines offered with this special.
The Nicolas was an excellent sauvignon blanc, light, balanced and smooth, with crisp acidity and a pleasingly dry finish.
Then for our first course, I chose a house salad and my husband decided to have the soup of the day.
The salad was a nice butter bibb with gorgonzola cheese with a very delicate dressing.
But my husband’s choice – a sweet potato and green apple soup with ancho chiles – was simply spectacular.
The flavorful combination was topped with a dollop of braised shortrib and pickled onion, and the pickled onion offset the heat of the ancho.
What a start!
Then for entrées, I ordered the bouillabaisse, and my husband had the brown butter seared Carolina trout.
The other choices were shrimp pasta; pan-seared pork rib-eye medallions; and fire-grilled steak and frites.
My bouillabaisse was a generous bowl of shrimp, clams, mussels and sea scallops in a sumptuous broth, accompanied by a fire grilled crouton.
The broth is always the key to a successful bouillabaisse, and this one – with a slight taste of smoked paprika – was as good as it gets.
My husband’s trout came with caramelized apples on top, finished with a lemon butter sauce, and accompanied by a nice arugula salad with blue cheese and spiced nuts. The plate also was adorned with a dozen crispy fried gnocchi.
Yum. A light dish, very summery.
Two great courses. An excellent wine. And a check that tops out just over $50 including tax. (Remember, these summer deals are a great bargain, so if service is good, you want to reward it with a generous tip.)
Even though this is our first review of the summer season, we would be inclined to pronounce this one of the best deals in town.
We would also be remiss in not commenting on the Bijou’s new quarters.
We miss the old restaurant’s open kitchen, where you could sit at the dining bar and watch Chef Chuck Arnold and his team create.
But in all other respects, this very simple, tastefully decorated restaurant is a big upgrade, and Bijou also has both a lounge and large patio dining area now – as well as a full liquor license. What’s not to like?
I welcome your comments, and encourage you to send feedback to me at tina@verobeach32963.com.
The reviewer is a beachside resident who dines anonymously at restaurants at the expense of Vero Beach 32963.
1. Seared Tuna Sashimi.
2. Carolina Trout.
3. New interior of Bijou.
4. Bijou’s new location.
PHOTOS BY BENJAMIN HAGER.