One of the things we have always enjoyed about Ristorante di Mare, a South Beach bistro specializing in Mediterranean cuisine, has been the willingness of Chef Jean Zana and his wife Edyta to venture a bit afield and offer authentic dishes not often found on our barrier island.
Last season, Monday was Polish night – providing the opportunity to feast on pierogi, golumpki, kielbasa and szarlotka accompanied by a shot of Polish potato vodka. While this popular $50 prix fixe has been temporarily suspended while Edyta’s Polish mother visits family back in the old country, we have been assured it will resume after the first of the year, probably on Wednesdays.
In the meantime, di Mare has come up with another dining innovation. Wild Game Mondays. Bison, elk, wild boar and deer here on the beach, plus a shot of Wild Turkey, all for $50. How could we not try it?
So off we went. For starters on this visit, we were offered the choice of soup (pasta e fagioli) or salad: I had the house salad with a balsamic vinaigrette and my husband had the Caesar with (presumably wild) anchovies. But before they arrived, the kitchen – as it occasionally does – sent out an extra: house-smoked fish tapenade with bruschetta. Delicious.
Following the salads, we were served a bison carpaccio – paper thin slices of raw tenderloin from grass-fed bison. Bison is very lean, and the carpaccio had a rich, slightly sweet taste. My husband liked it even better than beef carpaccio, which he frequently orders.
Following the carpaccio, we were offered a shot of Wild Turkey. While we have never thought of Kentucky bourbon as a mid-meal palate cleanser, it did seem a good set up for the arrival of the main course.
Then came the pièce de résistance – a plate containing small filets of elk, venison and wild boar, served with a cognac cream sauce with exotic mushrooms and peppercorns, and accompanied by mashed sweet potatoes and sautéed spinach.
I really liked the idea of having an opportunity to sample the three types of game and compare them to one another. Each of the tenderloins had a distinctive taste and texture: The elk seemed somewhat sweeter than the venison, but the venison was extremely tender. The wild boar had a slightly more intense flavor and a lot more texture.
None of the three, however, tasted gamey. That’s because meats served in U.S. restaurants as wild game are not truly wild, but are raised on ranches or farms – and the domesticated versions for the most part lack the gamey taste.
Of the four, both my husband and I really liked the elk and bison. But your taste may well differ, and we enjoyed the venison and wild boar as well. Goodness knows, all of these meats are good for you – leaner, high in protein, lower in cholesterol than beef.
On this visit, we were too full for dessert – but one thing we are “wild” about here is di Mare’s BaBa au Rhum.
Our sense is that a lot of good things are going on at di Mare, which now going into its sixth year in Vero, seems to be emphasizing its French culinary roots more than its Italian.
But Wild Game Mondays or Polish Night at di Mare provide a dining experience that’s unique in Vero Beach. If you have a hankering to go “wild,” or if you yearn for authentic Polish cooking (and who doesn’t like pierogi?), these are opportunities you will not want to miss.
I welcome your comments, and encourage you to send feedback to me at [email protected].
The reviewer is a beachside resident who dines anonymously at restaurants at the expense of Vero Beach 32963.
