Followers of Canyon could also be mourning the closure of the restaurant, however former proprietor Mario Di Leo teamed up with chef-partners Dave MacLennan and Brad Phillips to assist them open a second outpost of Even Keel on Las Olas Boulevard. Along with all of the seafood delights discovered at Even Keel’s first location in Lauderdale-by-the-Sea, diners on the Las Olas location can benefit from the prickly pear cactus margaritas and white chocolate bread pudding made well-known at Canyon. Even Keel at 1109 E Las Olas Blvd. has a laid-back nautical vibe and ample seating, a lot of it outdoor by the Himmarshee Canal.
MacLennan and Phillips met whereas working with James Beard Nominee Dean Max at his award-winning restaurant, 3030 Ocean on the Marriott Harbour Seashore. They opened their Lauderdale-by-the-Sea restaurant at State Street A1A and Industrial Boulevard just a few years in the past and helped put the realm on the map for a youthful crowd of foodies.
MacLennan carried out a tasting for So Flo Flavors and talked about how the companions wished to stake out the center floor as a chef-driven restaurant that featured native seafood. For instance, MacLennan loves the style of domestically caught kingfish when it’s smoked and its considerably fatty nature works properly as a fish dip ingredient. Mahi Mahi and grouper are additionally readily at hand, so why not use them in sandwiches and fish and chips as a substitute of ubiquitous cod?
We began with an appetizer seafood-tasting platter. One good contact was popsicle stick labels for the oysters, in our case, Blue Factors from Connecticut and the much less widespread Mamma Mias from Prince Edward Island. MacLennan loves oysters from tremendous chilly waters. The saltine crackers confirmed consideration to element since they had been brushed with butter after which seasoned with Previous Bay.
The hamachi (yellow tail snapper) poke bowl with edamame had a pleasant candy and spicy taste with soy sauce and citrusy yuzu. The cocktail sauce was house-made with Fresno chiles, however there was additionally a pleasant change of tempo: tarragon mignonette with vinegar, shallots, and pepper.
Then it was time for some yummy consolation meals: Grilled cheese sandwiches made out of crab meat with brie cheese. Mama by no means made them like this.
The entrees had been magnificent.
A Spanish styled model of charred octopus had a skinny scorching honey glaze. It was served over crispy fingerling potatoes, olives and a few pickled golden raisins, which added a contact of sweetness. There have been chunks of chorizo, which matches properly with the potatoes, and a few spicy greens. Add some salsa verde on the underside and a few lemon aioli on the plate and you haven’t solely a banquet for the style buds, however a feast for the eyes as properly.
Maintaining with MacLennan’s liking of native seafood was a fantastic piece of cobia.
“When I was growing up, that was always like the fish that the fishermen kept, so we never got our local cobia,” he says. It got here with a summer season truffle with some corn, zucchini and blistered tomatoes. The buttermilk sauce was made with recent cream. Then, there was one other aioli with dill-infused oil plus some truffled gnocchi made in-house.
Considering the dinner with an exquisite espresso martini and a chunk of the Canyon-style chocolate bread pudding, we determined there was little question that Even Keel is a chef-driven kitchen and an actual catch in contrast with many seafood eating places.
