Category: Saint John

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Opening and trial nights are never easy for new restaurant owners and their staff.  There is always something that is unfinished to the perfectionist owner who wants nothing more than to be a crowd pleaser for his or her future clientele. The old saying about having one opportunity to make a good first impression is true and it can be overwhelming.

On Friday, March 26, I and 14 others in our party were lucky invitees to the friends and family night at Bourbon Quarter.   The menu presented for the evening was $20 with the following choices:

Appetizer:

• Grilled Watermelon with goat cheese, cherry tomatoes, spring greens and buttermilk vinaigrette
  or
• Louisiana Fried Clams

Entrée:

• Crisp Skin Salmon with roasted fingerling potatoes, julienne vegetables, fried onions and beet butter
  or
• Supreme Chicken Breast with truffle whipped potatoes and glazed vegetables

For dessert (for an additional $5) there was Crème Brulée, Madagascar vanilla bean (meaning “burnt cream”).

The review:

I’ve taken a hybrid of my own personal experience during my evening as well as those of other people in our party.

Like most foodies, I had to try everything regardless of any extra cost.

Grilled Watermelon:  When the grilled watermelon appetizer arrived the presentation was beautiful. The flavours were something I have not tasted since visiting the Rossmount in St. Andrews just before Christmas. Those of us who tried it (including myself ) were using our pinky finger and spoons or forks to capture the remaining buttermilk vinaigrette on the plate. Need I say more?

Louisiana Fried Clams:  This was a great idea but the consensus at the table was that this appetizer needs work.  There is always one dish for a new restaurant that will be their nemesis. Owners love feedback and I shared mine with Chef Brad. (Our nemesis at the Urban Deli, and as simple as it sounds, was our homemade baked beans.)

Crisp Skin Salmon:  OMG!  I don’t think they could have cooked the salmon any better; the flavor was delicious and the plate presentation was perfect. It was a nice follow-up to the Watermelon appetizer.

Supreme Chicken Breast:  The chicken was cooked to perfection (mine was) and there were a couple of dishes that were on the cooler side but tasty to the hungry visitor.

Dessert:  Crème Brulee was the intent and as it turned out…someone forgot the dessert torch for the brulee; therefore, it was more of a custard (a very good custard too!). When we finished, everyone’s dish was empty.

Plate presentation at Bourbon Quarter is beautifully simple. I haven’t seen their static menu or their pricing. For this friends and family night our cost for two for the evening was $116 not including the gratuity. Our service was excellent….Ashley, who also works at the Urban Deli, did a phenomenal job given the size of our party!

Wine was only available by the glass. Beer, tap beer, martinis, cocktails and non-alcoholic drinks were also being served by bartender extraordinaire Gordon, former manager of Sebastian. Mike Verner is hiring a sommelier from Ontario.  We should see a real focus on wine and food pairings in the future.

The Bourbon Quarter room with its renovations was trendy, upscale and comfortable.  The renovations would have had more of an impact if you had visited the location prior to it being Bourbon Quarter. Vision goes a long way. I could feel a bit of the same flare from the designers of Thandi’s, who also did Bourbon Quarter. The end result? It works for both restaurants.

Thank you to Mike Verner, Sean Verner and their families, Chef Brad Richard, and all the staff.  Great work!

Visit Bourbon Quarter at 112 Prince William Street, Uptown Saint John.

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Bio: Liz is the owner of the Urban Deli. With a sister in Manhattan, she has visited New York many times and invariably studies the Big Apple’s famous delis.