May 2007 - Barton G, South Beach, Florida

http://www.bartong.com/
Choice: Clayton
Average Scores: Food-5, Decor-5, Service-5

Bethany: F-5, D-5, S-5
Comments: A complete delight! I don’t know why I was so surprised by this place. I’ve heard it reviewed before and it always gets good ones. We started the night with their nitro cocktails. I had a pink grapefruit martini, which had grapefruit juice, grapefruit slices and a popsicle of grapefruit vodka floating in the middle. Each martini was served with fog/smoke rolling off the top of it from the effects of the nitro frozen elements. This place is known for its presentation of its food. I wish we had a category for that because this place is off the charts. Our first appetizer was popcorn shrimp, which was served in a movie popcorn box with popcorn and a sweet chili dipping sauce. The best part of this was the dipping sauce, the rest was a little disappointing. The second appetizer was lobster pop tarts. These were served in a toaster! They were very good. The last appetizer was the Zen Tuna Trio which was served with a running soy ponzu waterfall on the plate. The tuna selections were a tuna tartare taco, tuna tataki and tuna carpaccio. The tuna tartare was really very good however the taco was so small, it was very hard to share this item. Since tuna tartare is one of my favorites, the others might not be able to review this item. Ok, I’ll only comment on my entrée. I got the BG Sea-Monster. They are not joking about the “monster” part of this. This was a 2 lb. cold-water lobster tail. Holy moly that’s a lot of lobster! And so you don’t have to wrestle with getting that creature out of the tail, they cut it out for you once it comes to the table. Which is good because, at market price, you pay for it!!! Delicious though! It was served with lobster mash and grilled baby vegetables. I’m really sad that we were too full for dessert because there were some crazy looking desserts. I’m most upset about not getting to the “Boatload of Crème Brulee”, 4 different kinds of crème brulee! No worries though, I’m going back!

Wendy: F-5, D-5, S-5
Barton G was a terrific find that we can attribute to Clayton. It was my second favorite MFD so far (after the Biltmore brunch). We started with the smokin' (well, liquid nitrogen) cocktails. Kelly and I had the classic dirty vodka martini with frozen pearls of blue cheese. Absolutely fabulous, although I don’t recommend more than one if you want to remember your dinner! For a very special treat, try the Sin-sation, a glory of nitrogenized Absolute vanilla, rose petal nectar, and Champagne. It’s served in a golden challis and garnished with a red rose. Clayton was definitely the belle of the ball with that cocktail in hand! For me the lobster pop-tarts stole the appetizer show. They’re just as good as you would think creamy lobster goodness baked in a delicate pastry would be. But be warned—don’t fill up on appetizers because the entrees are worth saving space for. (I learned the hard way that wasabi-pea crusted tuna doesn’t keep well. It’s better not to take it home.) The mac and cheese, however, carries home very well, and shouldn’t be missed. It’s pretty much the best mac and cheese I’ve ever had, and that’s not a title that I throw about lightly. The best part is that they bring you the recipe with the dish so that you can recreate the magic at home in your own kitchen. We will definitely have to go back so we can try dessert. Note: The 5 I gave to service refers to the conch shell that the bus boy helped B & K smuggle out!