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Marty Rosen's final column is scheduled for June 26, but before he exits he takes the opportunity to return to an old favorite, Seviche, on the CJ's dime. Rosen, his wife Mary and friends Brenda and Wayne start their meal with two platters containing a $50 five-selection seviche tasting from Anthony Lamas and his kitchen crew, including
five oyster shooters (shot glasses stuffed with plump oysters in a spicy red bath); an equal number of tuna tostaditos (decked out with chunks of avocado and spicy wasabi mustard); a thick cylinder of impeccable lump crab meat topped with a red and gold crown of tomatoes, boosted with a zippy dash of lemon, cilantro and jalapeno; a tangle of crawfish, jicama, olives, sweet peppers and a pine green smear of cilantro pesto; and a delicate, gemlike albacore tiradito — meticulously carved pieces of fish perched atop sweet, crunchy watermelon platforms, sprinkled with chili flakes and touched with tiny microgreens.After that "festival on a platter," it was on to the entrees, which added at least another hundred bucks:
Wayne, like me, is on a lifelong quest for great fish stews. This one [the Brazilian fish stew, moqueca]— stocked with salmon, mussels, scallops, shrimp and other fish, all in a gloriously rich broth made with coconut, ginger and red chili — certainly qualified. It was a robust dish, but every element maintained its distinct identity, and every chunk of fish and seafood tasted as if it had been individually cared for during the preparation ($33). Brenda's salmon — ... with a scoop of pitch-black lentils, a deep green jalapeno basil pesto and Capriole goat cheese — was superb, moist, dense, flavorful and well complemented by the other elements on the plate ($33). And Mary's choice — a big chunk of halibut and a crab "cigar" ($35) has long been one of the showiest and most satisfying dishes on the menu.The quartet also enjoyed "some extraordinary desserts" and a glass of rum, wine and bark-based "Mama Juana" (The Dominican Republic's "signature tonic"). Since it was a Sunday night (which means half-priced bottles of wine at Seviche), Rosen's party also "drank sparkling wines and a delightful vin gris" and (it seems almost needless for Rosen to add) "were happy."
· Seviche's five-item tasting is delicious work of art [Courier-Journal]
· Seviche: A Latin Restaurant [Official Site]
· All Eater Week in Reviews [~ELOU~]