LETTERS From CAMP Rehoboth |
EATING Out: La La for La La Land |
by Barry Becker |
La La Land (22 Wilmington Avenue, Rehoboth Beach) has long been an oasis of creativity, from their food to the dcor to the bubbles leading you right to their front door.
On a recent visit, Leslie (assisted by Kathryn) was our fabulous waitress and was, as always, a sparkling delight, full of suggestions and details about the menu and specials. We began with the Overnight Cooked Cuban Spring Rolls, slow-cooked and seasoned pork wrapped in wonton skins, then flash fried to crispy, served with a spicy island banana Habanera sauce and fresh mango salsa. You can almost make a meal out of these, they're so ample and soooo delicious. Presentation is a key here with all the food. The spring rolls arrived on a plate decorated with a large banana leaf, with a colorful sprig of opal basil and scallions like little flags sticking up out of a mound of the freshest and most divine mango salsa, with baby marigolds decorating the plate and a little bowl of the Habanera sauce. The meat was melt-in-your-mouth tender, slightly spicy, and the thick banana sauce added an extra "kick" to it while the mango cooled it down. This was a great blend of flavors, textures, and sensations. We also had the Bob Russell Field Greens and Grilled Radicchio salad, with white balsamic and strawberry vinaigrette, tossed with pepper toasted almonds and a small wedge of velvety Brillat-Savarin cheese (think Brie, but about 10 times creamier and much, much better!) This is a perfect summer salad. Other appetizers include iron-skillet-seared sea scallops (with avocado pancake and tangerine vinaigrette), soft shell crab bruschetta (with smoked bacon crisps), mixed vegetarian grill (jumbo Portobello, fresh baby beets, and sweet fennel lightly roasted with black truffle oil drizzle), chilled oyster and lobster custard, and roulade of roast duck. We were trying to save room for dessert, so for entrees we passed on the oven-poached fresh Maine lobster, with char-grilled summer sweet corn, a fava bean Naragansett Indian succotash with lemon basil butter, and mashed yukons. The crispy skin Atlantic Salmon with black beluga lentils and a fresh grapefruit and cucumber salsa sounded great, as did the citrus marinated mako shark with purple Thai rice. But we finally settled on the pan-seared fresh halibut and king crab legs in a broth of curried crab and Honduranian green banana, pearl pasta, fresh grilled sweet and tart mango, and the roasted rack of lamb with tarragon red wine reduction, braised ruby chard, and berrichonne potato. A huge piece of fresh and tasty halibut sat atop the pasta, swimming in a mild curry sauce with the crab legs (already split open for our convenience) astride the bowl. All were sensational, and the grilled mango was a terrific complement. The lamb was tender, juicy, and delicious in the reduction sauce, cooked to perfection, surrounding the potato, which was standing on end with flowering sage sticking out the top like little antennas. It was a work of art to look at, as well as eat! Among the desserts at La La Land are a traditional crme brulee; a roasted Hawaiian pineapple with fresh vanilla macadamia bomb over lavender sweet cream; and a summer fruit and berry tart. We chose the chocolate-cherry torte, a light moist chocolate cake with stuffed cherry truffles and white chocolate Grand Marnier crme anglaise. My friend doesn't even care for chocolate that much, but I could hardly get this away from him, so if you love chocolate you'll be in heaven, as I was. We also succumbed to one of the daily specials, the genoise (a classic French yellow sponge cake) topped with lemon curd and fresh blueberries with whipped cream, with sides of little lemon shells with lemon sorbet. This was light, fresh, tart, delicious, and deserves to be on the menu every day! It's a great way to end a meal on a hot summer night, or any night for that matter. |
LETTERS From CAMP Rehoboth, Vol. 12, No. 12, August 23, 2002. |