Happy New Year, LilyOnTheLam.Com Readers!
I hope your 2014 will be happy, healthy and wonderful! I also hope you avoid procrastination and focus on what you can do to make your life, the best life, today. Don't wait!
In keeping with this spirit, I decided to write about one of my procrastinations and why I am so happy I finally followed through and didn't put it off for another day.
Years ago I went to a lovely, wonderful restaurant in Old Hyde Park Village in South Tampa. It was called Restaurant BT - it was beautiful with friendly service. The food was the equivalent of a great painting, except instead of using paint the Chef was using an elaborate palette of flavors. Fresh ingredients and lovely layered flavors made a masterpiece for both the eye, the tongue and the stomach. I watched Chef/Owner BT Nguyen quietly float around the restaurant like a maestro fine-tuning a symphony. Impressive, all around.
Even though I had a great experience at Restaurant BT, since there are so many great restaurants in Tampa, I never managed to get back to their Hyde Park location for another meal. Then awhile ago (probably several years now- oops) I heard Restaurant BT had changed locations. (On MacDill near Bay to Bay - parking lot behind the restaurant.) And I thought to myself "Their food was so good - I really need to check out their new location." But call it culinary procrastination, every couple of months I would think about going to Restaurant BT but I never got around to doing it. (Shame on me!)
(Side Note: Restaurant BT has one of my favorite restaurant websites. Please check it out here. Chef/Owner BT Nguyen appears to be cool and classy - and so is her restaurant and her website.)
Finally, with my parents visiting Thanksgiving week, I decided to bring them to Restaurant BT for dinner to see if it was as good as I remembered.
Well I am glad I finally, finally, finally went back to Restaurant BT because it was even better than my first experience. My parents also agreed that the food was excellent, fresh, flavorful and extremely artistic.
The atmosphere is more intimate in the MacDill Avenue location than the previous location. It is a mix of modern with hints of formal - bundled in earth tones and lucite-looking chairs. This is not your every day restaurant. We were warmly greeted and quickly seated.
I started with a Vietnamese Iced Coffee, served in this lovely container and then mixed table side.
Prawns, mussels, calamari, salmon, okra, tomato, pineapple, bean sprouts, lily stems and more vegetables and herbs in a very aromatic seafood broth. My Mother gave this dish an A+. She very much enjoyed it from presentation, flavor and freshness of the seafood. If you're a bouillabaisse fan, you need to try Restaurant BT's.
My memory is a little fuzzy, but I believe that my Father ordered the Snapper a la Saigon ($28). Wild caught snapper, lemongrass, shredded cabbage and ginger-turmeric-lemongrass rice. He enjoyed the flavors and commented that the cucumber was a surprising pairing but added so much to the dish. I find that at Restaurant BT there is nothing superfluous - every aspect of the dish is an essential element.
For my entree, I had the New Bedford Diver Scallops ($32). First of all - look at the tomato rose with the cucumber leaves and the chive stem. Isn't it gorgeous? So pretty! The outrageously perfectly cooked scallop was simmered in a sweet, fragrant broth of coconut milk, turmeric, ginger, kaffir lime, cayenne and galangal.
The scallops are served on little round beds of coconut scented black rice - which had a lovely chewy, earthy mouth feel which paired incredibly well with the soft but firm scallop. It was served with sugar snap peas in a lush rich but not overpowering sauce. And I think sliced Japanese eggplant as well - is not my favorite vegetable but was very tasty here. All of the sauces were so good. I can't even describe how perfect the flavors were. My family and I ate every single morsel. No crumbs. No doggy bags. We devoured everything.
Service was quick and efficient. I spotted Chef Nguyen pop out briefly to check on the main dining room. Again, quiet elegance and ease of grace fine tuning.
This is what fine dining should be. Fresh ingredients, layered symphonies of flavors, efficient customer service in a modern decor with intimate atmosphere.
For 2014, my New Year's Resolution is to stop putting off until tomorrow what I can do today. I procrastinated going back to Restaurant BT for way too long. I am glad I finally went to try their new location. I will not wait so long for my next visit. If you're in Tampa Bay, I highly recommend that you enter the elegant, flavor-rich world of Restaurant BT.
I hope your 2014 will be happy, healthy and wonderful! I also hope you avoid procrastination and focus on what you can do to make your life, the best life, today. Don't wait!
In keeping with this spirit, I decided to write about one of my procrastinations and why I am so happy I finally followed through and didn't put it off for another day.
Years ago I went to a lovely, wonderful restaurant in Old Hyde Park Village in South Tampa. It was called Restaurant BT - it was beautiful with friendly service. The food was the equivalent of a great painting, except instead of using paint the Chef was using an elaborate palette of flavors. Fresh ingredients and lovely layered flavors made a masterpiece for both the eye, the tongue and the stomach. I watched Chef/Owner BT Nguyen quietly float around the restaurant like a maestro fine-tuning a symphony. Impressive, all around.
Even though I had a great experience at Restaurant BT, since there are so many great restaurants in Tampa, I never managed to get back to their Hyde Park location for another meal. Then awhile ago (probably several years now- oops) I heard Restaurant BT had changed locations. (On MacDill near Bay to Bay - parking lot behind the restaurant.) And I thought to myself "Their food was so good - I really need to check out their new location." But call it culinary procrastination, every couple of months I would think about going to Restaurant BT but I never got around to doing it. (Shame on me!)
(Side Note: Restaurant BT has one of my favorite restaurant websites. Please check it out here. Chef/Owner BT Nguyen appears to be cool and classy - and so is her restaurant and her website.)
Finally, with my parents visiting Thanksgiving week, I decided to bring them to Restaurant BT for dinner to see if it was as good as I remembered.
Well I am glad I finally, finally, finally went back to Restaurant BT because it was even better than my first experience. My parents also agreed that the food was excellent, fresh, flavorful and extremely artistic.
The atmosphere is more intimate in the MacDill Avenue location than the previous location. It is a mix of modern with hints of formal - bundled in earth tones and lucite-looking chairs. This is not your every day restaurant. We were warmly greeted and quickly seated.
I started with a Vietnamese Iced Coffee, served in this lovely container and then mixed table side.
My Mother is Queen of Hot Pots, Shabu Shabu, Cioppino and Bouillabaisse. If there is a broth with quality seafood in it, my Mom is hovering nearby with a big spoon ready to give her opinion. She ordered Restaurant BT's Vietnamese Bouillabaisse ($32).
My memory is a little fuzzy, but I believe that my Father ordered the Snapper a la Saigon ($28). Wild caught snapper, lemongrass, shredded cabbage and ginger-turmeric-lemongrass rice. He enjoyed the flavors and commented that the cucumber was a surprising pairing but added so much to the dish. I find that at Restaurant BT there is nothing superfluous - every aspect of the dish is an essential element.
For my entree, I had the New Bedford Diver Scallops ($32). First of all - look at the tomato rose with the cucumber leaves and the chive stem. Isn't it gorgeous? So pretty! The outrageously perfectly cooked scallop was simmered in a sweet, fragrant broth of coconut milk, turmeric, ginger, kaffir lime, cayenne and galangal.
The scallops are served on little round beds of coconut scented black rice - which had a lovely chewy, earthy mouth feel which paired incredibly well with the soft but firm scallop. It was served with sugar snap peas in a lush rich but not overpowering sauce. And I think sliced Japanese eggplant as well - is not my favorite vegetable but was very tasty here. All of the sauces were so good. I can't even describe how perfect the flavors were. My family and I ate every single morsel. No crumbs. No doggy bags. We devoured everything.
Service was quick and efficient. I spotted Chef Nguyen pop out briefly to check on the main dining room. Again, quiet elegance and ease of grace fine tuning.
This is what fine dining should be. Fresh ingredients, layered symphonies of flavors, efficient customer service in a modern decor with intimate atmosphere.
For 2014, my New Year's Resolution is to stop putting off until tomorrow what I can do today. I procrastinated going back to Restaurant BT for way too long. I am glad I finally went to try their new location. I will not wait so long for my next visit. If you're in Tampa Bay, I highly recommend that you enter the elegant, flavor-rich world of Restaurant BT.
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