New Dishes at Butcher Block Grill

We previously reviewed and liked Butcher Block Grill on a lunch visit in April. Last night we attended a “media dinner” which introduced the new chef and menu items.
Disclosure: As is typical for a media dinner, everything we had was on the house.
Butcher Block Grill is on the west side of Powerline Road at the end of Camino Real, just south of Palmetto Park Road.
The meal started with an appetizer that was already on the menu, a Mediterranean plate with falafel, lamb kefte, hummus, tzatziki yogurt dip and pita. This was very good. I especially liked the kefte’s flavor.

Next came the “Polenta and Crab Wonton” in a “roasted red pepper truffle butter” sauce. I noticed shards of shaved Parmesan in the dish as well. This was delicious and one of the best items of the evening. It seemed unique – none of us at the table had ever seen anything similar. The various flavors and textures in this dish all worked together.

In our previous review we noticed that they used green tomatoes in some dishes. This is a trend in modern cuisine and they upped it with a fried green tomato salad, accompanied with arugula, roasted peppers, goat cheese and a vinaigrette dressing. I didn’t think it was particularly special, but my companion and others at our table raved about it.

Next up came two dishes that were similar to each other. There was an appetizer meatball, and a Bolognaise entrée. Both are made with beef and veal and served with ricotta cheese and a tomato sauce. These are nice comfort food items.

Somewhere in the middle of the meal we were introduced to Executive Chef John Savarese, who previously worked at the Flagler steakhouse in the Breakers resort in Palm Beach. He engaged us in pleasant conversation and answered some questions.

We were served two other entrees. First we tried the pan roasted salmon. It was served on farro with shiitake mushrooms in a delicate blood orange sauce.

The last dish we had was outstanding. The braised short ribs are another comfort food dish, and everyone who tried it was impressed. The meat was tender and the sauce was just perfect with it.

The event ran later than we could stay so we missed dessert. We’re told they have an excellent goat cheese cheesecake. Sounds odd but we hope to try it soon.
Be warned – Butcher Block Grill is not cheap. Appetizer prices on the whole menu range from $9 to $16. Entrees run a wide range from $15 up to $59 for a large rib-eye steak.
The full slate of new menu items is below:

Appetizers:
French Onion Flat Bread
Mom’s Meatball
Polenta and Crab Won Tons
Mole’ Frit, PEI Mussels’
Soups & Salads:
Corn and Crab Chowder
Boston Bib
Fried Green Tomatoes
Sides:
Sweet Potato with Spiced Cream
Creamed Spinach-new recipe
Entrées:
Rack of Lamb
Beef & Veal Bolognaise
Braised Short Ribs
Seared Black Grouper
Grilled Mahi
Shrimp and Eggplant Française