As Forrest Gump’s momma always said: “Life is like a box of chocolates. You never know what you’re gonna get.” The simplicity of the word aphorism belies the depth of its wise admonition that it is best to eat life’s unwanted chocolates with a measure of grace and an optimistic eye for a future full of better chocolates. Such was the attitude of Kevin Skiest and Cynthia Breslin when they opened the second Blasé restaurant on Hillview Street last winter, just before the bitter, COVID-19-flavored chocolate forced restaurants and bars to close.
PHOTOGRAPHY BY WYATT KOSTYGAN
The original concept in that sweet yesterday was Blasé Bistro, a more upscale version of its Siesta Key sibling, The Blasé Café & Martini Bar. The inside of the bistro retained some of the eclectic aesthetic they have become known for, with a hodgepodge of framed art and charmingly mismatched decor signaling to guests that it’s OK to lighten up. But when the bistro transitioned to takeout only in the wake of statewide shutdowns, Skiest and Breslin asked themselves some tough existential questions, including questions of identity. “Even before the shutdown, we had concerns that our guests were seeing the bistro as too much of a special-occasion type of place,” says Skiest, unlike the cafe and martini bar on the Key where patrons like to dine and drink more casually and regularly.
PHOTOGRAPHY BY WYATT KOSTYGAN
After suffering through the summer with a belly full of anxiety-flavored chocolate, the owners decided to pivot completely to rebrand and relaunch the bistro as Blasé Southern Style this past October. The new menu, designed and executed by Virginia transplant Robert Clark, rides a delicate line between high and low art with a heavy New Orleans vibe. Chef Clark grew up in Virginia and was heavily influenced by Southern cuisine and mid-Atlantic seafood dishes. He even owned his own Southern restaurant in Portsmouth, VA called Sassafras, where his approachable yet elevated dishes garnered mentions in Southern Living and Gourmet magazines. And with a few recipes picked up along the way, including one for collard greens learned from a friend’s grandmother, the enlivened Blasé offers diners items that are familiar and loaded with flavor, but still augmented enough to hint at the panache of a seasoned chef.
PHOTOGRAPHY BY WYATT KOSTYGAN
The baked oysters take the richness of the New Orleans–style Rockefeller dish, already delicious with its heap of creamed greens, butter and herbs, and adds caramelized onions, bacon and Parmesan before tossing in the oven. Oysters have never been this jazzy and hefty. A side of truffled hollandaise adds even more richness to an already loaded half-shell. Crispy chicken wings continue the trend of elevated Southern food with their impossibly sticky bourbon lemon glaze. The skin forms a crunchy, sweet shell around the tender meat inside, while the lemon gives it a bit of pep.
PHOTOGRAPHY BY WYATT KOSTYGAN
That pep seems to have been designed specifically to pair with the Louisiana Lemonade, a Blasé signature cocktail of Tito’s Handmade Vodka, St-Germain, Cointreau, lemon and prosecco. The two form an altogether delightful and confounding pair, evoking both a tailgate party and an afternoon on the veranda sipping cocktails in linen clothes. A pork loin stuffed with dried cherries and caramelized onions comes glazed with bourbon—which will make one more appearance for dessert—with a side of mashed sweet potatoes and collard greens. Tender, rich and savory with a hint of bitter notes, the collard greens, like fried brussels sprouts before them, are poised to change what people think about greens.
PHOTOGRAPHY BY WYATT KOSTYGAN
“I learned a lot about balance from a Taiwanese chef I used to work with,” says Clark, “that cuisine is excellent for that and I wanted to do something similar with this dish.” The highlight of the menu, and the dish most likely to run out on a nightly basis, is the gumbo-style mac and cheese. “I was going to put a gumbo on the menu but I decided to try something a little different,” says Clark. It begins with the Cajun trinity of diced celery, bell peppers and onions, with a creole-spiced bechamel borrowing more juju from The Big Easy. It all gets tossed with macaroni, chicken, shrimp, andouille sausage and smoked Gouda before being baked with Ritz cracker crumbs. Topped with fried okra, each part contributes to the amalgamation of Southern comfort and New Orleans flair. The andouille sausage, dry and a tad spicy, stands out the most, accentuated by the N’awlins-themed flavor profile.
For dessert, bourbon makes its third appearance in the bourbon-infused whipped cream atop Blasé’s pecan pie. Light, sweet and boozy, the whipped cream could come served in a bowl on its own. Drizzled with honey, the pie is as saccharine as molasses, crunchy, sticky and sized perfectly for sharing, with the whipped cream shifting the flavor profile just enough to let you know that this ain’t your mama’s pecan pie. Unless, of course, Mama had some fun in the Blasé kitchen with a Jazzman cocktail, the restaurant’s swanky take on an Old-Fashioned.
