Crossing Flavor Boundaries at House of Blues
By Becky Billingsley
An infusion of Mexican, a splash of European and a whole lot of Southern appeal is in a new menu developed by a Food Network chef for Crossroads at House of Blues.
House of Blues is widely known for its hot concerts and cold drinks, but its restaurant also offers sizzling experiences. The new menu by Chef Aaron Sanchez is full of flavor melds that put new twists on traditional international comfort foods.
Sanchez is a restaurateur - he owns Centrico Restaurant and Tacombi in New York City, and Mestizo Restaurant in Kansas City - who has made appearances on several Food Network programs including "Best Thing I Ever Ate," "Chopped" and "Next Iron Chef."
One of the dishes House of Blues has been known for through the years was its Rosemary Cornbread, but the chef changed up the recipe to create Cornbread with Maple Butter. The cornbread part is sweet, moist and tall, and is served in a cast iron skillet. More cake than bread, it contains chopped jalapenos. When slathered with maple butter, the heat of the jalapenos is tempered to deliver an appealing taste combination.
A series of flatbreads are also new. There's Basil Pesto and Tomato, Wild Mushroom with blue cheese and mozzarella and Crispy Prosciutto containing garlic puree, gorgonzola, mozzarella, dried tomatoes, pine nuts and fried prosciutto.
Chef Sanchez let his Mexican heritage come through unfettered in two dishes. The Quesadilla contains cheeses, poblanos, roasted red peppers, onions, wild mushrooms and tomatillo salsa; while Street Tacos are filled with grilled citrus-marinated steak and Cotija cheese. Cotija is crumbly like feta with a more mellow flavor.
Three other finger foods complete the appetizer list: Meatball Sliders made from braised beef short ribs; Pulled Pork Sliders topped with Champagne Slaw; and Chicken Wings in three house-made sauces: smoked barbecue, jerk and Buffalo.
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Four salads continue the international flair. The House of Blues Salad has red and yellow grape tomatoes, spicy pecans, feta and balsamic vinaigrette, and it's an appealing combination of flavors and textures. The Original Caesar is presented where a whole Romaine head with the stem end removed is laid across the plate, drizzled with Caesar dressing and sprinkled with Cotija cheese. Keeping the Romaine leaves whole makes for a delightfully crunchy salad, and the creamy Caesar dressing had a pleasant mellow tang. The other two salads are Cobb and Citrus Marinated Steak.
There are three sandwiches - Pulled Pork, Classic Club and Southwestern Chicken - and four burgers - Smoked BBQ Bacon, Wild Mushroom, Island Turkey and the Juicy Lucy, which is stuffed with cheese and topped with fried pickled jalapenos and chipotle mayonnaise. House of Blues diners can also customize a burger from several topping choices including sauteed bourbon onions, spicy peppers and onions, smoked barbecue sauce, wild mushrooms, applewood bacon and avocado.
There's always a Market Fish of the Day that can be sauteed, blackened or grilled. Our server said the new Shrimp and Grits recipe is "six or seven in heat on a scale of 1-10," and she wasn't kidding. Heat lovers will enjoy two-bite shrimp in a creamy chipotle garlic sauce over a fried grit cake.
Chile Braised Short Ribs are another new entree, where tender beef is glazed with pasilla chile sauce and served with Andouille corn pudding and a crunchy blend of asparagus, snap peas and snow peas. The dish is plated with delectable pan sauce for an enhanced flavor layer and extra moistness in each bite.
Other entrees include a trio of Cheese Rigatoni, Buttermilk Fried Chicken that comes highly recommended, Citrus Grilled Chicken, adobo-seasoned Ribeye, and a new Jambalaya recipe that tones down the spiciness of its previous version.
Everything on the new menu is created in-house, including several desserts: Molten Chocolate Cake, Bourbon Bread Pudding, Key Lime Pie, ice creams and sorbets. The Molten Chocolate cake is an excellent example of kitchen science with its light and airy cake exterior containing a steaming fudge sauce.
Crossroads at House of Blues is at 4640 U.S. 17 S. in North Myrtle Beach, at the north end of Barefoot Landing. It's open for dinner starting at 4 p.m. Wednesdays through Sundays, for breakfast starting at 8 a.m. Saturdays, lunch starting at 11:30 a.m. Saturdays and for Gospel Brunch from 9 a.m. to 2 p.m. Sundays. To make a reservation, call 843-913-3746.
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