I had heard about Blue Collar from a few friends and everything I heard was absolutely positive. Last night, my hubby and I were in the mood to take a little trip off the beach - I know, I know, we had to go digging for our passports but we found them! - to explore the pulsating culinary world of Wynwood and Belmead. Not really knowing where our travels would lead us, we happened to pass by a boutique hipster restaurant located in one of the old Art Deco Hotels.
I immediately recognized the name and thought, "what the hell, let's give it a shot." When we arrived, I immediately recognized that Blue Collar wasn't just a boutique restaurant, it was teeny tiny with no more than about 20 tables - each of which was jam packed with hipsters, homos, and other fab peeps.
Within a few minutes, the over-enthusiastic waitress had us sitting at a table for two right next to the open faced kitchen, which was a great spot in terms of getting a good view of all the action in the kitchen; however, it was also a little annoying since there were often times my boyfriend and I could barely hear each other talk over all the clickity clackiting of the waiters, line cooks, and bussers. After a few minutes, we got used to all the action (a couple of ice cold beers definitely helped calm our nerves). In fact, one of the first things about Blue Collar that really got me going was the assortment of beers available - some on the menu and some seasonal.
My boyfriend opted for one one on the menu, while I veered off and tried a beer called the Holy Mackerel, which was DELICIOUS.
With our libation beginning to work in all its fabulous glory, we moved on to more solid options, beginning with the shrimp in grits and a Cesar salad. As someone from the south, shrimp in grits is just something I can never pass up if its on a menu, and I was curious to see what Blue Collar would make of this traditionally southern dish. To my wonderful surprise, it was a completely unique take. The shrimp was obviously served with a large creamy dose of grits but to add a little extra kick to the dish, it seems the chef added small pieces of chicharon in a nice jus. It was amazing!
The Cesar salad was of course a Cesar salad, but it was perfectly prepared as well. Fresh romaine lettuce lightly doused in a semi-peppered dressing. I would certainly recommend the salad.
After the first course, we were both pretty full, so we decided to split an entree. One of the specials of the evening was a plate of spare ribs served with some sort of potato and bacon mixture. The homemade sauce on the ribs was excellent - a perfect blend of vinegar, sugar, and everything nice. To top it off, the the ribs were also tender and pretty much just fell off the bone.
As someone who can't resist brussel sprouts when offered, I just had to place a side order, and was very happy I did. The caramelized brussel sprouts (which the waiter happened to forget to put in with our original order but was able to get them to the table pretty quickly after I pointed out the error) were PERFECT! I am not completely sure how the chef prepared them, but I have a feeling it is with a lot of love and even more BUTTER! And we all know that butter makes EVERYTHING taste better! The brussel sprouts were so great in fact, my boyfriend who hates them actually had a few bites and even said they were pretty good. Kudos to you chef!
Unfortunately by the end of the meal we were too full to try any dessert, but we did see an assortment of desserts pass our table, all of which looked delicious and if the quality of the food was any indication, I can only assume they too would have been great!
Overall, the experience was fantastic. Our bill, which included four beers, a salad, an appetizer, and one entree came out to $80 excluding tax and tip. While my boyfriend says that he is not sure the experience was worth the money, I on the other hand felt the meal was more than worth it and can't wait to go back and try some of the other menu options.
As for the service, I will say that it is kind of like an "all hands on deck" kind of feeling. We did have one waiter throughout the evening, who spent most of his night fluttering around the restaurant from one table to the next and constantly reminding us that he would be with us in a minute; however, anytime we really needed anything whichever waiter, busser, or even the hostess would walk by, they would make sure we were taken care of.
Anyhow, as you can tell, my experience was certainly a great one and I look forward to going back to Blue Collar again to see what other great dishes the chef has in store for me. On a side note, when I asked Chef Daniel Serfer about his culinary background, he gave me a brief summary that included a six year stint at Chef Allen's in New York.
Blue Collar is definitely a place you should put on your culinary agenda! I know it will now become a regular on my rotation. read more