Salmon Ceasar

Published On:Wednesday, March 17, 2010

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By REUBEN SHEARER

Tribune Features Reporter

rshearer@tribunemedia.net

CHEF Chea's Corner Bistro is a restaurant boasting of elegance and style, decorated with Parisian paintings and luring in some high end guests like former governor general Sir Orville Turnquest and his family.

Former prime minister Perry Christie and a delegation of six recently dined at the Bistro during a break from the Elizabeth election court case. They requested bean and minced lobster and rice, Tribune Taste was told. Chef Christopher Chea had under 30 minutes to get the meal on the table, and in 15 minutes the food was in front of the men, cooked from scratch.

"We were able to cut everything up quick, and get the final pot sautéed with fresh thyme, bayleaf and other seasonings," said Chef Chea.

This was the same efficiency the head chef and owner used in whipping up a delicious meal for Tribune Taste yesterday, complimented with white table cloth service and a waiter. All this and more provide an upscale dining experience for bistro-lovers on the corners of Dowdeswell and Armstrong streets.

The meal that the chef cooked was a five star sampling of European and Bahamian dishes. Grilled salmon Caesar (salad), minced lobster with rice pilaf, haricoverts (French green beans), and conch chowder were prepared for Tribune Taste; a taste that made our mouths water.

Chef Chea's Corner Bistro is an upscale place, not a fast food take-out. And guests can be assured that the food is freshly cooked to order as they come in. Everything except for the brazed short rib cuts and ossobucco which take longer to tenderize.

"For healthy eaters we have a veggie sandwich which is grilled egg plant, grilled zucchini, and grilled peppers on a ciabatta bun as well," said Chef Chea.

This is the fifth week of operation for Chef Chea's Corner Bistro. The restaurant opened on February 15 for lunch and dinner. Since then, they've been preparing lunch for their Monday to Friday crowd that flows consistently during the 11.30 am to 3 pm window.

"We're trying to bring Dowdeswell street back to life," said Chef Chea. "We're trying to revive this area from the dead and trying to bring downtown Nassau back to life."

On the extensive menu, which has a taste of a little bit of everything, you can get a Tuscan chicken sandwich, which is a grilled chicken breast with grilled egg plant, roasted peppers, tomatoes with pesto mayonnaise on a ciabatta bun.

These and the other meat sandwiches come with a side salad or French fries.

Another popular item is the grilled salmon (Caesar), which is bluntlake salmon eight ounce portion seasoned in fresh basil, garlic, olive oil and grilled to perfection. The salmon has a fresh water fish bite, without that true Bahamian seasoning. Nonetheless, customers will still enjoy its benefits.

Curried chicken salad, made from diced chicken with curry mayonnaise, peppers, onions, pineapples and walnuts is an extraordinary dish that persons are buying into these days.

Ella Davis has found out about the restaurant from a friend of hers who persuaded her to check the bistro out. "We came in and we hope to enjoy the experience," she said.

"I decided today that me and my daughter would come and try it. They didn't actually tell me what to expect, and I told my friends to let me come and experience this for myself."

Items on the menu are reasonably priced and growing.

The pesto mayonnaise is ground fresh basil, garlic and olive oil, and then you add that to the dish. The flavor explodes into the dish when you add this divine mixture of to the other foods.

Appetizers and soups include crab cakes, and fried calamari, bruschetta shrimp, Dijon shrimp cocktail.

Entrees include minced lobster and chicken parmiginia. Pastas are endless, including a house specialty--the lobster ravioli, which is stuffed lobster with Rosa sauce in delicate pockets of pasta.

Dinner is served at 6 pm to 9:30 pm Mondays through Saturdays. At dinner time, the restaurant has short ribs with rice and vegetables of the day cooking on the stove.

On weekends there is live entertainment by Samantha Perigord, Camille, and Basil Lightborne. The bistro remains closed on Sundays, excluding the after-church crew.

To wet your throat at the end of your meal, an exclusive wine and champagne list from medium to high range-including all the 'hot (alcoholic) drinks,' and the typical beverage choices of lemonade, soda, fruit punch, and daiquiris.

Near the end of the interview, health inspectors drop by the restaurant. One of the inspectors gave the restaurant a thumbs up, saying that Chef Chea's Corner Bistro is one of the "better eateries they have seen in a while."

With a commendation like that, this restaurant is definitely one to consider visiting. With its reasonable prices that pay for quality food, the common man now has somewhere to go where they can have a good meal, have a good time and not spend an arm and a leg.