The Kitchen Table by White features only 16 comfortable seats for a gastronomic 7-8 course feast of Aruban-Caribbean Cuisine ($99) paired with world renowned wines for an additional $75. Upon arrival, we were greeted with a refreshing glass of prosecco and waited outside to catch the beautiful sunset. Then we entered the kitchen to begin the culinary journey.
Chef Urvin and his team lined up to introduce themselves and explain that in celebration of Aruba's "Eat Local" Restaurant month, the evening's recipes were prepared with as many locally sourced ingredients as possible. In recent years several farmers have fine-tuned their production process within the challenges of Aruba's arid climate. Tonight's menu saluted those farmers and products.
We started with a "Trio" of
cured egg yolk with spam mousse;
"Chips & Dip" with Balashi beer chip and a spicy beurre noisette; and a
crostini of BBQ beef with corn creme (my version substituted with avocado in lieu of the beef). These first bites were a fun intro to the night.
For our first appetizer, we had a lovely
Red Snapper Tartar served with watermelon broth, pickled watermelon, shaved cucumbers, shaved cantaloupe melon, lemon chips, lemon cream, cucumber gel, and shaved celery. We were shown the small local cucumbers that were used in this dish - they were light and crunchy. Paired with
La Doux Tours 2015 Sauvignon Blanc from Loire Valley, France, the dish was bright, colorful, and opened my palate.
Continuing with the bright and colorful theme, we enjoyed
Wahoo that was cured in red cabbage, served with pickled cabbage, sliced green grapes, couscous with pumpkin and raisin, leek broth, shaved fennel, and fennel chips. The fish was super fresh and was paired with a bright
Markus Huber 2016 Gruner Veltliner from Traisental, Austria.
The next dish was called
Mollejas and featured Doritos crusted veal sweet breads served with roasted and glazed sweet potatoes, sweet potato cream, cilantro sour, garlic chips, garlic custard, pickled red onions, chives and jus. My version was substituted with chicken, and still had the savory transition that was the goal of this dish. Paired with
Dr. Konstantin Frank 2015 Riesling from Finger Lakes, New York, this plate had lots of layers of flavors and was prepared expertly.
The
Hoisin Glazed Duck Breast was served with broccoli cream, tempura broccoli, with a Korean BBQ marinade, red onion rings, sweet and sour green beans, spinach rounds, shaved carrots, and black bean and pepper sauce. I had a bite, but the duck was a bit too meaty for me, and I just couldn't get past the texture, so I quickly gave my piece to Keith. I still enjoyed the other elements of the dish paired with a
Santenay 2013 Pinot Noir from Burgundy, France. This red was medium bodied and quite lovely.
Throughout the evening, I enjoyed watching the chefs cook right in front of us. As we took a little break to transition and sip on our
palate cleanser of champagne and sorbet, we got to really see the team in action. Even the orchestrated plating procedures with tweezers in hand, as each chef placed their elements in assembly line fashion were mesmerizing. #respecthetweezers #cheflife
Continuing on with the second main course Keith enjoyed the
Lamb Loin that was pan fried and basted with butter, served with potato croquettes, roasted eggplant, celery root cream, roasted onions, shaved Aruban mushrooms, roasted bell pepper coulis, feta crumble, chives and lamb jus. My dish was substituted with a chicken breast and chicken jus and was probably my most favorite dish of the whole night. It had lots of savory flavors in the eggplant and mushroom mixture with great seasoning that married with the bold
Lunta 2014 Malbec from Mendoza, Argentina.
For the first dessert course, we enjoyed a light offering that celebrated the
Tomato confited in sugar and vanilla beans, served with Aruban basil gel, mango sorbet, coconut crumble, and coconut and yogurt custard. I loved the juxtaposition of the subtle tomato and mango flavor with the bright basil. This was paired with a sweet dessert wine called
Pouderoux 2015 Muscat de Rivesaltes from Languedoc-Roussillon, France and actually married well, since the fruit itself was not overly sweet. Immediately after we were presented with the
Chocolate course made of chocolate ganache served with red beet parfait, red beets gel, red beets crispy mousse, raw fresh corn, popcorn, cornmeal pudding, and pitaya relish. This dish also went with the dessert wine, since it was a little bitter and had more earthy tones from the beets.
Overall, we had a wonderful culinary journey that celebrated Aruban ingredients. The wine pairings only elevated the modern and playful presentations, and enhanced the fresh flavor profiles. Chef Urvin and his team had great attention to detail and pride in their work. We were sent home with a cupcake of Aruban rum cake filled with strawberry cream that we enjoyed the next morning for breakfast. If you are looking for a culinary adventure or to celebrate something different than the beach side dinner while in Aruba, I highly recommend you catch the experience at The Kitchen Table by White.
Total Rating:
4.5
Food: 5, Price: 2.5, Service: 5, Ambience: 5, Accessibility: 5
