So old it's new again?

[Jenise]

Last night Bob and I went for a late dinner after The Great Balloon Adventure (in which downtown Langley Township, BC, received some suprise "drop-in" guests), and we went to one of the few places we could count on for serving dinner at 9 p.m. on a Tuesday night: The Cactus Club in Surrey. We toasted our survival with a glass of unexpectedly-excellent-especially-for-$36-a-bottle-in-BC Petit Le Vieux Pin and ordered from the menu, designed by the former best-restaurauteur-in-Vancouver Rob Feenie who lets this 15-store chain of upscale eatery-slash-singles-bars splash his name all over the menu. The menu never actually mentions his former restaurant, Luminaire, rather it brags about his Iron Chef victory (over Bobby Flay, I believe it was, never saw the episode in question), and not just once or twice. No no, they make sure that even if you only look at a small section of the menu, you don't miss this fact.

Anywho, I felt like eating chicken and even though I was never even moderately impressed with blackened food back when it was all the rage below latitude 49 (and parts of Alaska), I ordered a blackened chicken breast with creole butter.

And here's the rub (ha-ha): I loved it. I didn't just like it a little bit, I loved it, and so did Bob, who ordered another chicken dish that was just fine but a bit boring in comparison.

So maybe it's the fact that it's been at least ten years since anyone dared put blackened-anything in front of me, but too maybe it's that I never actually approved of doing that to a delicate piece of fish. I also recall Bob once ordering a slab of blackened prime rib that I thought was perfectly awful--not an experience that would suggest trying the method again. That was trend-slavery at it's worst. In this case though, the chicken, still mild but somehow sturdier, seemed to take the ample spice as a compliment, not an assault. Have to admit, that sphere of mahogany-colored creole butter melting hither and yawn over the top didn't hurt either, nor did the soothing mashed potatoes underneath.

So there: I'm over being over blackened meats! Maybe it was better than I gave it credit for, or maybe it just should have been blackened chicken all along, I'm not sure. But I do know that I who never considered blackening anything at home would now do so.

How about the rest of you? Come back, or around to, any old trends lately?

Took me a minute to figure out what you were talking about as I figured from the subject line that you were talking about my wardrobe.

I first tried blackened fish dishes back when Prudhomme's first book came out and they were all the rage. When properly prepared, I liked them and I've ordered them once in a while through the years since. Can't think of any trendy items I've come back to recently, though.

I enjoy blackened foods (chicken, some firm-fleshed fish) but rarely find it done well enough. I don't think I'd order blackened prime rib or beef filet, however. I wish there were more blackened small plates/appetizers on restaurant menus because I'd be more likely to try them and then, if really good, order the entrée next time.

[Jenise]

Jon, the prime rib was awful. It just added an unwelcome, acrid taste, and beef being that strong it doesn't need strong seasoning. I'm probably never going to appreciate blackened beef. But for everything else, a good, balanced seasoning blend should lead to a good result. We just might not all agree on what 'good' is. (For some people, there can't be enough cumin. I'm not one of them.)