Turks and Caicos – Seven

First I want to start this post by saying that I love my mom.  I love you mom!  With that said… when I was growing up as a kid I really hated fish.  I would beg to be seated away from fish dishes and after the first time I tried Gefilte Fish I was the youngest person in my city to file a restraining order against his parents.  I really hated fish but that was because the only fish I knew was my mom’s fish which she made quite often.  This is possibly the reason for one of my travel rules:  Never eat where I stay, and in general I’m not too keen on resort dining.  I love staying at the Seven Stars and everyone on Trip Advisor knows that but it took me 5 tries to finally make it to Seven, considered by many one of the top dining options on the island.  I am glad I did

Terrific meal all around.  Great looking menu that is not over the top expensive for the quality ingredients included and look and feel of the dining place.   I normally dont put too much weight on service on the island but the staff at Seven was so professional and knowledgeable it was refreshing.  From Allan Duffy who is running the show, and the witty Tuscan waiter to the fairly new executive chef that knows his stuff.

Started with a very nice Amuse-bouche of salmon tartar and a piece of salmon.   Half portion of  a main of Mushroom Ravioli with truffle cream was very pleasant.  Red Beet Gazpacho according to Hummus Whisperer was like the sickest red borscht you will ever eat,  with sherry, Avocado Ice Cream, golden beet, another kind of beet, and 2 ingredients that were told to the waiter once at a bar which I’m not allowed to say.  Sounded like a terrific starter.  Lobster Ravioli was good but could be without the caviar which overwhelmed the rest of the dish slightly.  Seafood bisque was outstanding.  They put a conch fritter, shrimp tartar and scallop and pour the bisque over.  Great flavor although Mrs Ziggy said she’d prefer just the bisque without the accompanied stuff.

Vanilla rum butter poached lobster with papaya buttermilk risotto (above) was rich and tasty.  Two people were raving about the duck breast (below).  You see I cant try everything as there’s only so much I can eat while dining with a party of 8.  The star of show was perhaps the Best End of milk fed lamb (top picture), which is a fancy British way of saying back of the Lamb Neck, or in this particular case Lamb Neck fillets – perfectly cooked medium rare, melt in your mouth deliciousness.

A meal like this screams for a nice finish and the Coconut creme brûlée with almond ice cream was just that.  One of the best desserts of the last trip.  Kudos to Josu, executive chef from Basque country.  Anyone born in Basque country in Spain or Emilia Romagna in Italy is an automatic good cook.  My mother was not born in any of those places but is still a great mom.

Recommended Dishes:  Red Beet Gazpacho, Vanilla rum butter poached lobster, Best End of milk fed lamb, Coconut creme brûlée