Our villa here in CAP CANA is about as south as you can go on the entire resort coastline. South of here are sheer cliffs, no beaches and national park land. To the north stretches miles of sandy coastline loaded with the resort area all lumped into the "Punta Cana" region, but actually divided into a number of smaller local constituencies. The northernmost of these is a secluded area called Uvero Maya which is where the larger resorts of Dreams and Excellence are located. Almost one hour from the airport and about 65-75 minutes from our villa (at Caleton Villas), at the end of a dirt road laden with huge potholes filled with water and "making Will's knuckles white" bumps...we discovered SIVORY PUNTA CANA (www.sivorypuntacana.com). While it may seem daunting, this secluded but elegant resort of only 55 rooms boast three restaurants which are open to the public (if you wish to make the trek) and we were truly lucky enough to be invited for the best meal we have had on this island (yes, the food and service seems to be improving daily now!).
The French/Continental/American/Caribbean cuisine of LE GOURMAND offers many choices a huge wine cellar of thousands and thousands and superb top notch service. Yesterday was the hottest and most humid day we have had so fare (about 93 degrees with like 80% humidity making it feel like way over 100!), so as we sat down we mentioned to our host that the a/c seemed to be malfunctioning. Jose, the hotel manager, immediately moved us downstairs to the cool and just as comfy second restaurant, offering us a choice of the GOURMAND menu from upstairs, or the La VERANDA menu from downstairs. (They also have an Asian fusion dining option).
From the start we were excited by the menu and justifiably so. An amuse of Seared TUNA on RICE & SESAME came first, followed by a choice of five breads (yummy softish crostini breadsticks with sesame seeds and salt, pumpernickel, pretzel shaped rolls, baguettes and more). Olive oil was poured and we were told the oil changes daily from Italian to Greek to Spanish to Lebanese...
Will chose the most interesting HUEVO POCHE en SECO, a dried breaded poached egg atop a confit of Spinach & Leeks with Red Pepper Coulis, Dill Cloud and Pesto droplets..it was divine. I opted for the MANZANA y FOIE, a simple but superbly tasty salad of Romaine with Caramelized Apple & Foie Gras Shavings and was thrilled to finally be getting so vegetable input (lunches with pizza are becoming a bit too regular!).
The wine recommended by the sommelier/manager was a FRONTERA SAUVIGNON BLANC from Chile (founded by Concha y Toro) and was intense in apple, making it a sublime pairing for my salad as well as the other dishes. He later brought an excellent house red, SARDASOL (the same producer as we had the previous evening) 2001 CRIANZA made from Tempranillo coming from Navarro in Spain. These inexpensive wines proved that one can get a good deal for under $30 in this resort area and not go home broke.
The entrees were even better with our host enjoying a FILET with FOIE GRAS, Will opting for the LUBINA a la PLANCHA, a Grilled Sea Bass (not local, but top quality) with Creamy Pumpkin Risotto, Crunchy Roasted Garlic (Will adored this) and Braised Lettuce. Everywhere we went the servers try to push to local lobster, but us folks who know Maine lobsters often feel it is not worth the $40+ price of the plate. I WAS WRONG with the LANGOSTA AIOLI, a moist and quite large local Lobster Tail with Smooth Garlic Foam and a cylinder of tasty Rose Puree Zucchini Quenelle.
The desserts went from novel to excellent. Samuel would have adored the QUESO y KETCHUP which was a Raisin & Herb tuile with candied cherry tomato all stuffed with homemade Ketchup Ice Cream. It was like a cheesecake and ketchup combo that we agreed needed a bit of getting used to. The COCONUT MOUSSE was tasty rich and creamy and my PLATO de FRESA was a trio combination of Butter-Balsamic Caramel marinated strawberries with a shot glass of Strawberry Gelatin Granita and a Strawberry Mousse that was rich and divine, but not too large to overfill.
Chocolate Truffle Nut Crunch candies and Fruit Gelee came to finish off an elegant and superb meal that I would easily traverse the awful road for over and over!
