Opus 39 - St. Augustine

[robyn]

We had to postpone our trip to San Francisco this week due to Hurricane Ophelia (which was - luckily - a false alarm for us). This was to be an anniversary/birthday trip - so we decided to "make do" with what we had in our back yard - and to explore some new places.

We live in St. Johns County (one county south of Duval County/Jacksonville). Our county seat is St. Augustine. The oldest city in the US (really). It's small - and quaint - and somewhat touristy. But the local powers that be have prevented it from turning into wall to wall t-shirt shops (architectural review boards aren't all bad!). St. Augustine is 30 minutes from our house - nice drive on A1A along the ocean - and we enjoy going there several times a month.

Some of the restaurants in St. Augustine are ok - but I've never found one to rave about. Tonight I did.

Opus 39 has been open for a few years. We had lunch there a while back. Very good. But it was - well - lunch. We continued to hear a lot of good chatter about the place - and decided to try it for dinner tonight.

To make a long story short - Opus 39 is a superb restaurant. I would not be unhappy to get the meal I had tonight - a 5 course tasting menu priced at only $55 - in New York - LA - or San Francisco. And - in terms of Florida - there are only a few restaurants that I've dined at in the last few years that are in the same class (Cafe Boulud in Palm Beach - Casa Tua in Miami Beach - and Mosaico in Miami come to mind). And I think the meal I had tonight at Opus 39 was perhaps better than the meals I've had in those other places.

For those of you who aren't familiar with St. Augustine - it's a nice place to spend a night or two if you're passing through (St. Augustine is just off I-95 a bit south of Jacksonville). It could also make a nice overnight if you live in central/north/Panhandle Florida or south Georgia. A day of beach/sightseeing and a dinner at Opus 39 - followed by a night at one of the many B&B's or the new Hilton would make for a nice celebration of whatever you happen to be celebrating. More on the menu tomorrow. Robyn

[Carolyn Tillie]

I've never eaten at the restaurant but I've met the McMillens and was hoping to dine there on a recent trip that sadly got cancelled. If you happen to go in again, please send them my regards...

[Susan in FL]

Robyn, thanks! I am looking forward to your post about their menu and what you had to eat and drink.

[robyn]

Here's the menu:

Since we were two - we had everything on the menu except the beef (choice of 3 on that course) - and the cheese course (would have been too much food). By the way - a "Foo Foo" is a dumpling (I hadn't heard the word before). There is no reason to dwell on the courses at length - since the menu changes nightly. There is no guarantee you will see any of these dishes on the night you choose to dine. But - since everything we had - and I mean everything - was very good ---> terrific - I would be content simply to arrive at the restaurant - and see what the chef and his staff have prepared for me on any particular night.

One reason the menu changes is the chef here is a dedicated shopper as well as a dedicated cook. He goes to the markets on a regular basis (including local farmers' markets right here in St. Johns County - a lot of our county is rural) - picks the produce and other ingredients that look best - and then figures out how to incorporate them into the menu. Since we don't have the same range of high end ingredients that you might find in a city like New York - he also sources certain items from out of town if what's to be found here isn't up to snuff.

There are certain things you can't tell from the menu. Like the restaurant makes its own bread. And the bread last night was delicious. The restaurant has just hired a chef from Baltimore who - among other things - loves to bake bread. He's been there about two weeks - and I hope he decides to stay.

My only criticism of the restaurant is that - like so many high end restaurants here and elsewhere - it does not have a full bar. This is probably more of a comment on the intricacies of state liquor laws than restaurants. Still - I would like to see more places with full bars (since I prefer spirits to beer and wine). And - state liquor laws have some other strange effects on restaurants. If I understand things correctly (and there is a possibility I don't) - Opus 39 itself does not have a liquor license. But there is a room at the back of the restaurant (which is part of the restaurant) that has a beer and wine package store license. So - when you first walk in - you go to the back of the restaurant and select your wine. There's a bar in this room where you can sample a fair number of wines before you buy. There are wines by the glass. As well as bottles. And the restaurant will open any bottle it has for you if you pay for a minimum of two glasses. My husband doesn't drink. And most wine doesn't agree with me. So I had my usual Veuve - but not the non-vintage. The 1996 reserve. Reasonably priced at $95/bottle. I am far from an expert on wine - so I will leave it to people who know more than I do to comment on the wine offerings.

I generally do not take pictures in restaurants while people are eating. However - I hope to get back to the restaurant in the near future and perhaps take some food pictures one afternoon. If I can arrange to do that - I'll post the pictures. Anyway - I highly recommend this restaurant. It is worth a special trip. Robyn

[robyn]

Sometimes you just luck out. I wrote the chef at Opus 39 and asked him whether I could stop by one afternoon to take some pictures. Turns out yesterday he was having a small private dinner for some friends of the restaurant and some members of the press. He invited me and my husband. It was a wonderful event . Got to take some pictures too . Here are a few:

This is the rosemary onion ciabatta (told you the new chef from Baltimore did good bread - this was every bit as good as it looks - as was everything else).

This is sauteed red snapper with celery root puree and shaved brussel sprout ragout:

And here is apricot beer braised rabbit pappardelle with roasted peppers and lobster mushrooms. The pappardelle was made by hand minutes before being cooked:

The meat course was grilled beef tenderloin with sundried tomato-kalamata olive tapenade, seared radicchio and whipped potatoes:

And I couldn't wait until the end of the meal to sample and take pictures of the dessert. Here's the almond crusted chocolate mousse right after it was made - it was served at the table with earl grey creme anglaise:

.

There were hors d'oeuvres passed around before dinner. And seared foie gras with grilled frisee, toasted walnuts and sherry-fig vinaigrette as a first course (unfortunately - I don't have pictures of the foie gras - it disappeared too fast!).

This dinner was as good as the one we had last week. And - obviously - an unexpected treat. I do hope you'll try this restaurant if you get a chance. It's not often we get a restaurant this good in Florida. Robyn