Maxi dress: Vintage
Beaded necklace: Faithful The Brand
Necklace: Kendra Scott
Bracelets: Rocksbox
Iced out Initial Necklace:C/O CAPSUL Jewelry
Mules: Louis Vuitton
Belt: Zara
Bag: Louis Vuitton, Kirigami
Lipstick: Colour Pop, Toucan (this color is no longer sold).
So, our eighth stop on the food tour is Barbouni at BABA in St.Pete.
Barbouni opened as part of Baba, a Greek and Lebanese eatery located at 2701 Central Avenue. Barbouni officially opened the first weekend of March 2023 in the Grand Central District. You may be familiar with this area as it is home to many eateries, bars, and coffee shops. Barbouni, owned by George and Debbie Sayegh, who also own the Greek and Lebanese concept Baba, the Latin-inspired Bodega; and the chic cocktail bar Bar Chica (located within Bodega).
At Barbouni, you will find 48+ tinned fish options to choose from; some examples of a typical tinned fish would include tuna, salmon, sardines, herring, mackerel, or trout. Guests at Barbouni will have a front row seat; there you will find 9-seats (first come first serve) as the chefs shuck oysters at the raw bar.
Barbouni has replaced Baba’s bakery and cafe which you would have noticed if you had dined here prior to 2023 and Barbouni gets its namesake, from a mildly sweet fish, also called “red mullet” that is a staple in Greek fish taverns. The fish is usually fried, grilled, or even served as tartare, drizzled with citrus and fresh herbs. So, have you ever had tinned fish or tried itt? This place is certainly unique and one of the only like it in Florida. We came in to try something new which is perfect for my food tour because we are young, hungry, and curious!
Here is the "something new"
So, other than tuna fish in a can, one time my aunt gave me a sardine packed in mustard sauce when I was little. She ate these all the time and swore they were amazing. I was a bit to young to appreciate that due to the texture and the soft bones, but that other than canned anchovies in Cesar salads is my entire experience with canned food. I did not know what to expect, but I saw they had 2 types of crudo on the menu and I love crudo. Now these are not the best photos unfortunately, but this was a very very interesting dish!
Hamachi crudo with confit tomato, black lime, and cilantro.
So, what I liked about this dish is the flavor profile. The tomatoes and oils really to me tasted kind of earthy like beets, and the spices and texture of the crudo was almost like it was cooked (which I liked a lot). The amount served was perfect and I was able to take my leftover crudo home and eat it the next day and it tasted exactly the same. This was my favorite thing I had on this visit.
Our next something new: So, I would have tried more, but hubs went across the street and ate some gigantic tacos and then was full (I know right?) So, this was basically all on me and I knew not to order more than I could eat, but I wanted to try so much more than I had so I will be back!
So, below we have Cantabria Anchovies with Sumac butter. This is served with bread, but they gave me Cape Cod potato chips which are gluten free (much appreciated).
So, this item was a bit harder for me to eat because the anchovies were super salty and I wasn't ready for that, they did however ask me if I was ok with salty and I said yes! I just did not know it was this salty. The sumac butter and spiced were great, I really can't describe it, but the butter was very whipped and fluffy almost. Like, I did not realize it was butter when I was eating it. So, I did bring this one home, but I was actually more worried about the salt level in it so I wouldn't have it again.
They have different options for saltiness and flavors and I would still return again and try more items with a lower salt level. I did however, love the plating, I have never really thought about how to plate anchovies, but this was 5/5 and way better than what I would come up with! I thought it did have complex flavors, but for me the salt was over powering. I think if I was able to have it with bread and not potato chips that would have made a huge difference also because the potato chips were also salted. The crudo however was not salty at all.
So, this stop was not only memorable, but one I would love to repeat. We have been to BABA so many times and we love it there. Being able to walk into this small eatery before your dinner at BABA or any restaurant on Central is really nice. I also didn't mention they have a really great patio and the decor is so Mediterranean you will literally feel transported to another country.
Posts
No comments:
Post a Comment