Foodie Friday: Vista Rooftop at Fenwick Inn
OCEAN CITY, Md. – Between its beautiful views, and delicious dishes, the Vista Rooftop at Fenwick Inn is something special.
Small Bites, Big Flavor
Chef Bedell starts by whipping up tender and towering crab and lobster wontons. They’re topped with pico de gallo, and a wasabi and red pepper coulee. “[Frying the wontons] makes them crispy, and it helps them hold up to the sauce and the pico de gallo that we put on them,” he explains. “We also use the sesame seed oil, just a light drizzle. It’s super powerful.”
A skirt steak crostini is also on order. “I like to use a Montreal steak seasoning,” Chef Bedell says as he seasons the steak.
Chef Bedell also throws sliced bread onto the grill to serve as the steak’s vehicle. “And now that’s it’s nice and crispy, here’s our ‘voila,'” revealed Chef Bedell. “We have butter, and we mix it with goat cheese and boursin cheese. You want just a little bit of this on here.”
This savory sampling isn’t complete without chimichurri. “It has cilantro, basil, fresh parsley, vinegar, red pepper flake,” said Chef Bedell.
Add a beer battered onion ring topped french onion soup on the side. Chef Bedell says don’t skimp on the smoked provolone. “We make our french onion with a veal stock and a beef stock. So, it gives it a little more body, and it just gives it what it needs,” Chef Bedell explains.
Cheese Pull of the Century
“My arm can’t go high enough,” Foodie Friday host Hannah Cechini laughed as they coaxed the cheese pull of the century out of the soup. “I’m going to steal a Foodie Photog Mike phrase here: things I didn’t know I needed, onion ring served with the French onion soup. It just makes sense. It’s just very rich and satisfying, and it’s also very aromatic at the same time. There are so many soft components going on in a French onion soup. But then, you get the onion ring with a little crunch. And, it kind of just brings it up a notch.”
“A lot of folks used to use the word ‘unctuous’ to mean very rich, savory. This is a very unctuous and satisfying dish right here,” agreed Foodie Photog Mike. “These onions are fork tender.”
Undercurrent of Umami
And, to say that the crab and lobster wonton didn’t disappoint, would be an understatement.
“There’s a great variety of textures there,” Mike mused. “There’s a little bit of brightness from the pico. There’s obviously some richness from our crab and lobster mixture. Just the wonton, is a great texture. I think this is a lovely vehicle for a starter.”
“The sesame oil is so interesting,” Hannah added. “It adds a really nice undercurrent of umami. But, at the same time, you have a lot of bright, citrusy, acidic notes. There are a lot of fun flavors and textures going on here. You’ve got the crunch from the wonton. The lobster and the crab meat is just really tender. Everything in this dish is just really wonderfully balanced.”
Steak that Melts in Your Mouth
The steak crostini is wonderfully tied together by the bright, refreshing notes of the chimichurri. “That chimichurri is like a much lighter version of a pesto. It’s a little bit herby,” said Mike. “Just the whole idea of putting these beautiful, simple cuts of meat on little pieces of bread just, I think elevates the accessibility of steak.”
“The butter is really something else because of the fact that it has that cheese incorporated into it. It’s very rich and creamy,” Hannah said of Chef Bedell’s cheese-butter combination. “This steak really just kind of melts in your mouth as you’re chewing it. You don’t even really have to chew it that much, and that’s how you know it’s a good steak.”
