Photo: Stephen Clarke
Lunch, it seems, is often the red-headed step child when it comes to meals. Whether it is a rushed sandwich eaten at your desk at work or something you remember you should have had when it is close to dinner already, lunch can often end up being the forgotten meal.
However, for anyone within reach of Michael’s Genuine in Camana Bay around lunchtime, it is a meal to look forward to. The restaurant, which opened in mid June, is situated on the Crescent overlooking the tranquil waters of the harbour.
With 75 seats in the restaurant and another 75 outside, there is plenty of room for the lunch hour rush and once word gets out on the lunch menu, there will certainly be a rush.
According to Chef Michael Schwartz, the idea behind the lunch menu was to create something distinct from the evening menu - something at the same time more accessible yet still unique and special.
The dishes are all ingredient driven, with the restaurant’s philosophy of sourcing the freshest ingredients locally wherever possible set to play a role of ever increasing importance as the menu develops. The use of ingredients that are locally available and in season means that the menu changes daily.
Chef Michael also says that although the menu currently looks relatively similar to the Miami menu, it will develop over time to reflect a more unique character. The restaurant also forges close relationships with local farmers to source produce, while it is also busy working on its own garden to grow ingredients for the menu.
The open kitchen immediately lends a lively atmosphere to the restaurant, very well complemented by the decor. According to Charles Bell, director of operations for Michaels Genuine, the aim was to create a true neighbourhood restaurant where people could come for everything from a drink with friend or a light lunch to a four course dinner.
We started with an appetizer of homemade thick cut potato chips with caramelized onion dip. The chips were remarkably light and crispy with the onion dip shining in its simplicity.
The devilled eggs were also perfectly prepared and exhibited the attention to detail the kitchen staff lavish on even the simplest dishes.
As any good lunch menu should, the menu at Michael’s Genuine includes favourites like pizzas, salads and sandwiches. However, unlike other venues, Chef Michael brings his own unique touch to each dish.
I decided to try the unusual pizza combination of slow roasted Berkshire pork with mission figs, grilled onions, Fontina cheese and fresh arugula. The combination may sound unusual, but the taste is something extraordinary. This is unlike any pizza I have ever tasted, with the subtle tastes of the roasted pork, with notes of fennel and cinnamon being perfectly complemented by the sweetness of the figs and the peppery taste of the arugula.
For those who view pizza as a bit too heavy for their tastes, the restaurant offers an excellent selection of salads, including one of my personal favourites, the Tuna Nicoise.
In the hands of Chef Michael it is once again transformed into a masterpiece, with fresh tuna prepared to order and served with pickled red onion, fingerling potato, heirloom tomato, green beans, hardboiled egg, mixed greens, balsamic vinaigrette and saffron aioli.
As I have come to expect, the ingredients were as fresh as can be imagined, with the tuna prepared perfectly and all the flavours combining to perfection. The salad also reminded me of the simple joy of eating a good tomato, especially when so many tomatoes tend to add colour more than actual flavour to a dish. It is understandable why Chef Michael has such a fondness for the heirloom tomato.
Even the humble sandwich is transformed into something special, as showcased by the homemade pastrami sandwich on grilled ciabatta with cave-aged Gruyere cheese, red cabbage slaw and Thousand Island dressing. Again the quality of the ingredients is allowed to shine through as Chef Michael believes in rather removing an ingredient than allow any dish to become overly complicated.
With a location to die for and food to match, Michael’s Genuine is likely to become the lunch spot for anyone with a craving for good honest food with more than a hint of something special. WH