SUNDAY BUNCH AT ZED 451 PLUS
SUNDAY BUNCH AT ZED 451 SERIES

The same levels of inspiration go into the soups and charcuterie selections. Or roasted cauliflower with a toasted pecan vinaigrette - nutty and earthy all at once. But some of the best offerings are also the simplest: Take a relatively humble plate of chili-rubbed slices of granny smith apples - a tart, spicy mouthful that almost had me rushing home to re-create the easy-to-assemble dish. Such salads as vegetable saffron cous cous (blended with black-eyed peas, roasted fennel, green onion and Belgian endive) or a sweet corn salad with a cilantro honey vinaigrette amount to imagination on a plate, tasting as good as they look. To top it off, there are two seasonal soup selections.īut it’s more about the quality: Zed451 makes an art of the salad, looking to deftly combine ingredients of the sweet and savory kinds and present them with an eye for color.

SUNDAY BUNCH AT ZED 451 PLUS

Why is that such a deal? For starters, the spread is very much a spread - on any given night, you can work your way through 20 or so individually prepared salads, plus an equally impressive array of meats and cheeses, from salami to sopressata, gorgonzola to gouda.

If you opt to go with the Harvest Tables alone - and, yes, you can easily make an immensely satisfying meal of what’s available - you’ll pay a mere $25. For a single (and relatively reasonable) price of $39, you get to sample everything the restaurant has to offer, including the extensive soup, salad and charcuterie bars (dubbed the Harvest Tables) and the meats and other offerings served tableside (dubbed the Chef Selections). On to the main meal: As with most churrascarias, Zed’s menu is a study in brevity. But one of the year-round offerings, the California Crush ($10), is a potent, all-season thirst-quencher - a sun-kissed concoction of vodka, lemons and oranges. As with the dining menu, cocktail selections change seasonally: The cranberry mojito ($12), a Thanksgiving-inspired tweak on the summer refresher, is a worthy pick of the moment. Zed451 is one of a handful of local restaurants that truly understand the modern mixology trend in which drinks emphasize bold, unusual flavors and serve as a platform for inventiveness. The restaurant has a solid and nicely varied wine list - with wine flights for those who want to sample a few selections - but it’s the cocktails that really stand out. Go figure.Īctually, the beginnings of my meals at Zed451 were more in a liquid vein.

Clever details abound, from the walls of wine bottles to the centerpiece of a “water room” with a small table-level “pond.” And natural elements - wood and stone - lend Zed451 an organic feel, too: Call it green chic.Īs for the restaurant’s convoluted name, it’s meant to symbolize the complete dining experience - “451” refers to the temperature at which paper burns, meaning a fiery beginning “Zed” refers to the last letter of the British alphabet, meaning a peaceful conclusion.

SUNDAY BUNCH AT ZED 451 SERIES

It’s not so much a dining room as a series of spaces for eating and meeting - slightly dark, plenty cozy (I love the throw pillows) and altogether inviting. Situated at the southern end of Mizner Park in the gargantuan space formerly belonging to the International Museum of Cartoon Art, the restaurant has a sleek, modern feel.

And it’s a winner in every possible way.įor starters, this Boca Raton eatery, run by a California-based operator (Tavistock) with a keen feel for dining trends, matches a bold concept with a bold design. Here in South Florida, a number of good ones have come and gone, with Gol! in Delray Beach remaining a solid survivor.īut at this point, what the concept really begs is a degree of reinterpretation, a churrascaria that thinks outside the gorgefest box of such churrascaria staples as rump roast and giant stalks of asparagus. Enjoy bold – and bountiful – Brazilian at Zed451 By Charles Passy | Dining | October 30, 2009Īt Zed451, in Boca Raton's Mizner Park, visitors are in for a complete dining experience, including seasonal cocktails, a large salad spread and chef-driven main-course offerings.īy now, the Brazilian concept of the churrascaria - a restaurant that serves an all-you-can-eat feast of meats sliced tableside by strolling gauchos - is common to most Americans.

Sunday bunch at zed 451