Cayman Sinclair is a North shore restaurateur unknown on the South shore unless you hang around movie sets. For a long time Cayman also catered A-list movies shooting in New Orleans. He still does both, though there are less movies now.
He started out at Dakota, a well-known A-list restaurant, at least to North shore diners. From there he went on to own a few restaurants, my favorite of which was The Lakehouse on the Mandeville lakefront that he and Vicky Bayley started together in 2009. The Lakehouse came to be after Dennis Bechac put his family’s plantation house back together after Katrina, and it went away after Hurricane Ida. I was heartbroken. Restaurants come and go, but some break my heart. The Lakehouse was one of those.
And then I heard that Cayman was opening in a little dump of a place that used to be a coffee shop called Java Grotto . The grotto was only half a block from The Bechac house, so the same hurricane wave killed both places, two times. Different hurricanes, same end.
I was thrilled to hear Cayman was getting back into a la carte service. Somewhere in the COVID/Ida era he bought La Provence, glamorized it and made it into a venue. But what about the rest of us who aren’t having a wedding or going to one?
The Sunday buffet brunch at The Lakehouse was like a wedding, with white tents on the large patio and endless choices, carving stations, etc. So it was the great memories of days gone by that fueled my delight about the new place, Aperitif. I knew it would be gorgeous, and I knew it would be good. Not gourmet good, just elevated comfort food at a great price.
Cayman’s regulars (who are legion) were already there keeping the place hopping when I arrived for my first meal. (A full account of that meal is on the website.) It prompted introspection on The Food Show, where I voiced the question I thought about the entire meal: In a world of hip food in hip restaurants, can a simple but delicious meal of recognizable food that feeds the soul be enough? I hope so. It certainly is for me.
That night I had a rich lobster cheesecake over-adorned with lots of things like caviar and pea shoots (ick) a chervil gastrique and capers.
This was filling enough to quit, but I didn’t, because there were short ribs on the menu.
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And fried softshell crab. And fried oysters, which I did get. I also got Spinach Madeline, though there was no Madeline about it. The dish is a local “classic” featuring tubed garlic cheese, though this one took a lot of liberties. It had no garlic cheese and it did have artichokes, which the original does not. I still loved it.
The short ribs came over a mound of cheese grits, with the demi sauce running down the sides and pooling around the grits. The ribs were tender, the grits were rich, the asparagus was, well, asparagus. (I’m not a fan.)
I sat through this meal smitten with the scene, the buzz in the room, the food, and the stormy lake beyond the front window. (Yes, I should have been outside but they weren’t serving out there. And, no, I can’t imagine why. It was not because of the cloudy skies and whitecaps.)
The next time I went for lunch. They were serving outside on a beautiful sunny day. There were only three tables out there, and all were occupied. The waiter told me the soup was some crawfish soup which I might have liked, but I had just ordered a single raviolo that I knew would be large. I didn’t want to eat too much.
When the raviolo came out, I was surprised. It was indeed large but it was also fried. I somehow pictured it as a fat dumpling covered in a cream sauce, but it was instead deep-fried in Panko crumbs with crabmeat inside, and a Mornay sauce underneath. It also had a dollop of a Balsamic vinegar Italian-style salad on top, and a chervil gastrique. (Chef likes chervil gastrique, apparently, and a lot of garnish.)
I was not expecting to like this as much as I did. I had in my mind a fixed image of a typical raviolo, but this fried thing threw me. I loved the thick crispy Panko crumbs against the soft crab inside. The Mornay sauce underneath was creamy and rich, but what surprised me the most was this extra touch of the Balsamic dressing mini Italian-salad. Too much I thought, but I liked it, even with all the other stuff going on in this dish.
While I was marveling about this, another waiter mentioned the soup of the day as something different…oyster chowder. I was intrigued. We had just been talking about oyster soups on The Food Show, and here was one I had never had. I love chowders, and I love oysters in soup, but I had never had these two things together.
I just couldn’t believe how good this was. The chowder was exactly the right thickness and consistency, with a terrific mouthfeel. It was a large portion which I was happy about because I could have made this a meal. Sensational!
While I waited for my entree, which was softshell crab sliders, the chef sent out a little Amuse-bouche. It was a sample of the shrimp and grits. This was rich with cheese grits and a dense BBQ shrimp sauce, from the newfangled BBQ shrimp sauce world which is Worcestershire-sauce based. Also great, though I remain puzzled by the popularity of this Southern dish here.
Then the softshell crab sliders arrived, and I was thrilled with my choice. I love soft shell crab, and even though I love it any way, fried is best. This was a light and crispy batter with lots of flavor and crunch. The crab was divided in two, and each half was on a perfect little regular bun with Bibb lettuce and a tomato slice. The bun was toasted to overdone by some people, but to me it was just right.
I subbed out the fries for a house salad, which has always had strawberries and candied pecans and blue cheese. A nice salad.
These little sliders were almost sensual. I could hear the crunch as I bit into it, feel the batter against the softness of the crab, taste all dressings and crab, and soft but toasted bun as they came together in one bite. I looked at the sandwich, which was also exciting just to see it, and the yellow fat of the crab was visible from the bite. I found this sandwich practically thrilling.
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This was a superbly delicious lunch with breezes blowing off the lake, and a view that made me think I was at some great beach. All the other tables were enjoying it as much as I. Their waiter offered them a dessert because there was a delay getting their duck flatbread. They went crazy ordering all the desserts, thinking each of them was getting a dessert, but they enjoyed them all so much they weren’t even upset to pay for all but one. Overhearing their conversation made me resolve to order dessert next time. I think the flourless chocolate torte was the winner, beating out bread pudding.
I went back for lunch to get my second choice on the menu the previous visit: the shrimp roll. It was another lovely day but they weren’t serving out front, only on the back porch. The back porch is very nice, but it looks out to a parking lot which is obscured by heavy black curtains. It was a warm day with no breezes and the black canvas made it even warmer. No thanks.
It always amazes me when a hostess adheres so rigidly to the rules that they will turn away a customer. I’m sure there are reasons for this, but closing a dining space with a lake view in favor of one in the back makes no sense at all. I could drink out there but not eat. So I didn’t eat there at all.
I think they are just figuring things out, though this seems an easy one to me. But it does remind me of Tom’s dire warning about not eating at new restaurants. More reliable advice from Tom. I will call to inquire what dining is available where before riding down there. The place is too lovely inside and out, and the food much too pleasing to me to give up on it, or even to wait six months. I'll be back soon. I just can't help myself.
