Wine Dine and Play: Brandons Palm Beach

Contemporary American Cuisine

Palm Beach, Florida USA

Dined in December 2016

By Sean Overpeck (CFE)

My wife and I were on our honeymoon stopping in West Palm on the third leg of our trip at the Tideline Resort and Spa by the Kimpton Boutique Hotels brand, our third that week. A very nice hotel next to the beach, and a nice and relaxing dinner meal at Brandon’s, the hotels main restaurant where they served contemporary cuisine with a blend of American and through their Mizu bar, some sushi and saké selections as well.

Follow Wine, Dine, and Play:

Executive Chef:

Chef Christopher Schaefer

Sushi chef:

Jeff Wang

Main review:

The hotel had one elevator not working, so getting from your room down to the lobby and back was a challenge and took time. The restaurant had a nice cocktail area with couches and chairs, with the main bar, then the dining room. Beyond that was the patio area leading out to the beach. Near the cocktail and lounge area was a smaller separate dining area with a few tables and the sushi bar for the Mizu restaurant.

My wife and I, along with our dog sat on a couch in the lounge to enjoy our dinner. They allowed our dog because she was a service animal. We treated her to a nice burger patty as well. My wife had a glass of rosé by the Listel Winery from the Languedoc-Roussillon region of France, south of the Côtes du Rhône on the Spanish border, and close to the sands of the Mediterranean. According to the tasting notes on their web page the wine is a deep pink color with raspberry highlights, red berry fruit on the nose, followed by a rich palate.

We enjoyed a few items from the Appetizer and happy hour menu as well as some sushi from Mizu, starting with the chickpea hummus and smoked paprika with pita chips. This dish is always a classic and very good for you, no matter what type of restaurant your in, anywhere in the world. It had a nice texture, but could have used more lemon juice in the recipe.

Other items on their starters included fish dip which is very common in many Florida Restaurants, burrata cheese, littleneck clams, and a crab tian. All sounded good and very appetizing, but we saw an even more interesting item, a smoked cauliflower hush puppies dish, three to the order served with some maple butter.

Brandon’s also partners and supports local organic farmers such as Alderman Farms in Boynton Beach, H&R Farms (Fort Pierce), Pioneer Growers, Swank Farms, and Perry Young Farms. Outside of Florida they source from Anson Mills in South Carolina.

Finally we both enjoyed some sushi from the Mizu where they have selections from classic and specialty rolls, and hamachi. We decided on the hamachi heaven with jalapeños. Pacific yellowtail with avocado, orange, scallions, and a kimchi-ponzu sauce. Having the kimchi added an interesting fermented style taste and flavor to the rolls, and I have to say was pleasant and different to have Korean flavor in traditional Japanese cuisine. Ponzu is normal to serve with Japanese sushi especially with its citrus flavor, while the kimchi added spice.

This was our third Kimpton Hotel and restaurant experience from our honeymoon, starting with the Castile at the Hotel Zamora where we had one of our wedding parties on their 360 rooftop overlooking the Gulf of Mexico in St. Pete Beach, followed by the Cobalt Restaurant at the Kimpton Vero Beach Hotel

Dessert:

With banana and white chocolate bread pudding with dulce de leche, key lime tarts, and strawberry cheesecake, they all sounded delicious but we were both completely fool and could not get any.

Other Noteworthy Contemporary American favorites:

Z Grill in St. Petersburg, Florida

The Biltmore Dining Room in Asheville, North Carolina

Harvest Moon Cafe in Sonoma, California

Zink Bistro and Bar in San Antonio, Texas

Final notes and observations:

Brandon’s is a true definition to South Florida in a nice atmosphere and beach front patio with fire pits and craft cocktails. They think Globally while keeping it local and supporting organic farms along with friendly service and staff makes Brandon’s a very pleasant and noteworthy experience.

Private dining - picture courtesy of Brandon's

Over all from this experience taking the six factors I use on Wine, Dine, and Play to produce my rating, I give Brandon’s a 3 out of 5 stars, meaning that they exceeded my expectations and were far above the average dining experience of most restaurants. The six factors used to get this rating include reviewing of their wine selections; overall customer service from host, bar, service, and management; the restaurant ambiance, noise level, lighting, and bathroom quality; plate presentation, which includes garnish, color, and art; quality of the food, where it is produced, and how it is prepared; and finally the “wow” factor. Did the restaurant wow me in any way not listed in the five factors above? Some restaurants do, but most do not.

Overall Star rating by Wine, Dine, & Play:
Ambiance:	7 of 10
Quality of the Food:	7 of 10
Plate Presentation:	5 of 10
Customer Service:	6 of 10
Wow Factor:	2 of 10
Wine Selection:	5 of 10

Food Prices

(excluding, alcohol, taxes & gratuity)

$£€¥ - Under 50.00

$£€¥ x 2 - 51.00- 99.00

$£€¥ x 3 - Over 100.00

$£€¥ x 4 - Over 200.00

$£€¥ x 5 - Over 400.00

**Currencies chosen reflect the world’s major travelers and restaurant connoisseur’s**

My food bill:	Currency:	Price chart:
$40.00	United States Dollar (USD)	$
$53.00	Australian Dollar (AUS)	$$
£33.00	Great Britain Pound Sterling (GBP)	£
$52.00	Canadian Dollar (CAN)	$$
¥276.00	Chinese Yuan (CNY)	¥¥¥¥
€38.00	European Union (EUR)	€

Currency rates as of January 2017

Alcohol Prices:

$32.00

Brandon’s West Palm:

2842 S Ocean Blvd

Palm Beach, Florida

33480

Contact Information:

Maître d or host:	+1 561-540-6440
Online reservations	OpenTable
Restaurant website:	Brandon’s West Palm
Serving hours: Eastern Standard Time (GMT - 5:00)	Lunch: Mon-Sun 11:00 am - 4:00 pm Dinner: Mon-Sun 5:00 pm - 11:00 pm Happy Hour: Mon-Fri 5:00 pm - 7:00 pm
Email or webpage contact:	Contact Brandon’s
Social Media & Accolades:	Brandon's Facebook link Tideline Kimpton
	Twitter @Kimpton
	Instagram

Review basics:

5 stars	is Extraordinary
4 Stars	is Outstanding
3 Stars	Exceeded Expectations
2 Stars	is Above the Average
1 Star	is an Average Dining Experience
No Star Rating	The Restaurant is Basic, Poor, or Appalling

Overall Star Rating:	3 of 5 Stars: Exceeded Expectations
Wine List:	Click here to view the restaurants wine list
Corkage fee’s:	The Restaurant does not list any corkage fee’s however, most American restaurants charge $25.00 per bottle
Restaurant style:	Casual
Reservations:	Not Required Walk-Ins: Accepted, but not guaranteed
Child policy:	The Restaurants reviewed on this site may have a child’s menu or cater to them; however for full enjoyment of food and wine, it is recommended for children not to be in attendance, unless they have been trained in proper etiquette. Hire a Babysitter!
Dress code:	Casual, or Conservative attire
Cuisine style:	Contemporary, Modern, Lounge, Steakhouse, Seafood, American, Japanese, International, Fusion, & Vegetarian
Experiences:	, Trendy, Lounge, Great outdoor dining, Good for special occasions, Scenic views, and a Neighborhood gem.
Payments:	Visa, MasterCard, Discover, American Express
Parking:	Valet, or Hotel Parking
Wifi	The restaurants reviewed on this site may have Wi-Fi, but do not require you to go online, because the excitement of the food and wine alone will keep you too entertained instead of checking your social media and emails.
Noise level:	Low
Smoking:	Nonsmoking restaurant
Patio:	Yes

****

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Reviewed by:

Sean Overpeck (CFE)

Picture below was taken at

Château Lanessan in Bordeaux

About Sean:

I am based out of St. Petersburg, Florida working in the food service industry for the past twenty years, and am currently with the American Embassy as the Executive Chef in Basra, Iraq. Formally I have worked with groups contracting in Afghanistan, and Antarctica, also working in restaurants in and around Atlanta, Georgia prior to the wars. I have also owned a catering company and served proudly in the United States Army Food Service Program. The idea for Wine, Dine, and Play started in late 2012 after a trip to Jordan, when I was asked by friends to write down the experiences from a few Jordanian restaurants, wine from the region that I tasted, and locations of interest such as Petra. Since that time, over 250 articles have been written on restaurants, including fifteen from the worlds top 100 lists of San Pellegrino and the Elite Travelers Guide. There are articles on exotic world locations such as Victoria Falls, and South African Safari’s; food recipes & Grand Food Dictionaries; ethnic country cuisines such as Afghan, and Peruvian; tasting tours of world cities like Charleston, Cape Town, and Dubai; and of course wine from vineyards in California, Oregon, the Carolina’s, South Africa, New Zealand, and Australia, with much more to see and write about.

Who is John Galt?

“Culinary perfection consists not in doing extraordinary things,

But in doing ordinary things extraordinarily well.”

-Angelique Arnauld (1591-1661)