Black Angus Steakhouse is a name that’s not new to the Bahamian culinary scene (Black Angus was previously in the Crystal Palace Hotel), but forget what you knew about that Black Angus steakhouse, the new Black Angus Steakhouse & Grill in the Melia Nassau Beach Resort features a new flair — hip, contemporary jazz and modern décor and showcases the best food — sourcing the finest quality prime cuts and fresh ingredients in the best possible way — simplicity. It’s at Black Angus where Executive Chef Fernando Moreno and his staff hold true to the culinary belief that less is more.
“We’re trying to find the best ingredients which is why we are purchasing from local farms and buying the best steaks,” said Moreno. He and his team are putting the two together to offer a steakhouse that is definitely a Melia steakhouse in the Melia style.
“It’s not an Argentinean steakhouse; it’s not an American steakhouse — you can find a lot of different concepts — Argentinean, American and local flavors. It’s fusion served in simplicity,” said the chef.
From the grill, the U.S. prime steak offerings include a 36/38-ounce Porter House (recommended for two to four persons); 28/32-ounce Tomahawk; 18-ounce Cowboy; 14-ounce New York and 14-ounce Chateaubriand. All steaks are served with a flavorful chimichurri sauce, and served up simply — a beautifully grilled piece of meat on a white plate so that nothing detracts from the meat.
“All our steaks are amazing,” said Moreno.
While they specialize in steaks, there is a mix of seafood and salad menu items.
Grill offerings extend to a 14-ounce veal chop; six-ounce tuna steak; half chicken; an eight-ounce kurubuta pork chop (a culinary delight as heritage breeds are specially raised and heralded for their intensely flavorful meat and fat, and one where meat makes a real difference); seven-ounce lobster tail, grilled sea bass, and catch of the day which can run from snapper to grouper.
Roasted garlic, guava glaze, lemon butter, reduced port wine dime-glace, gorgonzola and morel are the sauce offerings to choose from for the grilled meats.
Coconut peas n’ rice, lobster mac and cheese, potato wedges with parsley and parmesan cheese, wedge potato paprika with cherry vinegar, roasted garlic mash potatoes, sweet potato and potato napoleon and jalapeno onion rings are some of the more interesting side dishes on the menu.
The new Black Angus Steakhouse and grill offers artistically beautiful presentations for its appetizers — think shrimp cocktail served up totally beyond what you would have expected and is visually stunning — a beautiful, translucent, quartz-like slab of Himalayan pink salt slab, which is said to be the purest salt to be found on earth — the slabs impart an enhanced salt and mineral flavor to the food; octopus carpaccio served with an avocado puree, garnished with edible flowers; beef, shrimp, corn and steak empanadas; and a cheeseboard served up front rather than on the dessert menu are just some of the offerings.
The junkyard salad which was made famous at the former restaurant has been reinvented at the new Black Angus with mixed lettuces, feta, carrot, cucumber, tomato, olives, fried onion and capers in a zesty Parmesan dressing; along with classic steakhouse salads — an endive wedge salad and a Caesar salad.
The chowder/soup portion of the menu showcases creamy conch, pumpkin and a traditional onion soup.
The beauty of the Black Angus menu is carried over into the one thing most people cannot deny themselves — no matter how stuffed they are — dessert. And their desserts are visually stunning, as evidenced in the Ferrero Rocher Cheesecake with raspberry coulis. The flambéed Jack Daniels crème brulee, double chocolate cake and Hennessey banana flambé are also tempting treats.
While you can enjoy your meal with whatever you want to drink, the meal is incomplete without trying one of the restaurant’s signature drinks, the peach basket cooler (1 ½ ounce Makers Mark, 1 ounce Peach Schnapps, ½ ounce lime juice, ¾ ounce simple syrup and 3 ounces Sprite); or the basil harmony (1 ½ ounce Grey Goose, ½ ounce lime juice, 1 ounce orange juice, ½ ounce basil infusion, ¾ simple syrup and two ounce club soda).
“People that want to enjoy food with nice flavors in a nice ambiance need to come to Black Angus,” said the chef, a Mexican native whose food philosophy is respect for everything from the restaurant’s ambiance to the food, the coworkers and guests.
Black Angus Steakhouse has been open for approximately six months, and has a varied menu that isn’t too big where diners can get confused as to what they want. It’s a menu that Moreno says will change at least twice a year.
For those people that have yet to experience the new Black Angus, he wants you to come in with an open mind to experience the new flavors and tendencies.
“I want people to enjoy the experience,” he said. This is the advice from the chef who is a connoisseur of food and loves it all, and what he is into on any given day depends on the moment and what he’s doing.
“I just love food,” he said. “I can enjoy Mediterranean food, South American food, American food … everything depends on the moment and what I’m doing. If you’re having fun with friends on the beach, a nice conch salad is an option; an American brunch in the morning is nice, and tacos when in Mexico is good, and at a bar in Spain, you enjoy the tapas, so it all depends on the moment, the time and the friends … but I really love and enjoy food.”
Melia’s head chef would not take all the credit for the Black Angus of today. He said his team was crucial to the food and its success.
“There’s a lot of people working really hard behind the scene with a lot of energy and passion, and without them you’re nothing. It’s not just the chef who makes the menu. It’s all the people in the back doing what it takes to make things happen,” he said.
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