a la Carteret
William's
by
Sandy Craft
What
do you get when you combine a biologist with a graduate of Johnson and Wales
School of Culinary Arts? Give up?
You get William Bell, the meticulous and equally creative chef/owner of
William’s in downtown 
On our arrival my Companions-in-Eating
(CiE) and I were warmly greeted by Dennis Bell, whose gentlemanly manner will
make you feel that you are his most special guests.
Dennis showed us to our table in the bar — one of three very
attractive dining areas each with a polished yet unpretentious look.
Spiffy, yet casual.
We started our dinner off with one of
the items from the special New Year’s menu that they are working on. It was
an appetizer of fried oysters on a succotash cake with barbeque vinaigrette.
I think that William’s science background serves him very well in the
kitchen. He thinks about how we
taste the various levels of food and how things will actually blend,
structurally as well as sensually. Now
if all this sounds way more like Advanced Chemistry than Advanced Cooking,
relax, it’s second nature to him. That
barbeque vinaigrette gave the dish another whole dimension of flavor.
In other words, it was really good.
Better make those New Year’s reservations now, folks!
Our next course, corn and crab bisque
have been on the menu since the restaurant opened in December 2001.
It is a heavenly combination of sweet corn and crab meat in a creamy,
but not over rich broth. Served
with fresh-out-of-the-oven crusty bread and a little herb infused olive oil,
it is, as I said, heavenly.
You know, I love appetizers, and I
could go on and on; but, my editor tells me to stay on track, be more concise.
I’ll try. The lobster and
cheese soufflé is more cheesecake in texture but lighter like a soufflé.
I don’t know how they do that, but the results are wonderful —
succulent, rich, but somehow not heavy.
Then came the ubiquitous shrimp and
grits. I must say that this is a
favorite of mine. William puts his
own wonderful spin on it by using coarse stone ground grits which he cooks,
cools, cuts into cakes, and then browns crispy on the outside, chewy and nutty
on the inside. Whew! And that’s
the easy part. The tasso gravy is
a triple reduction process (I think this is Advanced Chemistry, for sure).
Anyway, William has figured out these flavor layers and combinations to
the ninth degree. Just go and give
it a try. You’ll be glad you
did.
William’s crab cakes are exactly what
they should be: crab meat, a
little seasoning, pure and simple. The
amazing thing is that they’re baked, but still crisp, and very delicious.
Remember what I said about the layers of flavor?
Well, the crab cakes are served with a combination of celery root puree
and mashed potatoes all topped with a mustard pomegranate sauce.
I couldn’t get over this combo. The
pomegranate seeds added a tangy, citrus zest and crunch that was way beyond a
squirt of lemon juice. Then
there’s the subtle celery root thing going on that lightened and freshened
up the potatoes.
We were fortunate to have the sautéed
snapper as the daily fresh fish special. It was served with crisp sugar snap
peas and a red pepper coulis. I
can’t guarantee that this will be what they offer when you go, but if you
order the daily fish special it will be a fresh local (except for the salmon)
fish. That’s the way they do
things.
Dennis explained that in order to
insure the freshness of every item, they could only offer so many selections
on the menu. Variety, however, is absolutely not a problem.
Deciding, though, may be.
For
our next course, William raised the level of comfort food up a notch or two.
The braised lamb shank was fork tender and served over stone ground
grits with braising juices and roasted root vegetables. The slight sweetness
of the root vegetables was a pleasant contrast to the savory shank and grits.
It was perfectly served with a glass of Heron Pinot Noir.
William selects all the wines himself to pair with specific dishes that
he knows will complement each other. It’s
a reasonably priced list, featuring lots of smaller vineyards.
If you’re unfamiliar with a selection, just ask the well-versed staff
to help you out.
It may be hard to believe that we had
room to try anything else. But, I
had never had either of the desserts that William wanted us to try; I knew we
were in for a treat. The lemon crème
roulade with lemon curd and blueberry coulis was light, tangy, and refreshing.
The banana and white chocolate bread pudding with rum caramel sauce is another
prime example of William’s flair for unusual flavor combinations. I will
order it again when I don’t have to share!
If you have a dinner group to host, one
of the rooms, with seating for up to about 24, is very private.
Although not open for lunch, if you have a special group that you are
hosting, a luncheon may be arranged depending on the size of your group.
William’s is serving a special pris
fixe all-American menu for New Year’s Eve. It sounds incredible.
In addition to the fried oysters, how does a lobster pot pie, and a
stuffed tenderloin sound? You can
call and get more details, but go ahead and make your reservations.
At least you will be starting 2006 off on the right foot
gastronomically!
Quick
Bites
William's
Address:
Phone:
(252)
240-1755
Hours:
Tuesday
– Sunday at
Entrees
start at $18.95
Payment:
Mastercard,
Visa, Discover
Reservations:
Advised,
particularly on weekends
Other: This is a nonsmoking restaurant. There is a room for private parties.
A Taste of ....William's Corn and Crab Bisque
½
head celery diced
1
yellow onion, diced
2
large leeks, halved, sliced and washed
8
cups whole kernel yellow corn
24
ounces clam juice
4
cups crab stock
1
cup white wine
¾
t. dried tarragon
½
t. dried thyme
½
t. dried dill
½
t. ground white pepper
½
t. salt
1
T. dried parsley
1
quart heavy cream
1
quart half-n-half
1
pound picked crab meat
Using
a large heavy bottomed stock pot:
1.
Soften onion, celery and leeks in 2 T. butter with salt.
2.
Add white wine and reduce by ¾.
3,
Add dried herbs, corn, clam juice and crab stock; bring to boil, reduce to a
simmer and cook 10 minutes.
4.
Using a hand blender, partially puree contents of pot. Add crab meat, cream
and half-n-half.
5.
Return to simmer, cook 10 minutes. Remove from heat, adjust seasoning and
serve.
This
recipe makes approximately 1 1/2 gallons.
12/09/05
Sandy
Craft owned and operated a catering company in Atlanta
for 17 years.
She is one of the few people who actually still cooks, but she finds
following
a recipe goes against her nature. When traveling she likes to visit local
grocery
stores and farm stands, and she thoroughly enjoys good food.
See the previously reviewed restaurants on the Restaurant Archive page
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