Vichy & Zabuton “Water & Steak”
From the mind of Food & Beverage Director, Joseph Catterson.
In 1881, a Dr. Furest observed that the sheep that drank from a certain spring in Girona, Spain were all in excellent health. He decided to study the composition of the water and discovered its “mineral-medicinal” properties. And so, he acquired the spring and surrounding land and soon began marketing his medicinal mineral water in pharmacies.
Many of you will have discovered Vichy Catalan on European travels as I did, and to many of you it will likely be new. As with many products of its era, claims of medicinal benefits haven’t aged well. But clearly, enjoying a no-calorie carbonated beverage is a good thing, and I will often choose a great mineral water as a welcome accompaniment to a meal. Vichy isn’t for everyone; it is indeed quite mineral-rich and even tastes a bit salty. I’ve always thought it a terrific match for a wide variety of foods, and perhaps I find a soothing digestive effect in its higher level of bicarb.
As any good “water sommelier” will tell you, Vichy Catalan is one of the best water pairings for steak, and as we now have it in the house, I opted for a bottle with my sneak preview of a dish coming to our menu next week. Chef Ryan will be bringing us a char-grilled ancho-rubbed Zabuton steak, with maitake mushroom and a pink peppercorn jus. The Japanese inspired Zabuton is also known here as Denver steak, a relatively new butcher’s cut that has found popularity with Chefs, and more recently, foodies drawn to “insider” cuts. As expected, the delicious Vichy stood up well to the beefy flavors of the steak, but the revelation was the way the water’s minerality and texture complemented and amplified the umami bomb of the brown-butter-basted maitake and also brought out a fruity pop from the pink peppercorns. The water really did make a compelling pairing for the dish, but I did eventually remember that my main gig is wine; I was happy to find our new Portuguese red was also very tasty with the dish (but that’s a topic for another day).