Patio Season at Queenie's Steakhouse
It's patio season y'all, and tucked behind the cement walls of Queenie's off Hickory is the perfect quiet escape from your hectic week. Tim Love collaborated with Austin Hope in creating a beautiful Love and Hope Rosé and we got the opportunity to pair this impressive wine with some seafood features on Queenie's current menu while lounging on the patio. Life's hard, right?
We started with the Hamachi Tostada, layers Ponzu sauce, cilantro, toasted garlic, house-made guanciale—a cured pork jowl sourced locally, serrano, Yellowfin Tuna, and red onion meticulously atop a corn tortilla chip tostada. The tuna melts in your mouth and the spice from the serrano adds the right bit of heat. The citrus-based ponzu sauce brings out the flavor of the garlic in the best way, adding a note of savory to the plate. All the flavors meld perfectly together creating a refreshing bite, that effortlessly compliments the light crisp of the Rosé.
The Lobster Cakes combine cilantro-orange beurre blanc poured atop a Langostino cake on black bean and corn puree. Each sauce creates a different experience. The beurre blanc brings out the richness of the lobster, the corn puree gives a sweetness to the hearty flavor of the cake, and the earthiness of the black bean puree finds every bit of spice. The cilantro and orange add bright notes to this slightly heavier dish, and the Rosé enhances each flavor in a way that lets them shine bright on their own, creating a wave of flavor that hits the palate.
Red Chili Marinated Shrimp tastes just like it reads. Red chili marinated gulf shrimp served atop a smoked paprika aioli. The Gulf shrimp bring a saltiness and ocean flavor that is rich, slightly savory, and has a briny flavor that takes you straight to the beach. The red chili marinade doesn’t bring too much heat but just the right amount, and you can taste that these came right off a grill. The smoked paprika brings spice flavors to the plate that help intensify the heat, and the aioli itself is a creamy compliment to the meaty shrimp. The Rosé brings out sea flavors of the shrimp, and the crisp sweetness adds a delicate balance to the plate.
The front patio had a welcoming breeze for such a humid day, and heck, we can toast to that.
And you can kick back without breaking the bank! Queenie's happy hour on the patio takes place from 4:30 PM-6:30 PM and includes half-price on their “first” (apps), the rose wines by the glass, and select signature cocktails. You can learn more about Love and Hope Rose on their website, and drool over all their delicious plates by following their Facebook.