Posted on March 4, 2014
Film Feasts: The Life Aquatic with Steve Zissou (2004, Wes Anderson)
Wednesday, March 12; 7:15pm | Buy Tickets
Let me tell you about our Film Feast.
This month our, Film Feast is an aquatic affair. Our chefs put together an all-seafood menu paired to Wes Anderson’s twee maritime adventure The Life Aquatic with Steve Zissou. Each dish will be served along with a complementary brew from Captain Lawrence Brewery.
Below, Nitehawk chef Michael Franey explains the menu, and how each scene inspired the dish.
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Fluorescent Snapper
Snapper crudo, pesto de esteban, red amaranth
Drink Pairing: Captain Lawrence Sun Block
Pesto de Esteban is a pesto made with cilantro and walnuts instead of basil and pine nuts. It has a lighter and fresher flavor profile that complements the sweet and nutty flavor of the snapper.
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Steve’s Favorites
Olive oil poached sardines, fennel, apple, fennel fronds
Drink pairing: Captain Lawrence Liquid Gold
This is one of the only times in the whole movie when there is a very obvious food reference. Steve sits down with Jane to do an interview, and she asks him about his favorite food.
Sardines, olive oil, and fennel are traditional flavors of the Mediterranean. We slow poach the sardines in olive oil to help kick the brininess of the sardines. The fatty flavors are cut by the fresh salad made with thinly sliced fennel and sweet, tart apples.
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The Black Box
Shrimp and squid ink sausage, beet pasta, parmesan foam
Drink Pairing: Captain Lawrence IPA
The most technical and fun dish for us to make. The shrimp sausage is made with garlic and lemon, and is bound and colored with squid ink. The black sausage is flecked with white and gray from whole shrimp and contrasted with the bright magenta colored beet pasta.
This scene is quick but it’s one of the most visually impressive sequences in the whole movie, and it left an impression on me. While the crew explores a crashed plane, their bright yellow helmets pop against the blue water while brilliantly pink fish swim past and the crimson sea grasses waves around them.
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Rum Cannonball
Pineapple and rum cannonball fritter, coconut and rum custard
Drink Pairing: Captain Lawrence Smoked Porter
Bill Murray being his Bill Murray-est in this scene. There was no such drink as a Rum Cannonball before the movie, but in my mind this is what it would have been. Very Tiki inspired with lots of garnish. Boozy, sweet, and dangerous.