CUISINE THE DISH
Masterpiece on a Plate ENJOY THE VIEW, AND TASTE THE VISION, AT THE LOOKOUT BY: JULIETA HERNANDEZ PHOTOS BY: RACHEL BENAVIDES
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n Bluff ’s Landing, the sun stays shining and the Laguna Madre is welcoming. The Lookout offers waterside dining and a fresh culinary perspective to the Coastal Bend, served up by the culinary talent behind those revolving kitchen doors; and this time, Executive Chef Joe Brock let us back there to see what’s cooking. The pan-fried flounder with annatto rice pilaf on a Cajun crab tomato sauce and charred broccolini was born of Brock’s innate skill, which stems from Japanese and French cooking styles, and a vision on a plate. “It might remind you of nature in a sense,” said Brock. “I envision looking down on this red sun in the center (to kind of commemorate that I was born in Japan), with trees that are standing up; the flounder, it’s kind of a cliff there in the center, and the rice being a part of that red sun’s aura.” The flounder is delicately pan-fried in cornstarch and laid upon the colorful annatto pilaf, an ideal pairing for a waterfront sunset and a glass of house pinot grigio. In the making of a dish, Brock and the culinary talent at The Lookout spoke about working backward: seeing a perfect picture on a plate first before fine-tuning and filling in the blanks with different cooking methods and ingredients with the final feel in mind. “Reverse engineering, I guess?” Brock laughed. “We created The Lookout to be not just a restaurant, but a true dining experience here in Corpus Christi,” said owner Clara Dobson. “As much as possible, we try to work with local suppliers, small farms, and vendors to find our ingredients.”
The full craft bar at The Lookout has a happy hour every Wednesday through Saturday, 2-6 PM. With seasonal cocktails and a gorgeous view for mimosas, you’ll never have an empty glass.
94 The Bend
