Did anyone get to check out the new Z's Fusion last night?

We really appreciate your feedback and candor, everybody. I feel we couldn't pay for the astute opinions that you are providing!

Stephen,

I neglected to say that the cocktail I enjoyed was very tasty...I'm somewhat reluctant to say it was the <eh hem> "Kentucky Lady"...but what the heck, I'm a sucker for anything that starts out with Makers Mark. Becky is our household wine "common-suer" and thought the wine selection was very complimentary, not to mention affordable. As I said, it was overall a very pleasant dining experience.

Stephen - wil you be at the bar tonight? I and a buddy might stop in for a drink and appetizer before a demonstration at Glassworks.

My apologies. Brad, I won't be in this evening. The rest of the crew will be there, though!

Well, we very much enjoyed ourselves even though you weren't there. Jeff took good care of us at the bar, serving my friend a good martini and me the Perfect Manhattan, which was great. I had the potstickers appetizer and he the shrimp sushi roll - both were great.

The space is beautiful as well, and by the time we left around 6:30 it was getting very crowded. Nice work there.

The space is beautiful...... I recommended Z's to a couple of friends this week, and told them to make sure they visit the stunning white leather couches.... very sexy! The design firm they hired did a great job, and I think Z's will be a hit!

Last night a friend and I stopped by for a couple of drinks and appetizers. I took her out for a much deserved girls night out (she is the full time mom of a 4, 2, and 1 year old) and knew after all the the great reviews on here that this would make her night. Surely enough, she was still gushing today about the wonderful time we had there! Stephen played a great host in helping her figure out what apps she would like to try (she's very much not used to anything remotely upscale in regards to food and was unfamiliar with a lot of the offerings), and made a very astute choice on what kind of drink she would've enjoyed...I'm just sorry to say that I cannot remember the name of it, I took a sip and it was very good! We decided on the Rock Shrimp Potstickers and the Smoked Salmon Spring Rolls served with a chili sauce. Both were fantastic! We were also gave us edamame to snack on which I thought to be quite tasty with the seasoning blend on them, though it did prove to be a bit much for my friend lol. I did decide to be adventurous and tried one of Stephen's drink experiments, the Durian Colada. It was certainly interesting, and I wouldn't have passed up on it as I had read about the fruit and knew that it was a rare opportunity. Inquiries by manager April and the owner Mehrzad well also well appreciated. All in all it was a great experience and I certainly want to go back soon!

Stephen- you are using durian?
What is the Thai word for cojones?

We discussed at Christmas party that might be a good use of a durian. Was it?

Well it was certainly...interesting, lol. I have to appreciate the finish of the flavor but it definitely isn't a drink for the faint at heart! My very inexperienced friend gave me a questioning look and I flat out told her she did not want to try my drink as I knew she wouldn't understand it very well. I did have to set it aside while eating since I didn't want the taste to interfere with the wonderful food we ordered. Again, I wouldn't have passed up on trying it though as my curiosity was certainly peaked from the information I had previously read on it (and can now understand the "durian free zones" concept ). Maybe someone else more experienced than myself may want to offer up an opinion, I believe Gayle tried it earlier in the day...

Mandy- I shouldn't have left you out of my previous post- I applaud your bravery at giving it a go.

That's ok Gary, I had just mentioned it as part of our experience there. Stephen is the one that deserves all the attention here, I had been looking forward to trying out one of his drinks not typically found on the menu and in fact it was one of our reasons for going in the first place. I do have to say that he is one of the most enterprising people I have ever encountered in pushing the envelope on new concepts. It's one of the things that has made me a long time fan of this forum, the ideas I have come across from the amazing people on here have certainly broadened my horizons!

Btw, I believe the translation you are looking for is "mee naa" (a Thai friend was online and I thought it would be funny to ask )

Urg, edited because I realized I had a key sticking on my keyboard again...

Me naa- LOL- Now how can I use this knowlegde at my next Thai meal?

Sorry I have been kinda quiet lately!

This was the application we talked about at Gayle's, Carla! Chef Dallas was curious as to how it would turn out. I do have to say, it was pretty much as I had expected. Like a cross between a pina colada and a cheese plate. It's all colada flavor until the finish and then BAM! Stinky cheese! Cool emergence of flavor...

The aspect that needs a different approach is guest education. Basically, I tell people about the offering and then spend a couple minutes trying to talk them out of buying it. I can't emphasize enough that this is a challenging drink with a flavor unlike anything else. I could hide the durian muskiness, but what would be the point in that?

We do have some new, more crowd friendly offerings as well... An aloe vera screwdriver and a peach and lychee cocktail. Some nice infusions are in the pipeline as well: ginger lemongrass vodka and a fig/date-pistachio bourbon. Ginkgo nuts are being marinated in Vietnamese 4 flavor sauce. I believe we are going to stuff olives with them if they pass muster.

Hehe, I guess sometimes you feel like a nut...

I must say, I love your ideas. I can't wait to come in!

We had dinner at Z's last night (Valentine's Day) and I asked our server to have Stephen come up with one of his concoctions. I can't remember what the server told me was in it though, except something that was raspberry and orange juice. It was really tasty, but since I usually drink non froufrou drinks like bourbon rocks, I was hoping he'd show up with one of those beet juice inventions!!! LOL Maybe next time. Loved the atmospherebut we will have to go back on another day. It was soooo busy and only being open a month, I think they did great. I really was impressed with how friendly and accomodating all the employees are! I had all appetisers for my dinner plus we had a couple to start. We tried the crawfish mango sushi roll - yummy, the pot stickers - also yummy, the beet salad - very nice, the mussels - good, but rather bland, the shredded pork - my least favorite (literally, there were two small bites of pork, way too much of the puree),the scallops - very nice but quite small portion (one large scallop and one very tiny scallop) and the swordfish, very nice, but a little overcooked (kinda dry). The swordfish came with a mashed potato side which was extremely cold as was the mussels, the pork and the scallops. We told the server when he asked how everything was and he apologized, but didn't offer to take anything off, so we just ate it all cold. Still all in all we had a great time (we had a lot to drink before dinner because our reservation was for 8:45 and it was after 9:30 when we were seated, so we were happy!) It was about 11:30 when we left!! We'll be back though, have have one of those beet juice inventions. We didn't know Stephen's name and I kept asking the bartenders who waited on us if they were the guy who had the beet juice invention. Finally, we just started calling him "Beet -le-juice" LOL ( I crack myself up)