savor — guide to food & dining on the azalea coast
When business partners and long-time friends Denise
Fortuna and Celeste Glass set out to create a chic wine
and tapas bar, they invested their assets — their hearts,
their personalities and even their last names — inventing
a new look for an old Front Street storefront decorated
with a turquoise tiled ceramic bar top, mosaic glass lamps
and a large mermaid mural on the back wall.
“We really wanted to create an atmosphere that had
serenity and a calming effect,” Glass says. “One of the
things we tried to do was to use many different aesthetics
and textures to create our own unique ambience that is
reflective of our personalities.”
The result is a small, intimate setting that boasts a
few different settings like window seats, cozy booths and
stools around the counter.
Customers will not find large plates or main courses at
The Fortunate Glass; this is all part of the unique atmo-sphere
64
WBM february 2012
Fortuna and Glass designed. What can be found
is a wide array of antipasto platters featuring fine
aged cheeses like French brie and Spanish manchego, as
well as cured meats like the air-dried, salted bresaola and
dry-cured, spicy sopressata. Other small plates feature
fresh, local ingredients.
For those looking for a little something sweeter, The
Fortunate Glass also has a selection of homemade des-serts
like the fluffy goat cheese mousse, chocolate pot
de crème and truffle cake morsels. Should the temptation
of each individual dessert become too great, couples can
always opt for the dessert trio platter and have a little bit
of everything.
“These small plates and tapas don’t get in the way of
conversation — they allow couples to take their time
and actually enjoy each other’s company, which is what
couples are usually trying to accomplish on a Valentine’s
Day night out,” Glass says.
room, it makes for a cozy, intimate setting.
Steven Powell has been the executive
chef at Jerry’s since March 2010 and has
free rein to develop and experiment with
new recipes.
“Our menu features progressive conti-nental
cuisine with an uptown southern
flair,” Powell says. “We are definitely a
local seafood restaurant primarily, but I
also like to throw in other recipes with
beef, veal and lamb.”
In addition to seasonal changes made to
the menu, Powell and Rouse also develop
special menus for holidays. For that special
day in February, Rouse says they reconfig-ure
the dining room so there are primarily
tables for two.
“We try to feature all of the love potions
on Valentines Day, like oysters, lobster
and chocolate,” Rouse says.
A couple of dishes that will likely
make their way onto the menu include
a lobster en croute with saffron sauce
and golden raisin chutney, as well as the
exotic Mediterranean tuna carpaccio
served with roasted artichokes, olive tap-enade,
aged balsamic glacé and chive oil.
To end the meal, Powell likes to create
sweet indulgences like a Grand Marnier
crème brulee with berry compote
and, if customers are fortunate enough,
they might reserve on a night when Rouse
has made one of his specialty desserts like
the delectably rich chocolate toffee
mousse cake garnished with vanilla,
caramel and mixed berry sauces.
F the ortunate Glass
Left: antipasto and Dessert platters from The Fortunate Glass .