"From the Sea to the Woods"

There's a major concentration of restaurants near the port on the peninsula in Punta del Este. This year, three long-running members of the group are gone. El Mejillon folded and the space is for rent. Kika's sold out and there's a new restaurant, Guappa, already open in the space. The third disappearance is a little more interesting, as it involves not a death but a reincarnation.

For nearly two decades Blue Cheese was a fixture along the "rambla" right before one reached the port. With its covered terrace out front overlooking the water; its blue-and-white decor; its excellent takes on the traditional Punta del Este fare of seafood, pasta and steaks; a fine wine list; and an extensive salad bar (unique, or virtually so, in the area), Blue Cheese was always filled and mostly with veterans of many summers as opposed to one-time tourists. Then, last year, the owner sold the low-slung building (which previously had been a summer cottage) to developers who will tear it down and build a 5-story luxury condominium. It easily could have been the end of another institution. Instead, the cook and all the long-time waiters banded together and moved their entire production a few blocks inland to a nice residential street, taking over another old summer cottage that had housed a so-so parrilla. They painted it blue and white a la Blue Cheese, put in the same 15-item salad bar that had graced Blue Cheese, recreated essentially the same menu as Blue Cheese, procured most of the same wines, and named the place -- no, not Blue Cheese, but "Beef Eaters." As a subtle hint at the connection to the old Blue Cheese, however, their logo out front and over the door includes, right below the name, the phrase "del mar al bosque," or "from the sea to the woods."

I don't know if they will make it, but they deserve every opportunity, so please spread the word that folks should give them a try. My wife and I had dinner there a few days ago, and I can say, without exaggeration, that my green pepper steak was among the very best pieces of meat I have ever eaten, the salad bar was as good as ever, and it was a pleasure to see all the familiar faces in a somewhat new, somewhat old setting.