Why It's Best To Skip The Caviar At Restaurants
Like lobster and foie gras, caviar is the top hat of foodstuffs. All signal luxury like little else. But unlike with unwieldy lobster or occasionally illegal foie gras, which can be tricky to boil whole or puree at home, we typically skip the extravagant fish eggs in restaurants.
The markup in caviar's case often just isn't worth it when dining out. While infamously inflated wine margins are slightly easier to swallow, caviar is differently situated. Some restaurants list oenophile-friendly vintages that might be harder to find for standard consumers, or even offer otherwise astronomically priced bottles by the glass. But the same caviar carried by some of the world's greatest (or sometimes, just its most expensive) restaurants is also available retail. Specialty ingredients purveyor Regalis, for example, carries a golden Kaluga caviar for $90 per ounce. The company also distributes to restaurants, where the stuff can go for more than twice that much. It's a lot for something that is easily sourced and typically doesn't require much preparation.
Tips for serving caviar at home
As luxe luck would have it, caviar could not be easier to serve at home. The hardest part is waiting for those crucial, mollusk-derived utensils to arrive if you don't already have a mother of pearl spoon collection at home or a specialty store nearby. Failing to use this specific cutlery is the worst caviar mistake you can make, as a metal spoon will actually assert its own flavor, and you want just the right size for proper portions. With that squared away you can, and should, if this is your first dive into caviar, simply dig in and gently roll your tongue to crush the dainty eggs on your palate. This is not a chomping food. Instead, you sort of melt caviar on your taste buds, giving presence of mind to every petite saline explosion. Repeat this introductory dedication with each new variety of fish roe you try.
Then, you can go to town on accoutrements. Blinis are a classic base; so are toast points, though you can swap them with latke triangles for a richer, crispier bite. To marry the components, creme fraiche or sour cream are both popular pairings (the latter, with its higher fat content, offers a more luxurious eating experience), as are chopped hard-boiled eggs. When serving, be sure to keep the tin (or sometimes little glass jar) chilled on a bed of ice if you think it'll be sitting out for, say, the length of a party, and serve with frigid vodka or, that other mark of opulence, Champagne.