A couple of Gastronomic Busts

Please accept my sincere apologies for not posting!! I know I owe MANY updates-- I've had quite a few gastronomic successes in the past couple of months, but have been lazy about posting. And, I left some notes in Delaware by accident, which I should have back in January. Nevertheless, I figured that I might as well take a few minutes today to note two gastronomic BUSTS! (A first on this Blog).

First is Erbaluce. This restaurant is near Flemings in Boston, and looked very promising. But when M and I dined there, his final comment after the disappointing meal was "I don't know what is Italian about this place." The food was mediocre at best, and for the price of dinner for two (XXX (to be filled in when I check at home)) was totally not worth it. My brussels sprouts appetizer was alright, but bland and lacking anything interesting. I cannot even remember my entree at this point, but I just remember thinking I never wanted to eat it again.

Second up is a small French restaurant in Kenmore Square that also looked promising - Petit Robert. Terrible. The ambiance was terrible-- the tables were so crowded together we felt involved in everyone's conversation and the waiters' butt was in our face when he served the people next to us. The host seemed to not want to let any words leak out of his mouth and mimed us over to our table-- it was tough to understand what was going on. The food was way too rich, but not in a good way. Although M's french onion soup appetizer was tasty, I can't say that this would be a difficult dish to make well. M's lamb special entree was oversized, overhot, and very heavy. It also came with the same boring vegetable of the day that was served with my scallop dish, but his green-beans and carrots were baked right into the lamb dish. My scallops were cooked alright, but were drowned in a crab sauce that was too buttery and the vegetables were unimaginative and the dish came with unremarkable mashed potatoes. For a >$20 dish, I can't say that's worth it. As far as French food goes, I'd return to Gaslight and pay double rather than go to Petit Robert. (We did return to Gaslight a couple of weeks after our Petit Robert flop, and truly enjoyed our experience there-- this time, I got what M had last time because the beet salad was AMAZING, and M one-upped me by ordering the Nicoise Salad that was the hit of the evening).

Maine, the way life should be.

This post is long overdue! We visited Maine during Labor Day weekend - and realized what those signs on the highway saying "Maine, the way life should be" are talking about. It was a great weekend on so many levels. So, let's talk about the food (that's why you're reading, right?!)
As it is a Top-40 restaurant according to Gayot, and it is nearby (relatively, compared to the rest of the list), I requested that one of our next Fancy Fridays be a trip to Arrows Restaurant in Ogunquit, ME. This turned into a whole weekend of gastronomic success!

First, we ventured North late Friday afternoon and checked into B&B number 1 in Ogunquit, the Gazebo Inn, which, as it turned out was the friendliest, nicest, coziest, and most fabulous place to stay! More on our Ogunquit B&B experience after the food...

Dinner at Arrows - We headed up the street to Arrows, which is about a mile outside the heart of Ogunquit. In fact, you sort of feel like you are going into the middle of nowhere when you are driving there, because it's in a very residential and quiet area. The restaurant itself is in an old farmhouse and has a very substantial garden in the back. If you get to dinner early, you can grab a glass of whatever and wander through! We did not know this in advance, so we arrived right on time for our reservation.

We were greeted outside the restaurant on the path way to the door by a white-clad chef, who left her outdoor wood-fired grill to offer us an amuse bouche (a fresh vegetable spring roll) before we even reached the door. It turns out that Arrows is big on fresh vegetables, and they grow up to 90% of the produce they use right there on the premesis!

Inside, we were greeted and seated by one of the owners (but, sorry to say, we did not realize this at the time). The atmosphere was truly unique. The farmhouse retains its farmhouse feel with its wood-plank floors, but there are "Asian" touches, with a Buddha statue and big trees with branches overhead dotted with candle lanterns. Surprisingly, this combination really seemed to work nicely. There is a large dining room with tons of windows overlooking the garden, which, after dark, has some pretty lighting. Had I known, I would have asked for a table near the window when making the reservation. We sat in a smaller dining room, at a table that was just a bit too big for a romantic dinner for two and lit by candlelight that made it a bit too dark as well (a woman next to us even needed a flashlight to read her menu!)

I must first comment on the strange service we received. First, the wait staff was just a bit odd. They were not unfriendly, but nobody seemed really excited to be there. At times, I wasn't sure that they were 100% on the up-and-up with respect to the menu. They didn't do much to describe the dish as they placed it in front of us, and at times seemed to mutter (I couldn't make out what they were saying at times). Also, as they "cleaned" the table after each course, they often missed big pieces of food on the table - making it more of a silly and awkward formality. The wait staff's outfits were a strange shade of grey-green with some rainbow striping, and they looked like some sort of Eastern traditional garment (maybe Japanese?).

The first thing we were offered was water service -- it was almost laughable when they offered us two different local bottled waters. The waiter could not articulate any good reason we should choose any of them, never mind one over the other. We opted for tap, with ice. The next "interesting" service option was the "butter service," during which we were offered our choice of at least 3 different butters (from France, from Vermont, and probably from Maine, from this cow or that cow). Whatever -- I guess I'm not a connoisseur of butters because I could have cared less. We declined the butter service.

We each began our meal with six lightly smoked Pemaquit Point oysters in lettuce "cups" (meant to be eaten by hand) with a garlic chive relish, jicama and lime. I was not impressed by the oysters, but the garnish was delicious. I guess I am a purist when it comes to my oysters, and I'd rather have them raw.

The next course made it worth the drive to Maine. The salad! This was no ordinary salad (again M and I ordered alike). The menu described this course as "First of the season orchard apple and garden lettuce roll salad with creamy Lady apple dressing, garden radish and turnip salad and house made tofu with apple ponzu." Wow. It was more a piece of art than it was a salad. I have not seen or tasted a more spectacular combination of vegetables, fruits and sauces. I would return to Arrows for just a salad. The apple was actually wrapped up in fresh lettuce (the type I am not sure of, but it was really super tasty!) The tofu was a wonderful texture and I could have drank gallons of these sauces. Everything worked so well together. I cannot say enough about this salad. . .

For the main course, M ordered the Surf and Turf - grilled noisettes of beef tenderloin with a ragout of lobster and (yuck) crispy sweetbreads, puff pastry and a gremolata sauce. I ordered the roasted king salmon with creamed summer squash and a house made pancetta vinaigrette and barbecued king salmon with pickled watermelon chutney and a potato-bacon hash cake. We were surprised at the size of the entrees, expecting "fancy restaurant" portions, but were instead confronted by double the expected portion. In fact, each plate was divided into two regions-- it was like two separate meals. I cannot say that this pleased me, as I would have been happier to be served half, in particular, I would have rather only had the barbecued salmon. Having both on my plate just confused me and my pallate, and the two different preparations did not seem to mesh into one coherent meal. While the summer squash was good (I'd not describe it as creamed, but instead as thinly sliced, buttery layers of yellow squash and green zucchini), I could have done without it and without that extra portion of salmon. The second portion was really wonderful. The barbecue sauce made the edges of the salmon deliciously crispy and tangy and the pickled watermelon was out-of-this-world yummy! Overall, in both portions, the fish was cooked to perfection-- just rare enough to be moist and soft, but cooked enough to flake properly. I left that part of the meal very happy, but a bit over-stuffed because I felt obligated to eat a good share of both salmon portions.

M's surf and turf was not as much of a success, but was still good. It was just not very interesting... we were expecting more out of a Top-40 restaurant, I suppose. The steak was cooked nicely, but we were constantly avoiding the sweetbreads with our bites (as neither of us can really get over what that actually is!) The pastry was an unnecessary addition to the dish, making it far more heavy than necessary. The dish was almost like an inside-out Beef Wellington. This was just a mistake in ordering, we both agree.

For dessert, our cappuccinos were delivered to the wrong table, and had to be re-made. We ordered a trifecta dessert, which had a donut-like fritter (too heavy for my liking, but M loved it), a tiny chocolate milkshake (YUMMM-- we fought over the last sip), and tiny blueberry pancakes (unimpressive, but we are spoiled by Cappa's (which someday deserves its own post)).

After dinner, we had a conversation with one of the chef-owners-- but did not realize until 2/3 of the way through this chat that this was who we were speaking with. We left bemused by the giant portions, but in complete agreement that the salad was so interesting and delicious, that we would some day come back for another go-around. Perhaps we would try the tasting menu next time.

The Gazebo Inn - This place is heaven on earth! The bed was super-comfortable and the room was spacious, yet cozy. We had our own giant Whirlpool tub and steam-room shower, though we declined to fill the tub feeling it was just too wasteful. They do have two hot-tubs as well on the premises, but we were too tired to partake. Instead, we watched a DVD from the awesome collection from the comfy bed and rested up for our trip the next day up to Acadia National Park and Bar Harbor, ME. The proprietors of the Gazebo Inn (Scott and Bruce) are truly personable and welcoming. One of the best parts of this weekend, and a surprise gastronomic success, was breakfast at the Inn. I woke up sniffing the scent of freshly baking blueberry scones (don't I wish I could wake up like that every day!) And the breakfast did NOT disappoint! It was an amazing spread of brioche french toast and Maine maple syrup, Maine blueberry scones, raspberry scones, fruit, yogurts, home fries, hard-boiled eggs, bacon, and a few different coffee selections! Wow.

On Saturday morning, we headed out just after breakfast for an Acadia National Park adventure. We arrived around lunchtime and headed down the west side of the park to Bass Harbor, where we found Thurston's Lobster Pound!! What a great find (M deserves the credit for this, and for the whole awesome weekend, really). We had GIANT soft-shelled lobsters, which, I was surprised I had never heard of despite my New England upbringing. These are apparently bigger and sweater, but there is less meat-per-pound. Add to that deliciousness a blueberry beer, buttered corn on the cob, and some cole slaw and you have yet another gastronomic success. We ate all of this right over the water and watched the boats in the harbor while we ate.

For dinner on Saturday, we ended up at another really great restaurant. In Bar Harbor we ate at Cafe This Way. It was a casual environment, but a great deal and great food. More on that later - but it deserves a shout-out here.

Mmmmmm dinner

Another week, another fancy Friday. Fancy that!

We went to Craigie On Main in Cambridge, a place we've been meaning to try out for a long while. The first thing that struck M, was the fact that they told him the dress code was "jacket preferred" when he made the reservation, yet, we dined alongside a girl in jeans and a tye-dyed t-shirt. Humph! She must not have realized it was fancy Friday.

The menu had so many fantastic options, I did not know where to begin. So, I chose the 4-course market menu prix fixe ($75, not including wine except for a pairing with dessert). They also offer a 6 and 10 course tasting, and allow you to substitute any of the appetizers or entrées you want to into the 4-course prix fixe! Now, that's accommodation, though I did not take them up on it this time around. I noticed a small footnote on the menu regarding peanut oil, but stupidly forgot to ask about this when I ordered. Luckily, prior to receiving my entree, I remembered this and asked the waiter -- indeed, they often cook with peanut oil and had to change my dish a bit. So, peanut allergy people (like me) should be wise to this. They were happy to change things for me, though. And, thankfully, I saw the note and said something before it was too late, and fancy Friday did not turn into freak-show Friday.

Anyways, I began with a pre-appetizer of striped bass ceviche topped with caviar. It was fresh and wonderfully salty-- but not too much. Next, I had the Ragoût of Local Bolete Mushrooms, Radishes, Baby Turnips and House-Made Venison Sausage, served with a deliciously runny farm-fresh egg (to be sopped up with bread from the basket that was also notably both flaky and soft), zucchini-calaminthe purée, and a really beautiful sprinkling of edible herbs and flowers. It was probably the prettiest dish I’ve ever seen. M had the tuna sashimi, which was also presented thoughtfully and was quite delicious with a tangy citrus sauce.

Here is a picture of my beautiful appetizer!
For the main course, I opted for the swordfish, served with a mussel and leek ragout. I am very fond of ordering fish when dining out. I tend not to cook fish often enough at home because I never like how the fish looks at the grocery store, and I can’t ever seem to get my butt in gear to get the good stuff at New Deal. The fish was cooked to perfection. My dish arrived with two large pieces of fish, cooked so the center was just a bit opaque, and the whole piece was not yet flaky. It was moist and delicious, and the sauce was buttery and smooth. M opted for the flat iron steak, which was notable and cooked perfectly. We had a side of local corn (from Sharon, MA—no kidding! I wondered if it was from Wards Berry Farm! Right near my Dad’s old house). The corn came on the cob (much to M’s chagrin, on fancy Friday), and was roasted with a buttery garlic sauce and bacon, which, I must say, really adds something!

Dessert was two cups of cappuccino (very velvety and very good), and a berry cobbler, which M and I shared. Despite it’s delicious crispy-gooey-goodness, M and I decided that fancy Friday’s should NOT always involve dessert. Somehow I have a hard time stopping myself though. They allowed us to substitute the two cappucinos for the wine-pairing that accompanied my Market menu prix fixe.

Oh, for wines, I began with a Riesling (as I often do these days) and then followed it up with a medium-bodied and delightful red. I am sorry I did not write down the names (I am clearly a newbie to food blogging). It was a something Papese… next time I’ll remember to write it down. At least this time I got a picture to share!!! (M was a bit embarrassed when I insisted on taking a photo of my food).

We sat near the windows, and could every-so-often feel the red-line trains rumbling beneath us. The atmosphere was surprisingly casual and did not feel stuffy at all, despite the price and great menu. I highly recommend Craigie on Main for a very filling, well-presented, gastronomic success. Next time, we may try sitting at the bar, where you can view the open kitchen in action.

Next up: A trip to Ogunquit, Maine to Arrows on our way to Labor Day weekend in Acadia National Park!

A new post about an old adventure

A tradition among a group of close friends began when M got his PhD, when dining out was not especially frequent. As celebration, we went out to dinner with his buddies, who were also pushing through their respective PhD programs at the time. We dined at the State Room (very swanky, great view), and when the check came, M surprised all of us by treating us to dinner! The group decided that for each PhD, the recipient should treat the group to a swanky dinner. This tradition has been expanded to include a dinner treat for the group when one receives a degree of any kind, a promotion, or accomplishes something of significance realting to his/her career (because one of the things that binds this group of friends is our love of all things edible, and everyone knows that food is the best way to celebrate). Anyways, last July, B got a promotion and treated us to the tasting Menu at Radius! I just remembered that I saved the email she sent after the fact. The meal was so good that we wanted to have it all in writing. From the archives:

Market & Vegetarian Tasting Menus (July 5, 2008)

Sashimi of Ahi
-watermelon, kohlrabi, sweet basil
Fava Bean Soup
-orange, marcona almonds, autumn olive flowers
2007 Cederberg Chenin Blanc, South Africa

Roasted Striped Bass
-fennel, radish, mussels, rock shrimp, lemon broth
Sashimi of Shitaki
-crispy onion bundles, avocado, tofu, snap pea salad
2006 Montenuovo Godello, Val de Sil

Prime Rib Eye
-local potatoes, mustard greens, pine nuts, rhubarb relish
Qinoa Salad
-medjool date puree, chanteerelles, grilled fennel
2006 Kunin Pape-Star, Central Coast

Dessert
2007 La Sera Malvasia, Piedmont

Radius - a gastronomic success! Radius also has a great bar area for meeting up with friends -- not generally crowded, ample seating and tables, and a good bar menu (we once ordered a hamburger off the bar menu and it was awesome, though pricey). Also, because the area near South Station and the Fi District is dead in the evenings, you can usually find meter-parking quite easily and park for free while dining.

Fancy Friday (the inaugural event)

This Friday, my husband made reservations at Gaslight in the South end, and dubbed it the first "Fancy Friday." I guess it's all part of the "Love and Bliss" that is supposed to begin now that I'm finally finished with law school. We shall see how long it all lasts (both Fancy Friday and Love and Bliss).

Technically, we've had a few "Fancy Fridays" since the bar exam at the end of July (the month of July was pretty much a gastronomic bust). The previous Friday, we went to Oiishi (my favorite sushi restaurant in Boston), and two weeks before that, we celebrated our 3rd wedding anniversary at L'Espalier with a 12-course chef's tasting menu. I am very much "into" tasting menus these days. So, let's work backwards for three Fridays worth of eating-- I'll try to recall as much as I can.

Gaslight:
This week was restaurant week in Boston, which allows you to try some pretty great stuff for a reasonable price. Generally, we've avoided restaurant week because in our experience, the menus are watered-down and portions have reflected the reduced pricing. At Gaslight, however, we were able to order off the regular menu, which my husband did. I opted for the restaurant week 3-course dinner, with the $15 wine pairing. I was pleasantly surprised - my entire meal was great!

Appetizers: M won the prize with the appetizer he ordered, which was
a shaved Beet root Salad with toasted walnuts, watercress, red onion, dijon, and créme fraiche. It was the best part of both of our meals (of course, I taste everything he eats. . . mostly because I'm greedy about food, and not because I'm trying to make sure he's not getting poisoned). The beet salad was super fresh and had some sort of horseradish kick to it. It was a lovely mound of matchstick sliced red beets with a bit of watercress on the side. The sauce was amazing, and there were just enough walnuts to add a nice crunch and complementary nutty flavor. But, the horseradish (maybe it was just dijon?) in the dressing really made the plate.

I ordered the heirloom tomato salad, which was really good. Two large slices of fresh heirloom tomatoes that were perfectly ripe and some salted frissee on top with a few buttery croutons scattered about.

Main Course: M ordered the special-of-the-day, swordfish roti au poivre, which was served with haricot verts and mashed potato. The swordfish was not too thick, cooked perfectly, and dotted with red peppercorns. Yum.

I also had fish, opting for the Local Striped Bass with Gigante Bean, Arugula and Citrus Ragout. My fish was also cooked beautifully. The beans might have been slightly overdone, but were still quite tasty.

Dessert: Dessert seems par for the course when dining out lately (this had better change soon, or the pounds are sure to creep back on). My wine pairing included a glass of rose champagne, which thrilled me because I'm not big on dessert wines, but really do like champagne. We shared the strawberry shortcake, made of a nicely buttery but not too sweet biscuit paired with fresh strawberries and drizzled with a balsamic and mint sauce and topped with fresh whipped cream. The dessert could have used a few more strawberries (and more sauce, which seeped nicely into the biscuit). We both had cappuccino, which they kindly agreed to make with 2% milk for us. It was very nicely done, with a tap of cinnemon on top. The espresso was not burned at all, and the froth was perfect, as was the ratio of espresso to steamed milk.

Gaslight = a gastronomic success :)

Quick words on Oiishi and L'Espalier.

Oiishi was great. I've never been disapointed there. I realized this time around, that the sushi is served at room temperature, which I think contributes to it's soft and supple feel. The whole reason for this blog is to start to remember the details of really great meals . . . see? it's only been one week and I can't remember exactly what we ate. But, I know it was awesome. We shared four amazing makis and a plate of unbelievable nigiri. Two Gin and Tonics - got to love it.

Last year, we celebrated our 2nd wedding anniversary at No. 9 Park with the chef's tasting menu with wine pairings. That meal was fantastic, and I wish I wrote it down. I do know that in the middle, we had a course of the prune-stuffed gnocci and veuve cliquot. I learned that champagne mid-meal is a great idea :) And, that the prune-stuffed gnocci at No. 9 Park lives up to it's hype. The rest of the meal, though I can't recall the specifics, was awesome.

This year, anniversary dinner was also a chef's tasting. We decided this time, to not get so drunk. The wine pairing in a 7-12 course meal is probably never a good idea unless you are willing to not drink everything they pour (it's too hard for me to exercise such self control), so this time we went with a couple of wines by the glass, which, of course, I failed to record the names of. Nevertheless, the overall impression was that L'Espalier did not live up to the hype. We liked No. 9 Park far better, though L'Espalier does a great job with the home-made sorbets and shaved ice. Other than that, I cannot say that I was impressed for the amount we dropped on a single meal.

My First Post

Welcome to my food journal!

I am a 30-something professional in Boston who loves food (does that narrow it down?). After reviewing our finances recently, my husband advised me that we continually spend a ridiculous amount of money on food. Despite our success this past year in losing 25-35 pounds each, our average expenditure on food has not changed year-to-year. I cannot even post the amount here because some of you know me, and honestly, it's rather embarrassing. My initial shock and wonder was replaced by a realization that I really don't want to change my eating habits. I like food. I love good food. I love going out to eat. . . I got to thinking that since I have no intention of changing my ways-- I ought to at least ensure that I make my gastronomic adventures a bit less ephemeral. Alas, a blog is born!

This blog is dedicated to my weekly adventures in dining out in and around the Hub. Generally, we eat out of the house at least once per week, so I hope to have something to post weekly. I hope that readers will find it at least marginally interesting, but mostly, I'd just like to be able to look back on the $xx,xxx.xx spent this year on food and remember what it was that I ate and drank. So, cheers to my fellow foodies! Let's eat!