Flavors of the Fall

Posted on November 12, 2010 by Dena Raffa

As soon as I saw the BostonChefs.com e-newsletter about the “Flavors of the Fall” food fest, I knew I’d somehow sucker myself into attending, despite the $65 charge; hey, it’s for a good cause! The proceeds went towards the Cambridge Community Art Center, so I felt less guilty 😉 Below is the menu/vendor list for the evening, featuring seasonal tastings from Cambridge & Somerville chefs/restaurants.

Hungry Mother
duck prosciutto & sweet potato aioli on dark rye
(the best table presentation!)

Hungry Mother table

EVOO
albacore tuna with pumpkin kimchee and gingered Concord grape glaze

EVOO

Harvest
ginger braised pork slider with root vegetable slaw
peanut butter chocolate semifreddo
Jack & Arnie, minted tea & bouron

Harvest - pork slider & cocktail

Bergamot
braised shortrib dumpling with porcini aioli

Bergamot, Garden, The Blue Room

Garden at The Cellar
Macallan 12 cured salmon, cigar smoke and orange crème fraiche on rye toast
(see above)

The Blue Room
rabbit rillette on Iggy’s ficelle with pickled cape cranberries
(see above)

Russell House
smoked duck rillette on toasted raisin baguette with pickled pears & micro celery
(forgot to take a pic!)

UpStairs on the Square
afternoon tea treats – tea sandwiches, savory bites and sweets

UpStairs on the Square

Sandrine’s Bistro
pumpkin crème brulee

pumpkin creme brulee & pumpkin cheesecake ice cream

J.P. Licks Homemade Ice Cream Café
Carrot Cake, Wild Turkey Bourbon, and Pumpkin Cheesecake ice cream

wild turkey bourbon & carrot cake ice cream

Drinks / Cocktails
Noir, sample signature cocktails: Drunken Angel, Body Heat Cider
Brooklyn Brewery / Jacob’s Creek Wines
The Macallan

Passed Hors D’oevres
Rialto Restaurant
chestnut coup with parmesan cream
Henrietta’s Table
heirloom pumpkin soup with toasted pumpkin seeds

: Henrietta’s Table and Hungry Mother

My favorite, by far, was the pumpkin soup! A close second was the rabbit rillette with pickled cape cranberries – I may have had upwards of 10 pieces! Best dessert hands down was JP Licks’ Pumpkin Cheesecake ice cream. A close second had to be Harvest’s PB & chocolate semifreddo.
My only issue is that I wish there were more vendors; and I wish the vendors who were there were more prepared (some ran out of their tastings after 1 hour!). Overall my friend & I had a great time, enjoying the food, wine, and jazz band 🙂

South End Buttery

Posted on November 3, 2010 by Dena Raffa

Our friends just moved to the South End this past weekend and suggested we all go to the South End Buttery – you don’t have to twist my arm! Originating as a bakery & café, the Buttery quickly grew into an all around restaurant serving brunch, dinner, and gourmet take out lunch. We walked through the bakery to the hostess stand (I averted my eyes) and were led downstairs to our table. I was immediately impressed with the décor and couldn’t wait to check out the American/English comfort food menu.

decor

Bread: Served in a small silver bowl were 4 pieces of herb focaccia, with EVOO on the side. A great way to start the meal, and I would have eaten another piece had we not ordered parmesan-garlic fries for the table 😉

bread

Menu: Starters, Mains, and Sides – should be a pretty simple decision, but the side dishes that came with the entrees were controlling me! The turkey burger was topped with guacamole & chipotle aioli, the salmon had a side of tabbouleh, and the hake came with lobster mac & cheese! I realized that lobster mac & cheese is a rarity and went with the Silver Hake. The Spicy Butternut Squash Soup to start was no brainer.

parmesan-garlic fries

Presentation/Taste:
Parmesan-Garlic Fries with truffle aioli: Our friend Sophia asked if we wanted to share the regular fries or the parm-garlic fries – another no brainer! Piping hot and the perfect cut (I don’t like big, beefsteak type fries). Came with chipotle or truffle aioli, we had the latter and was not disappointed.
Spicy Butternut Squash Soup – hazelnut brown butter / ginger crema / crispy parsley: Served in a deep bowl, topped with beautiful swirls of ginger crema and what I believe was sunflower seeds, which was a great addition of texture. I’m not positive what the ‘spicy’ ingredient(s) were, but it added a small kick & distinctive taste.
Chatham Silver Hake – lobster mac & cheese / parsley-lemon bread crumbs / braised leeks: So I discovered that I don’t like hake. I thought I’d be safe with choosing a white fish, but let’s be honest, I really just wanted that lobster mac & cheese! I pushed the fish aside and focused on the main attraction – large fusilli pasta with a light cheese sauce and large chunks of lobster. The portion was so large I couldn’t even finish it, which was a shame b/c it was so delicious.

hake w lobsert mac & cheese

Bathroom: Simple & plain, but I will give them props for the super Dyson airblade hand dryer!

bathroom

Wait Staff: Our drinks took a little longer to be delivered then normal, but otherwise we had a pleasant evening with our waiter.

Overall: Small & cozy, which completely worked for this establishment. I felt like we were in someone’s basement with the leather booths (complete with pillows!) and large photographs of dogs decorating the stone walls. All we needed to do was light a fire & I would have felt right at home. Dinner portions were generous & the prices were reasonable with barely any entrees hitting the $20 mark. I can’t wait to go back for a latte & a cupcake!

The Perfect Bite: I may sound like a broken record but I have to go with the Spicy Butternut Squash Soup.

spicy butternut squash soup

http://www.southendbuttery.com/site/

Market

Posted on November 1, 2010 by Dena Raffa

Last year my friend went to Market in the W Hotel just after it’s opening and said it was a must, so it’s been on my “To-Eat” list ever since. The W itself is quite modern and chic, located on Stuart Street in the Back Bay, and Market wasn’t any different. The dining room on Thursday evening was packed and lively, as was the bar located in the back of the room. While we were not seated in a booth, I have to make note of the fold down arm rests; I’ve never seen that before and I was thoroughly impressed/excited!

Bread: Sour dough, yum! Served in slices with a small round of softened butter. They refilled our basket automatically, which is a plus b/c 90% of the time people want more bread.

bread

Menu: Divided into 7 sections featuring: Simply Raw, Pizza, Appetizers, Fish, Meat, Simply Cooked, and Sides. I was a bit torn b/c they had entrees under the Fish and Meat sections complete with sauce & sides, and then similar Simply Cooked items that were served a la carte and required you to choose a Side. After much deliberation among the soup, salad and entrée choices, I finally made a decision.

cheese fritters

Presentation/Taste:
Cheese Fritters: The boys ordered these for the table so of course I had to try a bite. Basically just fancy mozzarella sticks in ball form. They were warm, gooey, and quite cheesy! 😉
Butternut Squash Soup: My bowl was set in front of me containing small chunks of butternut squash and then a server poured the soup at the table. I ordered it sans mushrooms (b/c chucks of shrooms scare me) and I’m sure it was just as delicious! I love soup, chunky or not, and this is definitely a fall favorite.
Yellowfin Tuna Steak: I ordered this “simply cooked” which meant it was only accompanied by lemon and some peppers. The steak was definitely smaller than I was expecting, but it was cooked just as I asked, seared on the outside and rare on the inside.

yellowfin tuna steak

Bathroom: Really pretty counter tops and blue tiled accents around the mirrors, which unfortunately were ‘fat mirrors’ (girls, you know what I’m talking about – at least the full length was forgiving). Multiple stalls with dark wooden doors.

bathroom

Wait Staff: Our waitress was fantastic as she was able to deal with our crazy & loud crowd (and throw in a few 1-liners herself)! Even when we had a major issue with the bill which ended up being our fault, she was understanding (upon receiving the check we noticed that the 2 bottles of wine we ordered at $25 a pop were in fact double that price – turns out we were looking at the ½ bottle page…).

Overall: The portions are small. The prices are on the high side. And it doesn’t help that most items require you to order a side or an app to go with it in order to make a full meal. I have no complaints about the taste, but the size of the meals were disappointing; my poor friend Jess ordered the Beet Salad (consisting of 2 endives and tiny cubes of beets) and the Black Truffle Pizza which looked like an app. Dessert however was fantastic: a caramel sundae with whipped cream, chocolate sauce, & caramel popcorn! And cheesecake topped with sobert.