Restaurant Week - EVOO

I've never really been wowed by a restaurant week experience but I keep going back anyway :) I guess a 3 course meal for $33 is hard to pass up.

Tonight's dinner was at EVOO. Every time I think EVOO, I think Rachel Ray (urhgk) but I digress. Anyway, EVOO sounded interesting since it uses local ingredients some from its own farm (shared). Persephone and Henrietta's Table also do this.



I found the restaurant week menu at EVOO to have too many options (or maybe just too many words) which made it very confusing. In fact, I think the theme of the entire meal was "confused".

To start, I got the "Batter Fried Vermont Goat Cheese Filled Squash Blossom with Smash and Smoked Kimball Farm's Tomatoes, Onion, Garlic and Basil". Haha what a mouth full eh? I didn't like the fried parts of the squash. It wasn't nicely fried and kinda soggy. Vaguely resembled tempura. I didn't enjoy the dish much.



SO got the "Pan Fried Striped Bass Belly Cake with Nectarine Salsa and Lime Mayo" as his appetizer. This was much better and tasted quite good! Too bad this wasn't mine.

For mains, I got the Turf in Surf. Are you ready for the description? There seem to be randomly placed hyphens in it ...

"Old Bay Chicken Sausage Stuffed Crisp Fried - Soft Shell Crab with Roasted Pepper - Potato Salad, Toasted Verill Farm's Corn Salsa and Mustard Mayonnaise"

Ok I will stop nit picking on the descriptions and get to the food. My dish was pretty good and the presentation was unique. The sausage was actually masquerading as one of the claws of the soft shell crab! :) The corn salsa and potato salad were good too though I don't think they blended all as a dish.

Can you spot the impostor sausage?


SO was rather disappointed with his Lamb in a Blanket dish. He said there was too much going on. I took a bite and wasn't impressed so I stuck to mine and refused to share heehee.

For dessert I got the Lavender Crème brûlée . I liked the lavender flavor in the custard but the crust layer was too thick. SO got the molten chocolate cake with marshmellow sauce. We agreed that it wasn't very good. The sauce was too sweet and the chocolate cake was alright.

Creme Brulee and Chocolate Cake



Chomp Meter:
I won't be back unless a friend insists on eating there. Pros of this place are that there's parking in the back, local ingredients and creative presentation. The con is that it is forgettable. Do you think it would be better under non restaurant week circumstances?


EVOO
118 Beacon St
Somerville, MA 02143
Phone: 617 661 3866

Our Annivsary Dinner at Clio

We were able to get reservations at Clio on short notice via OpenTable though the only times available were after 8pm (weekday). The ambiance at Clio is nice though not as "special/formal" as L'espalier. The tables are pretty close together but we managed to get a cozy table in the corner of the restaurant.



Clio certainly lives up to its name as one of the best restaurants in Boston. I like cuisine that is more creative and Clio certainly fits the bill. SO got the lobster and uni casoulette and I got the lacquered foie gras for appetizers. Of course I sampled his as well. The cassolette was delicious! It was a little frothy and the flavor seemed to change with each bite?! Fascinating.

I was disappointed with the foie gras. It was lukewarm, the apricot accompaniment was overpowering, and the cut was chewy. Definitely wasn't the melt in your mouth kind of foie gras.

Casolette (L), Foie (R)


Fortunately however, the main courses and dessert saved the day. I ordered the butter basted lobster while SO got the pork rib (or pig as they called it on the receipt!). I loved my lobster, it might just be the best cooked lobster I've had! The meat was really tender and slightly undercooked towards the center. Wow delicious! I wonder how they do it?

SO's pork was also a winner. The pork had three layers, the crispy skin, the fatty layer and the meat. Perfectly done! It also came with some interesting sauces on the side, I think there was kumquat, an olive like sauce, and maybe hoisin.

Lobster (L) and Pork (R)


We wanted to get the fruit capsule and rooibos ice cream (I don't remember what was in the capsule) for dessert but it was sold out! * Grrrr * Ended up sharing the bon bons with sarsaparilla ice cream which was pretty good.

Oh yes, I also had the nitrogen frozen chocolate cocktail which was fun. It's all smoky when it arrives and the liquid gets frozen. Looks a little like the surface of mars!



Clio Restaurant
370 Commonwealth Avenue
Boston, MA
(617) 536-7200



Chomp Meter:
Highly recommended! We're thinking of trying the tasting menu some time. I wonder however if our dining experience would have been different if we ordered some of the other items on the menu that Clio may not be as well known for. Well to be safe, get the pig and the lobster! :)

So how is Clio compared with L'espalier? Clio is more inventive and the food was more memorable (for us). SO and I were trying to remember what we ate at L'espalier in May and none of the dishes really stood out. However, L'espalier was more distinctive in terms of service and ambiance. Don't get me wrong, the food was excellent too and perfectly done. Both restaurants definitely are some of Boston's best, I suppose it just depends on what you are in the mood for!

<3 Rendezvous!

Rendezvous's been on my list of restaurants to try for a while. I keep hearing about it in the press, blogs, another blog, and from friends. To start off, here's some random Rendevous facts:

- Rendezvous is housed in the former Burger King in Central Square
- Owner Steve Johnson was former co-owner of the Blue Room
- Chef Deepak Kaul was from BU
- They have a cute blog-style website and don't we all love blogs? :)

The meal we had at Rendezvous was one of the best we'd had in a while! It was tough deciding what to get since everything sounded delicious. We eventually settled on the Kumamoto Oysters and Grilled Chicken Livers with apricot, mizuna, and pancetta vinigrette. Mizuna is a japanese mustard green often found in Mesclun salads.

The oysters were fresh and sweet albeit a little small since they were kumamotos. Very delicious and a great way to start off. I like my oysters a little spicey and the horse radish gave them a kick! Yum!



The chicken livers were creamy and went amazingly well with the fresh apricot slices and pancetta. I don't often see chicken liver on the menu and was strangely drawn to it. I think it was the apricot pairing that sealed the deal for us.



For the main course, I got the Swiss Chard Dolmas while the friends got the Grilled Tuna Nicoise, Grilled Leg of Lamb, and the Grilled Pork Tenderloins with figs. I must say that the highlight of the evening was the Grilled Pork Tenderloins. When first presented, we were surprised the the pork didn't seem completely cooked and a little rare. Isn't pork supposed to be cooked for the most part? Pushing thoughts of food poisoning aside however, we ventured to take a bite of the pork and were pleasantly surprised to find that the meat was perfectly tender, juicy and absolutely delicious!!!




The tuna nicoise was another hit. It was perfectly seared and meticulously seasoned with a salt and pepper crust. The saltiness of the crust was balanced by the milder taste of the rare tuna.



I also loved my swiss chard dolmas. Swiss Chard was substituted for grape leaves and bulger for rice. The plump raisins scattered through out the bulgar added a touch of sweetness to the dish, while the roasted pine nuts provided a variety of textures. I did not even feel like I was missing out on the meat since this was a purely vegetarian dish!



The lamb was soo good too! It was mediterranean-influenced and served with roasted eggplant. Wow looks like we hit a home run with Rendezvous that night. I really liked how assorted vegetables and grains were used to accent the main ingredient of the various dishes.



With the amazing meal we had, we had to end off with dessert. Cherry-nectarin clafoutis with lemon verbena ice cream. Clafoutis as we learned from the waiter is fruit soaked in alcohol (wine I think?) and baked.

Warm chocolate cake w/hazelnut pralines & cinnamon cream. Ahhhh the heavenly goodness of chocolate.



See Rendezvous and other foodie finds on a map on Chompster.com

Rendezvous
502 Massachusetts Avenue
Cambridge, MA 02139
617-576-1900



Chomp Meter:
I can't wait to go back! I enjoyed every bite and felt that it was money well spent at $50 per person (including a bottle of wine). We have to try the remaining 2 desserts on the menu. Oooh and the ceviche, cucumber yogurt soup, and duck! I have to tell everyone how much I like Rendezvous! Two thumbs and one paw up!

T.J. Buckley's - Dinner in a Diner

See T.J. Buckley's on Chompster

While in Vermont, we also treated ourselves to dinner at T.J Buckley's in Brattleboro (15 minutes from Newfane). T.J. Buckley's certainly makes for a unique dining experience. The restaurant is housed in a little refurbished diner and seats no more than 20 people. There are 2 seatings a night, one at 6.30 and another at 8.30. The restaurant's menu also changes by the week. As the story goes, Chef Michael Fuller shops for the freshest ingredients each day and builds a menu around it.

Initially I was a little wary since I'd seen varying comments on chowhound. I was also put off by the fact that T.J. Buckley's is a cash only place. They didn't forget to remind me of this when I called to make reservations. Classy. However, we eventually decided to give the place a try after hearing raving reviews from our Vermont based massage therapist.

The outside of the dining car. I thought it was really cool how it looked shabby on the outside but somewhat fancy on the inside.


We stole a shot of Chef Michael Fuller at work:


We started off with the pork and veal pate. I was very impressed by the presentation. The sous chef sure pays attention to detail. The appetizer was garnished with a fan of very finely sliced apples. I think golden delicious and another red variety. The flavor of the pate was very good though it fell short on texture. The pate was a tad dry and crumbly so it was hard to eat with the crackers. The dish was also accompanied by some little pickles (not sure what they were) but they went well with the food.

The Pate:


Next came the salad. This dish was the highlight of our meal there! It was that good. Well the main courses were kinda lack lustre but don't let that detract from the salad!! Pacman has never been into salads, but he absolutely LOVED this one. Each piece of vegetable was sliced with so much care that you could really taste the flavor and freshness. The beets were sooo delicious, I savored each tiny piece and saved some for the end. :) I'm not sure what kind of beets they were, but they aren't the kind you get in the regular salad bar. Damn I didn't know beets could taste this good. The salad was also sprinkled with just the right amount of goat cheese and tossed with olive oil and balsamic vinegar. Simple, but omg so delicious.

THE Salad


For the main course, I had the grilled haddock while Pacman had the Muscovy duck. The haddock was alright, nothing spectacular. ZZZzzzz. The muscovy duck was *really* rare. The waitress told us that the Chef liked cooking his duck rare. But this duck was so rare it was bloody, cold, and hard to chew. We had it sent back to the kitchen to cook for a couple minutes more. Better, but nothing to scream about. Guess we aren't big fans of rare duck!

Does it look strangely rare? Or are we just intolerant wimps?


We decided to pass on dessert since we were still stuffed from the previous day's meal at The Four Columns Inn. The bill came out to about $120 after tip. We had an appetizer ($15), 2 main courses ($70), and a glass of wine ($8). Thought this would be useful to anyone interested in checking this place out since there isn't a menu and the waitress memorizes the specials of the day.

T.J. Buckley's
132 Eliot St, Brattleboro
Vermont 05301, United States
802-257-4922

Chomp Meter:
I might consider going back. The appetizer and salad were very good though the main courses didn't meet the mark. Perhaps we should have ordered the scallops (chef's recommendation), it could have been more enjoyable. Unfortunately we just had scallops and weren't really in the mood for more. Hrmm kinda undecided on the place.

Four Columns Inn - Newfane Vermont

See the Four Columns in on Chompster.com

We took a weekend trip out to Vermont to celebrate Pacman's birthday. It was somewhat depressing with the rain falling Friday through Sunday though we made the best of it by eating lots and touring Vermont by car. We've never had much luck with weather, afterall it did rain on our wedding day which was in the summer! What were the chances...

We had dinner at the Four Columns Inn one evening since we were staying there (pets allowed!). The resident chef, Chef Parks, is somewhat famous having won accolades including the James Beard Award. The restaurant was pretty quiet for a Friday night with only 3 other parties besides us, a nice change coming from Boston.

View from our table:


We started off with hor'dourves of shrimp and asparagus on brioche (complements of the kitchen). For appetizers we had oysters with a vinigrette dressing and seared hudson valley foie gras with grilled pears and crab apple sauce. The oysters were really fresh, almost tasteless, and was well complimented by the tart vinigrette.



The portion of foie gras was very generous and drizzled in olive oil. As an appetizer, it could have served at least 6. Initially, the taste was a little intense, especially when eaten alone, however it tasted much better when paired with the pear. By the end we were fighting for the final bites. Definitely a guilty pleasure.



For the main course, Pacman had the Black Angus Tenderloin while I had the Rack of Lamb. These were the highlight of the meal. The meats were amazingly tender and cooked just right. Huge portions too as you can see. They were accompanied by wild rice cooked in a mushroom sauce which I really enjoyed. The side veggies weren't too exciting. I was expecting more since the restaurant uses fresh vermont produce.





Finally we got to dessert. By this time we were stuffed but we had to push on. You see, dinner was included in our package ;) Pistachio tart with creme fraiche for me and chocolate torte with mango sauce for pacman. Both were good, sadly I wasn't able to fully enjoy since I hardly had any room left, even in my dessert stomach :D

Four Columns Inn
On the Green
Newfane, Vermont

Chomp Meter:
We'll be back if we're ever in Vermont for skiing. Prices are comparable to Boston, however, I have to emphasize that the portions were way more generous!