<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!