A Little Bit About a Lot of Things

Last week I headed into Downtown Crossing for a very special evening. The weather was perfect so I walked around a bit and snapped a few photos before I headed in.

The event was Malbec and Mushrooms and it was held at Sip Wine Bar and Kitchen. Sip has been open since 2012 and is part of the Legendary Restaurant Group that also owns Papagayo, Scollay Square and Burger Dive. Our host for the evening was co-owner of Legendary Restaurant Group, Chef Chris Damian.

The wines for the evening were provided by Catena, who has the top selling Agentine Malbec, with over fifteen 90+ ratings in the past 6 vintages. On hand was winery managing director, Dr. Laura Catena. Dr. Catena is an amazing woman, not only is she a fourth generation Argentine vintner, but she is also an emergency room doctor out in San Francisco and the author of the first book about Argentine wine in English.

The event featured dishes by three top chefs from Boston. The first dish was made by Chef Rachel Klein of Liquid Art house. Chef Klein will be opening up her own restaurant in Needham, MA in the spring – I can’t wait! Chef Klein has worked as the Executive Chef at XO in Providence, she opened OM restaurant in Harvard Square, and was the Executive Chef at the Mandarin Oriental and Asana. Her dish this evening was a wild mushroom toast with a quail egg, candied bacon, Parmigiano-Reggiano and Medjool dates. It was so delicious, I may have had two! Catena gave each chef who participated in the evening a donation for their charity of choice. Chef Klein chose ROCKs,  an initiative in partnership with Boston Children’s Hospital that brings together patients, families, and local culinary leaders.

The second dish was made by Chef Josh Lewin of Bread and Salt Hospitality. He and his partner Katrina Jazayeri will be opening Juliet in Somerville. Check out my previous posts on Josh’s cooking here. Chef Lewin started off at Beacon Hill Bistro in 2010 and in just two years, became Executive Chef. He left in 2014 to focus on Bread and Salt and opened Bread and Salt at Wink and Nod for 7 months. Chef Lewin made a beautiful consommé with brown butter creamed mushrooms, pain perdue, mirepoix. The consommé was so flavorful and the presentation was beautiful. Chef Lewin’s charity for the evening was the Boston’s Wounded Vet Run, with proceeds going towards housing modifications to suite disabled veterans.

And last but certainly not least, Chef Jason Bond of Bondir Concord and Bondir Cambridge, served up a delicious roasted black futsu squash with Hen of the Wood mushrooms, smoked prune and lamb jus. His charity of choice was Faith Kitchen, a soup kitchen that brings together volunteers and people in need.

Tags: back bay, event, mushroom, restaurant