A Little Bit About a Lot of Things

I had been eagerly awaiting the opening of Bear in Boots Gastropub on Main Street in Falmouth last year. In the summer it was insanely crowded – now that it is off season, we headed down to have dinner. Even though it was cold and rainy, the place was packed tonight!

The restaurant is owned by Kate and Gates Rickard and the food is inspired by their travels abroad. The name Bear in Boots comes from the nicknames of their sons, and anywhere you see a squirrel in the restaurant, that is for their youngest daughter.

The restaurant is charming. The piano above is used on the weekends when there is live music. The tables are made from sinker oak that was previously submerged – if you look closely you can see some faint blue streaks.

The restaurant is family friendly, while also being a great place to grab a drink with friends. They are a 97% scratch kitchen, from their bread to their ice cream to their mustard and condiments. They age all of their meat on site and even their syrups at the bar are house made.

We sat at a high top table right next to the open kitchen. We were able to talk to Chef Joe Ellia throughout the meal and see the team preparing our food. We sampled a little bit of everything, some of the plates were our choices and some were the chef’s. We started with the Autumn salad ($9) was seasonal baby spinach topped with roasted pumpkin, figs, toasted almonds and goat cheese topped with a light bacon infused oil.

The gnocchi ($9) were pillow like potato dumplings toasted with pistachios in a brown butter sauce with roasted squash. I loved this dish, such a comfort food of mine. It just felt like fall on a plate.

The table pretzel ($7) is a plate sized knotted pretzel to share with stone ground mustard. All their bread is made in house and the pretzel was so light and delicious.

The Log Island meatballs ($8) are two meatballs made with house ground beef, pork, veal, Pecorino Roman cheese and garden fresh herbs in a marinara sauce and served with a garlic knot.

The grilled Caesar salad ($8) was a grilled 1/2 heart of Romaine with Caesar dressing, Parmesan cheese and croutons. I love this new take on a Caesar! The smoke from the grill added on another nice layer of flavor.

The pierogies were a special for the evening.  I love carbs on carbs and these did not disappoint – the house made dumplings were filled with potatoes.

The poutine ($12) was house cut fries smothered with duck confit, cheddar cheese curds, chicken gravy finished with melted cheddar cheese. The magic words, the chef had me with duck confit and cheese curds. Before, it was hard to find poutine anywhere, glad to see that it is becoming more popular.

The chef’s special for dinner was a brisket sandwich on top of a jalapeno cheddar biscuit and topped with house made pickles. Let me tell you that the biscuit was AMAZING. I’m still dreaming about it! The brisket had a nice smokey flavor to it and was so tender.

The cassoulet ($21) is a classic French stew made with lamb, duck confit, house cured bacon and white beans braised in housemade vegetable stock, topped with a grilled housemade pork sausage, breadcrumbs and Parmesan cheese.

The ricotta cheese ravioli ($25) was paired with duck confit and wild mushrooms in a toasted pine nut and brown butter sauce and topped with a 90 minute egg. I wasn’t sure how I was going to feel about berries with this savory dish, but I was pleasantly surprised at how well they complimented the dish.

Dessert was a delicious trio of cranberry donuts with a blood orange sauce and candied orange peel, a pumpkin cheesecake with a nutty crust and a traditional creme brûlée. All in all, an amazing meal. I look forward to heading there again soon and trying out the other dishes on the menu – the fried chicken and the sunny side burger are calling my name!

Disclaimer: I was invited to be a guest at Bear in Boots Gastropub. My meal was provided complimentary. All opinions are my own.

Bear in Boots

285 Main Street, Falmouth, MA

http://www.bearinboots.com

Tags: cape, casual dining, falmouth, restaurant, scratch kitchen