November 10, 2015 Beard Cat’s Sweet Shop
After dinner upstairs at The Obstinate Daughter, we headed downstairs to Beard Cat’s Sweet Shop for dessert.
The gelateria serves coffee and acts as a retail space for the restaurant.
It’s hard to choose from all the delicious flavors and to make things harder, they also have gelato sandwiches and popsicles!!
Beard Cat’s proudly served Counter Culture coffee.
The gelato is rich and creamy – a perfect way to end our first night in Charleston!
Beard Cat’s Sweet Shop
2063 Middle Street, Sullivan’s Island, SC
http://www.beardcatsweetshop.com
Tags: charleston, gelato, ice cream, sc, trips
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- Posted under Restaurants, Uncategorized
November 9, 2015 Harvest Dinner at Not Your Average Joe’s
I know what you’re thinking when I say I was invited to Not Your Average Joe’s for a harvest dinner. You’re probably thinking of the older locations, like the one in Watertown. But the new location in Waltham is the future of the brand. The restaurant is conveniently located right off of Route 128 and has plenty of parking. They have a great outdoor space, and even though it was a bit chilly, we cozied up to the fire pit before dinner (they have blankets if you want them). They are planning for a bocce court and other outdoor activities when the weather gets warmer.
We head inside and there is a great little waiting area (bottom right). Rumor has it that when CEO Steve Silverstein came in to the restaurant, he thought that the waiting area needed additional seating – so he and his wife jumped in the car and brought back some great Anthropologie chairs!
The restaurant has a large bar area where you can watch the game or meet some new friends at a communal high top table. I love the counter at the bar, it has seashells in it (top right)! The bar has 20 beers on tap and an extensive wine collection, including 21 of which you can get by the glass. The traditional dining room has a table that faces right into the kitchen – so fun to watch the hustle and bustle. The best part is that if you are sitting in the main dining space, you can’t hear the games being played at the bar, instead, you hear music.
Did you know that Not Your Average Joe’s works with local charities to help them raise money? For a month, on Tuesdays, they have this promotion, all you have to do is download the certificate on the website and bring it with you (either printed or on your phone), and 15% of the cost of your meal will be donated to the charity.
We were fortunate enough to sit with Executive Chef Jeff Tenner for our meal and he walked us through every dish. He said that the menu at Not Your Average Joe’s changes every quarter and you can expect 8-10 new dishes every three months. Jeff started off in the business in Portsmouth, NH where he owned and operated his own restaurant. He later moved into the corporate world, working for companies like Bertucci’s and Legal Sea Foods. Chef Tenner put out a very approachable menu with some classic favorites and some dishes that are a twist on the original.
Not Your Average Joe’s is known for their delicious bread. It’s baked fresh daily and comes to the table with olive oil, red pepper flakes and Parmesan cheese.
We started our evening out with the deviled eggs. They were topped with sriracha chili spice and togarashi spice along with some crushed potato crisps. I’m generally not a fan of deviled eggs, but these were delicious. They were different enough from the traditional version to make anyone give this dish a second look.
The mango shrimp rolls were one of my favorite dishes. Sweet chili poached shrimp with mango, cucumber, mint, cilantro and rice noodles wrapped in a fresh roll and served with a peanut dipping sauce. What makes this dish special is the sauce!
The Caribbean buffalo chicken tenders are hand breaded and tossed with a mango, buffalo bbq sauce and is served with a pineapple jalapeño salsa. Again, another twist on a traditional dish. I loved the sauce, it was a little sweet and a little zippy.
The butternut squash flatbread was a table favorite, it came topped with a sage pecan pesto, roasted butternut squash, shaved Brussels sprouts, caramelized onions, smoked mozzarella and was finished off with a balsamic reduction. This is such a fall dish – some really great flavors here. The crust was thin and a little crispy with a great flavor.
Generally I don’t eat salad, but this super crunch salad had so many delicious things in it, you almost didn’t realize it was a salad. It came loaded with grilled chicken, quinoa, green apples, pistachios, avocado, spinach, mint and cilantro. The dressing was an orange sesame flavor that went well with the dish. I love the texture in this salad – the crisp apples, the crunchy nuts and then the smooth avocado as a balance.
The mustard crusted chicken was marinated in three mustard marinade and lightly breaded with panic crumbs. The dish is pan seared and served with green beans and garlic mashed potatoes (not shown). The mustard taste was really subtle which I really liked and those garlic mashed potatoes were heavenly – they were prepping me for Thanksgiving!!
Another table favorite was the Vietnamese salmon that was spice rubbed and grilled and served in a lime infused chili broth with rice noodles, crunchy vegetables and crushed peanuts. I loved the asian flavors in this dish and it’s not every day that you see a fish dish served with noodles – yum!
The spaghetti squash bolognese is for you veggie lovers! This dish is the vegetarian version of the Italian classic with roasted spaghetti squash, a mushroom bolognese, sautéed spinach and it is topped with romano cheese. Again, some really nice fall flavors here.
Yes, the food keeps coming! The rosemary skewered scallops come from New Bedford and they are served over a bed of Israeli couscous, grilled corn, bacon and tomatoes. The dish was finished off with an orange chipotle glaze. I loved everything about this dish, not sure which I liked more, the scallops or the couscous salad it came on.
The cranberry teriyaki roasted chicken was another table favorite. The pan roasted Bell and Evans chicken was served with a house made butternut squash and ricotta cannelloni. It was hard to choose a favorite part of this dish since both the chicken and the pasta were excellent. The chicken was tender and juicy and the squash cannelloni was so flavorful. Both would be great solo dishes, so together, they made a great pair on the plate.
As if I had any more room in me by the time that we got to dessert. We started with the goji berry apple crisp with cinnamon spiced apples, goji berries and ginger in a brown oat crust. It was served a la mode with vanilla ice cream.
The carrot cake was gluten free and yet still delicious! It had a delicious cream cheese frosting and was drizzled with a caramel sauce.
And we ended the night with Not Your Average Joe’s signature dessert, the peanut butter thing: vanilla ice cream with peanut butter and chocolate chunks, that is rolled in Oreo cookie crumbs. It was drizzled with hot chocolate and caramel sauce table side!
Disclaimer: I was invited as a guest to the Not Your Average Joe’s Harvest Dinner. My meal was provided complimentary. All opinions are my own.
Not Your Average Joe’s
56 Market Place Drive, Waltham, MA
Tags: casual dining, outdoor seating, restaurant, take out, vegetarian, waltham
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November 8, 2015 An Untraditional Thanksgiving
Thanksgiving – it’s all about eating until you can’t move, naps and football. But what if you want to shake things up? Here are few ideas if you are looking to go the untraditional route:
If you decide you don’t want to cook this year, there are plenty of restaurants that are willing to do the cooking (and clean up) for you:
Beacon Hill Bistro $63 per person, options wine pairing for $32 per person
Del Frisco’s Grille in Chestnut Hill See the website for more details
Legal Crossing $55 per person
The Palm $55 per person, $24 for children under 12
For additional restaurants that will be offering service on Thanksgiving, check out from Boston Magazine.
Are you cooking at home, but make the same thing every year? Here are some recipes to mix it up:
Dan from The Food in My Beard developed this amazing recipe for TATER TOT STUFFING!! Yup, you read that right. I was drooling the minute I saw this. Check out his website for the recipe. Oh and he also has recipes for big mac stuffing, cinnamon roll stuffing, cornbread stuffing muffins stuffed with turkey cranberry meatballs, and cornbread stuffing polenta. Don’t want to do a plain turkey this year, check out his recipe for a Turducken. And for something special for all you burrito lovers out there, check out Dan’s recipe for the Thanksgiving burrito. Want to hang out with Dan in person? He and my girl Bianca, from Confessions of a Chocoholic, are teaching a class at the BCAE called Entertain Like a Food Blogger. You’ll learn how to make easy appetizers and style your food like a pro. Can’t make it to the class? That’s ok, Dan wrote a pretty cool cookbook you can get online at Amazon called Stuffed: The Ultimate Comfort Food Cookbook: Taking Your Favorite Foods and Stuffing Them to Make New, Different and Delicious Meals.
Check out this recipe for bourbon bacon whipped sweet potatoes with brown butter and crispy sage from How Sweet It Is.
My friend Melanie from A Beautiful Bite is a talented cook and baker. Her brain functions in a whole different way than mine does, I can’t even fathom trying to make a recipe from thin air. Check out her recipe for a sweet potato pie casserole.
Cooking at home but don’t have the time to cook?
You said you would host Thanksgiving this year, but hey, you:
- don’t want to fight the crowds at the market
- totally forgot (three weeks in advance) about the holiday and it was too late to start looking for recipes
- your kids are running around making you crazy and you can’t even think about turning on the oven
- you don’t have kids, but you blame your offer to host Thanksgiving this year on a moment of
drunken idiocyweakness - hey, you’re cooking the turkey, that should count for something, right?
No worries, these places are offering to help you with sides and desserts:
Check out Verrill Farm’s Thanksgiving menu here. Their apple pies are my absolute favorite!
Flour Bakery has all the fixin’s like soups, gravy and Brussels sprouts. Don’t forget the pumpkin (AND a pecan?) pie!
The sides from Sofra serve 4-6. Check out what they have to offer!
Just need a pie, pick one up at Petsi Pies in Cambridge and Somerville.
Football not your game?
It’s ok, it’s not mine either. I’m more of a college hockey kind of gal – give me some of that Red Hot Hockey! Ok, but besides that, who doesn’t love dogs? (20 million viewers do!) After the Macy’s Day Parade and before football comes on, put on the National Dog Show, it’s on from 12-2pm on NBC.
Pictured above are co-hosts John O’Hurley and David Frei. David Frei is the host of the Westminster Kennel Club Dog Show and former Director of Communications for the Westminster Kennel Club. John O’Hurley is best known for his role as J.Peterman on Seinfeld and is also a Broadway musical star, having appeared in shows like Chicago and Monty Python’s Spamalot. The dog show will happen on November 14th and 15th this year and will be televised on Thanksgiving day. My niece, a new dog owner herself, is heading to Philly to watch the show in person! The American Kennel Club has sanctioned 7 new breeds that will be a featured at the show this year, which will be added to the over 180 total breeds. The new breeds are:
- Lagotto Romagnolo – Sporting Group
- Berger Picard – Herding Group
- Miniature American Shepherd – Herding Group
- Cirneco dell’ Etna – Hound Group
- Boerboel – Working Group
- Bergamasco – Herding Group
- Spanish Water Dog – Herding Group
So good luck with Thanksgiving this year, let me know what untraditional things you did!
Tags: holiday, thanksgiving
November 8, 2015 Yvonne’s
Leah and I were invited to Yvonne’s to the Champy launch party. Never heard of Champy? It’s Jenny Johnson’s new sparkling wine.
Champy is a sparkling wine – a chardonnay and pinot noir blend. It has notes of citrus, sweet red raspberry, strawberry, green apple, and stone fruit. All the major players were at the party and Jenny looked stunning in her yellow Daniela Corte dress and glitter peep toe pumps.
Yvonne’s opened in September in the old Locke Ober space. Since we were already here, we decided to get a bite to eat for dinner. The main dining room, that looks like you’ve walked onto a movie set, was booked for the night, so we had dinner in the lounge.
The decor in the lounge is amazing – lit bookcases line the walls, making you feel as though you’ve stepped into a private study.
Yup, check out the cool artwork! Two of may favorite chef’s are at Yvonne’s: Kate Holowchik and Juan Pedrosa. Kate is fresh off her win at the Vitamix challenge with an inverted baked alaska. Check out my posts on Kate here and here.
We started with the crispy tater cubes ($12) that came with Joppiesaus (a Dutch yellow snack sauce typically consumer with a hamburger and fries, that is flavored with onion an curry powder), farm house gouda, and a beet pickled egg. First of all, the egg was just beautiful. These were grown up tater tots, super delicious.
Next we had the KFC stone fired pita ($15). It was topped with Korean fried chicken, kimchee scallion, and sesame cave aged gruyere cheese. There was a bit too much sauce on this for our liking, but I loved the chicken and the bite to the dish.
And now onto my favorite part of the meal, dessert. The La Bete Noire, is a flourless chocolate torte with burnt marshmallow ice cream, graham tuiles and crumble and caramelized chocolate sauce. This is a great dessert for those who love chocolate and crave something that isn’t too sweet.
The macaron ice cream sandwich was so delicious! The macaron was so light! The flavors rotate, but previous flavors have been candy corn, Swedish fish and sour patch kids. Kate is the master at desserts with her creative take on classics and boozy ice creams. Oh did I mention that they have pushpops and negroni drumstick ice creams?
What’s your favorite dish at Yvonne’s?
Yvonne’s
2 Winter Place, Boston, MA
Tags: dessert, downtown crossing, juan pedrosa, kate holowchik, macaron, restaurant
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November 7, 2015 Obstinate Daughter
Dinner the first night in Charleston was at The Obstinate Daughter on Sullivan’s Island. We take an Uber, it’s about $19 each way.
How did they pick the name “The Obstinate Daughter”? Their website explains:
Our name, The Obstinate Daughter, is an homage to the rich Revolutionary War history of Sullivan’s Island. On June 28, 1776, under the command of Colonel William Moultrie, the defenders of Fort Sullivan foiled the British fleet’s attempt to capture the city of Charleston in the Battle of Sullivan’s Island. This first American Patriots victory inspired a London political cartoon of the defiant defenders of Charleston: “Miss Carolina Sulivan, one of the obstinate daughters of America, 1776”. To us, The Obstinate Daughter is a beautiful reminder that the stubborn refusal to change one’s course of action can change the course of history.
The restaurant is on the top floor and their sister property, Beard Cat’s Sweet Shop occupies the first floor.
The minute we walked in, I loved everything about this restaurant: from the open kitchen to the lighting to the nautical accents.
There is a variety of seating, banquets, a communal high top table (pictured above) and free standing 2 and 4 tops.
We get a great booth in the back with a great view of the whole space – it was a good night to people watch!
How cute are the fish curtains and the money fist tie back?
We start with the frogmore chowder ($8), they’re known for it. It has shrimp, corn, kielbasa and potatoes and is seasoned with a little bit of Old Bay. While it is hot and humid outside, it seems a little crazy to get a creamy soup, but I’m glad we didn’t miss this, because it’s a winner.
We also had the peel and eat shrimp ($10) that were nicely seasoned and hit the spot – just look at how beautiful these are!
And of course you’ll need to clean your hands after eating all that shrimp, how cute are these warm towels?
There were so many delicious sounding pasta choices, but for me it was no contest, I had the ricotta gnocchi ($17) that came topped with a hearty short rib ragu. This is some serious comfort food, the flavors were rich and satisfying and the dumplings were perfect.
The farro piccolo ($10) is technically an appetizer, but with all the food on the table, it was just the right size. The dish came with Brussels sprouts, peanuts, balsamic and black truffle.
The Obstinate Daughter
2063 Middle Street, Sullivan’s Island, SC
Tags: casual dining, charleston, restaurant, sc
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November 6, 2015 Butcher & Bee
When we got in to Charleston, we dropped our bags at the hotel and ran over to Butcher & Bee for lunch before they closed (they’re open 11am-3pm daily). They have a cute little patio area outside, but you’d be crazy to melt out there when you can sit in the cool a/c inside! UberX was about $6.
Their menu changes daily, so you have to check their Facebook page to see what they are serving!
I love the decor inside, from the reclaimed wood counter to the chalkboard art menu.
There’s a long communal table down the center of the restaurant with a few smaller tables around the outskirts. The chairs are mismatched, making the place a little quirkily and charming.
There are so many delicious sounding items on the menu it is hard to choose just one thing. I go for the burger ($12) with mushrooms and gruyere. The bun is perfect – it is lightly toasted and it holds its own until the very last bite. The beef just tastes fresh and I love the mushroom and gruyere combination. I love that they didn’t skimp on the cheese – that’s a huge pet peeve of mine. They have a contest and if you Instagram your burger with the hashtag #Burgerfordays you are entered for a chance to win a free burger!!
The bbq grilled squash sandwich was a delicious surprise. Often I find dishes that are meatless are a bit bland, but this one rocked my world. Zucchini, peach compote, arugula, pickled cabbage and mustard tahini ($9). The flavors were bold but really complimented each other, I never would have dreamed up this combination. In fact, I’m still dreaming about this sandwich!
Butcher & Bee
654 King Street, Charleston, SC
Tags: burger, casual dining, charleston, restaurant, sc
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November 5, 2015 Charleston, SC
I had been wanting to go to Charleston, SC for some time now, the food scene there is amazing. Yup, that’s how I pick my vacations, where do I want to eat?
Our JetBlue flight got us there direct in under 3 hours. The downtown historic district is about a 20 minute ride from the airport. You can take a shuttle for less than $20 or a taxi. We opted for a taxi since a shuttle had just left. We had a great taxi driver who gave us a little history lesson along the way. The taxi ended up being around $40. Later we found out that UberX is the way to go in Charleston, and it’s super cheap, the Uber on the way to the airport was $23. Live and learn. Everyone says that Charleston is a walking city – I’m pretty sure that is just what locals tell the out of towners so that they can laugh at you foolishly walking around and sweating! Oh wait, they call it “glistening”.
I had really wanted to stay at the Zero George, but figured it wasn’t practical with my son. So we opted for the DoubleTree in the historic district instead – the location couldn’t have been better – close to the City Market, lots of restaurants and shops. The lobby was traditional, southern, some would say charming. Breakfast was offered in the morning between 7am and 10am, either a buffet or a continental option. Lunch and dinner are not offered at the restaurant but they do have an evening bar service from 5:30pm – 9:30pm.
The rooms are a bit tired but they are spacious and the bedroom is separate from the living area. There was a wet bar sink and a small fridge in the room.
The living space and the bedroom both had flat screen tvs.
The couches and chairs were a bit tired.
The valets provided the best service at the hotel. They gave us small bottles of water every day when we left the hotel for our walk, they were friendly and helpful with directions.
We had a great couple of days in Charleston. We explored the city market (they had beautiful sweet grass baskets but the rest of the items were a bit junky), walked on King Street, went to the aquarium, toured the city by carriage and took a boat ride. In addition to UberX, the city offers a free trolley service which can come in handy. We didn’t get to hit all the places on my list, but that just gives me a reason to go back! Here is a list of places that I wanted to go but we missed:
Peninsula Grill for a delicious meal and their coconut cake – they are a relais & chateaux property
Hyman’s Seafood the line is supposedly down the block because they have the best seafood
Vendue Inn for drinks on their rooftop
Follow on the blog for the next few days to see where and what we ate!
Tags: charleston, sc, trips
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November 4, 2015 Good Ones: Welcome to Park Avenue Halloween
The Thursday before Halloween, the Good Ones came together for an epic Monopoly inspired party. The event took place at BOND restaurant | lounge in the Langham Hotel. The space was originally the Federal Reserve Bank of Boston so it fit perfectly with tonight’s theme. Best costume of the night for me was Ron Bembry as Mr. Monopoly! Guest enjoyed Belvedere vodka infused drinks (with the first round sponsored by The Cocktailist) and light bites (fun passed apps served in Chinese food take out boxes!).
Featured guest Lorenzo Geraci was creating his signature piece “The One” on site. A little bit about Lorenzo:
My name is Lorenzo Geraci (LOR3nzo), I was born a few decades ago in Siena (Italy), the cradle of the Renaissance, and now, after a long hiatus as an “adult”, I’m back at making Art, playing with materials, shapes, forms, function, words, colors, textures and the perception of time.
I am trying to make the world a better place, one piece of Art at a time; and I believe that Life itself is the utmost expression of Art. I love creating experiences with my Art, experiences that are visceral in nature where everyone can find their own meaning to my visual language. Through my Art, I tell my stories. Stories of my Life, or stories of impossible DayDreams, anchoring each piece of Art with one or few details to capture the Individual’s imagination and make it soar to their own Impossible DayDreams.
I try to explore, exploit, merge and highlight the boundaries of 2D and 3D Art, painting and writing, conceptual and fine Art, and I am constantly thinking about expending Street Art above and beyond graffiti.
As an introvert (INFJ) I see patterns, connections, and parallels in unseeingly different things. I draw my inspiration from Nature, Arts & Artists and everyday Life. I am equally inspired by Picasso’s prolific output and experimentation and by Einstein’s philosophy of simplicity. I also get inspired by Individuals from all walks of life who take pride in their work; be they scientists who every single day are able to get up and go to their lab to conduct minuscule variations and permutations of the same experiment over and over like a dog chewing on a bone; or be they bartenders who break the rules without sacrificing on quality and craft personalized multi-sensorial experiences for discriminating customers; and everyone else in between and beyond.
From his website:
“The ONE” is my attempt to re-interpret Street Art, mixing it up with a touch of Conceptual Art, and a double helping of Performance Art.
Physically, The ONE is a series of 2.5″ x 6″ paintings, the familiar size of the U.S. dollar bill. Each The ONE is bartered with, or gifted to, individuals from all walks all life. So far it has involved street performers, espresso in coffee shops (Chinatown Coffee Company – DC et al), Art for Art, photo ops, Museums (MIT’s List Art Center, ICA Boston, MFA Boston, HirshHorn Museum DC, National Gallery of Art DC), drinks in bars, food in restaurants, friendship (that’s priceless) . . . and the list continues.
The ONE has been adopted in Boston, Washington DC, San Diego, Canada, Italy, France, UK, Poland, and Romania.
Each The ONE is hand painted and one of a kind, numbered in series, and signed on the back. It features the motto Fuck It! as well as the inscription The ONE. The ONE refers to the receiver since s/he is The ONE fulfilling the performance that makes the Art possible by accepting the barter or the gift.
In addition the the live art, Izzy VanHall and Ray Borg were on site to do an amazing live AcroYoga performance. Izzy and Ray recently began a Video Project ( https://youtu.be/sJ1oM_AEoNM ) to inspire and spread a new way of looking at connection. Their desire is for people who view their videos to be experience the beauty of yoga without having to go to a tropical island or be a supermodel to practice. Ray is a scientist who has always been involved with fitness through weight lifting. Once he began his yoga and meditation practice he gravitated towards AcroYoga and met Izzy. She is an artist and has taught Yoga and AcroYoga globally and locally for the last 7 years. Enjoy their creative performing and watch their Urban Acro on Youtube.
Check out the Who’s Who:
David Bisceglia, Jennifer Brooke, Maggie Ying
Jeremy Hefter, Sonia Brown
Megha Vadula, Eiei Khin, Samantha Pappin (Red Monopoly House Costumes)
Megan Hartney and Iva Nikolau (Minions)
Greg Curran, Amanda Matthews, Davide Marini, Jennifer Brooke, Brian Massa
Leslie Heirtzler, Dan McCarthy
Ashley Higgins, Vivian Ramos
Mitul Parekh, Amanda Tambling, Vicki Attar, Vaselika Koci
Alex Merrifield, Iya Khalil, Amrit Chaudhuri, Nai Ko
Mannish Ghorai (middle), Ian Venskus (right)
Alexa Curtis, Brian Massa
Who gets your vote for best costume?
Tags: events, financial district, good ones, halloween
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- Posted under Events
November 4, 2015 Bear in Boots Gastropub
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
Tags: cape, casual dining, falmouth, restaurant, scratch kitchen
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November 3, 2015 Tavern on the Wharf
My new thing is tourist destinations in the off season. I was first introduced to Tavern on the Wharf at the Norwell Farms Farm to Fork dinner. I kept dreaming of the short rib dish that I had at the event, so Leah, Robin and I decided to head down to Plymouth and try them for lunch. We always go down Route 24 to the Cape, never go Route 3, so this was a nice change of pace. While the weather was chilly and threatened rain, we still had a great afternoon out! The restaurant is fairly new, less than 6 months old, and has a young chef at its helm. Chef Johnny Sheehan put together a diverse menu and has managed to execute every dish with precision. I was a bit surprised, as he is in his early 30’s, but he mentions that he has trained in Ken Origner’s kitchens, and it all make sense. It feels like they have found their stride and I can only imagine what it will be like here when summer comes around again!
The main dining room feels open and airy and has great views of the water. Apparently the previous restaurant was all booths. Tavern on the Wharf only kept 2 of them in the back, which was such a smart move. The tables give them a lot of flexibility with their layout – they can handle a large party from 6 or 18 in the main dining room.
Chef Sheehan put together a wonderful tasting menu for us, showcasing his creativity and the local seafood. We started off with the oysters that tasted like the sea. The oysters come from right off shore, so you know they are fresh!
Next up, a not on the menu item, but the Yellowfin Tuna was too good for chef to pass up having us taste. The sushi grade tuna melted in my mouth and had a super clean taste.
The Szechuan shrimp ($15) comes flavored with Szechuan peppercorn, chili flake, garlic and scallions. I loved the flavor and the little kick the dish had.
Next was the beef carpaccio ($16), sliced filet of beef (it was paper thin), served with black truffle vinaigrette, Greenway Farm herbs and crispy sunchokes.
The fried burrata ($10) came out next. I have never seen burrata served this way, it’s usually served fresh on a bed of tomatoes. Chef described this as the adult version of a mozzarella stick – a totally approachable way to introduce burrata. The cheese is breaded with a panko crust and served with cream, roasted tomato, olive oil and basil. The roasted tomato in the dish was inspired by an evening meal on the beach, where they threw the tomatoes directly onto the coals to get a wonderful smoke char taste. I loved this dish – such a great twist on a classic.
The tamarind bbq ribs ($12) were a hit. The St. Louis style ribs were served with crispy onions and Korean chili. Trying to be lady like, I went at this with a fork and a knife, but the meat was so tender it just fell off the bone (no knife needed). I loved the flavor, a little sweet and a little salty.
The Portside Biscay ($26) was a great dish, another twist on a classic. Lobster bisque covered the bottom of the plate and was topped with a seared scallop, shrimp, lump Jonah crab and a roasted potato. It was finished off with hand torn biscuit croutons. I started with the potato and fell in love, which only meant great things if I hadn’t even gotten to the seafood yet. The bisque by itself was a little salty for my taste (and I do love salty) but was less so when you had it with the seafood.
At this point, well probably 3 dishes ago, I was stuffed. I should have worn sweatpants. Chef brings out one last dish with a grin on his face (we are so stuffed but of course we want more!). We were well fed and ready for a nap! Last up is the rootbeer glazed short rib ($26) that comes with a sake infused onion puree, crispy and roasted new potato, a charred cippolini onion and bok choy. He has definitely saved the best for last. The short rib is so flavorful – this is the ultimate comfort dish.
In addition to their main dining room, they have a great back bar – a great place for a party! The artwork on the wall was done by a local artist and the room has great views of the water. Off of the bar area, there is an outdoor patio (seats 80) that they will be renovating for the summer (adding in a bar and accentuating the view). They are open 7 days a week from 11:30am – 1am and they offer live music at night. On Tuesdays they have Italian night that I am dying to go back and try. They offer discounted Italian dishes and a $10 bottle of Cabernet or Pinot Grigio with the purchase of 2 entrees.
After lunch the general manager took us on a tour of the restaurant. It’s not every day that you get to check out behind the scenes in the kitchen. This kitchen boasts a HUGE line, one of the biggest kitchens I have ever seen. Another cool feature is this wall where all the employees leave their handprint. To me, this shows what kind of restaurant this is, one that really invests in its employees. And you know what, it shows. Our server was great, really personable and appeared to really enjoy being here. I can’t encourage you enough to head over to Plymouth and try out Tavern on the Wharf – I know that I’ll be back soon – tell the bulgogi and the buttermilk fried chicken that I’m coming for them!
Disclaimer: I was invited to sample the new fall lunch menu. My meal was provided complimentary. All opinions are my own.
Tavern on the Wharf
6 Town Wharf, Plymouth, MA
http://www.tavernonthewharf.com/
Tags: burgers, casual dining, outdoor seating, restaurant, seafood, steak
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