L'Espalier Restaurant luncheon

L’Espalier * 30 Gloucester Street, Boston, MA 02115 · 617 262 3023

* * *
Autumn Degustation
FORTY DOLLARS
Amuse Bouche
Duo of spiced pumpkin soup and Skip’s Island Creek oyster shooter;
aged sherry vinegar mignonette

First Course
Foie gras torchon with piccalilli and Sauternes gelée
or
House smoked salmon with white bean salsa and quail egg*

Main Course
Grilled tiger shrimp with fennel puree and roasted butternut squash
or
Braised short ribs with truffle pomme puree and autumn vegetables

Selection of Cheeses and Condiments

Dessert Tasting

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This year L'Espalier's chef Frank McClelland won the well deserved James Beard Award-Best Chef Northeast. His lovely Back Bay Restaurant L'Espalier (which will be moving to a new location Summer 2008) is the place for special occasions and has been the place for many wedding proposals too. From the crisp white linens, attentive service, gorgeous dining rooms in their cozy Bay Bay location, this restaurant lives up to its accolades and awards.

Their regular dinner menu is a expensive, but if you want to have the excellent food for a fraction of the cost, go to L'Espalier during lunch time (Mondays-Fridays only) and check out their three course pre-fixe for $25 or five course degustation for the excellent price of $40! (You can get a lovely wine paring for an additional $30).

My dining partner and I started off our long leisurely lunch with two selections from the juice elixirs----Indian Chai and Oolong, Pear and Champagne concoction. Both were delicious but pricey for $8.75 each for your tiny drinks especially for the warm, fragrant Indian Chai. The Oolong drink was lovely and you barely taste the Champagne. We opted for the lunch degustation to try everything on the menu.

First up was the amuse bouche and both were excellent. The small cup of pumpkin spice soup light and smooth gave a lovely balance to the saltiness to the oyster shooter topped with North American Caviar. We also loved the bread having a few choices and I adored the black olive bread the best. Of course we got the small container of butter, after having sweet butter as my favorite I cannot go back to other butter. This one here did the job but was wowed by it.

Next course was the foie gras torchon and the house smoked salmon dish. My friend loved the foie gras torchon, she noted it was her first time having it cold. The enjoyed the flavors of the foie gras with the toast points, the small curry fruit salad, and the pomegranate seeds gave a nice burst of flavor with the foie gras torchon. While the smoked salmon salad with duck confit and topped with a quail egg was divine. The combination of the celery root salad coupled with the lovely and flavorful duck confit with the light dressing brought smiles to our faces. Plus the smoked salmon was flavorful without being too smokey.

Our main course was the grilled tiger shrimp grilled to perfection with slight undercookedness in the middle. A first for both of us to eat, but still delicious. The fennel puree reminded me a bit of hummus and the grilled butternut squash proved to contrast well with the shrimp. The braised short ribs were perfection! "This is how meat should be braised," said my dining companion. She loved the autumn vegetables and truffle pommes puree. She needed the her bread to get all the sauces from each plate because they were all so good.

L'Espalier is also famous for their wines and fromage. This course was a bit scary for the both of us as we are not fromage experts but we are willing to try. We were given a plate of four cheeses. The 5 year old aged gouda was our favorite. Described as nutty with a carmelized sweetness we were wondering if cheese could taste that way! It was excellent with the pine nuts and honey. The other condiments for the cheese were the carrot chutney and golden raisins. Then we had the Roquefort and very "ripe" goat cheese. Our favorite by far was the friendly gouda.

The last course was the lovely dessert tasting which has a marinated lotus root with ginger ice cream, chocolate decadence cake and a tea cream cake (bottom layer had green tea) with mango and raspberry coulis. The lotus root, something I have eaten growing up was different marinated for dessert was not memorable for me. I loved the port soaked red concord grapes atop the thick, dense chocolate decadence cake. The airy whipped tea cake was lovely. We are also served a small portion of a decadently sweet dessert wine Chateau Lyon which we loved! It complemented the dessert tasting very well.

The service was impeccable. We were always had attentive service. When we left, we got a little mini thank you. Our chairs were pulled out for us, every course was explained to us, and if we had any questions, they were always answered.

A 10 forks out of ten forks experience for us!

Uni---Sake Bomb special

Last night, I went to UNI for the first time. I have had the pleasure of eating at CLIO and had a wonderful meal. Plus I adore Toro. I went there early (the seating is first come first serve as they do NOT take reservations). I decided to sit at the sushi bar in front of the sushi chef Sean. I must say the quality of the fish on display was very fresh! The Sushi Chef Sean was very friendly, knowledgeable and fun! While I was dining there last night, owner and executive Chef Ken Oringer stopped by and sat right next to me briefly. His friend's kid who is only 11 was game to try the quail egg and uni spoon ($16) and he loved it! I was very impressed! For someone so young, he had a sophisticated palate!

My friend OK and I met up at the restaurant. She was over 30 minutes late! Luckily I was able to snack on some nice edamame sprinkled with sea salt and drank some artisanal still water Fiji ($6 a bottle). Then we got our sake bomb material---1 small sake cup of the HOUSE sake and a bottle of the Tiger Beer (from Singapore if you must know). I did put the sake cup into the glass. (Ah memories of my first sake bomb were at Newport Beach, CA before my red eye flight. I had a few.)

Our friendly server informed me after I asked about the Sake Bomb special, it is only for Sundays and he proceeded to tell me what were going to dine on. Yummy! First we got the kumimoto oyster served with a Japanese plum and it was divine! The freshness and the flavors of the sea were apparent and lovely. Next was the fresh poke salad marinated in a light soy marinade. I LOVED it! First time I had Poke was in Hawaii. Refreshing! Next came the salmon served with black bean sauce (Chinese) which was a lovely contrast of salty to oily/fatty. (I had a nice mini conversation with Sean behind the sushi bar. He was very friendly. I was telling him that I had not known many moons ago not all "black beans" were made equally. Having grown up with Chinese black beans, I once went shopping and got Mexican black beans. Suffice to say it was NOT The same. Next from the kitchen was the tempura rock shrimp which was crispy, not overly greasy and excellent! The ending of this lovely meal was the elderberry yogurt with a drizzle of black sesame sauce. Very different and light but pleasant ending for a very artistic and lovely meal.

*I bumped into a friend Suz and her dining companion mentioned he had seen my food blog. It was funny, as he was wondering if I was the one he had heard about who took pics of the food she ate. True to form, I was in the midst of taking a "photo" of my food! I was flattered that Sean wanted my "blog" address. I had to decline as I am still working on this blog. I promised that I would give it once I am ready.

Casa Romero-in the Back Bay

Last Friday the 13th, I went with my constant dining companions MPK and TK for dinner at Casa Romero. I have been wanting to come here for years and turns out TK wanted to as well. I had made reservations for 7pm (as MPK has a bit of a commute from work back to Boston area). They were already there by the time I had arrived. The restaurant is hidden off a small alleyway around the corner from tres chic L'Espalier in the Back Bay. Touted as one of the most romantic restaurant (in many a publication and tv program), I was curious to find out why.

We started out with a half pitcher of sangria, not the best not the worst. The chips and salsa were ok. I liked the salsa much better at Sol Azteca. This salsa was a bit more runny and not as chunky. (Ok I admit I like chunky salsa more). We ordered the fish ceviche and chicken livers for an appetizer. Both were good but I must admit I was missing the shrimp or squid that usually stud the ceviches I have when eating this dish. The chicken livers were not bad. I really loved the house specialty chipotle and marinated orange with pork. Interesting mix of spicy and sweetness. The stuffed squids were great too. But the piece de resistance was the tres leches. Only my third time having it, I ADORED it! Yummy!

One tip we did not know, there is an early bird prefix. Order by 6pm and exit by 7pm you pay on a selected three course menu only $19.95 before tax and tip!

Sorelina---exciting new Back Bay Italian restaurant addition

Sorelina---exciting new Back Bay Italian restaurant addition

Recently I met up with two Smithie classmates whom I had not seen in a LONG LONG time. Both were roomies while we were at LAMONT HOUSE. It was a mini reunion and we celebrated (one is an ADA at Smith and the other a happily married wife in California. We headed out for an early dinner at the latest Italian restaurant in the BACK BAY to take the town by storm (after reading many positive reviews!).

Sorelina-one Huntington Avenue Boston MA 02116/ Phone (617) 412-460

Arancini --Crispy Jonah Crab riso ($15) This dish was great. The three lightly fried pieces were delectable on top of a tomato sauce. YUM! Plus the dish tasted surprisingly light and the service was attentive and wonderful. Our server was great and he gave wonderful advice. Verdure --green beans, sun choke, artichokes and black olive vinigrette ($13) My friend enjoyed this dish and it was very simple and refreshing. Insalata -market greens, bacon and creamy gargonzola ($12) the biggest starter of the three dishes and it was smothered in the smoky gargonzola dressing but still good with the crispy bacon giving the greens a nice kick of flavor.

Macheroncelli (half portion $14) two American Kobe beef meat balls, barolo sauce and percorino tuscano Both myself and Priya got this one. The portion was just right and the noodles were homemade and big, the sauce was wonderful (I used my bread to sop up the sauce). The two meatballs were delicious and decent sized. You could tell the meat had a nice flavor. Capellini (half portion $12) --baccala (salted cod fish), tomatoes, olive oil and sea salt This dish was surprising as there was a nice spicy kick to it. I thought it lovely.

Amarene Cherry -Chocolate Torta and Chocolate Marsala Zabaglione ($10) and Limincello-Citrus Tiramisu ($10) and Pineapple "today's special dessert" baked in a phyllo pastry $10
All the desserts were good. The Chocolate torte was not too dense or overly sweet. The pineapple dessert was a good balance of sweet and my dessert I would not call necessarily a tiramisu. I liked the flavors alot but sometimes after a few bites seemed a bit sweet though the lemony tartness saved it.