Sunday, February 27, 2011

The Liberty Bar | Beacon Hill

Out and about in the lovely Beacon Hill neighborhood on a Friday night!
My sister took me out for sushi at Ma Soba. Everything here was just okay! We have high sushi standards. Oh well. Afterwards, we made our way down the street to The Liberty Bar. We stayed at The Liberty Hotel back in December. You can read all about the hotel, the bars, and our stay here. Besides a local overnight indulgence, it has become quite the energetic nightlife scene to mingle over cocktails. We were carded at the door of the hotel and planted ourselves on an empty couch to sip expensive cocktails (all $15) and take in the scene surrounding us in this spectacular hotel lobby rotunda.Quite the people watching experience it is. And apparently a good spot if you're playing the field aka single and ready to mingle. Which we are not. But just throwing it out there, in case you are. The cocktail menu is from CLINK. We thoroughly enjoyed our corner of the lobby and our first round. A Sapphire Darling with Bombay Sapphire, Patron Citronage, Vanilla Bean Syrup & Lime for me and a French Kiss with Grey Goose La Poire, Cassis, Pineapple & Champagne for Leah. Drink envy prompted a second round, this time with Leah ordering the Sapphire Darling. It was quite a tasty drink. I was content to move on and the Winter Sangria with Calvados Brandy, Local Apple Cider & Red Wine at the waitresses recommend was lovely. By the way she was very attentive and super nice.This was after our "we can only afford one drink here" statement. Seems we've made ourselves right at home.It was a slow start to my Saturday but I managed to be productive and a post on the days adventures is sure to come!

215 Charles St
Boston, MA 02114

Thursday, February 24, 2011

Tico | Back Bay

Tico is Back Bays newest venue serving Latin American inspired food from renowned Boston chef Michael Schlow. Already a fan of his French American cuisine at Radius the opening of Tico garnered much buzz and curiosity. Would it live up to the hype?! Justin, Megan, Michelle, Tania, Meghan and I decided to find out. I arrived first and grabbed a corner window seat in the dark tequila bar where a waiter approached me right away. Tico boasts a full wine and tequila list, the beer and cocktail menus are still non existent in printed form. However, a plethora of bottled and draft beer options are available. I began the evening with a draft Negra Modelo ($6), a robust Mexican lager that hit the spot. We settled into our spacious table for six in a window front alcove over looking St. James Street and decided on eight small plates and three taco dishes. The dishes were delivered promptly to start and well paced throughout, lending aesthetically pleasing presentations with food that was for the most part, well flavored and incredibly tasty. Once I finished my cerveza I ordered a Margarita ($10) deciding that I should honor National Margarita Day (how fitting!) while I had the chance. This one definitely honored the day, it was strong and brightly flavored. Tico also offers blood orange and pomegranate margaritas that were well received by my dining companions. 
Crispy Fried Manchego Cheese ($9) was a warm gooey-meets-crispy bite served with a spicy pomegranate honey sauce. A play on a classic mozzarella stick, this small plate was an instant winner.
Tico ups the ante with a Brussels Sprouts ($8) dish incorporating bacon, kumquats, mint and jalapenos. I adored this combination.
The first batch of tacos up were the Crunchy Fried Chicken ($10) with fennel slaw & spicy buttermilk dressing.These were an excellent choice, the chicken is indeed perfectly crunchy and the generous toppings add layers of flavor.
The Shrimp Toast ($8) with avocado, pickled jalapeƱos and lime were intriguing as described, the plate boasting attractive looking rectangles of crispy fried shrimp.
Greasy little morsels they were! As eye-catching as they sat, glistening with oil, the greasiness ended up overpowering the minimal dollop of avocado and pickled jalapeƱo. Perhaps adding more of the toppings would elevate the taste.The Crispy Sweetbreads ($8) tasted rather bland, although I have to admit this is my first time trying them. The masa harissa, endive, blood orange and hazelnuts somehow weren't enough to boost the sweatbreads to a memorable status in my eyes. All was forgiven when the Creamy Gigante Beans ($10) with chorizo and green onion graced the table.Also new to me, but far more exciting and flavorful than the Sweatbreads were these tender smooth disks, flatter and larger than your average white bean - it's a Gigante Bean!Up next were the Crispy Fish Tacos ($9) served with pickled onions & red jalapeno. They were good, but not great. Standard, but no wow factor. That spicy buttermilk dressing on the chicken taco is a tough act to follow. I loved the next dish of Octopus ($11) with yellow peppers, citrus, and Aleppo pepper. This dish had an energetic presentation with bright flavors to match. The Snap Peas ($8) with orange zest, Tabasco butter and “crunchies” brought a good amount of heat. The pea pods themselves were crisp and fresh. This is definitely a winning plate.Close up, oh snap!The Spicy Shrimp ($12) rounded out the taco plates in fine form topped with bacon and avocado. Keeping it simple, these tacos succeed. The final small plate was one amazing dish of "Creamed" Corn ($8) with bacon, chilis and thai basil.A lingering heat from the chilis marked this as the spiciest dish of the evening and left my palate extremely satisfied. Tico is also doing desserts. And doing them well. We went ahead and ordered the first three on the menu, beginning with a decadent and rich Super Delicious Chocolate Tart ($10) with tres leche ice cream. I can't argue with their description on that one! 

With a refreshing bite of citrus fruit custard, whipped cream and sweet sugary strawberries the Lemon Sabayon Tart ($10) was terrific. 

My favorite, though, was the Chocolate Gelato Peanut Butter Mousse-Over The Top-Caramelized Banana Split ($10) with Mexican chocolate sauce and crushed peanuts. Chocolate and Peanut butter always wins! The caramelized banana took it over the top for me.
Tico's breakout on the culinary scene brings enthusiasts something new. Its not a traditional tapas bar, its not your standard Mexican fare, its American food with Latin and Spanish influenced flavor profiles showcased in beautiful plates of food. Well done, Chef Schlow!

222 Berkeley Street
Boston, MA 02116

Wednesday, February 23, 2011

Fine Dining at Prezza

My birthday falls a week after Valentines Day - just long enough where another (as opposed to a dual) celebration dinner is warranted. I feel lucky for this week, appreciating that I don't have to share my day with St. Valentine. However, I'll gladly share my day with the likes of Presidents Washington and Lincoln. Allowed a day off work in their honor, my birthday saw a lot of quality couch time wrapped in my bathrobe, leg warmers and fuzzy slippers. To get out of the apartment for a leisurely dinner was a much needed recess.Last year, Adam and I ventured to Cambridge to experience Craigie on Main. This year the frigid temps kept us close to home. My North End restaurant of choice was Prezza - one of many places I have wanted to dine at for awhile now!
Chef + owner Anthony Catuano opened Prezza in 2000 on a quiet side location towards the outer end of the neighborhood. The restaurant is named after the ancient Italian village where his grandmother was born, a tiny town where they cooked with the local provisions of the land. Referred to as the old-world peasant style of Italian cooking focused on creating robust flavors and hearty portions from scratch, Prezza uses this as their base of inspiration. The menu is refined to incorporate foods of the Mediterranean regions as well as fresh seasonal ingredients.
The wine list is extensive and the page long martini menu was terribly hard to pass up. I settled on a glass of Casamatta Sangiovese ($8) but am absolutely returning to the bar to enjoy a Black Fig Martini ($12) sometime soon.
We started off with slices of hearty bread served in an eye catching abstract tin. And just as Adam was noting his olive craving, fresh olives and olive oil accompanied.
The appetizer choices are robust with all of them set at $15. I found the price point to be reasonable based on our appetizer of choice. It was an easy decision for us to share the Wood Grilled Squid and Octopus ($15). You really can't go wrong with wood grilled, and, stemming from a trip to Greece in 2007, octopus has long been a favorite Mediterranean delicacy.
Coils of briny squid and delicate octopus bathe in a light red sauce with braised white beans and toasted parsley. We were extremely pleased with our first course!Forgoing the route of a standard entrĆ©e, I was in the mood for soup. Being that it was 10 degrees outside the Mushroom Soup ($12) beckoned to me. This was the only soup on the menu so I assumed it would be really good.My instinctual cravings did not steer me wrong. First of all, the portion was exceedingly substantial. A large bowl serving an elegant blend of porcini cream and roasted tomato with white beans and hearty mushrooms in every bite, warm and earthy, this soup was pure joy by the spoonful.
Two slices of crispy toast delicately balancing atop them a mountain of fresh grated Parmesan cheese laced with pops of parsley were the finishing touch. I allowed them to melt into the soup, becoming softer bites as they soaked up the hearty broth.
Adam feasted on the Crispy Pork Chop ($26) with vinegar peppers, potatoes, roasted red onions and red wine sauce. The bone in pork chop was huge and perfectly cooked. The vinegar peppers were what made the dish in Adam's opinion. Once I took a bite, I had to agree, pungent red and yellow peppers were stellar.

I was full and content after the bread, appetizer and soup course, but upon placing my order opted in for the Ravioli di Ouvo ($10). I appreciated our waiters candid tips, he let me know this is "one giant ravioli" and suggested I might want to order two. I declined the second but felt good about being thoroughly informed on the fact that only one ravioli was going to be served. Could you imagine expecting a plate full only to your complete surprise, getting this:This jumbo ravioli was about six bites, stuffed with ricotta and an intact egg yolk, ladled with a brown butter and sage sauce topped with shaved Parmigiano. Our waiter was prompt to offer fresh cracked pepper, which I accepted. Slicing into the ravioli was was a feast in itself for the eyes. The brown butter with its complex nutty taste and crispy sage marrying the velvety egg yolk was amazing. Admittedly, I wished for a thicker more toothsome ravioli as I felt the amount of pasta wasn't substantial compared to the intensity of the yolk and amount of sauce it was bathing in. Overall, I imagine this is a difficult dish to achieve!
Prezza serves large portions of creative-without-being-overly-complicated dishes (besides the anomaly that is the Ravioli di Ouvo) in a refined and modern atmosphere. The dimly lit, neutral colored dining room with white linen table cloths and a chestnut brown bar area exude tasteful warmth.  Featuring homemade pasta, a wood grill that is fired up daily and an extensive wine and cocktail list, be sure to detour off Hanover Street and visit them on your next trip to the North End!

24 Fleet Street
Boston, MA 02113