The Butcher Shop - Restaurant Week #2

Barbara Lynch is pretty much the queen of the Boston chefs. She's opened a couple more casual places in the past few years, and as luck would have it one was participating in restaurant week.

The Butcher Shop is a small restaurant, with table seating for 19 and a long bar. In the back there is a refrigerated section with a selection of meats and accompaniments. I will admit, that I walked out with a bag of meat, cheese, honey and cornichons. The set up is a bit weird, in that there is no real waiting space so it gives a very bar-like atmosphere. Our table was shared with another couple, I'm not a fan of the communal dining, so luckily I wasn't on a date.

My dining companion (B) and I planned on splitting everything, so we got to taste the whole gamut of restaurant week offerings. Instead of the usual bread and butter, here we were served Irish Soda Bread and butter with Fleur de Sel (man that salt is good!) and a giant side of their unfiltered honey. We both ended up buying jars of that and B doesn't even like honey!

I needed to try the chickpea fritters off the regular menu, so we started with those. They had a yogurt and mint sauce with them, the yogurt was a thick greek style and the mint flavor was very mild, perhaps dill would have worked better? The fritters themselves were good, very dense, but a bit dry, so that after 2 I had enough. Good to share for a table of 4, where everyone just gets one.

Appetizers:
Watermelon gazpacho with honeydew, prosecco, and mint: I love nothing more in the summer than a chilled melon soup. I believe it's just the lightest starter for a meal. This was no different, although it had an ingredient that wasn't listed - avocado. I liked this addition, it gave the soup a bit of substance. B wasn't a fan of the avocado, and tasted something that "tastes like redhots" in the aftertaste. I kept eating more and also tasted it, but it wasn't cinnamon. There also was some oil in the soup, which I couldn't quite figure out the purpose of.
Arugula Salad, Goat Cheese, Pickled Onions and Tomatoes: Straightforward salad with a light vinaigrette dressing. The tomatoes were yellow and red grape tomatoes, and when plated they were hidden under the arugula. There was a good sized serving of goat cheese on it, which we both fell in love with and I had to buy half a pound of to take home. I did ask the waitress 3 times what kind of goat cheese it was, but never did get the answer to that. B loved the onions.

Entrees:

Given the name of the restaurant is Butcher Shop one option was Hanger Steak, Great Hill Blue Cheese and Radish. I had a few issues with this dish, we asked for it medium, and it was a bit too pink for me, plus it came out cold. I asked if it could be cooked a bit more, and it was (rather, it was a whole new plate). But it was still cold. I think, they had prepared a bunch ahead of time and so they weren't fresh out of the broiler/pan what have you. The other being, that it was served not with radish, but with arugula. So if you had ordered the salad appetizer, you were essentially getting two of the same salad, one with blue cheese and one with goat. But the meat was good, not the best slice of steak I've ever had, but again that could be the cold factor. The Great Hill Blue was VERY strong. So much, that I opted to only eat the tiny crumbs. If you have a deep burning love of strong cheeses, this is certainly the one for you. Again, we had the plater who likes to hide things, the cheese was in the middle of the arugula.The next option was Crispy Chicken Breast with Corn and Shitake. Seeing as this was my lunch yesterday at Radius, I was curious as to how it was done here. This was GOOD! Although, not chicken breast. There was a drumstick and some thigh. It wasn't breaded, just skin on lightly fried with some herbs. B exclaimed that the corn was "da bomb" and she was sooooooo right. Neither of us could get enough of it. Fresh, crisp kernels with I have no idea what. The shitake was very garlicy. This plate was wiped clean with only the drumstick bone left on it. Desserts: My favorite part of any meal.
Fruit Salad with Chantilly Cream: Other than dessert in general there is nothing I love more than fresh cream. And this came with a GIANT MOUND of it. Underneath we had blackberries, raspberries, blueberries and a sliver of apricot. All delicious, light and a good end to a meal. B felt like the berries could have used something more, maybe sugar. The other dessert was Chocolate Almond Cake with Peaches. This was one dense piece of cake. A small piece, but anything more would have been a waste. Topped with a cream (possibly almond flavor?) that was weird. I couldn't put my tongue on exactly what was weird about it, but it was something in the texture. The peaches, I am fairly sure were apricots, sliced and just amazing in this heavy sugary sauce. I could've eaten a plate of those alone! Lucky for me, they didn't sell those in the retail shop. Service: Very good the first 2/3 of the meal. Our waitress was friendly and prompt with everything, until after the entrees. There was a 20-30 minute or so lag between those and the desserts. The only thing we could think of was they ran out of desserts and had to make new ones? She even came over at one point to mention the desserts were coming. I suppose us looking around wondering if maybe she thought she had already brought them may have fueled that comment. But other than that time lag, it was flawless.

Ambiance: As I said before it has a definite local bar feel. Which means I would be very likely to go back with a group of friends, rather than a date. There is a large butcher block area in the middle of the restaurant where when the wait got to be an hour and half a lot of people congregated. Besides, that is a good location to have a place to put drinks while waiting for a table.

Rating: 8/10. I would recommend it, and would take friends. And next time I will be sure to order the antipasto platter the table next to us had. It looked amazing. The $14 hot dog on the other hand, still seems a bit much to me.

Radius - Boston Restaurant Week

Coming from SF where restaurant week lasts a month, and generally the theory behind it seems to be "let's give customers the real restaurant experience to make them want to return, even if we are a 4 star restaurant and don't need to beg for customers" my first foray into Boston's restaurant week (really 2 weeks) seemed to be a tad different. I was warned by a friend that the theory behind Boston's is "let's get people in and out fast and not really put our best foot forward because we don't need the additional customers".

Lunch today was at Radius. This being one of the city's celebrated restaurants I was expecting food that stands on par with it's regular prices. Sadly, I would give it a 5/10 and most of that being for the service.

Appetizer:
Both my dining companion and I opted for the Salmon tartare. What we got was not really a tartare. Cooked salmon mixed with mayonnaise, topped a scallion paste and kumquats, sitting on top of cucumbers drizzled with chili oil. I felt like there should have been some sort of companion to eat it with. Basically, it was what I would call salmon salad (in the vein of canned tuna salad). I ate a few bites and left the rest on the plate, the waiter did ask if everything was ok and I told him that to me tartare generally is raw and not mixed with mayonnaise. He agreed and said they should have called it something else as it isn't tartare and the label is misleading. My companion was also not a fan, but being more polite and hungrier than me, she did eat her entire dish.

Entrees:
Here and at dessert my companion and I opted for different dishes so as to taste all the options.
Hers: Grilled swordfish, sauteed squash and zucchini, potato confit. The swordfish should have been topped with a tomato and caper "salad" but it was left off the plate and we had to send the waiter back to the kitchen to bring a side of it. There was a dash of a basil puree streaked across the plate. The swordfish was very tender and well grilled. I wasn't sure I would like swordfish, but it was good. The tomato and capers added a good flavor to it. The potato "confit" was an utter disappointment. No flavor, just boiled potato taste.

Mine: Crispy chicken paillard with wild mushroom and corn succotash and bacon tomatillo sauce. This translated to fried chicken breast, not pounded thin as paillard tends to be, but a thick chunk of chicken breast. Luckily, it was very deeply fried and so very tasty for fried chicken. There was no bacon tomatillo sauce anywhere on my plate, unless they consider the very tiny slivers of bacon mixed in with my corn and mushroom to have been it. I didn't taste any tomatillo flavor at all.

Desserts:
Hers: Chocolate Pilon with Fenugreek Ice Cream and salted peanuts. I admit, I wanted her to order this because I was curious as to the flavor of fenugreek in ice cream and as part of a dessert. Fenugreek has a very strong and distinct flavor, not one I would ever think of using in this context. The dessert was a giant explosion of contrasting flavors and textures. The dense chocolate mousse core was delicious, but the almost curry like flavor of the ice cream was odd next to it. There was also some golden raisens and what we determined to be black currants involved and a very sticky strongly flavored not really caramel but the same consistency sauce. When deconstructed, the dessert was good, but as a whole, while interesting and the most memorable of all the dishes, it just didn't work for us.

Mine: Mango and Raspberry Tart with Pistachios and Hibiscus Ice Cream. The tart was just a giant shortbread cookie with raspberry sauce squirted on it and some sliced up mango a couple raspberries and pistachios. The cookie was very buttery and yummy and I had to control myself from eating it all. The hibiscus was a sorbet that my companion described as very flowery. Hibiscus always has a tart taste to me and so I was expecting a bit of that, but she was right, it was very flowery. Regardless, it was a light and summery companion to the dense cookie.

Service: As expected in a good restaurant the service was prompt and smooth. Napkins were refolded when I stepped away from the table. Fresh utensiles with every course.

Decor: Large space, but warm wood tones, beautiful molding, and a very cool dash of red across the top of the walls.

Mare - Organic in Boston's North End

With a name like Mare you already know the majority of the menu will be seafood oriented. What I didn't expect was a restaurant in the North End that is organic, right down to it's wine list, they also have wines that use sustainable farming methods which is pretty damn cool.

The space has the feeling of being really large, perhaps because it's on a corner and two walls are all windows. Clean modern lines let you forget you are in the North End. The only complaint is the noise level can get loud, and that does not make it a good place for an intimate meal.

We went in thinking 5 course tasting menu, at $75 it's not a bad price (you get a hot appetizer and a cold one, a primi, an entree and dessert) it is not a set menu, the chef picks it as he goes along, but if you want to try a certain dish be sure to let the waiter know and they will include it.

In the end none of us ended up with the tasting menu, because we decided we would just share all our plates.

Our amuse bouche was a crostini with fennel and onion. Good, but not supremely memorable.

Three appetizers started us off:

Kobe beef tartare was fantastic, topped with a quail egg I immediately mixed it all together and we went to town on the plate of raw meat like lions! Our waiter forgot the crostini and so the plate looked rather empty.

For our vegetarian appetizer we opted for the ricotta stuffed zucchini blossoms with melon and prosciutto. Lest you think this will be the traditional proscuitto wrapped melon, it of course wasn't. The zucchini was beyond stuffed with melted ricotta. It actually squirted as we cut it, but that didn't mean any of the filling went to waste. The cantelope and proscuitto was light and full of flavor!

And our seafood appetizer was the fried clams, not terribly original on our behalf, but fried sure sounded good. And it was! Not overly greasy with horseradish. I liked the presentation in the cone, very pomme frites-like. I placed this strategically closest to me so I could eat more than anyone else.All our entrees were seafood, it was a warm evening and lamb or steak sounded too heavy. Plus these were the three we all couldn't decide between.

The first thing on the menu that caught my eye was the lobster stuffed paccheri. So that was destined to be my entree. I have a huge dislike for mushrooms, but luckily chanterelles are one of the few I do like, so it was a bonus that they were the ones in my dish. The red currents added a nice bit of tanginess to the dish, and a good splash of color. The lobster stuffing was amazingly melt in your mouth good. I only wish there had been more of the lobster stuffing in the pasta. Our heartiest entree, and the one that half of got packed up and taken home was the shellfish risotto. Full of calamari, mussels, shrimp the result was shellfish in every bite. Fantastic! Do not be deceived by the big plate, there is plenty of food in this dish.
Our most carb-conscious dish was the tuna mezzo crudo. Perfectly seared high quality tuna, polenta (or possibly mashed potato?) wrapped in proscuitto and wilted spinach in onion cream decorating the plate. We all wanted more of the proscuitto canneloni. They should seriously consider making this an appetizer.
As a side dish we got the Gorgonzola potato gratin. It was dee-lish-ous. The gorgonzola flavor was very very mild, but I will definately entertain this idea the next time I make a potato gratin at home. Serving it in an all-clad pan was a nice touch.
By the end of the meal, no one wanted to order dessert. But my personal philosophy (stolen from a good friend) is that you must always try all a restaurant has to offer the first time you go. So I ordered the bread pudding with amaretto gelato and caramel swirls (per the waiter's recommendation). I must say, the gelato was good, but the bread pudding was a bit dry and not very flavorful, even after dipped in the caramel sauce.
The table next to us had ordered the ricotta pie with coconut sorbet and left half of it as well. So I'd say skip the desserts and just head to one of the many cafe's lining Hanover Street and pick up dessert there.

The service overall was just ok. Initially our waiter was very rushed in explaining menu options and specials, which I found a bit irritating. Tack on to that the forgotten crostini with the tartare, and not being very good about refilling our empty wine glasses, it took away from me wanting to give the service fine dining status.
I'll be back though for the food was good and original for the neighborhood. And except the dessert there wasn't a single dish I wouldn't order again.

Tapas Ashland Style - Tabu Restaurant

When I think tapas, I think enough for a couple bites per plate. This is not the case at Tabu. Small plates are not the norm here. So while we went for a light dinner after spa day, we walked away with lots of food in our bellies, and plenty to take back to the B&B with us. We had ordered all the food at once, perhaps the 2 of us should have paced ourselves.
We started off with chips, salsa and guacamole. The guacamole was smooth and fresh, I almost forgot about the salsa. A generous portion that I kept dipping in.

Next was the empanada of the day.

Pork, corn, carrots and creamy goodness fried to perfection. With a slaw like salad on the side and 2 dipping sauces (chipotle crema and something else). I am not a huge pork fan (my companion is) but this was some good stuff. We ate one and took the other back with us.

There was of course the requisite queso fundido. Cheesy goodness, some bread and the overwhelming desire to take it home and eat it for the rest of the night.

Then we had the meatballs in a saffron broth. This was the dish that should have been small, but oh no. These were some serious meatballs!

The saffron tomato broth was light, but there was also the mashed potatoes. They were yummy and there was trouble deciding if I should eat more meatballs or more potatoes. The meatballs won. I can't explain just how large they were, but take the size of a meatball in a homestyle Italian restaurant and that sounds about right. There were 3, we ate 1 1/2.

While perusing the menu I had been eyeing the sweet potato fries with jalepeno crema dipping sauce. But we decided we should get one of the dinner platos in addition to all the tapas. So we got a slow roasted pork, covered in cheese, with the potatoes on the side. And boy was that the right choice.
Again, not a fan of pork but this was tender and tasty. And of course I inhaled the fries. My friend and Tabu just may have converted me to the other white meat.

The drinks were good, the food was plentiful and tasty. And yes, as if it weren't obvious my hungry belly and I will surely be back.

Home Cooking in Portland - Mothers Bistro & Bar

Tasty tasty and cute! We popped in on a Saturday morning and while there was a line outside the wait was maybe only 5-10 minutes. I'd heard good things about Mother's and they were right. The french toast dipped in cornflakes sounds strange, but works, really well. So well, you don't even need syrup. The stuffed frittata was tasty, I like sour cream and bacon and cheese and if you put all that together you can't really go wrong.

The decor was so bright and airy, I loved the big windows, and the yellow and green walls and the chandeliers. I want a big house so I can decorate it like that.

Moral of the story: don't be intimidated by the long line on a weekend, it goes by fast.

I can't wait to get back to try thier Mac & Cheese, something tells me it won't disappoint.

Great Ambiance, Lame Service - Bluehour

I had been to Bluehour before in 2003 and absolutely loved everything about it, the food, the decor, the service. Sadly, my last visit had a very different experience. The service was subpar. Our waiter could have cared less that we were there (no bread for us, yet all the other tables got some), we ordered the cheese tray and he just put it on the table and didn't tell us what he brought out. When we asked he seemed annoyed and said "I can't really explain what I want to say" and just walked off. We stared at the cheese and each other, laughed a bit, were confused as to if he was serious. He walked by the table a couple more times, and stopped in and started telling us how hard his job was, memorizing new menus everyday, and wines, and cheeses, and he'd been there since 10 am. So here was the cheese list, we could take it shopping with us if we liked the ones he put on the tray. (Um ok, but really this is your job, I don't call my clients and bitch about how much work I have to do everyday and tell them I can't be bothered with thier work). He just had a bad attitude, and I don't go out to what is supposedly still one of Portland's best restaurants to deal with a snarky disgruntled waiter.The only thing that is meriting more than one star is the food, it is still excellent (altho my lamb was more fat than meat - it's a good thing I like lamb fat) the tuna tartare and avocado mixture was very tasty, nice touch with the tangerines, the burger my friend got was enormous, and the cheeses were quite good. We didn't try dessert, since he didn't ask us if we wanted any, and brought the check after clearing our dishes.

New Sammy's Cowboy Bistro - Ashland

While planning our trip to Ashland, I of course had to find a couple fancy food places to go. I had stumbled upon New Sammy's Cowboy Bistro in a San Francisco Chronicle article years ago, and then again in my research skills this time around. For a place in a small town outside of Ashland to have a 2 month wait list is pretty impressive. So I was excited to try this place that had no website, no menu anywhere online and quite a dramatic Bay Area history. Charlene Rollins was a cook at Chez Panisse and Vernon Rollins a French wine importer. Charlene does all the cooking and uses all organic and to the extent possible local ingredients.

Sammy's did not disappoint.

All reviews I had found said that it was hard to find, a shack hidden behind overgrown shrubs, and a parking lot that was more like a gas station. They were outdated, Sammy's is now clearly visable from the road due to a new facade, and what seems to be a greatly expanding space. It will be amazing when done.
Right now, finding the front door is a bit tricky (hint, it's inside the new building to the left down a hallway) and we had some random people who were sitting in the parking lot show us the way. There still is a garden in the back where a lot of the veggies and herbs they use are grown.

Inside, it is an eclectic old shack. Lots of menus and posters and wine labels from France line the walls. There are 2 tables in a back room (where we sat), and 4 or 5 in the front room. The ceilings are low (and I am only 5'2) and in the bathroom I almost hit my head. But all of this adds a certain charm to the spot, the hideaway it was for the owners who wanted to focus on nothing more than preparing good food and serving great wines.

I wish I knew more about non-domestic wines, the wine list is apparently incredible and impressive, but completely lost on me. Although there are some seriously expensive bottles on there (upwards of $800!) so if you are an oenophile, you should get yourself there in an instant. We had Vernon recommend a couple glasses of wine that would go well with our meals, and he was spot on.

For dinner I opted for the evening's three course prix fixe menu ($58) with the addition of an appetizer from the regular menu. Yes, the prix fixe came with a salad, but the appetizer sounded too good to not try.

We had an amuse bouche, mine was a chicken pate with a pickled cherry (soooooo good, I wanted to come home and do the same), some mustard, and pickles. It took me a while to finish it because it was so yummy I wanted to make it last as long as possible. My companion (A) had a sorrel soup, it was fresh tasting with a touch of creme fraiche and wasabi. The wasabi threw me off a bit, since normally I am ready to suck down anything involving sorrel and it took me a moment to realize why this tasted different.

The appetizer I got was fresh sugar snap peas (from the farm) with proscuitto and a sort of rice pudding. Portion size was quite hearty and it was indeed very filling. The freshness of the peas and mint was a good balance with the richness of the rice. We kept forcing ourselves to eat it, even though we were full and had other dishes coming, because something about it was just so right.
The salad that came with the prix fixe dinner was also huge. Soft boiled egg, applewood bacon, bay shrimp, and more fresh greens from the garden. I couldn't eat it all. It was fantastic however.

A got a salad as well, which was smaller, and also quite fresh and good.

The theme of the night was definately the fresh tasting goodness of food that comes straight from the land.

A got a ravioli entree with of course more garden-fresh peas, and I got a braised lamb with ricotta gnocchi. Little fluffy pillows of gnocchi. Honestly, the best I've ever had. Her ravioli were huge and light and so fresh tasting. This was the key to Charlene's cooking, everything tasted so crisp and clean and you just knew it was fresh. It's amazing what a difference that makes in the flavor of the food.

Dessert was a bowl of melted chocolate with scoops of ice cream and cornmeal biscotti. Let me repeat, MELTED CHOCOLATE. Nothing can be wrong in this world after eating that. It was insanely rich, I doubt the chocolate was diluted with anything. And all I wanted was to figure out how to transport it back to the B&B because I just wanted to eat it all night long.

A got a strawberry chiffon cake, with deliciously thick and rich frosting and cake that was light as air. She ate the cake, I ate the frosting. There was a final dessert amuse bouche, a cornmeal sugar cookie shaped like a cow. A ginger chocolate and a Meyer lemon jelly sqaure. A bit of whimsey to finish off the evening, and so you don't forget that Sammy wanted the cowboys to come eat here.

I don't know about the cowboys, but I will be back anytime I am in the greater Southern Oregon neighborhood.

Location: New Sammy's Cowboy Bistro. 2210 South Pacific Highway. Talent, OR 97540. 541-535-2779