Bahston: (some of) The Food

Posted on August 9, 2010 by appsscraps

1) this tuna tartare was the best thing I ate while in Boston


I ate a lot of good food in Boston. For a wee town of some 650K souls, it has some very good food. The best thing I ate in Boston was a tuna tartare with avocado, spicy radish and ginger dressing. It was at Market, one of Jean-Georges Vongerichten’s restaurants located in W Hotel Boston. While service was uneven here – mixed up orders; orders delivered without the mayo on the side as requested (thoroughly unacceptable in a restaurant of this level); a beer spilled by the server off our table (and narrowly missing me) – the food did make up for it … just.


2) Legal Sea Foods

Very late one night – we seemed to eat late every night actually – we found ourselves dining at 10:30pm at Legal Sea Foods (Long Wharf), which is a Boston institution. I had crab cakes, which I though were just okay. Blee had a very good cioppino, essentially a seafood bouillabaisse with lobster, scallops, shrimp, calamari, littlenecks and mussels. G had a cup of their, rightly, famous chowder which Boston Magazine advises is the best in the city. So thick you could have stood a knife in it. Glad I tried it but really, there are much better options. Service was excellent. 


3) Blee prepares to dig-in; 4) inside the restaurant … decor gets a 2 out of 10


5) my crab cakes in low light; 6) Blee’s good cioppino

The highlight of the trip was a meal at one of Boston’s premier restaurants – L’espalier. While the name is decidedly French and the food pays homage to classic French cuisine and preparation (with a refreshing commitment to local sourcing of everything New England), the French language is non-existent. C’est dommage. Chef is Frank McClelland.

We tried the summer degustation with wine pairing and over the course of 3-some hours, we tried:

  • Island Creek oyster with American caviar and seasonal accompaniments
    • 2005 WESTPORT RIVERS, “CUVÉE RJR,” BRUT, WESTPORT, MA
  • Chilled white gazpacho with smoked Wellfleet clams, mussels, and chorizo oil
  • Hudson Valley foie gras terrine with black cherry purée and pickled shallots
    • 2007 CHÂTEAU DE LA ROULERIE, COTEAUX DU LAYON, LOIRE
  • Painted Hills beef tenderloin with local burrata and aged balsamic vinegar
    • 2007 CHÂTEAU DE SEGRIES, LIRAC, RHONE
  • Selection of cheeses and condiments (toasted pine nuts in honey was fab!)
  • A selection of desserts

7) lovely contemporary decor; 8) the cheese cart was TO DIE FOR and was parked right beside us … we seriously considered pocketing chunks and dashing


9) Island Creek oyster with American caviar and seasonal accompaniments; 10)  Chilled white gazpacho with smoked Wellfleet clams, mussels, and chorizo oil – the second best thing I ate in Boston

 
11 & 12) ) Hudson Valley foie gras terrine with black cherry purée and pickled shallots
13) Painted Hills beef tenderloin with local burrata and aged balsamic vinegar


14) the assortment of American cheeses (most from Maine and Vermont


15) amazing dessert but I was so full

One night we opted to eat in and tried a pizza place in Chinatown (of all places) that served an Asian-inspired pizza that was delicious. Sorry I can’t remember the name as Cousin Richard and G went out to get these while Blee and I stayed in to drink


 
16) Cousin Richard in shooting moment; 17) the Asian-inspired pizza


18) the veggie pizza; 19) fabulous Earl of Sandwich breakfast sandwich I had at Boston Logan Airport

We returned from Boston with a good haul – two bottles of Veuve Clicquot (got these priced 2 for 1 at a wee place in Northie, complete with little refrigerator) and a bottle of Veuve Clicquot La Grande Dame, 1998 – which while at US$145.00 is pricey, still is dirt cheap compared to what you’d buy it here in Ontario at – essentially another $100 dollars. Gotta love a deal!

20) the haul

21 & 22) upon returning home, more champagne to celebrate a return to the True North
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