Teatro, Boston

There was a TV show, or movie, or something several years ago where the main character looks at a friend who has just advised him not to "rest on his laurels" and states something along the lines of "well why not? why can't I rest on my laurels? They are my laurels to rest on!". I wish I could remember where the scene took place because whenever somebody says the same thing to me I always remember that line and laugh. The warning is a good one though- to never be content with past achievements as that can lead to future failures.

I had heard great things about Teatro, a touted "contemporary Italian" eatery located incredibly conveniently next to the Boston Common Theater on Tremont Street. We went last night after I had read the menu for two days, and I was really excited. We arrived just around the 7:30 dinner rush, but were seated promptly without a reservation. Definitely a plus there. The room definitely gives off a "trendy" vibe with its blue tones and minimal art work. Judging by the carpet on the floor, high ceilings and sound barriers on the walls you can tell, though, that acoustics are an issue here when the place is full. But no matter to us, it was a nice hum that filled the space and we were happy to be there.

The menu is divided between small plates and regular sized entrees, so we decided to have a meal comprised of a few of the small plates and one of their pizzas to share. We selected their garlicky white bean puree, their veal meatballs served in a sage Marsala sauce, and their Gulf shrimp bruschetta as our small plates. They arrived quickly and we set to work. I started with a meatball. At first bite I was pleased to find that it was very moist, if lacking just a bit in flavor. I had tried it though without the sauce. Assuming that the sauce would add that burst of flavor I made sure that I had a good amount of it for my second bite. Unfortunately, while it did add flavor, it was the wrong flavor. It appears that they had mixed reduced Marsala wine into tomato sauce, but hadn't countered the sweetness of the wine at all. The result was just incredibly sweet. I also couldn't detect any sage in the sauce at all, which seemed almost in spite of the leaf of sage that had been placed on top of the meatballs in the serving dish.
Slightly disappointed, I turned my attention to the bean dip. A healthy portion of the dip, was served with just three small crostini. The dip itself had been topped with non pureed beans, parsley and a drizzle of olive oil, and even with all of that, it some how just didn't have a lot of flavor. The garlic essence was minimal at best, and the only real prevalent flavor was the bean itself, which isn't a terrible thing, but slightly boring.
I turned my attention to the Gulf Shrimp bruschetta. Three plump shrimp sat a top a long piece of crostini that appeared to have been grilled and had lovely charred marks on it. The shrimp had a nice sprinkling of shaved garlic and crushed red pepper flakes over the top. This looked good. First bite was of a shrimp by itself. Nothing. No flavor at all. Shrimp-plain, ordinary shrimp. If you were lucky enough to get a flake of hot pepper then a second of heat would come through-otherwise no flavor. Ok. So I tried a piece of the bread....the weirdly soggy bread. I have no idea what they had doused this with after it was removed from the grill- but once lovely, crispy, charred bread had been absolutely flooded with some sort of liquid. However, on the plus side, the liquid had flavor! Paired together though, the shrimp and the bread, didn't quite do it. The shrimp still tasted just of shrimp, slightly over cooked, and the flavor from the bread just stood on its own. All in all- it was just odd.
We moved on to the pizza. We had elected to go clean and simple with the pizza topping and had asked for just mozzarella with tomato and oregano. The pizza came out on thin grilled crust, the type of pizza I have been obsessed with recently. The crust was great- crispy and well seasoned with olive oil, and the char of the grill. The sauce was delicious- delicate tomatoes, not over done with spices and seasonings, the perfect back drop to the delicious cheese and the fresh oregano that was liberally scattered over the top. The pizza was the absolute star of the evening. I would go back for this alone.
Riding on the success of the pizza, we chose to have one more small plate to see if it was any better than the first three. We selected the beef short rib arancini served with a truffled aioli. I really love a good arancini, and those that do them correctly-wow the are fantastic. Little balls of fried risotto heaven. These were not that. The serving was four arancini, which were fried to a beautiful golden brown, served with the aioli on top and garnished with fried parsley. The arancini themselves were lacking. They were actually lacking several things, the first being the short ribs. Inside the arancini I found maybe three strands of what had been a rib, but I suppose it could have been discolored rice. I have no idea as the other thing lacking was, again, flavor. The risotto was very flat tasting. The aioli tasted 100% like mayonnaise, no truffle detected. I hoped that the fried parsley may punch it up a bit- it did not.
I'll use another pop culture reference since my first was untraceable. Do you remember the episode of Seinfeld where Kramer loses his sense of taste? He ran into Jerry's apartment while it was being fumigated, killed his taste buds and even the most flavorful peach in the world had no flavor to him anymore. I searched my mind last night to remember if I had been in a fumigated apartment recently and had killed my taste buds. I have not.
Teatro is in a fantastic location, and has won praise in the past. My fear is that they are now resting on their laurels hoping that their praise from before, and their proximity to the movie theatre and the theatre district will keep them in business. I hope that that is not the case, and that maybe I hit an off night. Either way, if I return to Teatro it will be for nothing more than the pizza.

Brazilian Cocktail Party, December 3, 2009

It certainly is cold out! Winter is definitely upon us here in Boston, and I'm sure most of us are just itching to get away to warmer climates! How about a taste of those sunny locales right here in Boston?? The Slow Food Boston Organization is inviting us all on a mini escape-no air fare needed- just head on over to Cambridge tomorrow night, Thursday, December 3, 2009 for a Brazilian Cocktail Party!

"Brazilian Cocktail Party, Part 1 This December Slow Food Boston is kicking off a series exploring the food traditions of local immigrant groups. First stop: Brazil! Nazare and Washington—two of the volunteer cooks for our upcoming festa—and I are here at Casa de Carnes Solução, a Brazilian butcher shop on Bow St. in Somerville. We're shopping for the ingredients for pão de queijo, rolls made from manioc and cheese from Minas Gerais, region of origin for most of Massachusetts' estimated 75,000 to 230,000 Brazilians. Let's take a look inside!

Brazilian Event Promo Shopping from Slow Food - Boston on Vimeo.

We hope you'll come by on December 3rd for a frosty caipirinha, piping hot cheese rolls and 7 other delicious appetizers prepared by the Brazilian staff of the Massachusetts Alliance of Portuguese Speakers (MAPS), our host and partner for the event. Proceeds will be donated to their AIDS/HIV Prevention & Education Program. Brazilian Cocktail Party Thursday, December 3rd, 6:30-9:30 pm Massachusetts Alliance of Portuguese Speakers 1046 Cambridge Street Tickets $20; reserve them here.
Next up: a Vietnamese picnic in spring 2010. Email me if you have ideas for others!
Anastacia Marx de Salcedo, Slow Food Boston "


Slow Food Boston is a non profit organization advocating sustainability and biodiversity through out the Boston area. You guessed it-this means that the Brazilian Cocktail Party will be full of fresh locally grown produce and foods- AND of course those amazing flavors will bring you right on over to Brazil with their beaches and sun :-).

Ruth's Chris Steakhouse, Boston

Continuing our quest to find our favorite steakhouse in Boston, we stumbled into Ruth's Chris the other night to escape from the rain and the cold. Being an extreme lover of American History, especially since Boston is steeped in it, I was thrilled by the location.
Right on the Freedom Trail, just steps from the Capital building sits the Old City Hall built between 1862 and 1865 and used as the official City Hall building until 1969, it is a real piece of Bostonian History. Though for over a century this building held the law makers of this great city, today it is occupied by over 20 different businesses. One of which is Ruth's Chris Steakhouse.
Entering the building gave me a feeling of mystery and wonder, and I hoped for an equally pleasing dinner. We were seated promptly, in what the host was pleasant enough to tell us was his favorite room. It was a lovely room- stone and wood, perfect for the time period in which the building was built. Once seated we were handed menus, and within just moments our server came to greet us. Throughout the evening, I have to say, I was incredibly impressed with her- she had reached the perfect combination of professionalism and familiarity to make me feel right at home.
We decided to start with their Crabtini- which was large chunks of crab meat dressed in a light vinaigrette, enhanced with just some light veggies and lettuce all served in a martini glass. It was delicious. I was very surprised at the size of the crab, they were honestly huge, and of course sweet and tasty. The vinaigrette offset the sweetness really nicely, and all in all it was a perfect palate teaser for the steaks that we were about to enjoy.
I chose the Ribeye for myself, and John decided on a Petite Filet and Shrimp combination that paired two 4 oz Filet's with Gulf Shrimp. We also decided to share their sauteed spinach and their mashed potatoes. My steak was perfect-well marbled, full of flavor, moist and tender and exactly medium rare as specified. Fantastic. I loved every bite of it- even the leftovers I brought home! John's shrimp were also wonderful, and his steak had great flavor, though his was a bit over cooked which was disappointing, however this didn't seem to diminish his experience too greatly. The mashed potatoes that we selected were described as having just a hint of garlic-wow were these addictive. The garlic was present, but not over powering, and nicely blended in. Normally I can resist having more than three or four bites of potatoes, but these- I just couldn't keep my fork away. The spinach, on the other hand, was a bit of a failure. While the menu described it as being sauteed with just a little butter, what we were served, based on the amount of water that was in the dish as well, appeared to steamed which I would normally be fine with, except that it was insanely salty. No more than just a few bites of the spinach got down- but thank goodness that wasn't the main entree.
Dinner complete, but wine still to be drunk we decided to take a look at the dessert menu. The perfect end to the meal was found in a delicious Creme Brulee served with fresh berries decorating the top. Something about cracking through the top crunchy layer of sugar into the creamy and wonderful custard below is just heaven.
Ruth's Chris has definitely won my affection. From entrance, to the kindness and friendliness of the staff, to the wonderful food, I am definitely a fan and hope to return again very soon.

Ducali, North End, Boston

Sometimes all you want is a good pizza. Sunday night after watching a very satisfying Pats game we were in the mood for a great pie. Being too lazy to make it over to Santarpio's for the all time best, we decided to try a new-ish place on the outskirts of the North End. Ducali opened just this past July and has gotten pretty decent reviews for a new place in an area of town where people know their pizza. Located on Causeway Street, just past the Garden, they offer casual fare, pizza, paninis and a good selection of beers and wines. We headed in to grab a pizza go go, and decided to indulge in a drink and share their antipasto misto plate while we waited.
The antipasto was simple, but delicious. Prosciutto and Salami paired with Parmesan and Provolone cheeses decorated the plate in generous portions. The meats were fantastic, cured to salty perfection, just the right flavors and consistency. The cheeses were equally as good- the Parmesan salty and crumbly, the Provolone creamy and rich. Both offset the meats in their own way and made for a really tasty appetizer.
We had decided to keep our pizza order simple, and went with just a Margherita, which is always one of my favorites. Simple Mozzarella cheese, tomatoes and basil- its a combination that you just cant go wrong with, and when done well, its outstanding. Based on our experience with the appetizer, I couldn't wait to get home and try out their pizza which was sure to be a hit.
Words cannot describe the disappointment. John's very first bite contained a hair. I wont go into detail as it still grosses me out, but it was a hair and therefore it was an uneaten pizza that then hit the trash can. To be honest- I have to state-it didn't look that great either, but then maybe I'm just bitter. A half hour and one phone call to our reliable delivery place Cinderella's later, and we had a pizza once again- hair free.
I cannot begin to express the disgust that I have for unsanitary eating establishments. Ducali- invest in some hairnets, or hats or something-no one wants a hair with their mozzarella. I don't care how good your antipasto is- I won't be returning

Ginger Yam Soup

So its become increasingly obvious that I am slightly obsessed with soups. I love having a nice comforting bowl of soup for lunch, and even more so I love to come up with interesting ideas for healthy soups and then having them simmer away on the stove. Its become a weekly tradition now for me to make a big pot of soup on Sunday, divvy it into containers, and freeze them to be pulled out for lunch throughout the week. Fantastic, easy, convenient, and healthy-what could be better?
This weeks soup though, well I am 100% in love with it. I had a few things on had that I wanted to use up before they got "weird" in the fridge, but also really wanted to try a soup with pureed yam. Yams are one of those great veggies, but I never really think about using. They are high in vitamins, low in saturated fat and sodium, and help to protect you against osteoporosis, heart disease, diabetes and obesity-sign me up! Off to the grocery store I went and picked up a couple of yams, celery, baby spinach, red pepper, low sodium chicken broth, spicy Italian style chicken sausage, and a can of Cannelini beans (of course).

Back at home I started my soup by peeling and slicing the yams into chunks, and pealing and chopping a tablespoon of fresh ginger. I added both to an empty small sauce pan, filled with water til just above the potato line, and set to boil. Then I started on the rest of my ingredients-grated ginger, chopped garlic, celery, carrots, and onion, and added them to a big pot to start to simmer with a few sprigs of chopped rosemary, a teaspoon of butter, and about the same of olive oil, salt and pepper. Then I added the chicken sausage which I had just sliced into about 1/4 to 1/2 inch slices. Let those brown a bit and cook with the rest of the flavors. While all of those ingredients melded together and scented my kitchen with all sorts of wonderful smells, I strained the potatoes and ginger from their hot water boil, and put them into my food processor, added a can of beans, a little salt and pepper, a few more sprigs of rosemary, and started to blend. As I blended I slowly added the chicken stock until it reached the consistency I was hoping for. Once we reached that level I tasted it a few times, loving the ginger flavor, and then fiddling with the salt/pepper ratio and throwing in a bit of crushed red pepper for a kick. A few more pulses in the processor, and it was ready to be added to the vegetable/chicken mixture on the stove.
What a beautiful looking soup it was! Great color from the yams, and the carrots and celery dotted through with vibrant orange and green. I let it simmer for a bit, then added half of a red pepper, chopped, and several very large handfuls of spinach. Once the spinach wilted, I turned the heat off so it wouldn't lose its pretty color.
The flavors of this soup are pretty incredible. I have always loved the smell and taste of ginger, and with the cold and flu season upon us, I tend to stock up on it. Its believed that its properties can ward off the symptoms of both cold and flu...worth a shot in my book! So while the ginger has a very nice presence, the rosemary really offsets it nicely with an earthy flavor. The yam/been puree gives a beautiful velvety texture offset with the great texture changes of crunchy carrot, and celery. Though I'm all for protein in soup as I think its more filling, I could definitely see making this without the chicken sausage and swapping the chicken stock for vegetable stock for a vegetarian variation.

This one will definitely be made again-I can feel my immune system boosting with every spoonful!

Turners Fisheries, Boston

Last night I had the extreme honor of being invited to the roll out of the new menu at Turner Fisheries at the Westin Copley here in Boston. The honor, really, was two fold. First, of course, it is always incredible to see what new ideas a Chef is coming up with, where his creativity is headed, and how he executes those new creations. Second, but only second in listing and not in importance, was the reason for the new menu. Executive Chef Chris Masco has made a commitment to preserving our earth by embracing the ideals of Sustainability. The new menu that they are rolling out will utilize seafood and produce that has been harvested by those fisherman and farmers who work under the premise of responsibly using natural resources, and giving back to the earth where they can. That means using energy more efficiently, breaking down recycle ables in the cleanest way possible, and cutting down on waste. Its amazing how simple of a concept it is, but incredible how much we all seem to forget. I'll stop myself before I get off on too much of a bandwagon, but I will say that it is impressive for a company to make such a commitment, and a great example to set.

The menu that we dined on last night was the brainchild of Chef de Cuisine Armand Toutaint, and what a journey of well prepared seafood it was. He started us off with a quad tasting of their first course offerings: their "hall of fame" clam chowder, a fried oyster, beet tartar and a seared diver scallop. The clam chowder was rich and full of flavor, the broth thinner than I am used to, but so delicious with big pink clams spotting through out. Delicious, and very satisfying on a cold night. I could have eaten quite a bit more than I allowed myself to, but I had to move on to my fried oyster. This was such a beautiful presentation. The golden fried oyster sitting in its shell on top of just a bit of creamed spinach, and topped with a beautiful yellow hollandaise sauce dotted with pancetta. Gorgeous to look at and delicious to eat. The thickness batter was a bit surprising but it held the whole dish together really well and gave it a real backbone. I then moved on to the seared scallop that was so nicely complimented with a Bosc Pear chutney. The scallop was perfectly cooked, beautifully golden brown, and the chutney had wonderful flavors of sweet and tang they really played well off of each other. The final piece was the beet tartar that was dressed with an apple balsamic, and complimented with rocket greens (arugula) and a lovely piece of bruleed goat cheese. Now, let it be known, as my mother can clearly testify to, I am NOT a fan of beets. Never have been. But I have to say- these were some tasty beets. The golden variety, beautifully dressed with the balsamic that added a nice sweetness to them, and then combined with the rocket-really lovely. The bruleed goat cheese was the scene stealer of that plate though- that beautiful golden crust with its smokey hints, atop the tangy soft cheese-perfection. Sad as it was to come to the close of our first course, it had to be done, and then it was time for the second course.

With another showstopper for presentation, we were each served a little bowl of Pappardelle pasta mixed with chunks of fresh lobster meat, cured tomato, edamame, held together with a chervil cream and topped with a substantial sized piece of lobster. The chervil cream mixed with the tomatoes to make just a beautiful sauce for the dish, decadent at the same time as being light, with just hints of the herb throughout. The pappardelle had great texture to it, and was nicely offset by the toothsome edamame. John, the lucky boy who got to accompany me on this journey, did think that perhaps the pappardelle was a bit too large of a noodle for the dish, and we decided that it did make it a bit difficult to combine it with the different elements of the dish. The lobster though- wow. It was just perfect. Sweet and tender each piece left me excited for the next.

Our third course for the evening was our entree course- three perfectly sized servings of three different types of fish, each complimented with their own sides. The first was a beautiful piece of Loch Duart Scottish Salmon, sitting on top of a beautiful scoop of Laughing Bird shrimp fried rice, accented with thinly sliced jicama and apple, with a tamarind reduction. Our extremely helpful waiter was quick to point out that the Laughing Bird Shrimp, comes from one of, if not the only, sustainable, eco friendly shrimp farms. Now that's a feat! I actually somehow managed to not not receive a shrimp with my portion of rice so I had to steal one from John- and it was just as you'd think, sweet and delicious. I loved the combination of the fried rice with all of its wonderful salty smokey flavors with the salmon- a great combination. The ahi tuna had been seared with an orange and sesame crust which gave the fish such a wonderful flavor, though I would have loved even more of the orange. It was served with a lentil succotash which added just enough texture to the tuna to really compliment it and tie it all together. The final piece was a lovely piece of haddock, dressed with a fennel buerre blanc with an accompaniment of blue crab mashed yam side. The yam was simply enhanced really allowing the natural sweetness to shine through, and the blue crab was just an added decadence. The haddock itself was well cooked and that buerre blanc...well there is nothing wrong with buerre blanc!

We ended the evening with with a white chocolate mousse terrine. Not only was this delicious, but beautiful to look at. They had used a mold that had three sections to it, and each had been topped with a different sauce, one a simple caramel, another a port inspired and the third had been enhanced with the flavors of Baileys. Each one was so delicious, it was impossible to stop nibbling on them. To lighten the dish the terrine had been placed on a berry smear that was enhanced with toffee chips. The whole dessert was perfectly held together and held my interest much further than white chocolate normally does. A wonderful end to an amazing meal.

Though I normally don't discuss the libations of the evening, I think it is important to mention the wines that were served. Both were products of the Frei Brothers Reserve, a division of the Gallo Winery. The first and second courses were served with a Chardonnay, and the third and fourth courses with a Pinot Noir. I have always been under the impression that red wine just doesn't match well with fish, some of it I'm sure comes from my own want for color palates to match-light protein, light wine, dark protein, dark wine- and the rest comes from simple tradition. Luckily I was sitting with the representative from the Gallo Vineyard and his statement clarified it all for me- either contrast the flavors (sweet wine with a spicy meal), or match the weight of the dish- salmon is a strong fish and it can stand up to a nice red.

I bring up the Gallo Vineyard though for another reason as well. In the spirit of the eco friendly menu and efforts of sustainability- the Gallo Vineyard has embraced these ideals since the 1930's-far before the rest of the world caught on. A family run business they are doing their part to preserve our land and give back where they can. Another inspiring company....

My evening at Turner's was an absolute joy. The meal was incredible, and the premise even more so. I want to say a thank you to Tom, Brie and Marija from 451 Marketing, the wonderful folks at the Westin and Turners, and Joe from Gallo Winery. I can do nothing more than to tip my glass to the Chef Armand Toutaint for an amazing experience.

Small Plates, Harvard Square, Cambridge

I have to say, there is nothing better than catching up with old friends. Spending time with those people you've known "forever", and even better doing so over a good meal. So when a good friend asked us to head to dinner with she and her boyfriend, I jumped at the idea. She and I have very similar tastes in food, and always love trying places that we haven't gotten to check out before, so we easily decided to check out Small Plates, a tapas style restaurant in Harvard Square, Cambridge.
Tapas style is one of my favorite ways of eating- small plates of food, designed for sharing, tasting, and trying. For someone who is forever asking for bites of my companions food, this is really the best way to go out to dinner with me :-). Small Plates has a beautiful location, tucked back from busy JFK street, you almost forget for a moment where you are and allow yourself to be transported to a quieter time where "strolling" is all the rage. Inside, the restaurant is cleanly designed and exudes a quiet elegance.
Once we had all arrived, we began to peruse the menu, each of us calling out dishes that sounded appealing to us. Since it was small plates, we decided to start off with six chosen dishes plus one "gimme" thinking that if that wasn't enough food we'd just order a few more plates. You may be wondering what a "gimme" is my friend and I, through the years, have realized that there are some things that we just order and its obvious we'll order them. Things that we love, and are usually just sorta small little things. Here, it was the rosemary and garlic marinated olives, elsewhere it may be sweet potato fries. Along with the olives, we also ordered the Mussels, the Pissaladiere, the Baby Artichokes, the Jerk Chicken, the Two Killer B's (sliders), and the Spicy Tuna.
The olives arrived, and soon there after each of the next plates began to arrive. The olives, the treasured olives that we had been so excited about, were terrible. I tried several to try to find a flavor other than soap in them, but sadly that's all I tasted...soap. Hmmm ok- I still held on for the next dishes. The Two Killer B's were tasty-the mini burgers themselves were nothing special really, but they were served with a homemade ketchup which I thought was fantastic. It had great depth of flavor to it- and a lovely texture. The Spicy Tuna, served with a "crispy sushi rice cake" and a "wasabi grapefruit drizzle" was the highlight of the evening- perfect seared tuna, just enough spice...the tuna was great. The rice cake however was not crispy, which was a shame as I would have thought that the texture combination between the soft tuna and the cake would have been great, and I couldn't detect the wasabi or the grapefruit. Despite those- the tuna was definitely the star of the evening. The final highlight of the evening- the Jerk Chicken. Served with mashed plantains they had great contrast between the sweet of the fruit and the spice of the jerk. Delicious.
The remaining dishes however- eh. The Pissaladiere, which, I've learned, is a type of pizza made/served in the South of France, near Nice. Traditionally, it is served as a white pizza, without tomatoes, and is served on a crust thicker than regular pizza dough. Small Plates version was a mixture of various roasted veggies and chevre all on top of puff pastry. It was ok. I didn't really find anything special with this one. The mussels were cooked fine, the sauce tasted hauntingly of tomato juice without much addition. They had added in two snails which were a nice touch, but mine was a bit over cooked. Finally with the mussels that had place a piece of bread which is rather traditional to serve with mussels and always appreciated, however this one was rock hard. Even with a knife in the mix it was incredibly difficult to chip off a piece, and then it was quite a gnaw to to be able to swallow it. Sad, I have to say.
The baby artichoke was another miss in my book- the artichokes were over cooked rendering half of it inedible. They were served with poached shrimp which were ok by the reports of others, panchetta and preserved lemon. The lemon made a very strong impression on the dish, which is really neither good or bad, but the panchetta was nice and crispy and added good texture contrast.
After plowing our way through these, we decided that we were still pretty hungry and so we decided to order just two more- the Paella, and the Chicken Soulvaki. We ordered, and were told by our waitress, who was incredibly sweet, that there would be just a slight wait as the kitchen was backed up. Ok- a slight wait is fine- good company over rules any annoyance of a wait. So we sat, and we chatted. And then we waited some more, and chatted some more, and then we decided to get a bit more wine, so then we waited some more, and more again. Finally, the dishes arrived, but no wine- so we cancelled the wine. Honestly for a tapas place where the very nature of the cuisine is to enjoy different rounds of food- the wait for two small plates was insane. The really upsetting part though was that once we had finally survived the wait, the last two plates were again- meh. I have to say-they were not at all memorable.
Small Plates is definitely off my list for a return visit. I love the location, the interior and our waitress was wonderful, but the food was just not what I was hoping for at all. With all of the other delightful tapas spots in town, I have to completely remove this one as an option.