toro

Toro is the joint creation of Ken Oringer and Chef Jamie Bissonnette (a James Beard Foundation nominee for Best Chef, Northeast 2013) that opened in 2005 and is expanding to a second location in New York City later this year. A Barcelona-style tapas restaurant  featuring locally sourced ingredients in the South End, Toro has been met with critical acclaim, and a large fan-base.

I have had Toro on my go-to list for a while now, but with no reservations being accepted, and three-hour waits being known on the weekends for dinner, I thought I would never find the time. One day after work I ran over to be there for their 5pm opening, figuring I would be seated immediately and guaranteed a spot! I was met with about 30 other people that had the exact same idea. Shocked, I added my name to the list, and sat at the bar while waiting for a table. I enjoyed a cocktail (the Briarpatch made with housemade raspberry vodka, rhubarb and lime), which was a bit sweet for me (but I'm a bit of a baby when it comes to sugary cocktails). A few minutes later we were seated at a tall table with stools, and by the time we were seated almost all of the tables had already been spoken for. I was amazed, and even more excited for the food with all of this popularity.

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We started with the tortilla espanola, an egg, potato & onion omlet with aioli. This was my favorite dish of the entire night, and I couldn't stop eating it. I may have eaten more than my fair share of this dish, and I'm not really sorry about it, because it was so worth it.
 

Next was the dish I thought would be the healthiest and lightest dish of the night, the gambas al ajillo: griddled garlic shrimp with cascabal chilies. I wasn't expecting a thick sauce nor a heap of saffron, and was looking forward to a punch of garlic, but was so sad when these didn't work out. I couldn't taste any garlic, nor any chilies, but rather just tasted an overpowering saffron.

Our next dish was the empanada de pollo y patatas: housemade chicken and potato empanada with tomatillo salsa and aioli. This dish was unmemorable for me, but my friends ranked it as one of their favorites for the meal.
 

Half of the table, myself included (obviously), shared the asado de huesos: roasted bone marrow with radish citrus salad and oxtail marmalade. This was my friend's first time experiencing bone marrow, which he concluded tastes like "butter, but on crack". Valid comparison. This dish ended up being my second favorite of the night, but mostly because of the perfect oxtail marmalade, which was just sinfully delicious.
 

 

Our second to last course was the costilla de buey: kabayaki glazed short ribs with chilled farro, cucumbers, radish and hazelnuts. While ordering, this was the one dish I was most excited for, but sadly it was not my favorite. Although the meat was perfectly prepared and tasted like soft beef stew in each bite, the glaze overpowered the cucumber, radish, and hazelnut taste, and we were left with only a pinch of a hit of salt as a finishing taste.

 

Our final dish were the famous house special maiz asado con aioli y queso cotija: grilled corn with aioli, lime, espelette pepper and aged cheese. Dining with a Texan, he did not seem fazed by the layers of heaviness propped on this special. On the other hand, the Northeasterns were quite intimidated, used to our steamed fresh corn with a sprinkling of salt and a light slather of butter, this was quite different. With the charred bits tasting of popcorn, the taste was there, but this was the heaviest vegetable I've ever eaten. Also, this was the ugliest dish to eat, as we were left wiping slathered aioli off our faces, not so cute.

 

Although full at this point, we asked to just see the desserts, but the menu is verbal and consists of cheese or CHURROS. Obviously we had to say yes to churros...I mean, really, who says no to churros? Doused in cinnamon-sugar and served with a thick chocolate sauce, this dessert was just the heavy cherry on top of the heavy dinner we had just ingested. The choice to get churros was definitely our fault, and I take responsibility for that fault.
 

As we rolled our way out of the restaurant, we compared dishes. Some preferred the empanadas, we all agreed on the tortilla espanola, and we disagreed on the corn. In the end, I was a bit let down, and so torn. I had such high expectations, and there were definitely some shining dishes (oxtail marmalade, yes please), but we all left so uncomfortable after eating such heavy dishes (with so many including aioli), that I'm not sure if I will return. If I do go back, I will definitely be ordering more off of the left side of the menu, the smaller bites, and the cold dishes, to attempt to try some lighter dishes they offer.

For more information on Toro, visit their website. A great piece of information is the fact that they serve the entire dinner menu on their lunch menu as well, so if you're in the area, stop in for your chance of a less-crowded spot for a lunch!

*: Yelp

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asta

The newest addition to the thriving Back Bay dining scene is Asta, a tasting-menu-only spot with a casual feel and extraordinary offerings. Asta is the first restaurant of L'Espalier's former sous-chef Alex Crabb. With an open layout with an open kitchen, minimalist decor, and welcoming staff, the place immediately feels like you're over to a friend's place for a dinner, but a friend that can actually cook...really well.

 

 

The menu is divided into 3 choices, 3-, 5-, or 8-courses with optional wine pairings. A nice change from the usual is the fact that not everyone at the table has to get the same option. I went with the 5 and T went with the 8.
 

 

My first course was the carrot licorice mustard oil "risotto". A warm carrot with a hint of licorice, cut to look like rice.

T started with the oyster "smoked and raw" with a cold, crisp brine, with a splash celery juice served on a bed of salt.

Next T had the essex greens with soft egg and a tasty tasty anchovy cracker, a take on a deconstructed caesar salad.

My second course was "after the storm" with seaweed, salmon roe & mussels. To me, this actually just tasted like the ocean, I wasn't a big fan, but luckily it worked out because it was one of T's favorites, so we swapped...

I swapped with T and enjoyed the peas & fava beans with sheep's milk cheese and mushrooms...one of my favorites, I wish I could make this for myself every day.

T had the poached arctic char with ramps & cherries, and a sprinkling of honey and granola, perhaps his favorite combination of all.

Next was my second favorite course of all, the quail stuffed with escargot, green garlic & fava leaves, topped with a branch of a fortune cookie-like texture.

 

For T's 5th course, they gave him my favorite of the whole meal...the grilled scallop woth farro, blueberries, and coriander. The combination of these ingredients were out of this world, my favorite course hands-down, even if the rest of the meal was terrible I would return for this one dish.
 

My final savory course was the ridiculously lean & tender lamb with chopped herbs & spinach along with foraged mushrooms swimming in a puree of sorts. With no trace of a gamey flavor, neither T nor I had tasted a piece of lamb quite like this one.

 

T's final savory course was the duck breast with beets & scallions. The duck was perfectly evenly cooked with crispy skin with the beets being sweet despite being very thinly sliced.

T's 7th course was the campari stewed rhubarb with ricotta, pink peppercorns, and dehydrated grapefruit. I have never disagreed with T more over a dish than I did on this one...I absolutely did not understand this dish and was overwhelmed with the grapefruit slices. On the other hand, T almost licked the plate he was so in love with it.

My dessert was the swiss roll with chocolate, a passion fruit filling, and a sprinkling of tobacco. Light, refreshing, and bright, it was a nice conclusion to the meal.

T's dessert was an almond and apricot cake with rosemary milk. I was only given a nibble of this, as he was very protective over his favorite dish.

We ended with some tea & coffee, along with a variety of petit-fours. By the end of the meal, with the large portions it was getting difficult to eat more, but we pushed on as the dishes got surprisingly better dish by dish. Each time we were blown away, and had to share our glorious dish with the other, trying to decide who won. In the end the splitting and switching of the dishes worked out perfectly and we both left stuffed to the brim with great wine & even better food.

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boston restaurants: h

For a combined celebration of Valentine's Day and the 1-year anniversary of the blog, T chose the highest rated "H" restaurant on Opentable: Hungry Mother. Hungry Mother was opened in 2008 in Cambridge serving Southern-inspired foods to the hungry crowd in Kendall. Chef Barry Maiden, originally from Virgina, has worked in many of the top restaurants in the area, including L'Espalier and Lumiere. To top it off, Barry is currently nominated for the James Beard best chef of the Northeast award!

We headed out on a miserably windy & rainy Wednesday evening  to our celebration. We were swept in with the wind and greeted with a cozy spot & a massive selection of drinks at the bar. Off we went to our seats in one of the 2 back dining rooms, snuggled into a corner for our private celebration.

 

As we scanned the menu, whittling down our choices one-by-one (which was difficult), we sipped water out of ball jars, which just happens to be one of my favorite things.
 

 

Soon my water was replaced with a Last Word, a combination of equal amounts of gin, green Chartreuse, maraschino liqueur, and freshly pressed lime juice. Tasty, but potent, I'm pretty sure I was well on my way to tipsy after 1/2 of the drink! T on the other hand went with one of my new favorite beers, a Kolsch. They have a huge list of drinks, especially of note was the lengthy whiskey list. You can find all of their drink options here.
 

For my first course, I started with the Berkshire pork belly "deviled eggs" with bread & butter pickles and pea shoots. I have to admit I was trick by the apostrophes in this dish. I love deviled eggs so I was dreaming of simple deviled eggs with bits of pork belly flecked in along with a handful of pea shoots to offset the denseness of the yolk mixture.  Unfortunately for me, but quite fortunate for lovers of pork belly, the dish was served with 2 large hunks of pork belly, topped with pretty swirls of deviled egg stuffing with chives and served with a side of pea shoots. I enjoyed the combination, but T liked it more.
 

On the other hand, I loved T's appetizer choice, the trout croquettes with spinach, preserved lemon, smoked almonds and a dijon crème fraîche. Perfectly prepared, moist and not dried or flaky, the kick of lemon and smoked almonds elevated this dish to a light and dainty appetizer which was the highlight of my whole night...if only I had ordered it!
 

For dinner I went with the wild Virginia catfish courtbouillon with chunks of Scituate lobster, gold rice, and scallion hushpuppies. You better believe I ordered this dish solely for the hushpuppies. Yaaaaa hushpuppies! The catfish was also perfectly prepared, not one bit of flakiness presented itself on this light white fish, coated in the lightly prepared sauce. The rice was there, nothing too special, but it was probably just overshadowed by my 3 balls of deep-fried love....hushpuppies. Obviously I was too full to finish, so T helped me out. He may have enjoyed my dish even more than his appetizer, and stated a combination of all of the components reminded him of a take on a jambalaya.
 

For his entree, T went with the ribeye, served with fingerlings, grilled escarole & onions, with a black walnut romesco. He was not asked how he would like it prepared, and it was delivered prepared medium-rare. I was able to snag a fingerling and could probably survive on those along, nicely crisped on the outside, soft on the inside, and topped with a nice combination of spices while not being overly salted...I was a fan. T spent almost the whole time eating trying to discern the flavors in the romesco (when he wasn't scarfing down the onions). He started out the dish debating if it was a liver-based sauce, and ended the dish being sufficiently confused. There were obviosly no complaints, as the whole dish was finished quickly.

We also had to split a small side of the skillet cornbread with sorghum butter. The "small" side dish could easily be split between 2 or 3, or one hungry cornbread-lover. Although not the best picture, this cornbread is my favorite that I've ever found. Deliciously moist, while remaining not too dense and heavy, I could have just ordered the cornbread as my appetizer and been a happy girl.

After our meals, we were too stuffed for dessert (even though the special olive oil cake was quietly calling my name) so we relaxed with some mint tea. Also of note, is the bathroom wallpaper. Yes, the wallpaper. The walls of the bathrooms are plastered with pages upon pages from the Virginia Housewife Cookbook, in order from left to right. While in the bathroom you may enjoy learning how to pickle, preserve, and prepare Southern food.

We headed back out into the terrible weather, happy as could be, full but not too weighed down. I'm so glad we were able to find this gem in Kendall, and I can already think of 10+ people I can recommend this spot to off the top of my head.  Thinking towards the future, the owners of the Hungry Mother are preparing to open their second venture this year: a Jewish deli located right across the street!

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