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: e

We spent our New Year's Eve dinner at the highest rated "E" restaurant on open-table: L'Espalier. Having gone once before with T last year and having the Degustation Tasting menu, we were excited to celebrate our New Year's here. L'Espalier has been serving New England-French cuisine in Boston since 1978! In 1998, chef Frank McClelland purchased the restaurant and has earned countless awards and recognitions including his 2007 James Beard award for best of the Northeast. In it's new location on Boylston Street since 2008, the dining rooms and lounge overlook the street, perfect for people-watching. Most of the ingredients are locally sourced, mainly from chef McClelland's own organic farm in Essex, Apple Street Farm. 

We headed up the elevator to the salon where we enjoyed a cocktail while people-watching and waiting for our friends.

 

 

 

After enjoying a cocktail and a complimentary glass of champagne, we headed back to our seats, through the festively decorated dining rooms with stars, sparkles, and balloons. My only issue with the decorations was that the balloons on our table had a mind of their own and kept blocking our light, making for some less-than-great food pictures!

 

 

 

After making our decisions and placing our orders we were immediately given an array of hors d'oeuvres and amuse bouches. Starting with a spinach pithivier (my favorite) with bechamel and a ham and cheese criossant before moving to the sweetbreads with BBQ spice & a freeze dried corn with cheddar cluster. The servers swiftly brought along the final round of amuse bouches: an Apple Street Farm egg espuma with caviar, the deliciously intense champagne macaroon with strawberry served with a bergamot orange, and Earl Grey tea spritzer.

  

On to the first course: I went with the winter salad with various citrus, lightly cooked Okeechobee shrimp, pomegranate, and "snow" (which reportedly had kaffir lime but tasted a bit of basil). Light in flavors, the shrimp did not add much to the dish, which was upsetting as shrimp is one of my favorite proteins of all time.

 

T went with the Warm Wellfleet oysters with smoked bone barrow vermouth, samphire, and sturgeon caviar. He enjoyed this dish and reports the greens complimented the smokiness of the oysters well.

 

The second course was the course that I was most excited for, as L'Espalier is known for their butter poached lobster and I had had it before during the tasting menu. For the second course I had the butter poached Maine lobster with a red wine emulsion, beets, and black walnut. The lobster bits were cooked perfectly, but the beet tasted almost citrusy which I was not prepared for.

Although you may not be able to see this one as well due to the lighting, T went with the slow cooked squab breast with maple roasted carrot, chicory mushroom puree, liver, and vinaigrette.  My second-favorite dish, it tasted a bit like a very tasty hot dog (which is probably an insult...but it's a compliment in my mind, as I love hot dogs!).

 

For the third course, there was no choice, everyone was given lubina with west coast pine mushrooms, a mussel emulsion and juniper sprigs. I have always liked seabass as it has a delicate light fishy flavor, and I get overwhelmed by fishy tastes. I enjoyed the fish with mushrooms, but was not a fan of the mussel emulsion as it seemed to overpower the delicacy of the fish. On the other hand, this was T's second-favorite dish.

 

Next, I went with the slow poached and roasted guinea hen (a breast and a leg) with black truffle-turnip "risotto", pear puree, sauteed spinach, and a foie gras jus. The quotations on the risotto tricked me, as one of the main reasons I went with this dish was for some textural starch, but unfortunately it turned out to not be what I was imagining. I enjoyed the breast...until I tried T's tenderloin...which I had to steal literally half of because it was the best dish of the night and blew my guinea hen out of the water.

 

The best dish of the night hands-down was the roasted Maine beef tenderloin with braised tongue underneath, a "tartiflette" with Abbaye de Tamie bone marrow, and a quail egg. Soft, flavorful, savory and overall perfected, everyone agreed this was the best dish of the evening. I only wish I had ordered it!

 

Next for the table's favorite food: cheese! I wish I could say I remembered all of the cheeses...but I don't! I was too focused on enjoying the cheese to even take a picture of the menu (oops). I do remember though that the cheese was presented surrounding an orange marmalade and increased clock-wise in intensity. My favorite was the middle cheese from Spain, while T's favorites were the last blue and the second cow's milk. On the other hand, my friend's favorite was the fourth, so overall we clearly enjoyed all of the cheeses! 

It was around this time that the clock struck midnight, and the celebrations for 2013 were in full-force. The chef led a line of all members of the kitchen walking through the dining rooms clanging pots and pans while diners hooted and hollered while using the provided clappers and blow-outs. For the next hour, little sounds could be heard from table to table celebrating the new year.

 

Last, but not least, were the desserts! Everyone else went with the chocolate cremeux with rum, ginger, and kaffir lime, with the little orange bubbles atop the cremeux tasted citrusy once again. The chocolate was high quality and a nice rich combination with the whimsical orange bubbles.

I was alone in choosing my dish: green apple with champagne sabayon and a lemon pound cake. The whole dessert was a nice and light ending to a long meal.

 

We enjoyed our cappuccinos & tea before heading out with our gift bags of the house-blend holiday tea, stollen, and autographed menus.

 

 

Overall, a memorable New Year's Eve meal at L'Espalier. Our only qualm was the fact that the meal focused a bit too much on acids, citrus, and savory game meats rather than combinations incorporating any type of sugar or sweets. A greater variety of tastes would have helped round out the night, as I cannot recall any sour or sweet components, but this may be our own faults based on our choices. I will definitely be back for a Wine Monday, Cheese Tuesdays and a Fantasy Tea on a Sunday though!  

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simple weekend recap: edition 11

Friday after work I met up with a friend to try the Boylston location of the Parish Cafe (information here). A minute-walk from the Arlington T station, the Parish Cafe uses recipes for sandwiches provided by chefs all across Boston (along with an amazing cocktail menu). I went with the L'Espalier, created by the chef & owner of L'Espalier, Frank McClelland. A tasty combination of fresh Maine crab meat mixed with a homemade remoulade served open faced on toasted brioche topped with sliced avocado and mango. Served with Cape Cod potato chips and salted greens. I also opted for the Stella al fresco, absolut Ruby Red Grapefruit Vodka mixed with fresh lime juice, simple syrup and Ruby Red Grapefruit juice. Shaken and served straight up with a splash of Sprite. Delicious & generously strong.

Saturday, Erin & I spent some time with the leaves and pumpkins...

 

 

 

...before heading out to a friend's new place in the South End. We went to Aquitaine for an early dinner with their prix fixe menu that is offered from 5:30-6:30 nightly. A 3-course meal with a glass of wine for $29.95, a steal for a large-portioned French dinner in Boston! I will definitely be back for the regular menu.

We slept in and started the day on the right foot

 with a BLT with baby spinach and grape tomatoes... 

...before a walk through the dog park with Erin on a perfect fall day.

 

 

 

When the sun began to set, we headed home for a dinner of squash 

risotto and some pumpkin carving (and seed toasting!)...

 

 

 

before ending the weekend with a dessert snack 

of homemade banana bread and tea.

 

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