brasstacks dairy cow pop-up

You may already know how big of a fan I am of Brasstacks, if not, check here and here.  Last night they had an open-to-all dinner focused on an 8-year-old dairy cow that has been being prepared since October at Washington Square Tavern in Brookline! Tickets were not dependent on their usual lottery, rather they were made available to anyone and everyone (a nice chance for some people to be introduced to Brasstacks, and a nice chance for others to try another of their dinners). This dinner revolved around all parts of the cow, and was prepared by both Marc Sheehan and Chris Cronin (of Washington Square Tavern). 

Assigned seats had us at a table of pharma men and 12-year self-made wine distributors, resulting in a whole evening of wine-talk. While we enjoyed our inventive long meal (by candlelight- apologies for terrible pictures, but I had to share), we learned of all different types of wine, pairings, and regions (Oregon merlots what?!--delicious that's what). We started with charcuterie of blood sausage (my favorite), pâté en croûte, wild game terrine, black truffle crépinette, and coppa along with delicious bread with house made cow's milk butter.

The first course was the raw beef shoulder & cured heart with persimmon, egg yolk, and bitter greens (one of T's favorites).

Second was my and T's favorite course, hands-down. Unbelievably delicious, perfectly executed, and precisely balanced...the Fisherman's Brewis. Cod head, cow's milk, dried beef and a few small potatoes strewn about...all served on my favorite black plates. Mmmm.

Next, was the 3rd shared course. A massive cabbage brought out on a large platter stuffed to the brim with tongue served with a sugar beet chutney, mushroom ketchup (please serve me this everyday of my life), and an anchovy jam.

Already feeling a bit full, we pushed on. Next was T's other favorite, the bone marrow bratwurst with brown bread, fermented turnip & a cider must (squint and you may be able to see the dish in the picture below). This dish had the deepest richest flavor, and I could have finished it, if I wasn't saving room for the next two courses. This dish was also served with my new FAVORITE beer: Kölsch! Light but flavorful served chilly in a small little glass, perfect for small hands!

 

The final savory course was the heavy-hitter: a 90-day dry aged ribeye and corned brisket with wild oyster, stout, and crispy kale (again, squint and guess in this picture). I can honestly say that the corned brisket was one of the top 5 best things I have ever tasted in my life. The ribeye was also delicious, but I'm a baby when it comes to rare meat, and it was a touch too rare for my liking. But do not fret, I was already more than full at this point. 

Already stuffed, we took a few breaths and prepared ourselves for dessert.  We were greeted with a house-made hard cider along with our dessert (which I won't even lie and I say I remember what it was). Something along the lines of apple, caramel, and a pudding of some sort, the texture was that of mascarpone.

 

With each of the dishes being paired with a wine or beer, we rolled ourselves home, stuffed full, giddy, and happy once again. It seems like every Brasstacks event ends in this combination, so as always I would highly recommend Brasstacks to any and everyone. I will reluctantly provide you with the tip of being invited (your chances go up of being invited, while mine goes down with you liking them...but I guess I'll share...just this once): like their facebook page, located here. Welcome to the team of 1,632 people trying to nudge their way into the next Brasstacks dinner.

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whisk

Whisk is a unique pop-up comprised of 3 young-20-something chefs.  With some impressive resumés, they courageously decided to head out on their own last year.  I have been meaning to check this pop-up out for a bit now, and I finally had the time to this past weekend. They set up shop at Fazenda Coffee Roasters in Jamaica Plain for the night and dished out a 5-course meal for $55 (+$20 for wine pairings). With all of the courses being delivered in quick succession of surrounding tables, it encouraged feelings of unity and friendliness, while still having plenty of space between tables to create an intimate feeling with those whom you came with.

The first course was T's favorite...rainbow trout, ratatouille & ricotta salata.

Next was my 2nd favorite...deconstructed sweet corn lasagna, heirloom tomato jam & oak tree shiitake.

Followed by my favorite dish of the night (made obvious by the fact that I just had to dig in before any pictures could be taken)...pork belly, cornbread, pickled watermelon & grilled pluot.

The cheese course consisted of semi soft cows cheese, grilled fig & fig preserves.

The sweet ending to the evening was a delicious and complex summer pudding with spun sugar (maybe my 1.5th favorite?).

After enjoying a nice hot (and strong) cup of coffee, we headed home full & happy...and feeling as if we had stolen something; at just $55 pp, this was a deal! As you can tell from my accurate and sensitive rating system, I thoroughly enjoyed all of the food that was presented in an artful way. Their next pop-up is September 28th and is benefit pop-up, find more information here.

I am also a semi-secret jam hoarder. The chefs behind Whisk have recently opened JP Jarring Company. With a list of 8 intricate jams available, you better bet I'm going to add to my collection. More information on their new project here.

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bon me pop-up picnic

Bon Me, the fresh & inventive Vietnamese food truck, hosted their 2nd pop-up picnic this week. For this picnic they partnered with West Bridge, a new French restaurant in Kendall (and soon-to-be new neighbors of Bon Me's first home in a building)! The 4-course picnic was $18 and came with a picnic blanket, to make it super romantic. My friend, Grace, and I set up camp and enjoyed the following in the Rings Fountain park on the Rose Kennedy Greenway with a thai iced tea and a spicy ginger lemonade: 

1st: pork butter crostini

2nd: bok choy slaw

3rd: a baguette chock-full of pickle

carrot & daikon, cucumbers, cilantro,

 red onion, housemade spicy mayo, 

pate, with a prepared braised tongue

 and plum mustard.

4th (my favorite course, which I could

 probably eat 5x/day for a week):

 coconut amaranth pudding

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After a filling picnic spent trying to grasp the complexity & range of ingredients combined in the tastiness we were consuming, we decided to walk it out. We headed towards the North End and stumbled upon a beautiful rose garden, on one of the most perfect-weather-evenings of the summer.

 

 

 

 

 

 

After exploring, we headed straight for LuLu's cupcakes to split a carrot cake cupcake, before parting ways. It was a perfect date night on a perfect evening in Boston. Thank you Bon Me & West Bridge for sharing your culinary treats with Boston, if only for 1 night!

 

 

 1: Photo courtesy of Bon Me

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whim pop-up dinner series

Whim is a pop-up restaurant series based at Smolak Farms in North Andover. Every Wednesday evening in the summer, the farm hosts a 3-course dinner created by a line-up of various chefs around the Boston area. You can find more information about the series here. Before arriving to the dinner, the diners do not know the menu, and have just chosen the chef based on their resume and the current menu at their restaurant.

(1)

I chose Rich Morin's night since I have always had Lineage (a farm-to-table restaurant that highlights fresh seafood in Brookline, website here) on my to-go-to list. With his resume including L'Espalier, I knew this would be a beautifully-presented and well-executed meal (even if it was in the middle of a pine grove)!

After trekking out to North Andover, we parked in the orchard's lot and walked down the tiki-torch lit path to the white tent pitched in the middle of the pine grove. There were about 15 tables of 10 seats, and all of the seats were filled with excited diners. Drinks began at 6:30pm and dinner began at 7:30pm on the dot. Wine by the glass or by the bottle was available along with a signature cocktail (raspberry lemonade with vanilla vodka and raspberry ice cubes), beer or non-alcoholic beverage choices. 

  
After a brief introduction of the chef by the owner of Smolak Farms, the meal began. The menu could not be substituted (thank goodness, since it was absolute perfection) and we were immediately given a beautiful portion of the lobster salad served on gazpacho.

After easily & quickly enjoying the lobster salad. The waitstaff swooped in to clear and present us with the fennel-pollen crusted seared tuna.

 The taste & texture of the tuna was unbelievable. The fish was perfectly cooked and easily melted in my mouth. The flavors were perfect together, and I cannot say enough compliments about this dish. The finale were the summer fruits with a thin shortbread cookie and dolce de leche.

The dessert was a tasty & light finish to a perfect meal. This meal was my favorite meal this entire summer (and it is hard to believe it was served in the middle of the woods and created on such minimal cooking appliances)! It was one of the few times I have walked away from a dinner out feeling completely satisfied with the ambiance, service, and the amazing balance of healthy and delectable. I am able to whole-heartedly suggest this to friends & family, and I will definitely be back next summer if they choose to go for year-3!

After dessert, we sipped on tea and coffee while hearing about the amazing charity the meal was directly benefiting. All of the proceeds from the meal went to Lovin' Spoonfuls, a Boston-based  non-profit food-rescue organization that you can learn about here. 

As the night winded down, and the bugs began to arrive, we headed back along the tiki-torches on our way home.

 

(1) Photo on Smolak Farm's Whim website

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