Food 11 Mar 2008 12:51 pm
Restaurant Week
Once upon a time (yesterday) in a land far, far away (Somerville) there was an experience that must be shared. On the corner of Beacon and Washington in S’ville you will find EVOO. Normally I would enjoy the name EVOO as it is clever and simple. However, I fear that a certain gravely voiced, uber-cheerful, donut munchin, Dunkin’ whorin’ TV personality may have ruined it for me. That aside, eRock and I took full advantage of Boston’s Restaurant week by making a 9 pm reservation. Now, you may be thinking, 9p.m.? How on earth did you wait that late to eat? Relax my friends, as all was taken care of. A few hours prior to our superb meal E and I had to stop at Costco for some prints and dined on a slice of pizza and some little thing called a chicken bake. It should be noted that we are high class, though clearly not as high class as the octogenarian couple next to us. They were dappered out in full-length fur coats with bright colorful silk kerchiefs for accent and funny hats. The best part is that the coats probably weighed more than they did, giving them a big, bulky, furry exterior, not unlike a pair of bears.
ANYWAY, the point of the story is the wonderful dinner. We arrived on time for our 9pm reservation and were seated immediately. The place was a-buzz with conversation and there were wonderful smells coming from the corner kitchen. I am gonna skip all the ambiance and get right to the good stuff. I opted for the prix-fixe menu, while E went a la carte.
Starters
Smoked salmon - warm potato salad with hard-boiled egg, sweet pickles and cilantro. It was scooped in a little pile and wrapped with cucumber and topped with bean sprouts and light vinaigrette.
Entrée
Erica - “Duck, Duck, Goose” - Duck Confit, Seared Duck Foie Gras, Slices of Goose Breast, Lentils, Haricot Vert, Escarole and Sherry - Ginger Sauce
Justin - beer braised lamb over roasted root veggies (turnips, carrots etc) and potato croquets with pickled green tomatoes and onions and some watercress leaves
Dessert
We split a Vanilla Crème Brulee with Bay leaf.
All of the above was excellent and you can pick any superlative you like to describe any of the items above (especially the foie gras). The best part of the night though (beyond the food above, and the company I was in) was a surprise. As we were dining we heard two people at the table next to us discussing their desserts with their waitress. The gentleman was smiling at this little dish that she had brought over to him. As we often do, E and I started eavesdropping. It seemed like he was thanking her for letting him try it…she was saying no problem, it’s an interesting item. He looked at his date and took a bite of his sample with a slightly confused look on his face. By now E and I were practically leaning over on to them to see what he was eating. The waitress came back and asked how he liked it and he muttered something about how it was “interesting” and could see how it could be good. She said she could totally understand that and that Bacon ice cream is certainly a peculiar taste. Record screeches to a halt. Wait what? I ask Erica if I heard that correctly, “Did she just say bacon ice cream?” Erica, acting on this as I am paralyzed by the concept, leans over to the couple, “I’m sorry….did you just say Bacon ice cream?” The couple laughed and confirmed what I thought I heard. I stated, “That sounds…MAGNIFICENT!”. The guy agreed with me and said that’s exactly what he thought, though he didn’t seem impressed with it. I laughed and tried to resume conversation with E. She asked me a question, but I was clearly still on Planet Bacon Ice Cream so she gave me a few more minutes to work through the concept. As it turns out, the bacon ice cream was intended as a topper to an apple crisp that they had that was apparently no longer available. As E and I wrapped up our delicious evening, I just couldn’t shake the thought of bacon ice cream, so when our amiable waiter came with the check I inquired as to whether I could have just the smallest of tastes. He laughed and said that would not be a problem and hurried off to the kitchen. A few moments later he came back with roughly 2 tablespoons of this malty-white ice cream with little dark colored chunks. Good lord man, BACON ICE CREAM! As he left, I picked up my fork (as he had taken my spoon) and took about a teaspoons worth. I was bursting with expectation. Here is a step-by-step analysis of what I experienced:
1) The ice cream was not too cold and was on the soft side with a heavy vanilla on the front of the tongue.
2) As the ice cream started to dissipate and move to the back of the tongue there was a very appealing and distinct maple hickory flavor.
3) With all of the ice cream melted, I was left with this tiny, chewy morsel of bacon that was perfectly cooked. It. Was. Magic.
Not something that you would eat on a cone, but definitely a must try should you ever be presented with the wonderful opportunity.
Think Bacon ice cream is gross? Wrong. In fact, it’s not all that different that breakfast. How? Well ice cream is really just cream and sugar (or coffee) with some egg yolks (scramble or sunny side up?) and bacon is just, well bacon. Coffee with cream and sugar, 2 scrambled eggs and a side of bacon. You wouldn’t eat that on a cone either, but it is tasty.
Consider yourself educated.