A few weeks ago, I was invited to a wine dinner at Scampo at the Liberty Hotel here in Boston.  My friend, Alex, is the sommelier there, and I jumped at the chance to attend when he told me that they would be featuring the wines of Belle Pente.  I have been a fan of Belle Pente for a long, and I’ve always admired the honest, clean, and unadulterated style of the wines.

Their wine-making approach, admirably, is summed up by a hands-off philosophy in the vineyard utilizing organic and biodynamic techniques.  For example, though irrigation is allowed in Oregon, Belle Pente chooses to grow their grapes without aiding Mother Nature.  It’s an old world approach to making wine that involves a little more risk for the wine maker, but in the hands of a skilled farmer, it can produce fantastic results.  Some might argue that drought, or too much rain fall is really just “terroir”.  If you’re changing the amount of water that a vine is receiving, you are essentially changing its environment.  Of course, you’re opinion of all of this depends on how much of a purist you are, but no one can argue that Belle Pente’s wines are first rate in every respect no matter how they are made.

On the night of the dinner, we tried their lovely Pinot Gris, a Charonnday, three Pinot Noirs, and a surprising Muscat (Ottonel – not Blanc a Petit Grains au Jus Blanc).  In general, I found the wines to be well crafted.  The Pinot Gris was especially well-paired with an oyster and a gazpacho “shooter” with cucumber foam by Alex.  I found the floral/melon nuance of the wine to be a fantastic foil to the mild vegetal quality of the gazpacho and the briny taste of the oyster.  The Chardonnay, likewise showed a good balance between restraint and opulence so as not overwhelm the delicate sweetness of the lobster and to stand up to the heady earthy morels in the dish with which it was served.

Belle Pente’s Pinot Noirs also deserve special mention.  Some of the them had been bottle and shipped fairly recently just for the dinner.  Although, I feel that we were drinking them a bit young that evening, I could tell that there was something there that would turn into really great wine in a five or ten years time.  They were tightly wound, full of dense black cherry flavor, and layers of spice that lingered on the palate well after the glass was empty.  And though there was a noticeable difference between them, as time marches on, the differences will become exaggerated in my opinion showing the characteristics of each individual vineyard site.

A memorable duo of roasted lamb chop with cumin flavored ground lamb moussaka was served with the final Pinot Noir, the most chewy and dense of the three opened for sampling.  Thinking back on it now is making me hungry for more food from Scampo skilled kitchen, and thirsty for more of that delicious Pinot Noir.

The standout wine for the night, however, was the final pairing: a dry Muscat.  It was grapey, floral, and bursting with melon flavors with just a touch of residual sugar.  It was served alongside a cheese course that included some fantastic domestic cheeses: Kunik from New York, and Winnimere from Vermont.

I spoke with the winemaker, Brian, about the wine which had so engaged me.  He told me that they bought the grapes from a neighbor and were just beginning to figure out a winning formula for making the wine.  We seemed to agree that the lower alcohol content (around 11.5%) was one of the most charming aspects of the wine.  That coupled with a tease of sweetness made the wine so refreshing and summery.  I was pleased to be served a relatively dry and light bodied wine at the end of the meal as well, in place of something syrupy and/or with high alcohol as many dessert wines are.

Muscats of this style are not uncommon in Alsace or Spain, but to see one being made in this country is a real treat and speaks volumes to the potential of the grape grown on domestic soils.  Furthermore, one that is as delicious as this is something to be celebrated under any circumstance regardless of its country of origin.  I only wish Belle Pente made more.  So far their production of this wine has not exceeded 99 cases in its third vintage.  I hope that someone in Massachusetts will pick up the wine and pour it by the glass or sell me a case of it for drinking over the summer.

Thanks to Scampo for a terrific meal, and for the chance to taste Belle Pente’s lineup.  The evening was a treat all around and I’ll look forward to more in the future.

What a fantastic day off work I had today!  I got a call in the morning from Annie, a friend from work, to head over to a new little restaurant in Cambridge that has just opened call Canteen.  She read about it on Boston.GrubStreet.com, a great website to catch up on news in the Boston restaurant scene.

Annie and I met at Canteen near Central Square around 1 this afternoon.  I was pleased to see quite a crowd come and go in the half hour or so that we were there.  It seems they’re doing a “soft” opening – one that has been unpulicized more or less – just to get their land legs.

I arrived first and ordered the “Crafty.”  I sat and started to enjoy my sandwich while I waited for Annie.  I was hoping she would order something different and we could split half and half, but I also didn’t want to persuade her decision.  She ended up ordering the same sandwich that I did.  I guess great minds think alike!  I must confess however that I heard one of the owners (I think) tell another customer that it seemed to be the most popular so far.

The “Crafty” was served on good ciabatta bread and filled with roasted turkey, smokey bacon, creamy avocado, and dressed with a mildly spicy cherry pepper mayo.  It had nice texture from the chewy bread and the crispy bacon, and I liked the way that the fat from the avocado and mayo carried the intense flavor of the bacon and the subtle fruity spice of the cherry peppers.  I also really liked that I could still taste the turkey, even with all of the other flavors on the sandwich, since it could have easily been lost.  Great sandwich all around!

After Annie and I finished enjoyed our sandwiches, we decided that we needed ice cream.  It seemed like a logical progression on such a hot day, and we were relatively close to Christina’s, an Inman Square classic.  We both opted for sorbets feeling full from lunch.  I chose lemon rose and she had black cherry.  Both had a nice silky texture, and were bursting with tangy fruit flavors.  Annie remarked on the subtlety of the rose flavor in my sorbet.  It was just the right amount of a floral note so as not to overwhelm the delicate fresh lemon juice flavor of my sorbet.

I was disappointed that they were out of the coconut butterfinger ice cream that I love so much.  It sounds odd, but I’d venture to say that it might be the most delicious ice cream I’ve ever eaten.  The silver lining to that cloud, of course, is that it does justify another return to Christina’s… and soon.

Annie had to go to work, and I was left to my own devices with bulk of the afternoon ahead.  I couldn’t let the day go by without more adventure so I decided to head down to my new favorite hangout, Boston’s beautiful waterfront.  In a moment of serendipity, it turns out that my friend Teri had also chosen to spend the afternoon cooling off on the waterfront with a crossword puzzle in the shade.

Once Teri and I met up, I convinced her that we should go on a harbor cruise.  It was a perfect day to be out on the water – warm with blue skies and a light breeze.  We basked in the stunning scenic beauty of Boston Harbor and enjoyed relaxing while we were taken on a nice tour for the better part of an hour.  I snapped a number of photos, a few of which I am sharing with you below.

Teri and I wrapped up our afternoon at Sel de la Terre right on Long Wharf with a couple of refreshing adult beverages.  Some friends of mine work there, so we enjoyed telling them about our little adventure on the harbor, and they treated us to some delicious bites of food.  We had a tasty tomato salad and seared scallops with celery root puree.  We also succumbed to temptation by ordering the grand dessert – a sampler plate of sweets in miniature.

These kinds of days are the ones you wish you could relive over and over, but alas, all good things do come to an end.  Tomorrow it’s back to work and the busiest of all graduations of the year, Harvard.  Nevertheless, I will return refreshed and invigorated from a fantastic afternoon spent with dear friends in the town I love.

The long and short of things is that I haven’t had much time or energy to post on my blog lately because my world has turned upside down in the past few weeks.

I have been spending more and more time concentrating on music lately and practicing almost everyday.  I also have new job(s) at my current place of employment that have been taking much more of my time than before.  I suspect that once the air clears a bit, I will have more of a routine, but for now I am enjoying new challenges and learning lots of new information about work.  I’d like to believe that shaking things up from time to time is a good thing.  I also have to say that though I have much less leisure time as of late, I have found myself a much happier and contented person as of late.

With all of that said, I was overjoyed to have a day off this past Sunday with no prior commitments and the afternoon spent lazily strolling around Boston on a perfect spring afternoon.  On a whim, I chose the historic North End for my adventure, and upon arrival, I began to question why I don’t spend more of my time there.

I spent the early part of the afternoon touring around a little.  On a pretty day, like this past Sunday, mere people watching in the North End can keep you occupied for hours without a chance of boredom.  People were out in droves – locals and tourists alike.  There was a line around the block for Giacomo’s, a popular seafood standby, as well as lines for Modern Pastry and Mike’s Pastry.  Actually, just about everywhere I looked, cafes were full and shops at least had browsers.  So much for the economic slump…

I took a little time to meander through St. Leonard’s, Boston’s oldest Catholic church.  It was built in 1873 to accommodate a growing community of Italian immigrants arriving in Boston by the Franciscans and named for one of their greatest friars, Dominic Casanova, who late became canonized as St. Leonard.  The church had some pretty stained glass windows and a lovely domed ceiling.

I also popped into the Old North Church where Paul Revere lit the fires to notify everyone of the British invasion.  They offer free tours (donations encouraged), and I caught the tail end of one and heard some interesting bits of history about a few of the artifacts in the church.  The clock in the picture below was built by early parishoners and is still in working order.  The angels that flank the pipe organ were stolen by a pirate/parishoner of Christ Church, Thomas Grucy, in 1746 en route to Quebec.  When the church was contacted to return the angels, the Quebecoise told these wild Boston Episcopaleans just to keep the angels, and that’s the truth!

With all of the lovely walking and historical touring that took up my afternoon, I managed to work up a mighty hunger.  Thank goodness the North End is full of amazing restaurants.  Figuring out which one to eat at was probably the hardest thing I did all day.

I wound up at Marco, a little second story eatery near Modern Pastry on Hanover.  The menu features both small and large portions of just about everything, only a few dishes only being offered as large portions.  Large portions prevented me from trying more than two things on the menu, although both were excellent.  I would have preferred to try more things, but I will keep Marco in mind for future meals with friends since the prices were so reasonable and the menu best suited to sharing.

Once I ordered, a ramekin of caponata with homemade focaccia arrived.  It had a nice sweet sour balance and I enjoyed eating it with the densely textured bread.  As much as I felt I should save room, I couldn’t resist gobbling up the tasty olives, raisins, and peppers with their lovely simple bread.  I also greatly appreciated their departure from the standard bread and olive oil service so common nowadays in Italian restaurants.

My first course was orechiette pasta with ramps, favas, and housemade sausage to start.  It was delicious and full of sinful cream.  I couldn’t finish it!  I was glad I only ordered a small.  It would have easily been enough for a pasta course for two or three people.  Still it was delicious, and I savored the rich sauce against the delicate spring vegetables and the mildly seasoned house sausage.

After the pasta, I tried one of the antipasti – yes, I know I went backwards, but I wasn’t sure I could handle a portion of a more expensive main course, and I didn’t want to waste food or money.  I chose their obligatory take on prosciutto and melon for what ended up being my final course.

The prosciutto was nice enough, as was the ricotta salata.  What made the plate, however, was the melon.  It seemed to have a little brown sugar syrup on it and I’m guessing at some point it had been caramelized in a skillet, though it was served chilled, so as to be refreshing on a nice day.  I really liked that little touch.  The exaggerated sweetness of the melon played nicely off the salty ham and cheese that I was eating it with and there was a nice combination of texture on the plate.

Their wine list is pretty good and includes some lesser-known producers.  I also liked the fact that there were some interesting varietals from Northern Italy that aren’t often represented, but definitely deserve to be enjoyed.  I liked even better their house wines by the litre, 1/2 litre, or 1/4 litre.  I thought the Feudo Arancio Grillo from Sicily was delicious for short money.  It went great with everything I ate and was easy on my wallet.

It was a delicious meal all in all, though I wished I could have tried more from their menu.  I’ll keep Marco in mind for future dinners when I’m out with a group.  With delicious and unique bread service, a unique and affordable wine list, and overall tasty food suitable for sharing,  It’s sure to make for a perfect evening of dining “family style” like a big Italian family.

I’ve been a fan of the Beacon Hill Bistro for a long time.  They have always consistently delivered on food and service over the near 10 years that I’ve been going there.  I also like their compact and well-chosen wine list.  There are always appealing and affordable options to be had.

Dan and I ended up having dinner there after my lovely city hike and tour of the gardens on Saturday.  I had encamped myself there at the bar drinking the first of the season’s gin and tonics.  When he called after his chamber music coaching was over, I invited him down to join me for a bite to eat.

The menu is full of wonderful options.  Our server emphasized that their pastas were made in house, and also pointed out the specials for the night, of which Dan ordered two.  Dan joined me in a g&t while I finished my second, and I opted for a nice bottle of Barbera produced by Pio Cesare.  The spicy dried cherry flavors of the wine went well with our food, and I was glad to see such a revered producer represented on their list.

My first course was a tagliatelle with clams and bacon.  It was a generous portion, the pasta was cooked just right and did indeed taste fresh.  I really enjoyed the smoky flavor of the bacon against the briny clams – a classic combination, but nonetheless, delicious.

Dan ordered the pork belly from the specials menu.  It had lovely flavor and a firm texture.  We both expected that it would fall apart a bit more, but enjoyed the meatiness of the dish.  However, as I write these lines, I’m also remembering that the pork was from a Tamworth pig, so the texture makes sense, although this did not occur to us at the time.  It was paired with what I believe was rhubarb.  It gave a nice tart accent that refreshed the palate while eating an otherwise very rich first course.  It was also nice to have a little crunch incorporated into the dish with the crispy seared bits on the pork belly and the crunch of the rhubarb.

I had the tea cured duck breast with an Asian sauce for my main course.  It finished with quite a bit of luxurious tamari soy sauce and served with asparagus and a creamy buttery sorrell risotto.  I enjoyed the unctuous salty character of the tamari against all of the other intensely rich items on the plate.  The duck was nicely cooked and had delicious crispy seared skin.

Dan had the bucatini special, which was really more of a spaghetti.  Neither of us could see the whole on the inside of the pasta.  The pasta, whatever it was, was again delicious, but isn’t bucatini supposed to be hollow?  Regardless, it had just the right texture and again tasted fresh.  I liked the simplicity of the dish – just bacon, some herbs, and grated cheese over the top – a lovely lighter style of carbonara.

Often, restaurants that put so much energy into their savory food don’t deliver on the dessert end of things, but the BHB fortunately follows through when it comes to sweets as well.  Both of our desserts were wonderful.  I had a light and airy Meyer lemon cheesecake and Dan had a hazelnut “gateaux.”

Our only complaint was that the gateaux was really more of an ice cream cake and tasted more like coffee than hazelnut, although the hazelnut flavor was definitely there.  Although the dessert delivered on every count: presentation, flavor, and originality, Dan was a little disappointed since he was expecting cake without so much emphasis on ice cream, and we felt the description was the tiniest bit misleading.  In any case, we devoured both desserts and felt quite satisfied after the meal.

Service throughout the meal was gracious and accommodating from the bar to the maitre-d’ to the dining room.  Plates were cleared efficiently and the food was served in a timely manner and succinctly and elegantly described.

Although we don’t frequent the BHB more than once a year or so, it does remain one of our favorite spots in Boston.  Likely, if we lived in Beacon Hill, we would be there a great deal more often.  You’re assured a pleasant dining experience when you go there, and please tell them that CQ sent you.

Dan’s busy performance schedule brought us out to Concord, NH a few days ago.  The Concord Chorale was giving a performance that included the Requiem by Fauré.  I’m so glad that I was able to attend because I’m not sure I’ve ever listened to the piece from start to finish.  The music is subtle and gentle – I read somewhere that it is often referred to as the lullaby requiem because of its quiet, understated feeling.  It’s also the only piece that I know of in which the violist is the concertmaster because there is no section of violins in the original orchestration.  So, I was extra proud to see Dan leading the orchestra.

Downtown Concord is a really cute area, but be warned if you are there on a Sunday, not much is open.  By the time we arrived, I was half-starved since I foolishly skipped breakfast before we got on the road.  We had planned on eating lunch in Concord before the concert since there are so many restaurants in the immediate vicinity of the church where the performance was held.  We walked around for almost a half hour becoming very frustrated and sadly surprised to find that only  a handful of places were even open for lunch, and were mostly short-order or self service.

Slightly off-topic…  If you are a media-phile like Dan and I are, you must check out Pitchfork records while in downtown Concord.  We did after lunch, and found an amazing selection of used records, cd’s, and even cassettes.  Better yet, all used items were half-off!  I purchased some amazing finds – Susan Graham singing Berlioz, St. Paul Chamber Orchestra under Hugh Wolff playing Haydn symphonies, and an out of print and hard to find cross-over album by Bert Lucarelli called “The Sensual Sound of the Soulful Oboe”.

The first time we walked by Bistro Rustica, I decided to pass.  The menu was mostly sandwiches at first glance, and I was really hoping for a little more, despite the fact that I do love a good sandwich.  We ended up back there because the other two options looked even less appealing.  I couldn’t have been more wrong about my initial assessment on an empty stomach, however.  Every now and then, even with 15 years in the restaurant business, I am still blown away by an unassuming place like this.

Bistro Rustica is owned by a couple from former Yugoslavia.  All of their food is home cooked and made with plenty of love – that was easy to taste in what we ordered.  Obviously many agree, since they were out of several things after a busy Sunday.  Undeterred, I ordered the lasagna.  We found out later that it was made from a recipe borrowed from a friend of the proprietor’s who is an Italian chef.  Dan had a gorgonzola and roast beef panini, and we shared a generous order of stuffed grape leaves with kefir.  We were pleased to find Boylan’s sodas there too, and Dan and I each had the delicious black cherry with our meal.

The grape leaves were off the chart.  They were bursting with savory rice and meat filling and were warmed through for service.  There was fresh dill on top of the creamy and tangy kefir making for a perfect counterpoint to the mildly and refreshingly bitter grapeleaves themselves.  I felt the leaves had to be fresh, rather than the vinegary canned ones that are usually used to make dolmas.  Granted, I was starving and cranky, so I reserved my judgment for the lasagna, but I was ready to give this place at least one thumb up.  A good first course did indeed sooth the savage beast, and Dan asked, “Are you better now?” as I finished off the last dolma with a smirk on my face.

When the lasagna finally arrived, my second thumb went way up in the air even before I tasted the first bite.  There must have been eight or nine layers of Bolognese alternated with creamy, tomato-y bechemal sauce.  The cheese was golden brown and the sauce was bubbling hot surrounding the pasta in the ceramic crock.  It was delicious – satisfying, hearty and perfect for a cold and damp spring day.  We both loved it so much that we ended up sharing the generous portion of lasagna and taking Dan’s panini to go.  I’ve not had better lasagna anywhere.

I ate the roast beef and gorgonzola panini in the car on the way back to boston, and it was tasty too!  I watched one of the owner’s making another sandwich as we were leaving Bistro Rustica.  She was rubbing oil, salt and pepper into the bread before assembling the sandwich – I guess a kind of Mediterranean mayonnaise.  The gorgonzola was whipped into a paste with some yogurt possibly and was not too strong for the mild beef.  The bread was nicely toasted and good quality as was the beef.  Although it didn’t beat the lasagna, it was well-made and good deal considering the price to quality ratio.

Bistro Rustica is a must for a visit to downtown Concord if you happen to be there.  It’s unbelievably inexpensive for the quality and love that goes into the food.  You won’t have better homemade lasagna anywhere else and the grape leaves are to die for.  I’m glad to find that the old adage still holds true: “You can judge a book by its cover!”

You can find Bistro Rustica at 80 North Main Street in downtown Concord, NH in the shadow of the beautiful capitol building.  Their menu features soups, salads, and sandwiches (hot and cold).  I will be back for the Mediterranean Specialties: Moussaka, Goulash, Stuffed Peppers, Burek, and Maslanica.  They serve breakfast and lunch and are open until 5:30 Monday through Saturday, and until 4:00 on Sunday.

We entered the clean crisp space of Buttermilk Channel in Brooklyn at around 5:30 in the evening for an early supper before returning to Boston. The sun was just beginning to set and it cast a lovely light on the sparely decorated but welcoming space. It was beautiful. The tables were set and service was just beginning. My friend, Patrick, commented that this is the first time he has ever been here without at least a brief wait at the bar for a table. The meal that we were to be served is a testament to its popularity with Brooklyn locals and visitors from across the bridge.

Owner, Doug Cromwell, and chef, Ryan Angulo, have formed a winning partnership here in Carroll Gardens. The food overall had a light feel to it despite the use of ingredients that might otherwise produce heavy dishes. Reading their bio’s online, they both seemed to have worked at New York’s Picholine near Lincoln Center and both have culinary educations from top notch schools. I have had the pleasure of dining at Picholine, and I see the practiced hand of a great chef and the spirit of hospitality echoed in Buttermilk Channel.

Dan, Patrick, and myself were seated at a lovely table with more of that beautiful steely afternoon early spring sunlight streaming in. The wine list and menu were beautifully printed and the wording was clear describing the dishes in just enough appetizing detail. Though the wine list is completely American I found that it had plenty to choose from. It featured mostly stars of the California club such as Joel Gott, Edmunds St. John, Robert Sinskey, and Qupé, but there were also local producers such as Dr. Konstantin Frank, Wolffer, and Millbrook. I got really excited when I saw a bottle of Scholium Project Verdelho from California and ordered it immediately. It met with approval amongst our merry company and the staff that was attending us. Owner, Doug, even came over to chat with us a bit about the wine once he saw that we had ordered it later in the evening.

The maker of Scholium Project believes in letting the wine completely make itself. If fermentation stops, it is allowed to continue on its own when it’s ready. There is minimal handling of fruit and wines are made according to “Old World” customs. Our bottle of Verdelho was powerful, crisp, dry, and full of succulent stone fruit flavors. I couldn’t believe that the alcohol was over 16˚, something I usually have a hard time with. In truth, I may not have ordered it had I known this, but I was so pleased with the wine that the relatively high alcohol was a non-issue. It tasted like drinking dry peach nectar with a little kick and it was perfect with Buttermilk Channel’s simple but sophisticated fare.

While we perused the appealing menu, we ordered a round of small bites to start, which ended up not being so small. The house pork terrine was a generous slice of country style pate flavored with herbs and Bourbon accompanied by grilled sourdough toast, turnip greens and pickles. We also tried the house-cured bacon, adorned with honey and grain mustard, and a panzanella salad with parsley, raisins, and celery leaves. Both charcuterie offerings were well crafted and delicious. They may have been the stars of the meal for me. We had some of their delicious homemade pickles, both sweet and dill. They were a perfect counterpoint to the rich meaty flavors we enjoyed so much. Hopefully I will get to go back soon and make a meal just out of charcuterie and wine from their fabulous list.

For first courses, I had a delicious salad of seared kale and endive with a soft-boiled egg and buttermilk and anchovy vinaigrette. It was a really clever end-of-winter version of the classic Caesar riffing on the classic theme using wintry greens. Dan’s barbecued pork ribs were falling off of the bone and had a mild but complex flavor. Patrick ordered a nice little tart with delicata squash, goat cheese, and a lovely flakey piecrust. The portions were generous for first courses and we could have easily stopped the meal there, but we had two more courses to go. Undertaking completion of the meal was a yoke that we happily bore.

Main courses, or “second courses” as they are called here, were refreshingly smaller in size. In fact, I thought they were pretty much the same size as the first courses only more focused on protein. I guess this is why they are called second courses rather than mains on their menu. My bacon-wrapped trout was filled with more goat cheese and leeks and served with plum jam and roasted turnips. I wouldn’t have ever put all of these elements together in my own kitchen, but the dish worked quite nicely. Dan tried their crispy fried chicken, which was just as good as many I’ve had down South. I really liked the maple-balsamic syrup that accompanied the waffles with the chicken. I will try and duplicate the tart, tangy, and sweet syrup in my own kitchen sometime soon. Patrick’s duck meat loaf was tasty too – tender, rich, and nicely sauced with a light duck jus, and ornamented with mashed potatoes and a couple of perfectly crispy fried mammoth onion rings.

Desserts were equally satisfying. I was over the moon about the pecan pie sundae, which has also received lavish praise from Frank Bruni of the New York Times. Buttermilk Channel’s pie rivals my own mother’s exceptional pie. It tasted as though they used a whole stick of butter in each pie and the dark Karo syrup just like mom’s. Making a sundae with two pieces of pie and two scoops of ice cream is pure genius. I felt as though I had died, gone to heaven, and landed on a buttery pecan cloud.

The other desserts were also very good, but somewhat eclipsed by the fabulous sundae. The peanut butter chocolate bread pudding was topped with a lovely bittersweet chocolate sauce and had a nice velvety texture. Our pear and ricotta tart had the subtlest flavor of anything of the desserts with a touch of ginger and that same delicious piecrust that we had experience in the first course winter squash tart.

Service in general was kind, efficient, and thoughtful. We were impressively served our four courses in an hour and twenty minutes due to our time constraints without ever feeling rushed. Our plates were cleared at appropriate times and silverware was always in place in time for the next course. The waiters were well informed about the menu and were sure to get answers from the chef when they didn’t have all of the information to my more detailed questions. They were a more polished bunch than the typical bistro crew and had a professional demeanor that I often observe in many finer restaurants.

The word “clean” comes to mind most when I think back on the food. I aspire to cook this kind of food at home. I am constantly amazed at how much work it takes to turn out a dish of simple ingredients that is balanced without masking any flavor with too much of something else. I greatly admired Chef Angulo’s light touch turning out dishes that easily could have been cloying or too heavy given the ingredients. To say that we enjoyed ourselves would be an understatement and I will greatly anticipate a return in April on our next Brooklyn/New York excursion.

It all started a few days ago when I saw a tweet for coupons to eat at Midwest Grill in Cambridge.  I had eaten at Midwest Grill before and loved it, but it had been maybe a year or so since my last visit.  This was a good reminder that I was overdue for another visit.  Having a rare Friday off from work I traipsed over to Cambridge and made an evening out of dinner with several stop in Cambridge’s culinary epicenter, Inman Square.

My first stop was at the East Coast Grill.  I had arrived early, as usual, and Dan was running late, as usual, so I stopped off there to see my friend, Mariposa, who works in the kitchen.  The place was busy, but I only had to wait a minute or two for a seat at the bar.  I had a drink at the bar and Mari sent over a couple of ribs for me to gnaw on, which I did with great relish.  They were deliciously flavorful and tender.  I also couldn’t resist ordering some Jonah Crab claws.  I’ve loved crab claws since I was a kid and my dad used to always joke that there were an awful lots of crabs running around on the ocean floor without any claws.  I enjoyed eating them with the citrus mignonette they were served with.  It was a perfect start to my night of eating!

Next on the tour was Midwest Grill, a churasscaria rodizio, open since 1993.  As I overheard the table next to me say, “It’s like meat dimsum.”  This place serves Brazilian Barbecue, which translates to all the meat you can eat for a set price.  The servers walk around with skewers of rotisserie roasted beef, lamb, chicken, sausage, chicken hearts, and even dinner rolls – why not roast the bread too while you’re at it?  They give you a card that is green on side for “keep bringing it” and red on the other for “I’m full”.  You just flip the card over when you are ready to admit defeat.  We used our card strategically, and flipped it over to create three rounds, so that we could rest between bouts of meat.

There is also a buffet with plenty of delicious side dishes to chose from that comes with your meal.  There are fresh fixin’s for a salad, two different kinds of rice, a traditional yucca-based stuffing, chicken wings (more meat), a couple of different stewed chicken dishes, potato salad, and cole slaw to name a few.  We hit the buffet between each round of meat to eat some vegetables.  Everything was very good, honestly and simply prepared.

The barbecue is spectacular here.  The meat is all very juicy, tender, and flavorful.  Just about everything is kissed with garlic – well, maybe more than just kissed.  We especially loved the beef and I thought the chicken wrapped in bacon was particularly good.  Dan is addicted to their rolls, which are skewered, brushed with garlic butter, and toasted over the fire.  They even managed to make chicken hearts taste pretty good – they are generally too rubbery a texture for me to eat, but at Midwest Grill, they are entirely palatable, even tasty.

Our server Kelly was a delight.  She brought us some delicious caiparinhas, a traditional drink made with a Brazilian variant of rum called cachaça.  They were full of lime flavor and were a refreshing treat against all of the rich flavors we were eating.  She was very good about offering to clear our plates so that we could get fresh ones for each round between eating breaks.  It was a busy night and we appreciated that she took extra care to make us feel welcomed and comfortable.  She even convinced us to have a little flan for dessert even though we felt that we were about to burst.  We were glad we did because it was delicious with a creamy, eggy taste topped with plenty of delicious bittersweet caramel sauce.

The last stop of the evening was Tupelo.  We walked a block up and caught them just before they were closing up for the night.  We sat at the bar and had intended on just getting a drink while our food from Midwest Grill settled, but then I learned that the chef was from Louisiana.  I asked the bartender where in Louisiana he was from since I’m from there too, and he responded by coming out of the kitchen to shake my hand and chat with me a bit.  Now that’s Southern hospitality!

Turns out that Chef Layman’s mom is from New Orleans and he grew up in Metarie.  I was really impressed with his beautiful menu and I was wishing that I had a second stomach to eat more food.  He invited us to try his gumbo and at first I refused because I was so full, but then reconsidered.  I can’t resist gumbo.  We also had to try the red velvet cake.  It was too tempting and we couldn’t help by succumb to our chocolate desires.

Chef sent out two heaping helpings of gumbo, which were delicious and spicy.  I loved the viscosity of his soup.  It was just the right thickness and it had quite a kick.  He told us that he seasons with a little Tabasco and jerk seasoning.  I hadn’t thought to use jerk spice in gumbo, but it makes sense.  I may try it next time I fix a pot up for me and my friends.  The cake was delicious too: moist, chocolatey, and just the right amount of sweetness.  Dan loved it, especially the tangy cream cheese icing, and got a little weepy while he was eating it.  We will be back for dinner soon – the catfish is calling my name.

We won’t be eating for a few days after all of the food we managed to put away in Inman Square last night.  I couldn’t have anticipated all of the fabulous food that I would be having at East Coast Grill, Midwest Grill, and Tupelo last night.  I will be returning to all three in the near future for more, and I’m kicking myself for not making it to that fabulous neighborhood more often.  What a fantastic impromptu culinary tour!

It was my first time hearing the Seattle Symphony Orchestra in person. They have made plenty of great recordings, but hearing an orchestra in its own hall is always a really disarming and illuminating experience. Our friend Jill had managed to get us two comp tickets to the all Mozart program that she was playing in Benaroya Hall on the night of our arrival in Seattle. It was a wonderful welcome to the city, and a great concert.

Before the concert, I enjoyed seeing the gorgeous Dale Chihuly
chandeliers.  They are a dramatic sight to see when you first enter the hall.  They remind of a giant luminous sea creature, which seems appropriate being so close to the ocean at Benaroya Hall.  If you visit, be sure to take a little extra time to see them before the show.  We later saw more Chihuly at the Seattle Art Museum, and the more I see of his work, the more I love it.

The first piece on the program was Symphony No. 34. It was new to me, and it was nice to hear one of the more rarely performed symphonies in Mozart’s oeuvre. My first impression of the Seattle Symphony was that they played with a beautiful sound overall. There was a sense of lyricism in the orchestra’s playing that I often miss in performances of Mozart and I appreciated their great care and attention to detail in shaping phrases.

The next piece featured the principal second violinist of the orchestra, Elisa Barston. Her appearance was part of a series in which musicians from the orchestra are invited to appear as soloists, a wonderful idea that I wish more orchestras would employ since there are so many amazingly talented individuals playing in orchestral settings these days.

Barston’s performance of the fifth violin concerto was light and airy. She luxuriated in her beautiful sterling sound and took quite a few liberties with tempo and stretched phrases; more so than I accustomed to hearing. The overall affect was a little like listening to French art song being performed by a great singer. It was a unique way of thinking about Mozart and I have to give her credit for originality. She backed up her creative approach to the concerto with unfailing technique and pristine intonation. I enjoyed her original cadenzas also. They were spare and favored lyric beauty over flashy technique. It was a bold statement on elegant simplicity an the importance of line that soloists are often afraid to make, and I respected and appreciated her conviction.

The highlight of the program, for me, was the “Posthorn” Serenade on the second half of the program. It is named for the small natural horn that the mailmen in 18th century Europe would play to let everyone know that the mail had been delivered. I wondered why all of the mailboxes in Luxembourg that I saw this past summer had horns on them, and now I know.

The principal trumpet player of the orchestra gave a stunning performance of the long solo on the Posthorn in one of the final movements. I was also really taken with the concertmaster, principal oboist, principal flute, principal bassoonist, and piccolo player. They had rather significant solo passages that they played with beautiful soaring tones and effortless phrasing. The piece really seemed like a concerto grosso for the many talented members of the orchestra than it did a true Serenade meant to be heard as background music. It is a testament to the virtuosity of the orchestral musicians of Mozart’s time.

After the concert, we headed out to Purple Wine Bar in downtown Seattle a block or so away from Benaroya Hall. It was our friend André’s birthday and we celebrated there with his brother completing our merry crew. It was a delightful gathering. Purple offers a tapas style menu of wine-friendly foods. The menu also offers standard sized portions of appetizers, main courses, and desserts. We liked the idea of lots of small tastes of many different foods, so we ended up ordering around ninety per cent of the items on the small bites menu.

Their wine list is extensive and comprehensive as expected for a metropolitan wine bar in a major wine production center. We drank a few local wines to start, and then moved onto some heavy-hitting French favorites. Our Gaston Chicquet Champagne and Graillot Crozes-Hermitage were beautiful and served as apt accompaniments to our celebratory feast.

The space is beautifully decorated and is housed in what used to be a bank and then a library. There is a dramatic spiral staircase in the center of the room that leads up to a miniature private wine tasting room isolated from the rest of the space by wine bottles on all sides. The ceilings seemed to be the same height as an airplane hangar and there is a loft that overlooks the main dining area with more seating for diners. The lighting is brooding, moody, and even a little sexy and many of the patrons seemed to have those same qualities. The kitchen serves the full menu up until midnight, which perpetuates the bumping late night scene. It’s easy to see why this one of downtown Seattle’s hotspots for the after-theater crowd.

Even though we were very tired after a long day of travel, it was wonderful to be out on the town in Seattle. It’s a great city with a real cosmopolitan feel that rivals Boston in my opinion. A symphony concert and a great meal set the celebratory tone of our trip there visiting dear friends for my birthday and André’s birthday. Of course, we can’t wait to return and we happily made many wonderful memories while there.

On the last night of my recent trip to Seattle, we elected to have dinner at a place called Le Gourmand. Our friend and host André arranged the reservation for us. He had eaten there five or six years ago, and based on his fond memories thought that Jill and I would enjoy it. He was right. The meal from start to finish was fantastic.

Le Gourmand, it turns out, is a Seattle institution, owned and operated by Chef Bruce Naftaly for 25 years. It is attached to a small but chic cocktail bar called Sambar that is manned by a friendly and capable staff, who will entertain the most ridiculous of requests, to which I can attest personally. Feeling like showing a flare for the dramatic, I decided to order my cocktail by saying something like this…

“I would like something with Gin, and maybe some St. Germaine. I like that Elderflower flavor. I’m thinking spring… The weather is just so beautiful and I want to celebrate how early it’s come. I know that when I return to Boston I’ll be missing the flowers in bloom and the lack of snow on the ground here in Seattle. What do you think the bartender can whip up?”

André and Jill followed suit with similar, but somewhat more direct and certainly less ridiculous requests. I think we made Katya smile in a good way, and she dutifully took our requests to Tina at the bar. I overheard part of their conversation and had to grin sensing their amusement at my elaborately vague order, which I had hoped would be entertaining for them. We all laughed together about it later in the evening after more drinks and wine had been enjoyed.

Even though we had quite ambiguously ordered our cocktails, Katya and bartender, Tina, ably delivered conjuring up some fabulous impromptu cocktails. I was treated to a mixture of Gin, St. Germaine, Hibiscus syrup, and Lime Juice. André got a sort of Manhattan/Negroni Hybrid that involved Rye and Campari, and Jill’s drink consisted of aged dark rum, artisanal vermouth, and chipotle pepper garnished with a bay leaf from the tree outside. All the drinks tasted great and perfectly fit the parameters that we set forth. I especially enjoyed my drink. It had a beautiful pink color and was light and refreshing. I could have easily had three or four. It was deliciously dangerous.

But on to dinner…

We were seated in the beautiful clean crisp white space that is Le Gourmand. I instantly noticed and admired the gorgeous Capiz chandeliers that softly lit the room. They reminded me of Dan, and I wished that he could have been there with us, but he had to return to Boston a day early to get back to work. Our table was neatly set with fresh, crisp linens, and the silverware and glasses were spotless and neatly arranged.

We studied the wonderful menu for a bit, and then noticed a seven course tasting for only $80. It seemed like the deal of the century, and we decided that we couldn’t pass it up then and there. Our server David was very knowledgeable about all aspects of the food and also served as our sommelier for the evening. His wine list was well chosen with plenty of small producers focused on quality rather than quantity. It was just the kind of list that I love to sink my teeth into.

We started with some Cremant de Bourgogne rosé that David recommended for the aperitif and first couple of courses. We had a Pinot Gris by Kubler, a producer that I had read about, but never seen in Boston. The wine was true to form for an Alsace white showing signs of a ripe vintage: broad and full flavored with lovely aromatics and a touch of sweetness. For our red, we chose a bottle of Joseph Roty Marsannay. It was a triumph with our fabulous meal. It smelled like a barnyard and had plenty of structure balanced out with bright cherry and red currant fruit.

The food was outstanding course after course. I liked Chef Bruce’s simple and elegant approach to the beautiful ingredients with which he was working. Everything was prepared in a manner that featured the main component, be it fish, meat, or vegetable. For example, our first course was a simple nettle soup made only with leeks, onion, a little potato, a light duck stock, and of course nettles. It was a revelation to taste the purity of the nettle flavor in this concentrated form. We sipped it from the funky porcelain cups that it was served in with great enjoyment.

The courses following were a breaded and friend farmer’s egg with roasted cauliflower and Brussels sprouts, a terrine of foie gras with honey, huckleberries, and brioche, salsify in an herb cream, a gratin of local sturgeon served in a seashell, duck breast with black trumpet mushrooms, and a small green salad with vinaigrette made from local vinegar and edible flowers. The foie gras terrine was unlike any I had before. It was made with lobes of foie gras that were pressed together to form a “loaf” of duck liver. The texture was perfect and the balance of flavor was on the sweeter side, nicely accented by the honeyed sauce it was served with and contrasted by the huckleberry compote. David provided us with a little sip of Couteuax de Layon, a sweet white wine from the Loire, to go with it.

We added a cheese course on and shared three desserts for the grand finale: a sour cherry soufflé with chocolate sauce, a sort of caramel ice cream made from French candies, and a crepe with Meyer lemon ice cream. The meal overall was every bit as decadent as it sounded and took us about five hours to eat. We were full but not uncomfortable since Chef Bruce and David paced our meal appropriately. We really appreciated the fact that they indulged our luxuriant pace for the evening, it being a celebratory evening for us.

I should also make special mention of the delicious herbal “house” tea that we were served with our desserts. It was a blend of botanicals that had been grown by the chef’s son’s Montessori class. It included chicory, ginger, and lemon mint and tasted like a cross between coffee and herbal tea. Chef Bruce and his wife had blended it themselves, and it was perfect for the end of the meal. It helped settle our stomachs and made us relax even more. Chef Bruce personally told us the story about the tea when he made an appearance at the table as we finished up our meal. We heartily thanked him and congratulated him on his culinary tour de force that evening. He couldn’t have been more humble and he seemed legitimately pleased that we had enjoyed ourselves as much as we did. I think this serves as a testament to Le Gourmand’s twenty-five year success story.

When our tea and dessert were served, we told David that we were all classical musicians. Being an avid fan of the art form himself, he plugged in his iPod to the restaurant sound system and played the Brahms A Major Quartet and the fantastic Piano Quintet for us. It made me wish Dan was there even more, but it also made the evening that much more special for us. We had quite a discussion with David about music, who was very well informed and had strong opinions about Western art music. He was clearly a man of refined taste and passionate about what he loved, and I felt more than a little bit of kinship with him for that reason.

As the meal drew to a close and in need of a digestif, we wandered back over to Sambar for a final drink (or two) before we headed back out into the night. We ran into an old friend, Rob, who had given us quite a night at his bar, Oliver’s Twist, on our last visit to Seattle in June of last year. It was a pleasant surprise to see him there, and we enjoyed chatting with him again. We stayed and hung out with the staff and Rob for a while and chatted about travel, art, music, and life for an hour or so. We had Fernet Branca and eventually got around to some Hudson Whiskey Manhattan Rye – a delicious new boutique spirit made in New York.

It was hard to leave Sambar and Le Gourmand behind, but we knew that the staff needed to close up shop and head home, and all good things must come to an end. We certainly never felt rushed, on the contrary, everyone there epitomized hospitality and seemed to want to let us dine at a leisurely pace. Katya voluntarily filled our water glasses after she had already been off the clock for a while saying that she really took joy in doing that for us. I was touched by the sentiment and I felt it was a great example of how much the folks at Le Gourmand care about their guests’ comfort and satisfaction. I would certainly recommend Le Gourmand and Sambar to anyone looking for a great experience in Seattle and the surrounding area. They set a scene for a night to be remembered for me and my friends. We couldn’t have been more pleased with our time spent with them.

CQ is on the road again… This time I have traveled to Seattle for a few days and have already had so many blog-worthy adventures.  I am having so much fun that I have had a hard time sitting down to blog.  With a little free time this afternoon, I wanted to tell you about a great wine and food shop I discovered amongst yesterday’s goings-on.  It’s called Picnic.   You can find it in Seattle’s Phinney Ridge neighborhood.  My friend André and I had a wonderful experience shopping there and chatting with owners of the place, Jenny and Anson Klock.

The concept of Picnic is that you can eat it there, or you can take it out with equal ease and satisfaction.  They offer a selection of soups, sandwiches, salads, charcuterie, and cheese on their menu, and they also host regular themed wine tastings for $8.  It’s a fantastic concept that was modeled on some of the retail outlets in my neck of the woods, Boston.  It turns out that Anson has a brother who lives in the South End near some of my favorite places: The Butcher Shop and Formaggio Kitchen.  Having visited these Boston hot-spots, they were inspired to open a similarly styled place in Seattle.

I was impressed with their selection of wine.  They had maybe 100 to 150 different bottles, and it was obvious that each one had been carefully chosen by the owners.  Maybe a third of the selections were local from either Oregon or Washington.  I picked up four bottles from vineyards that I have not seen represented in Boston.  We drank and enjoyed three of the them at our dinner party last night and have one left for later in the week.  The wines were Efeste “Evergreen” Riesling, McKinley Cellars Chenin Blanc, Yellow Hawk Sangiovese, and Syncline “Subduction Red.”  We will be having the Yellow Hawk Sangiovese with pizza from flying squirrel at a chamber music reading party tonight, and I’m looking forward to enjoying another of Washington’s amazing wine offerings.

Jenny and Anson also sent us home with some cheese, pate, and bread.  They were gracious enough to let us sample quite a few things from their case, and we couldn’t resist purchasing more food, even though we had already made quite a haul from the Ballard Market earlier in the afternoon.  Anson’s country style pate was entirely made from ground pork and was studded with delicious herbs and he gave us pickled shallots, cornichons, and mustard to eat it with.  We relished its delicious flavor and wonderful even texture while we cooked up a storm for our celebratory dinner party that evening.  The baguette from Columbia City Bakery and Dinah’s Cheese from Kurtwood Farms that they turned us on to were also a real treat.  Dinah’s Cheese is a delicious gooey camembert style cheese that we admired for it’s buttery unctuousness and creamy smooth spreadable paste.

I could have stayed and talked with Jenny and Anson for hours, but we had to pick up our friends after a rehearsal.  I don’t think I could imagine a more warm and engaging couple of proprietors, and it turned out that we had quite a bit in common.  They are just the sort of people that you hope will open a business in your own neighborhood.  I was very happy to have found Picnic and I’ll be telling everyone I know about it in Boston.  Maybe someday I’ll be lucky enough to own a little shop just like it.  Until then, I’ll be wishing I lived in Seattle so that I could go there for cheese, bread, wine, and pate once a week.  I wish them continued success and happiness in their wonderful shop, Picnic!