Craigie on Main

Craigie on Main may be my new favorite restaurant. The Boston area's premier locavore, "'snout-to-tail" eatery, it has won all sorts of accolades for its excellent food, sustainable principles, and customer service. Consider this post my humble addition.

I have enjoyed drinks and dinner there before, but my most recent Craigie experience, on a bustling Friday evening, started on a particularly high note and remained there over the course of the night. What made it so great? Was it the Northern Lights cocktail - St. Germain, citrus, and tiki bitters aligned so that I hardly noticed its Scotch base - that was waiting for me when I arrived? Was it my perch at the corner of the bar, achieved soon after arrival, that allowed me to take in the maneuverings of the bartenders, the distant activity of the kitchen, and the cheerful hubbub that existed about the fellow diners? Was it what came after I settled in?

To start, the atmosphere of the bar area really defies categorization. It manages to feel like a well-mannered bar, a bustling bistro, and an intimate restaurant. There is something festive yet relaxing about the space, as though you are simultaneously celebrating something special and settling in for a cozy night - even if neither mood is intended. The staff is friendly and knowledgeable, and the foodies sharing the bar space are chatty and enthusiastic. Everybody's smiling. Everybody's ordering more. Oh, you ask - what did I order?

My appetizer was a Julie-esque ragout of morcilla and local forest mushrooms, with farro risottto, poached egg, carrot puree, and herbs. (Of course, I had to order a dish with mushrooms!) I reveled in the tender mushrooms' robust earthiness, and enjoyed stirring the risotto in the herbed puree. Morcilla is a Spanish blood sausage, and therefore was previously-uncharted territory for me; I was pleasantly surprised by its soft texture and deep spicy flavor. I kept the egg at bay as long as I could, but when it did rupture and the runny yolk became unavoidable, I was not displeased by how it mixed with everything else.

Then, it was time for one of the tastiest pieces of meat I have ever had. (No, not the pig's head, however much my dining companion may have joked about us sharing it!) The famed Craigie burger is no longer on the menu, but if you are lucky enough to request it while the day's dedicated beef is not yet depleted, you can have one. I ordered mine medium rare. It was moist and slightly runny, as I would expect, but it did not turn the admittedly-sturdy and slightly sweet sesame bun into a sopping mess. The fresh-tasting grass-fed beef is enriched with marrow and miso, and the resulting umami-ness was really unique in this setting. The burger was topped with a rather sharp cheddar cheese, a bit of watercress, and some fried onion strings. I added some house-made mace ketchup to the mix, and the result in toto was an explosion of so many hearty, savory flavors that my tastebuds may have died. Oh, did I mention that there were equally-delicious fries served on the side? Those thick potato chunks were delightfully seasoned, and I dipped them repeatedly in whatever mace ketchup did not get slathered on the burger. There was so much food that I ended up taking half of it home; I can happily report that it was just as tasty left over.

This restaurant is also known for the subtle, talented mixologists behind the bar. They also stock a variety of unique liqueurs (we sampled Cynar, an unusually vegetabular yet sweet artichoke spirit I had not previously encountered) and house-made mixins (bitters, syrups). I was emboldened, after one or two Northern Lights, to ask the closest bartender, Carrie, for something special. After giving her a vague request ("something with St. Germain, that's different!") and an answer to one question ("yes, I like citrus"), she concocted this delight:

The beverage is equal parts blanco tequila, mezcal, St. Germain, grapefruit juice, and lime juice, with three dashes of grapefruit bitters and an orange peel for garnish. As with the appetizer, this was one Julie-esque drink. If the night hadn't been late, I would have ordered another.

After rolls, the shroomy appetizer, many cocktails, and that chunk of carnivorous heaven, I can't believe I still had room for dessert! I wasn't listening as well as I could have when Carrie announced the options - the aforementioned custom cocktail was monopolizing most senses - but I managed to hear that pumpkin was involved in the day's special, so that made the decision easy. Enter a cream-based dessert that was a complete departure from what I usually order.

The custard itself was sturdier than a creme brulee, and had a more assertive burnt sugar flavor. Despite its dense creaminess, it did not weigh me down. It was drizzled in a lightly sweet, somewhat salty caramel sauce, with bitter kumquats added for contrast. The aforementioned pumpkin was expressed in the thin, wavy cookie decorating the top of the dessert. The cookie was startlingly pumpkin-y and spicy, in a robust way that would have been shocking even in a sturdy, doughy cookie...or pumpkin pie. It was the most surprising aspect of the entire meal, and I wish there had been more of it - perhaps an equal amount of cookie in relation to the custard, so each bite could have had both? (I consumed the cookie far too quickly for it to be of any use to the custard.)

I can't wait to return to Craigie and order a different dessert, to see what else they're capable of.

What a meal that was! All in all, I give the food, drinks, and general restaurant feel each 6 stars out of 5. I wish I could eat and drink it all over again; maybe I will, if you go back with me? I hope this first attempt at expanding "the dessert blog" to contain other food reviews is adequately persuasive! :-)