Greg and I went to the locavore landmark Henrietta's Table, in Harvard Square's Charles Hotel, on Restaurant Week's first night. It was an easy decision once we saw they were offering their full menu; plus, for all the time I've spent in that hotel at either company parties or the minimalist bar Noir, I had yet to eat a full meal in one of its restaurants. They started the night off on a high note, with a full basket of artisan breads and plenty of butter. The bread lasted well into the first course, which was corn chowder with crab and bacon. I'm not a fan of corn chowder, but since I love the two meats within it I thought it was worth a try. I made a good decision - here, you can get a sense of the soup's heartiness, packed as full as possible with tender, shredded crabmeat and crispy, crumbled bacon. The corn was fully processed and melded seamlessly with the broth, so there were no unique kernels of the undesirable vegetable.
(Also, in case you're curious - the bread at left is a raisin almond loaf, and the drink incorporated house-infused grapefruit vodka, grapefruit juice, simple syrup, my beloved St. Germain, and sparkling wine. Fantastic!) I then had salmon with peach salsa and mashed potatoes for dinner. The salmon was tasty, but typical. The peach salsa was notably unpleasant, made of unripe fruit and far too many onions. The mashed potatoes were great, though - imagine fluffy, well-spiced mounds of Yukon Golds. I paired a bite of them with each forkful of salmon, leaving most of the salsa alone.
Henrietta's dessert menu offers all sorts of tempting delights, from pies of the day to seasonal fruit cobblers, plus locally-made ice cream and fresh cakes. It was the s'mores skillet that caught my eye, though, for its haute presentation of a campfire treat. Look at this gorgeous dessert!
The base layer was a very dense chocolate mousse, made from Somerville's own Taza Chocolate! It had that deep, intense taste and grainy texture I've come to associate with Taza, and let me tell you, those characteristics are even more remarkable and enjoyable when the chocolate is warm. Next was a fluffy layer of homemade marshmellow, burned slightly at the top for effect. Then, we had a scoop of vanilla ice cream, a sprig of mint, and two homemade graham crackers. The crackers nearly stole the show - soft and chewy, bursting with spices and brown sugar, they've made me think twice of eating a store-bought version. How did I eat this all, you ask?
By mixing it all together, of course! The mix achieved something I absolutely love about multi-part desserts - namely, that fusion of multiple tastes, textures, and temperatures, in a way that all characteristics remain distinct but help the others become even more remarkable. The whole was more than the sum of its parts. Well done, Henrietta! I would definitely go back to this restaurant, since there's so much of the menu that remains to be explored AND I just might need another skillet.
Katie and I then closed out the Week with dinner at The Butcher Shop. But first, we stopped at the Beehive for the obligatory pre-dinner drink!
That is a vodka gimlet made as I like them, with fresh lime juice and a hint of simple syrup in place of the less-desirable Rose's. Delicious! Unfortunately, the following meal did not meet the gimlet's threshold of excellence.
Corn chowder appetizers were everywhere this Restaurant Week! So, I avoided the Butcher Shop's offering in favor of a beet salad with pumpernickel crostini and quail's eggs. The salad disappointed in that it was mainly unadorned, cold beets; the two crostini were maybe a square inch apiece, and there was only one quail's egg. All my past experiences with beets were tastier than this. How boring. The meat in my entree, pork belly with corn and beans, was enjoyable when I was eating it, with its smooth, tender texture and robust bacon flavor. I believe the term "porkgasm" was employed at the restaurant...but I regretted the indulgence by the middle of the night. And here I rarely get sick from food! Then, I had coffee creme caramel for dessert. I wasn't sure what to expect when I ordered it, and if I had known that a panna cotta-like substance would appear, I would have gone with the much more ordinary, but much more reliable, chocolate mousse. The creme had sweet honey notes up front, and finished with a strong taste of coffee that lingered for a while in the back of my throat. Still, all those unique flavors could not help the fact that I just. don't. like. panna. cotta. Its texture, somewhere between gelatin and cream, is a challenge to my senses.
I've heard the Butcher Shop's regular menu is worth experiencing, so I'd go back if the opportunity presents itself. Considering Barbara Lynch's track record in this city, I'm not going to write this place off just yet - but I'll definitely steer clear of that pork belly!
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