Summer Restaurant Week 2010

Where did I eat this Restaurant Week?

 

Masa, on the eastern border of the South End, serves delicious Southwest-style food with occasional New England influences. It's one of my favorite Boston restaurants. Since I hadn't been there for dinner in a while, I thought it was worth going back to try their Restaurant Week menu. With a sangria margarita in one hand and a fork in the other, I enjoyed a great meal! I had a flavorful yellow gazpacho for my appetizer, and ate a smoky, pungent, and moist achiote chicken breast with yucca fritters and corn-avocado salsa for dinner. I ordered a chocolate truffle tamale for dessert, but was presented with a molten chocolate cake (apparently the tamale did not exist?). Fortunately, Masa's MCC was unique and enjoyable. I would describe its texture as somewhere between a flourless chocolate torte and a typical MCC - in other words, it wasn't exactly molten, but was delightfully soft and gooey throughout. It had a deep, creamy chocolate flavor that made me think of chocolate mousse in cake form. The cake was complemented by a generous drizzle of sweet and tangy raspberry sauce, plus a small scoop of vanilla bean ice cream that melted over the warm dessert. Clearly, I'm loving chocolate/raspberry duos this month! A thorough dusting of powdered sugar and a sprig of mint added to the presentation. I may have had a better dessert here once upon a time - a rustic apple tart, perhaps? - but I can't complain about this fresh and tasty molten chocolate cake.

Since I consider myself a Harvard Square regular, I am somewhat embarrassed to say that I had never been to Casablanca before this meal. I look forward to returning to the subterranean Mediterranean restaurant, as I enjoyed their Restaurant Week menu. My appetizer was grilled mission figs with prosciutto, Vermont blue cheese, and balsamic drizzle; I then had salmon with fresh tomato salad and yogurt tahini as my main course. Even though the waiter recommended the local-blueberry creme brulee, I could not say no to the unusual-sounding flourless chocolate-polenta cake with Chantilly cream, creme anglaise, and strawberries. The cake was rather dense and somewhat dry, but it fortunately didn't fall apart or crumble during eating. I could not taste the polenta, but it definitely gave the cake a sturdier texture than flour would have done. The flavor was that of assertive cocoa powder rather than deep chocolate, which I attribute to the relative lack of moisture. I also noticed that there wasn't much sugar in the cake, though its accompaniments made up for its lack of sweetness. The custardy, lightly-vanilla creme anglaise clung to the cake, and the airy, sugary Chantilly cream had a smooth, cool mouthfeel that lightened each bite. I'll keep my eyes open for polenta cakes going forward, as I'm curious about what varieties are out there (moister, sweeter, etc). I'm glad I expanded my dessert horizons with an unconventionally-"leavened" cake!

The Birthday Cupcake Society

To say that my birthday involved cupcakes would be an understatement.

I started the day by having brunch at Flour Bakery's Central Square outpost, which included one of their impossibly rich and chewy chocolate cupcakes with airy vanilla frosting. I'll let this picture do the talking.
I thought my daily cupcake quota - hitherto an unimagined and unnecessary metric - would have been filled after Flour's contribution, but this was not the case. Imagine my excitement when Greg presented me with a box of Sweet cupcakes later that afternoon! I have discussed Sweet here before, but the delights within that birthday box deserve honorable mention. From left to right in this picture:

• Lemon - dense, lightly-flavored lemon vanilla cake was topped with tangy lemon frosting and a lemon candy. I would rather have assertive citrus flavors in baked goods, especially in ones as substantive as Sweet's. The frosting, however, was lemony enough to compensate for the cake's blandness. I could easily eat spoonful after spoonful of lemon frosting!
• Lemon Raspberry - the same lemon vanilla cake was injected with a generous glob of raspberry jam. Their signature vanilla frosting, which may or may not have had a hint of lemon flavor, was the third contributor to a triumvirate of complementary textures (much like their Red, White, and You cupcake). The best bites included cake, frosting, and jam! A raspberry on top was a cute and tasty touch.
• Chocolate Vanilla - cheerfull yellow sprinkles coated the cupcake's first dollop of vanilla frosting, which in turn was topped by an elaborate frosting peak. This frosting was so delicious and creamy that I paid less attention to the chocolate cake beneath. The chocolate cake was as rich as the vanilla cake, though less sugary and somewhat drier.
• Chocolate Chocolate - yes, I loved this cupcake's purple sprinkles. Fortunately, the cupcake's chocolate flavors were equally pleasing. The bakery's dense, sugary frosting is especially delicious with creamy milk chocolate blended in.

So, my birthday's cupcake quota was stretched a bit. I enjoyed the Lemon Raspberry confection that evening, and consumed the others - at a rate of one per day! - later.

Then, I went to New Hampshire for a few days' fun with the family. I knew there would be a birthday dessert waiting for me. I was looking forward to my mom's beloved dark chocolate layer cake with peppermint frosting, so I had a cat's reaction of alarm plus curiosity when I saw a baker's box on our kitchen counter. So much for what I had been told! That's right, I wasn't getting my traditional cake. I was getting cupcakes - the best cupcakes I've ever had.

Windham's Shabby Chic bakery is a recent addition to the New Hampshire dessert scene. Within 6 months of opening, they won all sorts of acclaim, including a feature on New Hampshire Chronicle and a cover mention for Best Cupcakes in New Hampshire magazine's 2009 Best of NH issue. After eating a few of their delightful confections, it is easy to see - and taste! - why. I had four different cupcakes, all variations on the same basic chocolate cake with light, creamy buttercream frosting. For the record, each cupcake measures slightly less than 3 inches in diameter and slightly less than 4 inches (frosting and topper included) in height! Here are the treats in the order they were eaten:

• Chocolate Salted Caramel - this cake had extremely salty, slightly-crystallized caramel swirled within the batter. The saltiness actually shocked me at first until I embraced the union of flavors in each gooey bite - chocolate, caramel, and salt, oh my! - as well as the sweeter caramel frosting. I felt like I was eating a moist, chewy caramel brownie rather than a cake! The light frosting reminded me of dulce de leche, and was only slightly salty; you do have the option of picking flakes of fleur de sel from its exterior. Sweet caramel drizzle ran down the sides of the frosting, and a chewy dark-chocolate-covered caramel marked the top of the frosting peak.

• Chocolate Raspberry - raspberry puree was mixed throughout the chocolate cake to create the most successful dessert of this bunch! The tart, fruity puree complemented the cake's smooth chocolate sweetness, and moistened the batter so that both flavors shone. Each bite was deliciously fudgy, and there was a nugget of puree at the cupcake's center. Of course, the raspberry frosting was equally excellent! The pale pink buttercream had tiny pieces of fruit mixed in, and really tasted like a whisper of raspberries and cream. The topper was a fudgy chocolate with a sour berry coating.

• Chocolate Mint - no mint syrup saturated this base cake. Instead, small pieces of dark mint chocolate and light-green white chocolate studded the batter. The candy bits were dry and hard, so the cupcake had none of the gooey fudginess noted above. The candies' fresh mint flavor lightly permeated the batter. The pale green buttercream frosting featured a stronger, more pungent mint. I prefer sweet peppermint to fresh mint, so I was slightly disappointed in this cupcake. A chocolate-covered malted milk ball with a gorgeous robin's-egg coating topped it all off.

• Chocolate Peanut Butter - when devoid of mix-ins, Shabby Chic's standard chocolate cupcake is moderately chocolatey-sweet and somewhat dry, with a coarse crumb. This basic cupcake was paired with the most decadent of frostings. As you can see from the picture, the peanut butter frosting departed from the usual Shabby Chic buttercream by being thick - so thick that it was more like dense peanut butter ice cream than frosting! The taste echoed the texture, suggesting incredibly sweet and milky peanut butter. Clearly, a lot of actual peanut butter went into it! The frosting became somewhat crusty on the outside after spending a day in my refrigerator, but the inside remained creamy. I was blown away by the frosting's richness and how it paired so well with the chocolate cake. The cupcake was topped with a milk-chocolate-covered peanut.

What excellent cake varieties and frosting flavors! I am so glad that my family saw Shabby Chic's press, realized the cupcakery was only minutes from our home, and decided to give it a try. I look forward to returning to this adorable desserterie to try some more treats - maybe a vanilla cupcake with orange or lemon swirls?

...as if 9 cupcakes in 8 days weren't enough! Happy Birthday to me. :-)

OMG!

I went to Stonewall Kitchen's flagship store in York, Maine this past weekend, and stopped by a nearby farmers' market afterward. This market had the usual assortments of fresh veggies and baked goods, but one baked-good display caught my eye. Kate's Designer Delights was advertising a treat called the OMG. Having used that phrase to a fault, I had to investigate its dessert incarnation. OMGs are essentially 5"-diameter tarts, with a shortbread crust and the filling/drizzle of your choice - either homemade caramel with milk chocolate, or raspberry jam and white chocolate. I chose the caramel-filled OMG since Stonewall Kitchen had satisfied my jam needs just minutes before.

The dessert's name couldn't be more appropriate! The shortbread base was deliciously buttery and soft, yet still crumbly, and much thicker than the usual tart crust. A shortbread lover like myself would be overjoyed. The caramel, in a layer approximately 1/8" thick, was thick and sweet. The minimal chocolate drizzle was smooth, milky, and flavorful, so I wish there had been more chocolate. Each bite melted in my mouth, and the sweet butteriness of it all was oh so pleasing. I wish I had thought ahead to purchase another, as the caramel-shortbread combination is too delicious and too rare.

OMG, indeed!

London Calling: Buns 'n' Biscuits

A few more British treats deserve a blog mention!

With Euston Station's food court – and Underground access! – one block from our hotel, we weren’t going to find a more convenient breakfast stop. Delice de France and Caffe Ritazza both offered an over-the-top version of a revered baked good that I enjoyed 7 mornings in a row. Their triple chocolate muffins consisted of chocolate dough with white, milk, and dark chocolate chips mixed in, and injected chocolate frosting. DDF’s muffin was drier and less sweet, as a muffin should be, but it had far too much frosting. CR’s muffin essentially was a moist cupcake, but with minimal unnecessary goo. Despite their outrageous ingredients, the muffins were considerably smaller than American bakeries' muffins. I may have justified their repeated consumption on this fact.

A tour guide in the original Cambridge recommended Fitzbillies' Chelsea buns, so we had to investigate further. Chelsea bun dough is flavored with orange, lemon, and spices, and rolled with currants and sugar. Once the buns are rolled and cut, much like cinnamon buns, they are topped in a sugary, buttery glaze. I'm glad I tried this local specialty, but in the end I'm more of a frosted-cinnamon-bun girl. The spice and citrus flavor combination recalled winter holiday treats, and it felt out of place on a sweltering summer day. The dough itself was tougher than expected. Also, the currants were too dry, chewy, and flavorless for my liking. I did enjoy the sweet glaze, but it made the bun difficult to hold and eat. Maybe we would have been happier getting the local creamery's ice cream for dessert!

Fortnum & Mason of afternoon tea fame sells a variety of biscuits, or cookies. Knowing my dessert tastes, it was the most natural thing in the world to purchase Chocolossus biscuits, and they were such a success that two Chocolossus tins were flown back over the Pond. The dessert's core is a large (nearly palm-sized) dark chocolate biscuit studded with pieces of macadamia nuts. The biscuit proper is dry but not stale, and is surprisingly robust in chocolate flavor. The nut fragments are small enough that they don't overwhelm the biscuit, yet are still assertive enough on the palate. That biscuit is then enrobed in a quarter-inch-thick layer of smooth dark chocolate. As your teeth sink through the chocolate layer and crunch the biscuit within, as you enjoy the rich aroma and savor the multiple mediums of chocolate, you realize that Chocolossus really is the perfect cookie.

Lastly, I had to try some everday chocolate, British-style! The convenience stores and subway kiosks dazzled me with their displays of countless unknown candy bars. I ultimately selected a packet of Revels since I'll be performing in a production of the same name back in the new Cambridge. I assume they are called Revels because of the unexpected party you may enjoy while eating them. The candies are balls of milk chocolate, filled with one of six flavored centers: coffee, toffee, orange, raisin, malted milk ball, or more chocolate. I was impressed with the rich, creamy consistency of the chocolate. The fillings were dense, sugary, and rather tasty, with the exception of the never-enjoyable raisin. I ate one bag in Heathrow airport and am saving one more for the day my Revels show opens at Sanders Theatre. :-)

London Calling: Afternoon Tea

I recently had the pleasure of traveling to London for a week’s vacation! When deciding which sites to see and activities to do, one food-related splurge became a priority: I had to take afternoon tea in the country where the ritual originated. I made reservations for the St. James Restaurant at Fortnum & Mason, just outside Picadilly Circus. That stunning specialty food emporium did not disappoint – the experience was everything I wanted it to be, and more!

The tea room was warm, sunlit, and decorated in a soft blue. Plush armchairs and low-lying sofas with embroidered pillows surrounded delicate coffee tables set with the tea service’s china and drinkware. After settling in on the comfortable furniture, we cleansed our palate with brightly-flavored sparkling lemonade and ordered our tea. I enjoyed the strength and full body of the Assam Superb offering.

Next came four categories of delicate gastronomic treats – a plate of canapés followed by a 3-tiered display with sandwiches, scones, and cakes. You may behold the glorious tower below:

• Canapes – asiago breadsticks, pesto breadsticks, salmon crostini topped with roe, and sausage in puff pastry
• Sandwiches – egg salad, curry pasta and raisins on rye, cucumber and watercress on white, chicken and watercress on white, salmon on wheat
• Scones – plain and current scones, madeleines
• Desserts – raspberry jam sandwiched between shortbread, light lemon cake soaked in lemon sauce, vanilla cake topped with vanilla cream and white chocolate, brown sugar puff pastry glazed with confectioners' sugar and filled with custard and raspberries, lemon-almond petit four with blue white-chocolate frosting, sacher torte sans jam topped with gold leaf

My favorite treats, predictably enough, were the desserts, but the scones plus toppings were the best surprise.

Scones as I have known them in America can be a tough sell. More often than not, they are large mounds of floury, heavy dough that can barely redeem themselves via glazes or mixed-in fruit. Fortnum and Mason’s scones, however, were light, fluffy, buttery, and slightly tangy. This made them a treat in their own right, though they became even better with choice accompaniments. We could choose from strawberry jam, lemon curd, and clotted cream. I had to try the pale yellow clotted cream, a traditional British spread whose consistency is between whipped cream and butter. It was excellent when spooned over a dollop of jam! The lemon curd was excellently tart, with none of the cloying sweetness that usually turns me away from the spread.

Afternoon tea is a slow, relaxing, and above all indulgent meal. The richness of these treats gave me a fullness I would usually associate with twice the volume of food. We were so satisfied by the afternoon tea that we didn’t even eat dinner – and, we were able to browse the extensive F&M food halls without needing to sample everything in sight! This special time was one of the highlights of my vacation, and I encourage any visitors to Britain to seek out the same. Cheerio!

Dessert at the Mandarin Oriental

The Mandarin Oriental’s M Bar has intrigued me for some time. Its posh hotel setting and swanky décor suggest a certain restricted luxury, while its street-facing window/wall – enabling occupants and passersby to observe one another – hints at a curious openness. So, I found myself on the inside of the wall this past Friday. My good experience was not limited to delicious drinks and an enviable window perch; the bar had a very tempting dessert menu! Take a look at the treats (with interloping cocktails) below.

The dessert on the left is a creatively-executed apple crisp. I usually prefer tight, well-packed fruit desserts, but M Bar’s deconstructed version was remarkable. To start, the apples were cut in cube-like chunks rather than the usual slices. The conventional-tasting fruit (Golden Delicious?) was tossed in a thin cinnamon-caramel sauce, and the resultant mixture made me think of an especially chunky fruit soup. The crumbles covering the apples were large and cereal-like; I admired their remaining crunchy amidst their moist surroundings. Typical crumble flavors (cinnamon, butter, brown sugar) were assertive in the granola-y medium. I really appreciated the generous application of this topping! The remaining dessert components were unconventional and unanticipated. I finally tasted molecular gastronomy in action, enjoying a caramel foam that covered the crisp. The foam was every bit as flavorful as a standard caramel drizzle, but with a predictably lighter mouthfeel. The tiny, pale-cream bubbles stayed intact as I made my way through the dessert. Next up was a dollop of Calvados-flavored ice cream. The alcohol was barely noticeable, but the sharp apple and brandy notes were strong. The ice cream melted quickly and added a perky flavor to the chunky “soup” below. Lastly, three paper-thin apple chips were poised in the ice cream. Brightly-flavored and crisp, I enjoyed eating them dipped in the caramel foam. So, both the individual components and the dessert as a whole were great!

A “bento box” of three flavored crèmes brulees plus chocolate sorbet is on the right. The ginger crème had a sweeter ginger flavor, which was disappointingly diluted – if any dessert medium could benefit from a helping of bold flavor, it would be the already-sweet and milky crème brulee! The hazelnut version tasted average, though its pale-brown color was rather pretty. The orange was by far the best of the three, with a fresh citrus zing that cut through the creaminess. The dark chocolate sorbet was a tasty, if fairly common, palate cleanser.

M Bar’s menu had many other interesting desserts that may require sampling – for example, I had a hard time choosing between the apple crisp and their orange cheesecake. If you’re looking for a fancy night out at a bar with good drinks and sweet treats, put this place on your list!

Portsmouth Pleasures

I recently had the pleasure of visiting Portsmouth, NH two weekends in a row! I love this seaside town for its cheerful downtown, seaside park, cute and eclectic shops, and fun food. Of course, two of my favorite food vendors are dessert shops.

Annabelle’s Ice Cream is served in a cheerful basement off a waterfront side street. Their all-natural ice cream has a certain creamy, thick solidity that really packs a punch in a small volume. Because of its density, I find that it tastes best after being out of the freezer for a few minutes. Flavors are fairly common mixed creations that are made unique by the foundation ice cream’s quality.

• Peanut Butter Fantasy – sweet peanut butter ice cream is swirled with fudge and small chunks of peanut butter cups. The base ice cream is rather like sweet cream ice cream with peanut butter mixed in; I prefer this approach to the more extreme scoop of frozen peanut butter. Thick ribbons of fudge are mixed throughout this flavor, but there are rather few candy chunks.
• Mocha Mud Pie – chocolate chips and crumbled Oreos are mixed into a robust mocha ice cream. The signature Annabelle’s creaminess is great in this base flavor, as it really approximates a frozen version of my favorite espresso beverage. As with the Peanut Butter Fantasy, I wish there had been more mixers, but all in all this is a solid flavor that I would order again.

Our party enjoyed certain bolder flavors as well, like Ginger Fruit (sweet cream and crystallized ginger). I hear it was pungent yet refreshing!

Byrne & Carlson Chocolatier and Confectioner, a relatively recent find, has a one-room, antique-looking shop in a Portsmouth brownstone. The high ceilings, cream walls, dark wood cabinetry filled with candies, and clean, old-fashioned label type make me feel as though I have stepped into a treat shop of yore – a very fine one, mind you. Truffles and dark chocolate bars are their specialty, though in my two visits I sampled a range of their product.

• Chocolate-covered sea salt caramels – a nearly one-inch-square cube of stiff, sugary caramel is enrobed in a thin layer of dark chocolate and dusted with large crystals of fleur de sel. The salt lingered in my mouth after the chocolate coating had melted, so it blended nicely with the sweet caramel. I would have preferred a thicker layer of chocolate, or even a milder variety that would have been less distinct from the caramel; I would have guessed the percent cacao was around 70.
• Chipotle sea salt bar – I was intrigued by the variety of flavors in this bar, but it didn’t live up to my expectations. I think the 75% cacao content is too much bitterness for a bar with two savory components. The fleur de sel was robust and slightly smoky, and the chipotle pepper asserted itself with a spicy burn that lasted long after the chocolate had melted. The chocolate, as with all their offerings, was even and silky, and I may have been able to enjoy it as a pure chocolate bar, but I really needed something sweet to counter the salt and pepper! Lovers of intense dark chocolate, this bar is probably exactly what you need.
• Malted milk balls – I couldn’t get enough of these, they were so delicious! (Please keep in mind, this is coming from the girl who pouted if some unsuspecting neighbor gave out boxes of Whoppers for Halloween – so, praise indeed.) B&C’s Ultimate MMB has a small malted-milk center, followed by layers of dark, milk, and white chocolate. A speckled tan candy shell coats the treat. There were so many delicious chocolates in each bite, arranged in an ideal flavor progression, and the rough malted milk was surprisingly sweet and texturally satisfying against the smooth, bitter dark chocolate neighboring it.
• Truffle eggs – yes, eggs; we couldn’t ignore the corner of Easter remainders. Each miniature truffle egg has a sweet, slightly tangy truffle filling enrobed in creamy milk chocolate. The eggs instantly softened in my mouth, and melted into a buttercream-like chocolate paste that was pure decadence but not nearly enough volume. These treats lasted too briefly! I’ll seriously have to consider supplementing next year’s Fannie May Easter candy with a haul from Byrne & Carlson.

I have already decided that whenever I’m next in town, I will have to sample more milk chocolate, a different type of malted milk ball (there were several!), and maybe even a truffle. Care to join me?