Gary G.
Yelp
Surprisingly posh and dateworthy digs on Somerville Avenue just outside Union Square. Long bar. Lots of booths. Outdoor dining. Connected to a hotel. Parking not as tough as you might think. Two visits: a weekend brunch and a weekday lunch.
Smoked Wings: Very tinted red color and deep wood flavor with spiciness from the rub and a very light coating of sauce. Visibly overcooked, with extra crisp exteriors, shrunken size, and pretty dry interiors. Bones pulled out of the flats easily. Decent flavor otherwise, but having no moisture beyond the sauce was rough.
Unfortunate about the dryness. More unfortunately, this was my appetizer on my first visit, but delivered well after the entree.
Melon Salad: Elegantly plated and beautifully presented, a feast for the eyes. High quality ingredients and tasty. Good use of olive oil, puréed peppers, herbs, abd seasonings. This was for my wife but I can see getting that myself too.
Mushroom Wood Fired Pizza: Not as leopard-spotted as hoped, but good looking crust, and the mushrooms (my nemesis) actually seemed doable: crisp and vinegar soaked. Crumbly Fontina cheese. Surprisingly, no tomato. Nice finishing oil. This was also my wife's (she of little appetite), but I tried a slice and really liked it. Great balance of flavors, great contrast in the crust between crunchy exterior and chew interior. Neither fluffy nor dense; more of a midground density. All things considered, a win. I later saw an egg yolk carbonara style pizza with cubed guanciale (bacon) that looked great, so it was the target on the next visit.
"Cacio-Nara" Wood Fired Pizza: This unusual number has reggiano crema, egg yolk drizzle, and candied black peppercorns, with the option to add guanciale for an xtra $5. This was the pizza I saw the previous time and well worth the extra $5, though that egg yolk drizzle was equally responsible for the wow factor. Imagine peppery pasta carbonara in pizza form, will all of the crunchiness, silkiness and fattiness, but with the wood cooked chewy pizza crust. It's a must-try if you love bacon, experimentation, or both.
Dry Aged Burger: This was the main draw on the two visits that got me in here, and both times it impressed, starting with a pleasing visual. Char from grilling, cooked to requested temperature, great color, thin melted cheese, creamy condiment. Roll was a focaccia, I believe cooked in house, and different on the two visits: a higher quality version of an English muffin on visit 1 and a more traditional focaccia with aromatic rosemary on visit 2. This burger felt as good as it looked, with pink, flowing juices both times. Taste was very solid, not as strongly aged in flavor but nicely gamey and very good beefiness. Not much seasoning, but overall very, very good. Definitely not top 5 all time in Boston but probably top 10 all time and easily top 5 among burgers available now. Two square logs of fried potato on the plate joined the burger on the weekend brunch version.
Service on both visits was well intended but a little distant. Weird how an app would come out so much later than the entree, but things happen and aside from that one app, the food was not only good, but different, creative, and excited. Even with the minor kinks, I'm excited to go back.