Visiting Beantown

I've been on the road a lot lately ... mostly for work (day job) ... mostly in cities that are not food friendly ... and mostly with no free time for exploring. That was not the case last week when I got to visit Boston, a city with many well known ethnic and eclectic neighborhoods, many of which are known for their shops and restaurants.

Since I've been to Boston several times before, I opted to skip the historical sights and focus on food this time. My first memorable meal was at Eastern Standard in the Kenmore Square area on Commonwealth Avenue. The coziness of the outdoor dining area and the vibe in the restaurant bar hinted at the pleasant dining experience ahead. The menu was a little bit French brasserie (with standard offerings of foie gras, steak frites and duck confit ravioli), a lot of raw bar, some comfort food (grilled cheese and roasted chicken) and touch of weird (BTLT which is beef tongue lettuce and tomato).

As much as I love classic french food, I opted for seafood choices starting with the Maine lobster in puff pastry. Served in a shallow soup bowl, large pieces of lobster meat in a puff pastry shell sat in a creamy pool of roasted corn and shitake mushrooms that was flavored with bacon. I used a spoon to eat this. Then the server surprised us with fresh oysters, so fresh it seemed you could taste the salt water. For dinner, I had the grilled swordfish which was served with heirloom tomatoes and seasonal vegetables (fennel and baby eggplant). The swordfish was cooked and seasoned perfectly! Wine for the meal included a glass of rose champagne and a glass of pinot noir. Service was fantastic.

The next memorable meal was the following night at Tapeo, a tapas restaurant on Newbury Street in the Back Bay area. The restaurant had three distinct dining areas, the outdoor patio, a traditional dining room and a cozy bar area that was decorated in colorful tiles. The menu had over 40 tapas which were divided by hot, cold and signature dishes. We started with a plato mixto which included serrano ham, Manchego cheese, roasted red peppers and olives that were flavored with garlic and cumin. I need to try that at home ... the cumin added a very earthy flavor. Baby lambchops in an apricot sauce was next, followed by prunes stuffed with goat cheese and wrapped in bacon (which tasted so much better once they cooled down). Dessert was rice pudding with a twist ... made into a custard with a caramelized sugar crust similar to creme brulee. The food was very good but the wine was fantastic ... a sparkling Pinot Noir from Spain called Aria.

My last memorable meal was in Cape Cod. I had the day to myself so I decided to do some exploring and headed south. After a quick stop in Plymouth, I went in search of my first lobster roll. I stopped at the Barnstable Restaurant and Tavern and tried their tomato crab bisque which was a bit spicy with corn and bits of potato. Yum! Their rendition of the lobster roll was lobster salad on crostini served with mesclun greens and cherry tomatoes. I really don't get why they would do that to lobster ... such an exotic food served so bland. Good thing I didn't have the traditional lobster roll on a hot dog bun.

On the way back to the hotel, I stopped at the Tea Shoppe for a cup of Earl Grey and an almond macaroon to wrap up my day.

And by the way, Boston may have been called Beantown years ago because of their love for baked beans but today I think it's called Beantown because there's a Starbucks and a Dunkin Donuts on every corner!