Why is an unassuming little diner/restaurant in Watertown that’s been around for 25 years all of a sudden getting so much buzz? It made Boston’s top 50 this year and was written up in Bon Appetit. The answer, I presume, is the new Executive Chef Tim Maslow. Maslow the younger moved back from NYC (where he was working under David Chang at Momofuku Ssam Bar) to take over Maslow the elder’s restaurant Strip T’s. So of course we had to check it out.
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| View from our table |
The restaurant is tiny, which also (I assume) makes the kitchen tiny. With a table of 11, our server warned us in advance that the appetizers might not come out all at once, which was fine with us. My favorite appetizer was the grilled romaine with oxtail. It’s something I would never have ordered on my own, but I’m so glad that I tried it.
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| Grilled romaine with oxtail, poached egg, and chili vin |
I also really liked the fried Japanese sweet potato wedges and the clam toast. The clam toast didn’t look that pretty, and we had to turn to our friend Google to figure out what guajillo was (it’s a chili pepper), but it was yummy though a bit salty.
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| Clam toast with spaghetti squash, guajillo, and crab oil vin |
We also got the bay scallops (confusing) and a dozen Wellfleet oysters with seasonal garnish. I don’t remember what the seasonal garnish was, but I wasn’t a big fan.
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| Charred Nantucket bay scallops with papdi, dates, and yogurt |
Back to the small kitchen phenomenon, about half of the entrees came out luke-warm, unfortunately. Claire and I shared the skirt steak and the mussels. I ordered the skirt steak medium rare and apparently Claire got the perfectly cooked half, but I still enjoyed it.
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| Grilled skirt steak with pears, turnips, and mustard |
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| Steamed PEI mussels with potato puree and crispy herbs |
I overhead that the tilefish had “too much going on”, and the boudin was flavorful but very spicy. I also tried a bite of the fish n’ chips and that was delish.
- Fish n’ chips with coleslaw, tartar, and French fries
- Roasted golden tilefish with kohlrabi, fried clams, eggplant, and pistachio
- Creole boudin with etoufee, scallops, and root vegetables
I was underwhelmed by dessert, but I often am. We ordered the brownie, mocha chocolate cake and apple cider donut. The donut, specifically the donut hole, was my favorite.
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| Apple cider donut (hole) with white chocolate, apples, and cheddar |
My least favorite part of the meal was our server. As someone who worked in restaurants for many years, I have great empathy for servers everywhere and I also understand how hard it can be to manage a large party. However comma, our server’s downfall was her completely condescending attitude, not her attentiveness, and this really tarnished the whole experience. The thing that really put us over the edge was how we ended up with two more bottles of wine toward the end of the meal. There were two people who had been “in charge” of ordering wine, and she went to each of those people separately to ask if we wanted another bottle. She got confirmation from both and proceeded to bring and open two bottles without mentioning that someone else had already ordered a bottle. Since we were all drinking the same wine, it felt like we got duped into ordering an extra bottle.
Great pick Claire, even if it was your second choice and our server got two thumbs down…and now my number is up to 27 (of the top 50 restaurants)!
The damage:
$66 each (not bad considering we had 5 bottles of wine)
The rundown:
Strip T’s
93 School Street, Watertown
Kara Cooks and Eats 