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| KT&T |
In a late-breaking decision by Julie Spanos, RC went to the Kirkland Tap and Trotter during its opening week. In the former space Kirkland Café, which closed in 2007, Chef Tony Maws opened his new restaurant on September 16th. The Kirkland Tap and Trotter is his “inviting and funky interpretation of a neighborhood joint” where the food is “simple, hearty and approachable”.
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| Can you spot Tony Maws? |
This of course begs the question of what he decided to do about the “Craigie burger” he has become so famous for? Per Boston magazine, there will be a rotating burger on the menu, which doesn’t lock him into just one kind of burger. One person ordered the burger, which unfortunately came out a little undercooked for her liking.
It’s a cozy space and a small-ish menu. Our table for seven was seated at a long picnic table – a little awkward to manage in a skirt or dress…but I think I managed to scoot in without flashing the restaurant.
I know I’m a little biased because appetizers are usually my favorite part of a meal, but I was a big fan of the appetizers we ordered. The brussel sprouts and corn were specials on the chalkboard that evening. We loved the liver spaghetti so much that we ordered a second round of it. We also went through three rounds of bread to soak up the yummy broth from the mussels.
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| La Quercia speck, pear, mâche, miso-mustard |
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| Maine mussels, toasted garlic, saffron, herbs |
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| House-made spaghetti, chicken liver, pumpkin, brown butter |
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| Grilled corn |
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| Grilled Brussel sprouts with duck fat |
After all that yumminess, I was pretty full by the time our entrées came. There were three specials, but unfortunately the grilled pork porterhouse was 86’d before any of us could order it. That was actually my first choice because I kind of felt like ordering the chicken would be kind of boring. Lucky Wanda got the last grassfed ribeye, with grilled avocado and a super heavy duty knife.
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| Grilled ribeye special |
The table also ended up ordering one burger, veal ribs times three, a chicken, and a choucroute. I did decide to go with the chicken, which was delicious and super juicy (my preferred alternative to the “m” word) – super not boring. It did not come with the claw foot that was pictured on the restaurant’s web site and I felt fine about that.
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| Fire-roasted 1/2 chicken, rapini, jus |
Luckily my friends are good sharers, and I got to taste the homemade pickles that came with the burger, the ribeye, and the veal ribs.
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| Grass-fed cheeseburger, provolone, horseradish cream |
The three orders of veal ribs all looked a bit different with regard to portion size, but they also seemed to have different amounts of fat. The quote of the night, à la Julie Spanos…”Did I eat my fat? I might have. I’m worried about that now.”
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| Beer-braised veal ribs, cabbage, potato |
And since there is ALWAYS room for dessert, we got one of each! I think the boozy peaches were the clear winner in the dessert round.
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| Rawson Brook Farm fresh goat cheese, boozy white peaches |
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| Market fruit crisp, walnut streusel, vanilla bean ice cream |
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| Taza chocolate tarte, bourbon cream |
I think if I lived closer, I would want to be a regular here. Great pick Julie!
The damage
$78 each
The rundown
Kirkland Tap and Trotter
425 Washington Street, Somerville
@tapandtrotter
Kara Cooks and Eats 