Kara Cooks and Eats

Happy July! I have been sitting on this post for a few weeks because I just did not know how to adequately describe our June RC experience at Scampo. This was the deal…when Lydia Shire says she wants to cook a meat-inspired menu for your Restaurant Club, you say “yes please” and “sign me up!” While I did not know what to expect (besides a fabulous meal, of course), this was an experience beyond fabulous. It is an experience she creates for people like Doc Rivers, Larry David, and Julie Spanos.

We walked in to Scampo to a gorgeously set table, from gorgeous wine glasses (no water!) to knives with mother-of-pearl handles, all from her personal collection. And the staff was forewarned that none of it was to go in the dishwasher. The place settings were so decadent. I loved the colorful wine glasses and the “meat” plates.

Our table at Scampo

We did a really good job putting all of those wine glasses to work!

Wine pairings

Bread: Breadsticks and an “Italian quesadilla” with fontina, robiola, an truffle oil

Breadsticks

Italian quesadilla

Course One: She crab soup with Irish butter, tiny new potato gnocchetti & maple croutons
This was a beautiful soup, both rich and light at the same time. Lydia described this as a simple, light soup that has real essence of crab from both the female crabs and their roe. “Lydia would be fine if you wanted to lick the bowl,” said Giam-Piero, our fabulous server. Oh Giam-Piero, you read our minds.

She crab soup

Course Two: Flash grilled Korean shortrib with sweet & spicy coriander crust, spaghetti cooked in beet juice, and horseradish crema
This is the course where we got to use the knives with mother-of-pearl handles. “They’re from my house,” said Lydia. I think it was pretty unanimous that we were all in love with this shortrib. We even were picking up the bones to get every last perfectly seasoned morsel. And who knew you could cook spaghetti in beet juice?

Korean shortrib on the animal plates

Course Three: Trio of pasta
Handmade bowties with lobster knuckle, hazelnuts, brown butter, and dandelion pesto (on the left in the photo)
Fresh pea ravioli, carbonara style with pancetta and peas (in the middle in the photo)
Crackling spaghetti with salt pork crackling, and jalapeno (on the right in the photo)

I was on team spaghetti (she warned us that it was addicting), but there were a couple of people on team ravioli.

Pasta trio

Course Four: Miso glazed Chilean sea bass with gold leaf saffron risotto and Okinawa purple yam

Check out the gorgeous plates Lydia used to serve this course. Can you spot the Andy Warhol? And no, I was not lucky enough to be back in the kitchen to capture this photo. Giam-Piero did the honors.

Plates!

He also took a couple of selfies…

Giam-Piero

The fish was cooked perfectly. She made it pretty easy for us to want to clean our plates to discover what plate we each got. My favorite quotes about this course were:

“I’ve never had fish like this before.”

 “I don’t know what this sauce is, but it’s to die for.”

Perfectly cooked fish

Course Five: Scampo fruit sorbet with fresh seasonal berries and creme fraiche
By the end of the fourth class we were all so full, we didn’t think we could fit in another bite. Until dessert arrived. This was a five-flavor sorbet that included apple, apricot, pear, lemon, and orange. There was a splash of cassis liqueur, along with strawberries and creme fraiche. This was a little tart and a little sweet and a perfectly refreshing end to the meal.

Dessert!

I think it is safe to say that we all loved this meal, and that Spanos really upped the RC game with this pick!

Group photo with Lydia!

The damage
$201

The rundown
Scampo
215 Charles Street, Boston
Twitter: @scampoliberty
Instagram: @scampoboston

This month we took a trip to Southeast Asia via Tiger Mama, Tiffani Faison’s newest restaurant that opened last December. I have to admit that I’ve been here before, but it’s easy to find new fun things to try on the menu. 

I think Tiffani has broken the “curse” of this space, which was formerly Burton’s (loved their key lime pie), then Happy’s, and then a Mexican place that was so unmemorable that I cannot remember the name. This is such an awesome location, it was hard for me to understand why nothing managed to stick…I guess the Fenway area just needed some spice. And Tiger Mama, inspired by the flavors of Malaysia, Thailand, and Vietnam, is unapologetic about its spiciness.

Da nang cocktail

The menu is primarily small-ish plates and divided into seven sections: Cold & Fresh, Crispy & Spicy, Broths & Curries, Rich and Earthy, Noodles and Rice, Banquet Style, and Rice. We ordered two “rounds” of food and the dishes came out as they were ready. That was a bit challenging as I’m pretty sure I missed some of the milder flavors (i.e., red snapper crudo) because my mouth was on fire from something spicy (i.e., pork laap). I also wanted the chili crab to be the grand finale…actually we thought it was, and then the cowboy lady pork arrived. 

Crispy chili potatoes

There were eight of us and in general we ordered two of everything and that was enough for everyone to have a decent taste. Our eyes were bigger than our stomachs and we ordered a third portion of the short rib curry and coconut rice which we really did not need, though not to worry, we did not let it go to waste. We also ordered just one portion of the chili crab, which is on the Banquet Style section of the menu. The food came out pretty quickly, but we definitely had to wait longer than expected for cocktails. What can I say, we’re a thirsty bunch.

Round 1

Southern-style pork laap

From the “Cold & Fresh” section we ordered the Southern-style pork laap (fish sauce & lime-spiced hand ground pork, Thai chili, mint), the lobster fresh rolls (charred lobster, bright veggies, spicy silky peanut dipping sauce), and the red snapper crudo with charred ramp aioli, viet herbs, curried puffed rice, and coriander salt. 

We also got the crispy chili potatoes with sneaky chili mayo and crispy bits from the “Crispy & Spicy” section. I’ve had these potatoes before and was definitely an advocate for ordering them again. Crispy potatoes might sound kind of boring, but these potatoes are the perfect ratio of crisp and potato, and the spicy mayo was a perfect accompaniment.

Short rib rendang and coconut rice

The pork laap and potatoes arrived first and they were oh so yummy. We got an order of the Jasmine rice to soak up all the yummy juices from the pork laap. These were both favorites among the group. The pork is quite spicy so it overpowered the red snapper crudo, which arrived next with the lobster spring roll. The lobster spring roll was not a fan favorite…it was all basil.

Round 2
We ordered the short rib rendang (rich Malaysian style coconut curry, crispy peanuts, toasted coconut) from the “Broths & Curries” section and the coconut sticky rice to go with it. The coconut rice is adorably served in a coconut milk can. 

Pad gra pow

From the “Rich and earthy” section, we got the pad gra pow (rich and spicy ground chicken, chilis, Thai basil, purple choi, fried egg) and the cowboy hat lady pork (star anise braised pork shank, pickled mustard greens, chili vinegar, soft poached egg). Perhaps the theme for this section should be “put an egg on it.” The pad gra pow was so pretty and deliciously spicy. As I mentioned, the lady pork came out as the last dish, and we were all pretty full. I don’t know if our thoughts on this dish would have been more positive if we had it earlier in the meal, but we weren’t really into it. I really wanted it to be better, but the pork was kinda dry and the greens were a bit gritty and very vinegar-y.

Chili crab

And then there was the chili crab, which was 1.25 pounds of chili sauce wok roasted Alaskan king crab with beurre blanc. I have very fond and delicious memories of having chili crab in Singapore. I knew this would be different, and it was, but it was still tasty. I think I have butter and salt to thank for that. It was also messy, as true chili crab should be, but we were also imagining it as a delicious crab bisque.

Dessert
There were two options for dessert, a mango sticky rice and a coconut bruleed Japanese milk toast. I’ve had both before and convinced the group to try the toast. I liked it, but the consensus was “eh.” 

Cheers to another month, and a great pick by one of RC’s founding members, Kim!

The damage
$70 per person

The rundown
Tiger Mama
1363 Boylston Street, Boston
@tigermamabos
@tiffanifaison

RC perfect attendance! Photo credit: Gina Colombo

After a brief hiatus, I returned to RC a hungry girl! Tracy made this reservation about five months ago so I really had no excuse to miss it. Actually, none of us had an excuse…yay us with our perfect attendance.

Grilled flatbread

Giulia is an Italian restaurant that focuses on “wonderful food and great service with true Italian vigor and charm.” I will admit that I’ve been to Giulia before, but was excited to try the “pasta table.” The pasta table is the table they use to make their fresh pastas during the day. At night they use it to serve a family-style tasting menu to larger groups, aka RC. One of the things I loved about this meal is that we did not have to make any decisions on what or how much to order. Every course just appeared with the right amount of food, and a wine pairing to go with it ($35 extra).

Sfizzi
Here’s what we had for the first course:

Warm semolina cakes

• Chicken liver crostini with green tomato marmellata
• Warm semolina cakes with sweet pea ricotta, pickled onion, crispy speck, and nutmeg
• Grilled flatbread with ramp top pesto, pecorino, and pine nuts
• Wine pairing: NV, cantine mucci spumante pecorino / falanghina, a’bruzzo

What a great way to start the marathon of eating. I loved them all, but the flatbread was probably my favorite of the three. The chicken liver crostini was really rich so one the small bite was plenty for me. This was a fave for some of the other RC’ers.

Sourdough bruschetta

Antipasti
For the antipasti course:

• Oysters served on the half shell with ginger and apple granita
• Ocean trout crudo with cucumber, caraway, fresh dill, cultured cream, and roe
• Sourdough bruschetta with homemade butter and grated bottarga
• Wine paring: 2014, nuraghe crabioni, vermintino, sardegna

We even got some non-oyster lovers to try the raw oysters! The verdict? No one spit it

Ocean trout crudo

across the table, but I’m not sure it was delicious enough to convert them. I thought the oyster was nice and briny, just the way I like ’em. Also I learned a about a new ingredient…bottarga. What’s bottarga? It’s a specialty of southern Italy — salted, cured fish roe, usually grey mullet or tuna. It was a delicious addition to the house-baked sourdough bread and homemade butter. The butter was amazing. Said everyone, always. 

Primi Piatti
Bring on the pasta! And two wine pairings!

Potato agnolotti

The first round of pasta:

• Emmer faro fusilli ‘cacao e pepe’ with fava beans, spring greens, mint and grana style cheeses
• Wine pairing: 2015, cantine valenti etna rosata, nerello mascalese, sicilia

The second round of pasta:

Pappardelle

• Potato agnolotti with bluefoot mushrooms, asparagus, fresh herbs, lemon and parmigiano
• Pappardelle with wild boar, juniper and black trumpets
• Wine pairing: 2007 negro lorenzo roero riserva, nebbiolo, piemonte

I loved both the potato agnolotti and the pappardelle with wild boar; the whole wheat fusilli wins bronze because I found it very salty. Those little pillows of agnolotti were like “whoa” for me. And I also must mention that Claire, who doesn’t heart mushrooms ate those trumpet mushrooms and might have enjoyed them. Then again, it might have been the butter that made them palatable.

Secondi

Plate o’ meat

And then there was meat, in the form of a grilled hanger steak. It was a tough job, but somehow we found the stomach space to fit this in!

• Grilled hanger steak with roasted spring vegetables and ‘bagna vert’ (parsley caper, anchovy)
• Wine pairing: 2009, giuseppe lonardi ‘privelegia,’ corvina / cab franc, veneto

Dolci
The final “test” is always dessert, which has in the past been a bit of a disappointment for RC. I was definitely not disappointed with the FOUR desserts we got to try:

• Warm almond torta with vanilla gelato, raspberries, almond praline
• Ricotta cheesecake with blueberries, pine nuts, pine cone bud syrup, glenn flour crumble
• Chocolate terrine with hazelnut gelato, salted caramel
• Vanilla panna cotta with poached quince, orange meringue

Dessert! Photo credit: Kim Dong

• Wine pairing: 2010, la sabbiona passito, albana, emilia-romagna

My favorites were the almond cake and the chocolate terrine. The chocolate wins mostly because of the amazing-ness of the hazelnut gelato. Perhaps I was a little biased toward the gelato. 

All in all, this was a fantastic meal…both in food and company! Great pick Tracy and thanks for being an A+ planner. And I’m giving myself a pat on the back for getting this posted before the end of the month!

The damage
$142 per person (pasta table is $65 per person and wine course is $35 per person)

The rundown
Giulia
1682 Massachusetts Avenue, Cambridge