A few nights ago, my plans with Z consisted of stopping by Gargoyles on the Square for a drink at the bar and a bite of food, and then wandering down the street to the Somerville Theatre to see The Dark Knight. However, upon sitting down and seeing the menu, I knew this movie was just not going to happen(*). This was a menu to be reckoned with.
It’s generally a good sign when a menu stops you in your tracks like that, but I still was skeptical, partly due to the bad experience I had at Banq recently, whose menu was equally intriguing. To top it all off though, our waitress, Jen (who was great), let us know that they were starting restaurant week early, so we had a chance to go that route, if we wished.
We decided to share the restaurant week 3 course meal, and supplement it with one item off the bar menu. We started with a bowl of the green pea and green chile soup with bbq brisket and crispy tortillas. You can’t really tell in the picture, but it came in this crazy bowl that was sort of tilted and sculpture-like. With each bite, I got more and more excited about the rest of the meal. It was SO good! The brisket mixed with the pea and chile soup was an unexpected combination that seemingly wouldn’t work, but did. A hint of cilantro and mint topped it off.
It’s generally a good sign when a menu stops you in your tracks like that, but I still was skeptical, partly due to the bad experience I had at Banq recently, whose menu was equally intriguing. To top it all off though, our waitress, Jen (who was great), let us know that they were starting restaurant week early, so we had a chance to go that route, if we wished.
We decided to share the restaurant week 3 course meal, and supplement it with one item off the bar menu. We started with a bowl of the green pea and green chile soup with bbq brisket and crispy tortillas. You can’t really tell in the picture, but it came in this crazy bowl that was sort of tilted and sculpture-like. With each bite, I got more and more excited about the rest of the meal. It was SO good! The brisket mixed with the pea and chile soup was an unexpected combination that seemingly wouldn’t work, but did. A hint of cilantro and mint topped it off.
Next came the entrees. From the restaurant week menu, I chose the “signature” honey and hoisin glazed duck confit with sticky sweet rice and cashews. YUMMMMM. It was indeed very sweet, but delicious. The crispy duck flaked right off the bone to reveal tender meat underneath, which, when scooped up with the soft and sticky rice, was so rich it could’ve been dessert. Z chose the grilled tuna “BLT” sandwich, which was thick slices of bread with seared tuna, avocado, pancetta, lettuce, and tomato. It was a very hefty and filling sandwich—he couldn’t even finish it! The avocado was so creamy and fresh tasting, you could definitely tell it wasn’t any of that pre-packaged nonsense. Next to the intense flavors of the duck dish, it seemed a teensy bit lacking in flavor, however.
Finally, we finished with the butterscotch cream pie with whipped cream and caramel sauce. WOW. What a great end to a great meal. It was a medium sized pastry with a crunchy crust filled with smooth and sweet butterscotch pudding. It was garnished with candied peanuts. So quite the decadent treat.
What a GREAT restaurant, one that I would highly recommend for restaurant week. Definitely no skimping here! I was so full after all this food I could barely walk the half mile home. BUT it was so worth it! and The Dark Knight can always wait…
* Last night we DID finally see The Dark Knight-- and WOW what a movie!! I'm glad I didn't go with a full stomach though...
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