Classy American Dinner at Upstairs on the Square

I have frequented Upstairs on the Square for recruiting events & a fancy brunch for a club that I am part of at Harvard, yet this was my first time going there for dinner. Upstairs on the Square has been a staple at the Square since it opened in 1982, but the restaurant recently announced that it will close its doors at the end of this year.

Like most fancy restaurants, Upstairs also changes its menu depending on what ingredients are fresh in the market. This appetizer of Fluke Ceviche was cooked Peruvian style with aji amarillo, lime, choclo, and conchita. When my Peruvian friend saw this photo, she immediately identified the dish as being Peruvian so I suppose it is quite authentic!

Three pieces of Mission Fig Ravioli was stuffed with smoked mozzarella and duck ragu. The ravioli was light on the sauce with a bit of grated cheese and herbs on top. The piece of fig is a nice touch, although the overall presentation could be improved.

I have a soft heart for gnocchi, so what I saw the Littleneck Clams Gnocchi on the menu, of course I ordered it. Unlike the mushy gnocchi that I get in the dining hall, this gnocchi had the perfect balance of soft and chewy. I just wished there were more gnocchi hidden beneath those littleneck clams, which surprisingly had similar texture to the gnocchi.

For my entree, I went with my safe fish choice: Silk Red Snapper. To be honest though, I was slightly disappointed when I got the dish because of the skin that came with it. I love fish, but the fish skin is something I absolutely cannot stand and I had unfortunately forgot to ask for it without the skin. Anyways, the snapper was garnished with roasted icicle radish , crispy yucca planks, and peppadew in red peppered brown butter. I really like peppadew because they have really sweet flavors. 

My friend ordered the Apple Grilled Quail. I was once again surprised that they served him the whole quail! Doesn't look too appetizing to see that quail with its legs split open like that ;) It was served with toasted farro with boudin blanc vignoles grapes.

The Lemon & 6-Spiced Crusted Monkfish was garnished with squid tangle on top and garbanzo beans at the bottom in monk's secret herb liquor. A boozy dinner? The waiter certainly didn't check your ID for this entree.

A restaurant's menu wouldn't be complete without a chicken entree. The Brick-Roasted Chicken Breast was served with grilled peach, yogurt, cucumber, and panner in spiced mustard oil. I thought the addition of paneer, or Indian cheese, to this classic American food was an interesting twist.

The final entree of the night was Archer Farm Grass Fed Beef Tenderloin with sherry-flamed cippolini onions and pickled chanterelles on a skewer atop a bed of spinach. Cippolini onions are my favorite because they have sweet and savory flavors. 

Classic Fifties Diner Experience at Zoe's in Harvard Square

Tucked away in the basement level of a building on Mass Ave. near Harvard Square is a little gem of your all-American classic diner, Zoe's Restaurant. In addition to serving breakfast all day, Zoe's offer Greek cuisine in a retro atmosphere topped with chrome and vinyl, a jukebox, and flavored sodas.

For an appetizer, we decided to share an order of "Famous" Homemade Spanakopita ($4.49), or paper thin phyllo stuffed with spinach and Feta cheese wrapped in paper thin phyllo dough. We were a bit taken aback by the presentation--literally, we received a plate with one big fat piece of spanakopita.

Inside the crispy phyllo dough was a generous mush of spinach and Feta cheese. I liked the ratio between the phyllo dough and the spinach/cheese filling. I am glad we ordered just one serving because too much of it would have been a bit cheesy for my liking.

For my entree, I decided to go with Zoe's "specialty" of Mix'n Match Kabob ($15.99). I chose the beef and shrimp kebob. All kebobs are served with choice of potato or rice and vegetable.

The amount of beef and shrimp was just right for my liking! A true surf'n turf, indeed. The marinated chunks of sirloin in Zoe's special seasoning was tender and juicy, while the shrimp marinated in a light honey Dijon was plump. The kebobs were also skewered with vegetables like onion and bell pepper.

I chose to get rice on the side with green beans. The rice had some sort of tomato marinara sauce on top. I would have much preferred fresh green beans, but these were soaked in some nasty, oily red sauce.

It would be a shame to come to a diner and not order something from the breakfast menu. The Smoked Salmon Benedict ($11.99) had two dropped eggs with Atlantic smoked salmon and grilled tomato topped with hollandaise sauce on English muffin. These were served with homefries. I didn't try the dish but it certainly looked rich and filling!

 

An Exquisite Hotel Restaurant Experience at Rialto

I am usually not a fan of hotel restaurants just because the atmosphere tends to be touristy, but I really enjoyed my last dining experience at Rialto that I decided to check it out again.

Rialto has received quite a lot of recognition for its food. After being seated, we were served a basket full of different types of bread and rolls, including cheese & garlic sticks, focaccia lightly rubbed in herb and oil, sour dough baguette, and hearty craisin-filled dinner roll. 

Rialto's menu changes frequently by season because the restaurant's philosophy is serve food made with ingredients that are fresh at the time. This is a Rialto's take on charcuterie "plate" with parma prosciutto, fig, walnut pecorino bread, and a dollop of ricotta with olive oil.

The arugula pear salad had a spoonful of pomegranate seeds and crumbled bleu cheese. I love the bitter green taste of the arugula and the crunchiness of the pomegranate, but personally not a big fan of blue cheese (...or any cheese for that matter) because it stinks!

The Fisherman's Soup, which has rouille base (a sauce made of olive oil with breadcrumbs, garlic, saffron, and chili peppers) as well as Gruyere and basil oil. I didn't try it, but the person who ordered it only took a couple bites and that was it.

I decided to be adventurous and order something I have never had before: Crispy Sweetbreads. The name is definitely a misnomer because there is nothing "doughy" about sweetbreads. In fact, sweetbreads are the fatty pancreas of a calf. The fried sweetbreads were placed atop creamy parmesan risotto with raisins and pine nuts with sweet currants sauce at the bottom.

Had I not been concerned about my weight, I probably could have eaten this dish every single day. The arborio rice in the risotto was cooked perfectly--not too coarse or mushy--and the sweetness from the currant balanced the creamy risotto perfectly.

The highlight of the dish was definitely the sweetbreads. These glands were juicy in the inside, crispy on the outside. Whereas the meat of the fried chicken, for example, can sometimes taste a bit bland, the sweetbreads had so much flavor and texture.

The special of the day was the corn meal pasta with lamb. While I expected the dish to contain a rack of lamb on the side, the meat was actually chopped into pieces in the sauce.

The Whole Roasted Fish of the day was branzino, stuffed with wilted greens, local mushrooms, house-smoked bacon in mustard. I can never rack up enough courage to order a whole fish...how can you eat the poor thing when it's staring at you like that???

The next entree, Vermentino Chicken, had a HUGE serving! The dish had roasted breast and crispy confit thigh with pickled cherries and artichokes. They really should have a "warning sign" indicating that this dish can serve two people (especially since most people at Rialto enjoy a full 3- or 4-course meal)

For my main course, I decided to indulge myself with Colorado Lamb Two Ways. The entree had two racks of chestnut crusted lamb chops and apricot & rosemary stuffed leg with chanerelle mushrooms on the side. For someone who loves red meat, I asked for it to be cooked rare, of course.

I personally preferred the leg meat rather than the chop because it had more meat and less fat. I like steak when it's cooked rare, but next time I get lamb, perhaps I should ask for medium rare because it was a bit too red for my liking.

Underneath the lambs were medley of vegetables. Again, you can see how red the lamb chops are. Also the chops near the bones were very difficult to eat.

After a quite heavy meal of sweetbreads and lamb, we moved on to dessert. Given the fall season, a lot of selection had autumn favorites like apples and pumpkin. The Fried Apple Slices came with dulce de leche with spiced butternut squash gelato, cider sauce, and walnuts. Because I am not a fan of fried stuff, I didn't try this. Why would you ruin a perfectly delicious apples by frying them? Yikes.

I decided to opt for the "lightest" sounding entree--Saffron Pineapple Meringue with ginger ice cream and saffron gele. The freeze-dried pineapple was very sweet and crispy, while the meringue was light and airy. Given my love for butternut squash, I substituted the ginger ice cream for the squash gelato. It was a great decision indeed :)

This is the dessert I would have chosen if I could order it again. Visually, the Pistachio Pumpkin Semifreddo had an interesting shape. Inside the toasted meringue were pistachio cream and cake. The dish also came with spiced pumpkin shooter on the side (pictured above the plate).

Small Plates and Drinks at Russell House Tavern

Russell House Tavern is a popular destination for 21+ college and grad students looking to enjoy drinks while mingling with their friends, as well as to eat some scrumptious bar food. It offers a friendly gathering spot for many occasions, ranging from casual lunch breaks on the patio to after-hour cocktails in the ground floor tavern to special events in the private dining room downstairs.

On typical weekend nights, the bar bustles with people catching up over drinks. It is almost impossible to squeeze in and find a spot to seat! I came with a group of about eight people, so it took a while to get seated. We originally intended to just get drinks, but the waitress told me that we can be seated in the island if we ordered some food. Why not?

This is the restaurant's signature House Charcuterie Board ($13), which consists of chicken liver pate, smoked fish rillette, smoked pork rillette, guanciale, lonza, bresaola, and prune & honey jam. I had no idea what most of them were when the waitress explained them to me. They all sound so foreign! The smoked fish rillette (the salmon-colored spread in the bottom left corner) tasted like more textured version of salmon cream cheese. The prune & honey jam was extremely sweet. I didn't try anything else on the board.

The Archer Farm Steak Tartare ($10) was served with Cavendish Farm quail egg yolk and a side of toasted caper brioche. The steak tartare also had chopped scallions, celery, and other vegetables mixed into it and shaped in the form of a burger patty. I am a huge red meat lover (literally, red), so I enjoyed the bite of the tartare. It's amazing how the egg yolk can hide the raw-taste in the meat.

The House-Made Cotechino Sausage Pizza ($13) with Linny's Tomato Gravy and housemade ricotta was really, really greasy. I didn't try the pizza, but it didn't even have crusts at the edge, which is my favorite part of any pizza (though most people would beg to differ...)

Russell House has $1 oyster after 11pm, but we got there too early to take advantage of the deal. We ordered 8 Island Creek Oysters ($2.50 each) with sweet pickle mignonette and old bay cocktail sauce. The oysters were juicy, but not as plump as I would have liked.

The final small plate we ordered was Chilled Jumbo Shrimp ($12) with avocado, honeydew, and serrano pepper. It had drips of olive oil on the plate as well. I honestly couldn't taste any avocado in the packed, can-shaped honeydew salad. The shrimps were, indeed, jumbo.

We definitely ordered too much food because some people left early even before the food came out. A feast for 5 people? I don't oppose ;)

Baked Soft-Shell Crab Tacos and Amazing Salmon from EVOO Restaurant

It's my personal "rule" to try a restaurant at least once other than during Restaurant Week season because the experiences you get during RW cannot justify the real quality of the restaurant. I visited EVOO Restaurant for Restaurant Week over the summer, and really enjoyed the bluefish entree that I had. I decided to go again, and this time we were seated inside.

EVOO prints a new menu every day (it may or may not serve the same/similar entrees), depending on what ingredients are freshest in the market. My friend went for the Sockeye Salmon ($16), which was served with Corn Risotto, Grilled Zucchini, and Nectarine-Basil Relish. I had a bite of it and it was absolutely phenomenal! The corn risotto was the same recipe as the one used in my bluefish entree from last time. The sweet nectarine-basil relish complemented the juicy, savory salmon extremely well.

I have been craving soft-shell crab for quite some time, so I opted for the Soft-Shell Crab Tacos ($15) with black beans and rice. Instead of having the crab fried, as is done traditionally, I asked the chef if it could be baked instead. Granted that it took forever for my entree to arrive, the result was not disappointing.

The baked soft-shell crab was smothered in slightly spicy, tomato-based sauce that was a bit too overpowering. The crab was layered on top of soft corn tortillas, tomato salsa with cabbage and lots of basil. Yum.

The corn tortilla was lightly toasted for the crunchy taste, but it got soggy really quickly because of water from the cabbage.

The soft-shell crab had plenty of "meat" inside, but it would have been a lot tastier if it was baked in the over for a little longer. I could have waited ;)

The Mexican rice and black beans weren't anything special. Overall, the dish probably didn't taste as good if it had been fried, but hey, I saved a lot of calories. Room for dessert?