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?

Eclectic French-Cuban Cuisine at Chez Henri

Chez Henri offers a dynamic fusion of French and Cuban cuisine. Since it opened its doors in 1994, Chez Henri has received wide acclaim in the culinary world, having won several Best of Boston awards like "Best French Restaurant," "Best First Date Restaurant," and "Best Fusion."

The Pan-Roasted Long Island Duck Breast with a Rhubarb Ginger Gastrique, Citrus Salad, and Yuca Roesti. The duck breasts were sliced bite-size for the convenience of consumers. Instead of the ubiquitous mashed potato, the mashed yuca added nice color and different flavors. The salad on the side was a bit bland.

Criollo Bouilabaisse, or Latin-Spiced saffron fish stew with fresh New England shellfish and a chipotle-garlic rouille. This dish is a seafood lover's dream, with lots and lots of clams, mussels, shrimp, fish, etc. The broth had pretty strong tomato taste with hint of spices.

The Braised Lamb & Goat Cocido with handmade pasta and West Indies spices. This dish was also broth-y, with a handful of pasta in the middle with braised lamb and goat surrounding it.

Steak Frites...what an All-American dish. It had a chunk of grilled NY sirloin with crispy fries and green peppercorn-dijon cream sauce.

Finally, the dish that I settled for was the special of the night: Red Snapper filet steamed in banana leaf with coconut rice and shrimp-mango escabeche. To be honest, I was a bit shocked to see fully-scaled red snapper underneath the banana leaf. I couldn't really taste the scent from the banana leaf. Also, the coconut flavors in the rice was a bit too strong.

Spicy Chicken Sandwich and Bland Avocado Sandwich from Andala in Cambridge

Harvard students have the tendency to think that anywhere outside of Harvard Square is simply too far. This notion restricts many students to the "Harvard Bubble," preventing them from venturing into other parts of Cambridge/Boston. While spending a part of summer in Cambridge, I visited a couple of restaurants and cafes in Kendall Square and Central Square, including Andala Cafe. According to its website, Andala opened to serve as "a warm place where people can socialize in an environment that fosters intimate conversations."

In addition to coffee and tea, Andala offers Middle Eastern food. My friend and I decided to get a vegetarian dish and a meat dish and share them. The Chicken Khalili Sandwich ($8.95) is grilled chicken with jalapeno peppers in Jerusalem salad sauce, served in toasted Arabic bread. The dish came with hummus and some vegetable sticks on the side.

The Arabic bread looked like pita, but it was thinner with crunchier exterior. I wasn't sure whether to pick up the food and eat it like a sandwich or use utensils because the bread was too thin and everything inside sort of fell apart.

Inside the two thin slices of Arabic bread were grilled chicken, lots of jalapeno peppers, yogurt-like dressing, and basils.

The sandwich would have been...edible if there weren't jalapeno peppers because these were extremely spicy! I literally took a bite and couldn't eat it anymore. The spiciness from the peppers was definitely way too overpowering.

The Avocado Press Sandwich ($7.95) didn't have any description in the menu, so I had no idea what to expect except that there will be avocado inside. Like the chicken sandwich, it was served in Arabic bread, but it had potato salad on the side instead of hummus. The sandwich was sprinkled with basil on top.

Inside the sandwich were huge chunks of avocado, tomatoes, romaine lettuce, some sort of black bean puree sauce, and...lots of mozzarella cheese. I wish I had asked what was in there because the sandwich would have been perfect sans cheese.

The Avocado sandwich was a sharp contrast to the chicken sandwich because it tasted rather bland. Rotating a bite of the chicken sandwich and a bite of the avocado sandwich, therefore, was very complementary :)

Crabmeat Soup Dumplings at Joe's Shanghai in Midtown NYC

While spending the summer in New York City, my roommate and I ventured into the city quite often to sample its diverse ethnic cuisine. One of my favorite places was Joe's Shanghai, a popular Chinese restaurant that has opened a total of three chains throughout NYC since opening its door in Chinatown.

Joe's Shanghai is popular for its soup dumplings. For light lunch, we decided to share a serving of crab meat soup dumplings. We were considering going to the original, Chinatown location, but since we were already in midtown, we decided to go to the closer location on 56th St. and also to save taxi fare.

I sort of wished we had gone to the original location because I don't think the dumplings tasted as good. Further, we only got 6 dumplings, as opposed to 8, and paid more for it at midtown than at the Chinatown location!

Eating soup dumpling is an acquired skill. You first have to bite into the outer layer to make a small hole so that you don't burn your mouth. Once the juice seeps out on to the spoon, you can drink it and bite into the crab meat interior.

The peel was a bit thicker than I would have liked. I thought the crabmeat dumpling had nice seafood flavor, though I would have appreciate richer taste.

The dumplings weren't super greasy. I wonder the proportion of meat vs crabmeat vs shit...Haha