Restaurant Review: Alfresco

I think this is the first time I've reviewed a restaurant in the Boston area that does not have its own website. For me, this makes my experience at Alfresco all the more charming.

Before checking out the Alloy Orchestra doing its thing at the Somerville Theatre (the Orchestra is currently rocking to Man With A Movie Camera and the event was all sorts of awesome), Pete and I wanted to get a bite to eat. As ever, I hit up Yelp for suggestions. I couldn't think of many tasty, "nice" places to hit in the Davis Square area, and so wasn't entirely shocked to see that only a few establishments ranked 4 out of 5 stars -- and some of those were not actually restaurants.

I did find Alfresco listed within the first page of hits, however, and was intrigued by the reviewer comments. Most appeared to have stumbled upon the tiny place by accident, nestled just far enough out of the hub of Davis Square. Pete had never heard of the place (which I always consider a small achievement when choosing a restaurant), so we strolled a few blocks up Highland Street from the T.

Alfresco sits roughly 20 bodies and was about half full when we arrived. We were immediately greeted with what appeared to be a sincere welcome from the hostess, who asked us to sit wherever we liked. We opted for the petite bar, and were subsequently presented with menus and a smile from the owner, who was propped against the opposite side. A mediocre mid-priced bottle of wine ("a very good choice") was ordered while we perused the offerings. The menu has a significant selection of fish options, but also straight-up traditional pasta and protein dishes.

I immediately felt cozy at the bar, gazing around at the dark wood and tiny white lights that made up the bulk of the decor. After we ordered, a basket of bread, a plate of oil and a plate of some spicy tomato chutney appeared, which we nibbled at while we waited for our appetizer to appear. In not much time at all, the sauteed kalamari arrived, slathered in the house marinara. The kalamari was tender enough, but the star was certainly the marinara, which was bright in both flavor and color. I sopped it up with hunks of the spongy bread.

Not long after we devoured the appetizer, our main entrees appeared. Pete ordered the chicken marsala, which was nestled atop a bed of linguine. A simple dish, but tasty. I ordered the risotto with mushroom and prosciutto, which was insane. It was excellent. Lighter and less creamy than I normally think of risotto, but flavorful -- the woodsy unami of the mushrooms was countered with the salty prosciutto and green slices of nicely al dente zucchini. And there was a lot of it. I tried to leave a portion on my plate, but the (perfectly) leisurely pace of the waitstaff meant that I had plenty of time to return for another forkful. And another. Alas!

I'm sure the wine was helping (and the mood lighting, and being able to snuggle up next to Pete since we were side-by-side at the bar), but I kept thinking what a lovely little place this is to share a meal. More patrons arrived as we ate, but the mellow vibe of the restaurant remained. After paying the bill, the owner thanked us and perfunctorily implored us to come again. Pete, as if responding to a challenge, declared, "Oh, we'll be back!" I hope we will.

Restaurant Review: Tamarind Bay

Pete and I watched the men's hockey finals with some friends on Sunday afternoon at Cambridge Common. Somehow, we had managed to pick the same drinking establishment as was patronized by the Harvard Canadian Club. We almost came to fisticuffs over the event, which for us Americans, ended in Olympic heartbreak. After the battle was over, we headed down Mass Ave to Tamarind Bay to meet my parents for dinner.

Tamarind Bay is neither Canadian, nor American -- nor vaguely reminiscent of the Olympics in anyway. In short, Tamarind Bay was a great relief.

We ordered drinks, some rosemary naan and the Karavali shrimp to start. The bread and fish were out in a jiffy and the shrimp (cooked with whole cashews in a garlic sauce) was tender with some significant heat. When our waitress came out to clear the starter plates and take our order for the mains, I remembered what I had so enjoyed about the staff at Tamarind Bay during my first visit some two years prior. The servers (1) let you breathe in between courses, (2) make reasonable, thoughtful suggestions for accompaniments, and (3) smile encouragingly as you butcher the names of their delicious dishes. (Our waitress also chased me out the door as we were leaving to hand me a bag I had left behind my seat; extra points for that.) We ordered some more naan and lemon rice with our entrees:

• ADI MACCHI HIRYAN NAAL. Chunks of swordfish delicately marinated and finished in Tandoor.
• MAHI FIRDOUS. Fillet of salmon marinated with mint, yogurt and spices.
• RAAHRA GOSHT. Lamb simmered in a wok over a period of time until it turns crisp brown & garnished with fresh coriander.
• SHAAHI BAIGAN. Eggplant cooked in rich cream & cashew gravy.

We all oohed and mmmed as we made our way to the bottoms of the deceptively tiny-looking silver vessels. As Pete stated aptly, while there are many Indian restaurants in and around Cambridge, most of them seem to serve up the same dishes of mush over and over. Tamarind Bay sets itself apart with a healthy variety of cooking techniques and unique flavor combinations. I wanted to drink the cream sauce that covered the eggplant, but I opted instead to mop up every last drip with bits of naan (if only because Pete looked aghast when I declared my original intentions).

There are apparently two Tamarind Bays in the in Boston area, one in Brookline (Tamarind Bay Coastal Indian Kitchen)and the location I've been to in Cambridge (Tamarind Bay Bistro and Bar). As of this post, the Brookline location takes reservations through OpenTable; the Cambridge location does not.

Trois Pistoles

A friend tipped me onto Trois Pistoles beer (from Unibroue) this weekend. He mentioned it was available at Trader Joe's, which initially made me wrinkle my nose until I discovered that TJ's carries non-TJ brands of beer on its shelves. My friend described it like this:

"Most beers I just recall just as beers and cannot differentiate one from another in my memory. But this beer...this beer I can think of and remember exactly how it tastes."

Trois Pistoles is a dark, spicy ale that is a fine choice to drink on its own. The Unibroue website describes the taste as "wild fruit with an aftertaste of port" and the aroma as "ripe fruit and chocolate". It's probably not for everyone, as the finish is a tad sweet, but I was happy to try it - and happy to know it's sold at TJ's at such a bargain price.

The only other brew from Unibroue that I recall having is La Fin du Monde. La Fin holds a special place in my heart, because it's the first drink I had during my first trip to Montreal. I was in a French-speaking province, so why not imbibe a French-named beer (or bière)? There are a total of 8 brews available from Unibroue, easily identified by their colorful, fantasy-inspired labeling, so perhaps a tasting is in order.

Beer Advocate, which knows a lot more about beer than I do, gives Trois Pistoles an A.