Foodie Scoop – The Table in Boston

May 11, 2017 Lana @TravelSavvyGal Comments 0 Comment

On a recent weekend trip to Boston designed for catching up with friends and loved ones, I wasn’t expecting to have any notable experiences to share on the blog. Until I went to the Gardner Museum, site of the largest unsolved art heist, and loved the vibe of the museum even beyond the noticeably empty picture frames on the wall. And then that night, my foodie revelation – enjoying my best dining experience of the year so far.

In between a night cooking at home with friends and another getting some traditional Boston clam chowder out, I had a night to fill on my recent weekend trip to Boston. I cooked have cooked at my friends’ place where I was staying, even though they were out that night. It would have been quite cozy, and I do love to cook.

But when I’m somewhere other than home, you know me – I like to get out and explore! So despite the freezing temperatures and chilling wind, I ventured outside in search of a meal out. It was a decent stroll, actually, to another corner of Cambridge, to see if I could get in to The Table at Season to Taste.

I had seen The Table on a list of best Boston restaurants for foodies, and was intrigued by it offering a tasting menu, but choices within each course, all of which sounded delicious. And I sure worked up an appetite by the time I arrived.

Of course, I came prepared with a backup plan of several other nearby restaurants in case I couldn’t get in at The Table. But fortunately that was not needed and I had a really stellar dining experience that I’m compelled to share:

How ‘The Table’ Works (& What You Should Do Instead)

The Table is a quite small Cambridge dining establishment, with only twenty seats inside. The main seating is a combination of 16 spots at regular tables and 4 stools at the bar facing the open kitchen.

All of these seats, including the bar stools, are available to reserve and when you do you’ll be asked for your seating preference – Standard or Counter. You’re also required to provide a credit card, and you can only cancel the reservation until 48 hours in advance. By reserving, you’re committing to a 4-course tasting menu (there are 2 options within each course) at a cost of $69 per person.

But who needs commitment like that when you can instead play it by ear?

The website for The Table describes that “there is a menu of light snacks paired with choice wines and craft beers at the standing wine bar.” This is accurate, and you can find both a ‘Drink’ and a ‘Snack’ menu on the site to check out in advance.

TOP TIP! What they don’t tell you is that the ‘standing wine bar’ – really like a waiting nook to the right of the entrance – is far more flexible than they make it sound. You can actually order from the several choices on the ‘Snack Menu’ or order any of the 8 possible courses a la carte from the tasting menu (4 courses x 2 options in each). You can mix and match. And it is glorious.

In foodie heaven, I ended up getting 3 courses in total, one of the “first courses” and both of the “second courses” from the tasting menu the night I was there. And none of the “snacks.” My choices were partially based on my mood and partially based on the one course my server recommended when I asked for guidance – the crab stew (which you’ll read all about below).

The best deal by far is to dine in the waiting nook. Both in terms of choice and price.

I’m not the only foodie who’s figured this out as there was a neighborhood couple who dined there the same night as me, but otherwise the other people who entered had reserved in advance at the tables or at the counter.

The ‘standing wine bar’ only has 2 stools (I managed to snag one), but you can also stand, if you don’t mind. The one couple who came after me opted to stand. FYI, I arrived around 7:30pm on a Saturday night, and was the first person to arrive without a reservation.

And in the end, it was incredibly affordable for the size and quality of the dishes that came out. Each of my First/Second course choices were only $14 each! And you could be happily full on just two, trust me.

I honestly didn’t ask for the a la carte price before ordering, but the meal cost less than I expected it to be, which was a pleasant surprise when I received the bill at the end. Basically, my food and wine came to the total I was expecting just for the food. Amazing.

Now that I’ve talked about the pesky money business, it’s time to focus on the exceptional meal and service I enjoyed. Which, price aside, is what really made this a stand-out restaurant experience for me.

The Staff and Chefs

Despite the main restaurant menu consisting of just a tasting menu, the service is effusive and not stuffy or pretentious at all. I’d characterize it as quite laid back, which seems to be my preferred style of dining these days. From welcoming me as soon as I came in the door to explaining my ordering options in the ‘standing wine bar,’ everything throughout the meal was very comfortable and relaxed.

And while I didn’t try any of the craft beer that was available, I did enjoy a couple of wines by the glass – one white, one red – and had some great sommelier advice along the way. The menu options by the glass were interesting, and the knowledgeable staff gave some spot-on recommendations for pairings with the dishes I ordered.

Although the chefs are focused as they expertly assemble dishes in the open kitchen, they are also aware of the diners and happily chatting away with us, even with me over in the nook! Being close to a kitchen with chefs that were so friendly and interacting with guests definitely enhanced the dining experience for me.

Another thing I noticed when I got settled on my stool in the waiting nook was that the head chef in the kitchen sure looked familiar. A quick search on my phone revealed that yes, it was Carl Dooley from Top Chef, which (I swear!) I didn’t know before going. Like many foodies I know, I’ve been a loyal watcher of this American cooking reality show for years, but I don’t think I’ve ever gone to a restaurant of a Top Chef contestant outside of Washington, DC before. Fortunately, his time on TV didn’t go to his head and he was super friendly, just like the other chefs in the kitchen.

Another nice touch is that different chefs hand deliver each course, and you get to chat with them as they come to where you’re seated with your dish. They never seemed too rushed to get back into the kitchen, helping the meal feel relaxed.

The staff is so, so friendly and both welcoming and accommodating that they made an already great experience especially memorable.

Breaking it Down Course by Course

Since I had ordered a random mix of three courses and was not doing the full tasting menu, I was expecting dining in The Table’s waiting nook to be like any other a la carte meal. Instead, I was pleasantly surprised at the very hospitable and foodie-worthy dining experience.

Soon after ordering, heated triangles of house-made sourdough bread appeared, served with some cultured butter. I had no clue what cultured butter was, so asked and found out that it was butter that had been churned with live bacteria to culture it. It was a flavor I didn’t love on its own but really enjoyed with my different food courses.

Another surprise then headed my way, an amuse bouche. This is a small dish made at the daily whim of the chef to start my meal, and something I wasn’t expecting since I had not committed to the tasting menu like the diners at the tables and formal counter spots. I enjoyed the apple, turnip, and jalapeño soup, although it was not nearly as incredible as the more polished courses that followed.

I had ordered the 1^st course of grilled squid with winter citrus just because I was in the mood for squid. The dish looked different than I had pictured it in my head, but it was incredibly delicious. The thin rings of squid were cooked perfectly, and not in the least bit rubbery or chewy. It was boldly seasoned to the point that I found a bite of the squid on its own to be a bit too salty, but with the other flavors of the citrus, mint, olives, and pistachio, it made for a perfect bite.

When I ordered my two 2^nd courses, I had just assumed from my perspective after living in Italy that the pasta would arrive first, followed by the crab stew. But I didn’t specify anything when I ordered and the kitchen had its own ideas about the proper order. Which meant that the server-recommended crab stew came next.

I’m glad that it did, because I wasn’t approaching being full yet, and was able to appreciate it completely. I don’t say this lightly: this crab dish is one of the best bites I’ve ever had.

This 2^nd course was the crab stew, with peanuts, scallions, house-made kimchi, & a sunny side up egg. Sounds simple enough, and it actually didn’t appeal to me much from reading the menu description.

But when I had asked my server about what dishes from the menu stand out (and I honestly expecting waffling, saying that “everything is good” as many servers do), she hands-down said the crab dish was unlike anything she had ever tasted. So I took her advice to heart and ordered the dish, which was oh-so-good, far beyond any description I could possibly offer. Although I’ll try.

Like my first course, the crab stew was boldly flavored. The house-made kimchi packed a spicy punch, and its sour flavor and texture from the cabbage with the smooth, buttery crab made it very pleasant to eat. Each spoonful was an unapologetic, perfectly balanced umami bite of addictive, comforting flavors. The runny yolk from the sunny side up egg put the richness of the dish way over the top (in a good way!) and the crunch of the scallions and peanuts kept each bite interesting. I would travel back to Boston just to eat this dish again.

Of course, I wasn’t even done with the meal yet. My final course had yet to arrive!

I was starting to get a bit full at this point, and had I not already ordered a third dish, I probably wouldn’t have. And you could definitely be satisfied with just two courses, as I mentioned before. While I was waiting in between courses, I mentally told myself that it would be okay to not finish my last course. And then it was presented.

This other 2^nd course was a house-made garganelli pasta with duck confit, toasted hazelnuts, mushrooms, and spigarello, a leafy green. There was great winter flavor to this dish, between the pasta, the spigarello, the hazelnuts, and the fresh parmesan cheese grated over top.

The duck confit itself was very good, although possibly superfluous – while I enjoyed it, I’m not sure that the dish needed the meat at all. And like all my other dishes that night, there was incredible flavor and textural balance, making every bite supremely enjoyable.

My only critique the whole night – and an incredibly minor one – is that some of the pieces (in all of the dishes) were left quite large, so it was hard to maneuver and balance all of the components of the dish onto my fork at the same time to enjoy them as a single bite. The larger pieces were certainly a plus in some cases, like the lovely chunks of lump crab in the stew, but overall I would have liked to have more mixed bites since the dishes were so good when you got to eat everything together.

A Sweet Ending

The regular 4-course tasting menu includes a dessert course as the final two options, however I had consciously chosen three savory dishes with the idea of forgoing dessert entirely. And honestly, I was pretty full after the first two of my three courses, although you probably couldn’t tell, given how I devoured them all!

Suffice it to say that even two courses would be plenty of food for a lot of people, and dessert for me was definitely not necessary. Of course, while I politely declined dessert when asked, the meal still wasn’t quite over yet.

To my surprise, despite being in the ‘standing wine bar’ nook perched on a stool and an itty bitty ledge to eat off of, I got all of the benefits that typically happen at a restaurant when you order a tasting menu.

Not only did I have an amuse bouche and the bread with house spreads to start my meal, but the meal also ended on an equally generous note.

First (after refusing dessert) I was served a perfectly tart and bitter sorbet of grapefruit and Campari liqueur. Even though I don’t usually love either of those flavors on their own, I couldn’t resist a taste. And let’s be real, by this point I certainly had full trust in anything this restaurant served. The sorbet was a very nice palate cleanser/digestif to end a very rich and luscious meal.

Then another complimentary dessert plate arrived (no, I’m not kidding!) with a small square of brownie and a slice of homemade granola. I probably shouldn’t have, but I ate the entire brownie immediately and then really was at my absolute limit.

In the end, it was quite a lot of dessert for a person who had declined, but I of course enjoyed the sorbet and brownie bite, and filled to the brim, put the granola in my purse for later. Conveniently it was already wrapped in brown paper for exactly this purpose =)

And after all that delicious food, I knew I would need to take a nice long walk, so pushed the idea of a taxi out of my head and had a very blissful walk home, with a smile plastered on my face, and the flavors and memories of this incredible meal still bouncing around.

Final Thoughts

My foodie tastebuds are happy all over again as I relive this meal by writing about it. Certainly, if you’ll be in the Boston area, this would be top of my list to seek out while you’re there. And if you’re not going anytime soon, plan a trip!

And forget reserving seats for the typical tasting menu – you’re likely to pay less than a typical night out if you’re willing to enjoy your meal in the waiting nook that is the ‘standing wine bar.’ Plus, you’ll have complete control over which combination of courses to enjoy if you dine there.

What makes a meal outstanding for you? What’s *your* best dining experience of the year so far? (‘Cause let’s be real, wherever it is, I want to go.) Share away in the ‘Comments’!

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Visiting the Site of the Largest Unsolved Art Heist: Boston’s Gardner Museum

March 16, 2017 Lana @TravelSavvyGal Comments 2 comments

This Saturday marks the 27^th anniversary of the largest unsolved art heist, which took place on March 18, 1990 at the Isabella Stewart Gardner Museum in Boston, Massachusetts. I can’t help but be swept up in a great story, and the details behind this art theft smack of any literary thriller that’s ever consumed you. That’s in fact how I first learned about it – from reading one of the many books that has been published in the nearly three decades since the theft.

The Heist

The art heist at the Gardner is unusual in several respects. Of the 13 works of art that were stolen, they were not all the most valuable pieces of art at the museum, although their cumulative value tops $500 million. It is even questionable what kind of art expertise the thieves possessed, as some of the paintings were carelessly slashed from their frames. The haul is also a mix – some famous paintings (including Rembrandt’s only seascape), sketches by Degas, and even the eagle from the top of a flagpole. The Gardner Museum has a page on its website with the details of the theft for the perennially curious, including a list of all of the missing artwork and even a virtual tour. And who to contact if you have any tips 😉

What made the heist so successful? For one, the thieves posed as police officers, under the guise of replying to a previous call at the museum, a clever way to establish authority. Is is that the security guards on duty did not follow protocol? The men posing as officers were allowed entry to the secure area, and then were able to lure both guards away from their post and the only alarm button. The guards were restrained, and the theft was only first discovered when the morning security guards arrived to start their shift, giving the thieves ample time to make their escape.

In the years since the theft, detectives believe they have come close to the artwork, with rumors leading them to many places from Philadelphia to Miami to Corsica, a French island in the Mediterranean. Not a single piece of art has been recovered yet, which is unusual for a heist of this size and also for the amount of time that has elapsed since the artwork went missing. The reward leading to the stolen works has been increased over time and now stands at $5 million, although it’s unclear whether investigators are actually any closer than before to solving this mystery as the next anniversary looms.

The Museum

Visiting the Gardner Museum was not my reason for visiting Boston, but was an outing I just could not resist. And while admittedly the art heist was the impetus for going to the museum, there was a world of wonder and whimsy I discovered there that make the museum worth a visit, regardless of whether the artwork is recovered someday.

Isabella Stewart Gardner was a bit of an eccentric heiress who founded the museum after her husband’s death in the late 1800s. One insight into her playful personality is the structure for discounted or free admission to the museum that persists to this day. There are of course some of the typical discounts, for students and teachers and museum pass holders.

So what are some of the less typical ways to get discounted or free admission?

If you’re named Isabella, there is lifetime free admission (once you register on their site here).
Admission is free on your birthday.
There is a discount for wearing paraphernalia of the local baseball team, the Boston Red Sox.

Unfortunately I didn’t qualify for any of these (and I’m a lifelong New York Yankees fan, division rivals of the Red Sox), but if you’re named Isabella or it happens to be your birthday, you’re in luck!

In any case, once you have a ticket in hand you proceed to the courtyard, an incredible space that really sets the tone for the rest of the museum. It feels like you’ve stepped into the interior of a European villa, with the columns, greenery, and large central mosaic. Almost everyone, including me, stopped in their tracks to take in this peaceful space. Some stayed and lingered on the bench surrounding the garden space, while others popped in and out of the surrounding rooms, returning for a few moments to appreciate the garden in between. As you enter the museum rooms, all of which are clustered around the central courtyard, the view outside morphs ever so slightly, especially on the higher floors. And for me, as I entered each new space, my eye was initially drawn in the direction of the courtyard, observing the new perspective and angle of the sunlight. This experience was certainly part of the museum’s design, and provides continuity and a sense of space throughout.

Isabella also had a clear vision for how she wanted the art to be displayed for the public inside the rooms, from the floor coverings to the ceiling to the furniture to the artwork. She took a holistic view on the curation of the pieces and how they were displayed in the various rooms and levels of the museum. When you enter each space, it has a distinct feel. Some are crowded, while others are sparse. Some are dark-paneled and regal, while others have sunlight streaming in and have a light, airy, open feel about them.

Isabella Stewart Gardner collected much of the art during her international travels, hence the European feel of many of the spaces. The building housing the museum was commissioned to be in the style of a famous Venetian palazzo – the style of buildings typical along the Grand Canal of Venice, Italy. Isabella even hand-arranged the Spanish tiles in one of the open-air spaces off the courtyard, and her direct hand in the museum is apparent throughout. She saved her correspondence with famous artists and composers of the day, and there’s even a case featuring letters from some of the first American presidents that she acquired over the years. In fact, Gardner was so particular that the permanent exhibition cannot be significantly altered, a provision that has made the aftermath of the heist particularly visible because no other artwork can be put in place of the pieces that were stolen.

Another highlight of the museum for me was the temporary exhibit currently on display until September called Listen Hear: The Art of Sound. Since the permanent exhibit can’t really be changed per Isabella Stewart Gardner’s explicit wishes, including special exhibits is a wonderful way to enhance the art already on display and be able to interact with it in new ways. Some of the sound exhibits are meant to align with the artwork in certain rooms, or to represent specific pieces that were stolen, like Vermeer’s The Concert. In the courtyard, one of the exhibits emits sounds meant to imitate the insects that are absent from the garden, providing the background noise that is normally missing. In another ground floor space is an intricate series of small sculpted glass orbs, some of which have been filled with different colored liquids, from tea to olive oil. Embedded in the sculpture are sensors, and as you walk underneath the sculpture or wave your hand nearby, cascading sounds are emitted. I was a bit mesmerized by this one, and spent quite a bit of time staring and playing.

You can’t help but have fun visiting the Isabella Stewart Gardner Museum, and from everything I’ve learned about the woman, that is exactly what Isabella always hoped for.