Since dinner started at 6:30 PM, I had some time to kill after work and met up with Rachel and Megan at Marliave for a pre-dinner cocktail. Since it was a gorgeous night out, we sat on the patio and I indulged in the W.C. Fields (Pimm's No.1, Absolut Vodka, Cucumber, and Lemon). It tasted like a perfect adult lemonade!
After our cocktails, we headed over to KO Prime, which was just around the corner and we were excited for what the night had in store for us!
After we got to meet our dining companions for the evening, which included the personable Michele of Foodie Mommy, William of the Boston Foodie, Aaron of Eat Boston, the fabulous Robin of Doves and Figs - just to name a few, we sat down to begin a dining adventure. We were greeted by Executive Chef Josh Buehler, who is clearly full of passion for sincere and thoughtful cooking. Throughout the evening I discovered that each dish contained such great contrast of flavors and I especially loved Chef Josh's use of a myriad of spices, which made this no ordinary "steak" dinner. In fact, this meal was called a "Steakcation" to demonstrate that you can find more than just great steak at KO Prime. I found that each plate was so carefully plated and I'll have to ask you to forgive the photos as the lighting changed throughout this almost three-hour dinner.
First up was the Squash Blossom Crab Rangoon with Duck Sauce. The squash blossom was so delicately fried and was actually a great combination with the crab rangoon stuffing. This surprised me as I'm not a crab rangoon fan. But the real gem for me was the not-too-sweet and perfectly spicy duck sauce. This was a perfect first plate to start the evening.
Then we were onto the gorgeous Heirloom Tomato Salad with crispy Manouri cheese, tomato-basil vinaigrette, peach and apricot aioli. I think all of us were in agreement that there is nothing better than fresh tomatoes during the summer and I was happy to discover at the end of the meal that Chef Josh Buehler uses local tomatoes when in season. The Manouri cheese was seriously addictive stuff and the slices of heirloom tomatoes were in one word - gorgeous.
Our third course was a Roasted Jalapeno Beef Tartare with smoked poblano jam and topped with a crispy quail egg. I thought I was going to love this dish but it honestly wasn't my favorite. I thought that the beef tartare was good but it didn't really stand out to me and my crispy quail egg lacked the runny yolk I was hoping for. But the smoked poblano jam was definitely my favorite component and it had the perfect balance of smokiness and heat.
The next course, however, was my hands-down favorite - Fricassee of Escargot with thumbelina carrots, mushrooms, salsify, lardons, and brioche. The escargot was perfectly, and I mean, perfectly cooked. The brioche with the unbelievably flavorful carrot puree and escargot made the amazing bite of deliciousness.
I think this definitely calls for a close-up of these gorgeous escargot!
As I licked my last plate clean, I couldn't believe we were onto another course - the Seared Stripe Bass with summer succotash, cockles, and homemade chorizo. Although the stripe bass was perfectly cooked with a delicious crispy skin but the highlight for me was the amazing succotash filled with patty pan squash, okra, fava beans and wax beans. The chorizo in the cockles added the perfect element of saltiness to the dish and it lead to some serious discussion about where to find the best chorizo in town.
After five courses, we had a whimsical palate cleanser of an Apricot Soda with a yuzu-mint creme fraiche foam. This was so completely refreshing and I absolutely loved the creme fraiche foam, even if the mint flavor was a little lost on me.
And finally Chef Josh presented us with a steak course, which we are all so looking forward to - a Pork and Beef Duet.
The pork was a dry rubbed pork loin with stewed olives and tomatoes, and a chantrelle mushroom polenta cake. While I'm not a huge fan of pork, I really loved the combination of flavors and textures with the creamy polenta cake, salty olives and the perfectly tender pork loin.
But it was the grilled flat iron steak with pickled ramps and harissa that stole my heart. I can never resist anything with pickled ramps and I love the mild flavors of the harissa (although I certainly would have welcomed even more heat)!
As the night began to wind down, we enjoyed the most refreshing Pineapple Sorbet with a passion-fruit cream sauce. This was the perfect summer dessert and I seriously licked the plate clean.
Our second dessert, the Dark Chocolate Marquise with buttery popcorn ice cream and caramel sauce, was more rich and dense. I loved unusual ice cream flavors and the buttery popcorn wasn't too intense and went well with the caramel popcorn.
The meal ended with some delightful miniature nibbles (which I'm having difficult uploading at the moment), along with some photos with one of my favorite food blogging pals!
I must give many thanks to KO Prime and Chef Josh Buehler for giving me a dining experience to remember! After sharing the photos with Bret, he asked how soon we could make a reservation! The service was absolutely lovely from holding flashlights to aid us in our photos to the wonderful wine selections (J Vineyards Pinot Gris and Parlay "The Bookmaker"). And of course, thanks again to Nicole Kanner of All Heart PR for making this lovely evening possible.
KO Prime is located at 90 Tremont Street, Boston, MA.
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