1. It's in Cambridge.
2. The owner of the restaurant has more than one dining establishment in the Boston area.
3. Technically speaking, the name of this Cambridge restaurant is inaccurate.
It was the third hint that made Bret and I realize guess that the restaurant was one of our favorite restaurants, Ten Tables, at its Cambridge location. Bret and I have been to both the original Jamaica Plain and the Cambridge location, so we were excited to give Ten Tables a return visit.
We arrived at Ten Tables around 8:15 PM with Rachel (whom we met outside) and were happy to see some familiar faces. Since dinner was supposed to begin at 8:30 PM, I had managed to head to the gym after work, shower and change before dinner. By the time 8:30 PM rolled around, I was starving and more than a little tired. The restaurant was packed and with about twenty or so diners in for the Mystery Meet in a restaurant this small in size, seating us all was no easy feat. Eventually, the diners were all seated at several different tables and our dining experience began.
Ten Tables only has a beer and wine license but this doesn't stop them from making specialty cocktails. I perused the menu and one item quickly caught my eye.
"KK" is the nickname of one of my best friends and I had to order this drink in honor of her. The KK had passionfruit juice, candied ginger and champagne. It was a sweet drink with a hint of spice from the ginger and absolutely delightful.
Our table was served a few plates of doughy bread rolls with olive oil. We waited a bit for bread plates but when they didn't arrive, we decided to dig in without them. What else can you expect from a hungry table of food bloggers?
Our first course arrived and it was probably my favorite - the Proscuitto Americano topped with asparagus, fava beans, shaved Pecorino, breakfast radishes, candied walnuts, and a black truffle oil vinaigrette. We could all smell the truffle oil immediately and I thought it was a little overpowering for my palate but still the dish had a lot of great layers of flavors.
For our second course, I was served the Cape Cod Bluefish with yellow Indian woman beans, sugar snaps, pea tendrils and a spicy chorizo sauce. The fish was cooked perfectly with a crisp skin and I absolutely loved all of the texture in the dish. The spicy chorizo sauce was so ridiculously good and added a nice spicy element to the fish dish.
Bret was served the pan-roasted cod on top of a cucumber gazpacho, heirloom tomatoes and topped with a zucchini blossom. His dish looked absolutely beautiful.
After a pretty lengthy wait, we were served our third course - Berkshire pork chop on top of a bed of creamed corn, saffron and chipotle butter. While I am not the biggest fan of pork, this dish was certainly tasty. I only managed to eat one small slice of pork since I was absolutely stuffed from the first two courses but I will say that this was probably the best creamed corn I've ever tasted. Plus, the chipotle butter added a nice slow heat to the dish.
In between our third and fourth course, we received a palate cleanser of a maize strawberry coulis with house buttermilk sorbet. Please forgive the photos. The dim lighting and harsh flash of my camera made these photos difficult to shoot. This little shooter was so refreshing and perfect for a hot summer evening.
Around this time, Chef David Punch came out to chat with us for a bit. He was so down to earth and when I inquired about his use of local ingredients, he was very excited to talk about it. He told us that the restaurant tries to incorporate local ingredients in each of their dishes and that many of the ingredients come from Allandale Farm in Brookline.
Before we knew it, we were onto the final course - the dessert course. I asked our server if my favorite dessert, the chocolate terrine with sea salt and Thai basil ice cream, would be served. He told me he couldn't make any promises but sure enough, this was Bret's dessert for the evening. I absolutely love the combination of chocolate and salt, and the addition of basil only makes this dessert even better. I of course insisted that we share his dessert!
This meant that I had to share my dessert with him too, which was a fantastic Greek yogurt panna cotta with crumbled candied pistachios and local strawberries macerated in saba. I've never tried saba before but learned that it is a Greek liquid very much like an aged balsamic vinegar. The fresh strawberries were fantastic and I loved the tartness in the panna cotta. The Greek yogurt definitely added a density, which was really delightful.
Overall, I had a wonderful time at Mystery Meet. Ten Tables certainly lived up to my expectations on this return visit. Each course was beautifully plated and had great flavors in every bite.
On the down side, I ended up getting home close to midnight, which made for a very late Tuesday night. My only suggestions to Seth for the next Mystery Meet are for the dinner to start a bit earlier and to choose a location where all of the diners can sit together at one table. All that being said, I was happy to eat and chat with some familiar faces, including Meghan, Justin, and Megan. I was also thrilled to meet Kristen and Rachel! We chatted about our day jobs, recent trips, favorite restaurants and even the merits of Twitter. The only thing better than the meal last night was the company.
Kristen, Megan and Rachel - some fabulous Boston bloggers
To find out more information about Mystery Meet, you can check out the website here.
Ten Tables has two locations: 5 Craigie Circle, Cambridge, MA and 597 Centre Street, Jamaica Plain, MA.
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