Upstairs on the Square: A Tomato Feast

After another long rainy day, I was really looking forward to meeting up with some of my food blogger pals (Meghan, Kristen,  Alicia and Megan) for dinner in Harvard Square.  Our original plan was to check out Rialto's outdoor terrace but the weather made us think twice about this one.  Megan discovered that Upstairs on the Square was hosting a tasting menu centered around one of my favorite summer ingredients - the tomato!  We were all instantly sold on the idea and Megan graciously made us a reservation.

I did a little research beforehand and I was excited to learn that Executive Chef Steven Brand would be using locally grown tomatoes for this tasting menu.  I also thought this was fitting as this week is Farmers Market Week in Massachusetts.  I am participating in a "Loving Local: Celebrating the Flavors of Massachusetts" blogathon to bring awareness to local food.  I thought a re-cap of this evening would nicely tie in with this theme!

But back to the food.  We had a lovely tasting menu ahead of us last night.

Since the wine pairing was only $13 more, we all decided to do the tasting menu with the wine pairing.  To start, our server poured us a glass of 2008 Ca' del Solo Albarino from Monterey County.  This was a nice light wine and we were told that it was a vegan wine (although I'm not quite sure what makes it vegan).  We also kicked off the evening with an amuse bouche - a shooter of summer gazpacho.

Normally I cringe when I see gazpacho on a menu because it is not really one of my favorite dishes.  Even though I love vegetable juices and Bloody Marys, I just can't get myself to enjoy a thick tomato-based soup.  But this amuse bouche couldn't have been further from that.  It was really chunky with kernels of sweet corn and crunchy miniature croutons.  This definitely was large for an amuse bouche but I wasn't complaining!

While we waited for our first course to arrive, we dug into the generous bread basket.  And over lots of laughter and conversation, our courses began to arrive.

Our first course was a classic native heirloom tomato salad with fresh market raspberry vinegar, Vermont goat cheese and Thai basil.

This dish was so pretty in its colors and I absolutely loved the creamy goat cheese.  When I was all done with my plate, I took a cue from Kristen and grabbed a piece of bread to soak up all of that delicious raspberry vinegar.

Our next wine tasting was a French bourgogne - 2007 Domaine Caillot Les Herbeux.  This white burgundy wine was a little to wood-flavored for me so I wasn't a huge fan.  However, I was in love with our next course - a parsley and lemon crusted hake with lightly crushed Yukon gold potatoes and basil tomato water.

Wow, this dish was amazing.  The tomato flavor wasn't really obvious but the parsley and lemon crust on the fish was so wonderful.  We were all so into this dish and I definitely dipped back into the basket for another piece of bread to soak up the basil tomato water.

Our final wine tasting was a Cabernet Sauvignon - 2006 Stag’s Leap Wine Cellars Artemis from Napa Valley.  I absolutely loved this wine and wanted to savor every sip.  It went beautifully with our third course, which was a wood-grilled New York strip steak served with a tomato a la Provencale and slow-roasted garlic.  The aroma of roasted garlic hit you immediately and for me it is always a welcome scent.  This dish was definitely welcome on a cold rainy evening like last night.  The first photo wasn't so great but I loved that there was a smiley face on my dish.

Our server actually turned our plates around and this made for a better photo, even if it hid the fantastic stuffed tomato.

The dessert course was definitely intriguing when we were served a sweet tomato sorbet coupe.  This dessert was layered with a red wine reduction, olive oil ice cream, sweet tomato sorbet, candied pinenuts, a whipped cream and topped with a lemon thyme shortbread.  It was an absolute stunning dish and I'm sad that my photo doesn't do it justice.  There was not a single element of this dish that I didn't adore but my favorites were of course the olive oil ice cream and the candied pinenuts!

It is hysterical to watch a table of food bloggers try to get a great photo.  Our flashes were going off over and over again and it looked there was some serious paparazzi action but it was just the five of us trying to photograph our dessert!

I had a great time with the ladies last night.  I have been really lucky to meet some great people through my food blog who have become more than just acquaintances but actual friends.  It was nice to be at a dinner where we weren't learning about a new product or meeting new people.  Instead, we just got to be ourselves and share about our real lives - from our relationships to our frustrations with our blogs to our careers.  It was really wonderful to just relax and enjoy a good meal with great company.

Upstairs on the Square is located at 91 Winthrop Street, Cambridge, MA.

KO Prime: A Nine-Course "Steakcation"

Last night, I had the privilege of attending a wonderful dinner at KO Prime at the invitation of Nicole Kanner of All Heart PR.  While I have been to KO Prime previously for cocktails, I've actually never had the chance to dine there and I was really excited about the opportunity.

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.