.::|TheDish|::.

Estragon

Rating: 3 forks
We finally ventured out to the edge of our usual restaurant radius a few weekends ago and dined with friends at Estragon in the South End. It's a Spanish tapas place, dishing out some pretty authentic dishes. From the website:

Inspired by the supper clubs and salons of 1930s Madrid, Estragon brings old-world charm and a bohemian flair to the tapas experience. The menu focuses on the fresh and the simple, traversing the entire culinary landscape of Spain, and with an all-Spanish, all-affordable wine-list, a night at Estragon is like a night in Madrid –or the very next best thing! 

We started at the bar, and ordered-up a few libations: wine by the glass from their pretty extensive list of Spanish varietals, Estrella (a Spanish beer), and one of their specialty drinks called the Prickly Pear, which proved to be far too sweet for a friend. They don't have a full liquor license, so are restricted to beer, wine, and flavored alcohols (which seems a little silly to me, good ol' Massachusetts liquor laws). I glanced around and the decor was definitely mixed and funky, but comfortable; it's like dark and vintage meets whimsical, with chandeliers, vintage pictures, a retro checkered floor, a mix of high and low tables and loungey banquettes, and even an odd, risque mannequin propped at the hostess stand with only legs, lace and high heels. Definitely a European, slightly edgier feel, which I dig.

Our eating extravaganza was kick-off with a small bowl of complimentary blanched carrots in a spicy vinaigrette - delish! We shared a variety of tapas, such as Grilled Baby Leeks Romesco, Roasted Brussel Sprouts with Chorizo and Golden Raisins, Sauteed Mushrooms with Two Scrambled Eggs, Seared Pork Belly with Beluga Lentils, and Moorish Lamb Skewers. And while I love the small plates concept – you get to sample a little bit of this and a little bit of that – and each of these were "pretty good", none really knocked it out of the park for me; well except perhaps the Brussel Sprouts if you can imagine that, man they were tasty! I was anticipating more of a Ken Oringer's Toro experience, where the combination of the boisterous scene and the masterful dishes sends you into total sensory overload; though our wallets were thankful, the final bill was incredibly cheap unlike those we've racked-up at Toro.

Perhaps Estragon is in fact more authentic, and perhaps had it been in Madrid and not cornered between the South End projects, a hospital and high end loft condos it would have yielded a different review from me. I am not sure. I could go back, but am not really in a rush to.

Estragon
700 Harrison Ave
(between Harrison Archway & Brookline St)
Boston, MA 02118
617.266.0443
Website
[Image via Yelp]

Jimmy Choo for H&M

In case you haven't heard, H&M is launching their Jimmy Choo line tomorrow, November 14th, at select stores. Sorry Boston peeps, we didn't make that privileged list, as it's launching in four cities in California as well as NYC and Chicago. Boo! But check out the cool threads that some of you may be lucky enough to get your paws on if you arrive sporting battle gloves; they are expecting large crowds, and are distributing wrist bands to the first 160 shoppers. Not really surprised.

Image from H&M.com.

Infinity Scarf

Do you ever get frustrated with the way a scarf wraps around your neck? One side is too long/short, too bulky and uneven? Well the infinity scarf may be the answer, and it is all the rave this season; I can't believe the trend didn't set in a little earlier. The infinity scarf has no "ends", however as the name implies, it is a continuous wrap of material. There are tons of styles, colors and fabrics available from cotton to cashmere to this thick knit version available on shopbop.com. A great gift idea, just in time for the holiday season!

Thanksgiving Cocktails!

Who says Thanksgiving is all about the bird? I say why not bring on the cocktails! Here's a few fun libations I found to counteract that Tryptophan. I think my Perfect Pear Martini would be a great fit, but these sound amazing, too!

Pumpkin Pie Martini
Recipe by Host Bee and found here.

Ingredients:
2 parts Absolut Vanila vodka
1 part pumpkin schnapps
Splash of cream
Sprinkle with nutmeg

Directions:
Shake all of the ingredients in a cocktail shaker with ice
Strain into a martini glass
Garnish with nutmeg and a cherry

The Cranberry Cobbler
Recipe by Nick Mautone and found here.

Ingredients:
1 teaspoon sugar
2 1/8-inch thick slices fresh ginger
 6-10 fresh cranberries
2 parts Grey Goose L’Citron
1 parts Triple Sec
Long strands of orange zest, for garnish

Directions:
In the bottom of a shaker, place the sugar, ginger and cranberries. Muddle and mash vigorously. Add L’Citron, Triple Sec and ice and shake vigorously. Pour drink, including ice and cranberries and ginger, into rocks glass. Garnish with zest.

Gingersnap Cocktail
Recipe by thebar.com and found here.

Ingredients:
.75 oz. Captain Morgan Original Spiced Rum
.5 oz. ginger brandy
4 oz. eggnog
1 ginger snap (optional

Directions:
Add Captain Morgan Original Spiced Rum, ginger brandy, and eggnog in blender
Blend to desired consistency and pour into glass. Garnish with ginger snap for dunking if desired.

Dappled Jack
Created by The Intoxicologist and found here.

Ingredients:
1-1/2 part Jack Daniels Tennessee Whiskey
1/2 part Berentzen ApfelKorn Schnapps
1-1/2 part Canada Dry Ginger Ale
Crystallized Ginger Garnish

Directions:
Build in a highball glass over fresh ice. Garnish with skewered round of crystallized ginger. This is for those who want a hint of apple, but not an overwhelming amount. You know who you are – you’ll go along with the flow of cocktail for the sake of celebration, but nothing is going to get in the way of your authentic Jack flavor.

Ebay's The Inside Source

Last week, Ebay launched an online magazine called The Inside Source. According to Meredith Barnett, the sites editorial director, The Inside Source is targeted at the smart shopper “who is sophisticated, has a sensibility about fashion and lifestyle and may be familiar with eBay but maybe not the full extent of everything it has to offer.”

Within the Fashion, Tech, Pop Culture, Home & Garden, Entertainment, The Green Scene, and What's Hot Now sections on the site (called "Topics"), there's a variety of editorial pieces written by journalists and specialists highlighting the latest trends across many categories, which are somewhat like blog posts, with contextual links driving users to check out and hopefully purchase realated products on Ebay. Additionally, you'll find online interviews with noteworthy people within the various categories, also with links to purchase their favorite products on Ebay; a product endorsement so to speak.

So, I started to poke around on the site a little. Although the site is primarily focused on fashion, as clothes and accessories are Ebay's biggest revenue generators, there's definitely a lot of content across a broad range of categories. Considering the breadth of content, they do a pretty good job at organizing it and the site is easy to navigate; it feels a bit like an interactive gossipy glossy :). 

Being from Boston, the story on Barbara Lynch in the Home & Garden section attracted my attention. Since I'm a regular at some of her eateries here in town, I also immediately recognized the error in the first paragraph of the article: "her Boston-based company, Barbara Lynch Gruppo, owns a variety of food-related businesses in the area: critically acclaimed restaurant No. 9 Park; South End eatery B&G Oysters, which shares a space with fancy cocktail bar Drink...". Oops, not trying to be too critical here, but B&G and Drink are in 2 totally different neighborhoods.** Update - I left a comment regarding this, and they promptly corrected it, so props to The Inside Source for listening to their readers :) **

Overall, it's nice to give Ebay a voice, and being a bargain shopper myself, this site serves as a gentle reminder that I should run a quick Ebay search to see what I may find next time I am in the market for that special something. With sites like Gilt Groupe and Rue La La being front and center in the competitive discount online fashion retail space, I am curious to see how this site evolves and what it does for Ebay.com, and if they see ROI by attracting more of those savvy shoppers they are after.

Cranberry Port Sauce

This week in our kitchen it's about trying a couple new recipes, and we adapted one from the October issue of Fine Cooking Magazine (my ALL time favorite foodie read) that's worth writing about. The full recipe is for Roasted Cornish Game Hens with Cranberry-Port Sauce, however since I had just purchased a beautiful organic chicken, I decided to leverage just the sauce recipe to add some pizazz after roasting the fresh bird. It's simple to make, yet rich and complex; highly recommended for any poultry or pork.

For the sauce:
2 cups lower-salt chicken broth
1/3 cup ruby port
1/3 cup dried cranberries
1 Tbs. unsalted butter
1 Tbs. minced shallot
1 Tbs. all-purpose flour
Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper

Combine the port and cranberries for the sauce in a small bowl, cover, and let sit overnight (I let the cranberries and port it for an hour and the sauce was fabulous, so I bet if you let it sit overnight the cranberries are even more saturated with yummy port).

Heat the broth in a small saucepan. Heat the 1 Tbs. butter in a separate medium saucepan over medium heat. Add the minced shallot and cook, stirring occasionally, until the shallot is tender, about 2 minutes. Stir in the flour and cook, whisking gently, until it forms a thick paste, about 30 seconds. Strain the port through a fine sieve into the saucepan, reserving the cranberries (don’t press down on the berries). Whisk for about 30 seconds. Slowly whisk in the broth until the sauce is smooth, adjusting the heat to maintain a steady simmer. Simmer, whisking occasionally, until reduced by about one-third, 5 to 8 minutes. Stir in the reserved cranberries. Season to taste with salt and pepper. Keep warm.

Just before serving, pour any accumulated juices from the hens, chicken or whatever you roasted, into the sauce. Serve the poultry or pork drizzled with the sauce.

Recipe adapted from: Fine Cooking 102, pp. 65
October 29, 2009
Photo: Fine Cooking, Scott Phillips

Franklin Cafe (Southie) - New Menu

The Franklin Cafe Southie has a fabulous, hearty new fall menu! I have had the Pan Seared Chatham Cod and it's SO delish! Check out the fresh tasty offerings, here:

Lobster Bisque $8

Organic Crispy Vegetable & Green salad $6 Sundried Tomato Caesar Salad
Pecorino, Brioche $8

Roasted Local Apple & Frissee Salad
Bacon, Spiced Walnuts $8

Crispy Pork Confit
Cranberry Jam, Spinach, Mint $8

"Baja Style" Fish Tacos
Chimichurri, Black Beans, Lime $9

Roasted Vegetable & Polenta Torte
Local Goat Cheese, Mushroom $8

Soy Marinated Organic Chicken Livers
Horseradish & Fennel Salad $10

Smokey Skillet Roasted Mussels
Warm Clarified Butter, Parsley $9

Wild Mushroom Mac N' Cheese
House-Made Ricotta, Thyme $8

Spice Grilled Tofu Steak
Indonesian Fried Rice, Farm Egg $16

Pan Seared Chatham Cod
Tasso Succotash, Green Garlic Sauce $19

Poached North Atlantic Salmon
Lobster & Butternut Risotto, Apple $20

Slow Cooked Domestic Lamb Shank
Brandy, Apricots, Rainbow Chard $20

Roasted Statler Chicken
Creamed Spinach, Chestnut Mushrooms $18

House-Made Potato Agnolotti
Braised Short Ribs, Pecorino $18

Grilled Prime Flank Steak
Spicy Cabbage, Coconut Rice $19

Broccolini $4

Hand Cut Fries $5

The Franklin Southie
Website
152 Dorchester Ave
South Boston, MA 02127
617.269.1003

Hours
Open Monday - Sunday
Dinner: 5:30pm - 1:30pm
Bar: 5:00pm - 2:00pm
Brunch: 11:00am - 4:00pm, Saturday and Sunday
Outdoor Patio in the Spring and Summer open until 10:00pm

Zaytinya, Washington DC

Rating: 4 forks

Our culinary adventures in our nations capitol also led us to another top-notch eatery, Zaytinya. Meaning "olive oil" in Turkish, Zaytinya features mezze, or small plates, from classical and contemporary Greek, Turkish and Lebanese cuisine. The power chef behind this trendy restaurant is James Beard award-winning chef José Ramón Andrés Puerta, better known in the culinary world as José Andrés; he's the man credited for bringing the "tapas"/small plates concept to this country. Muaaaah, thanks, José!

And the Zaytinya experience lived up to the hype and recommendations from friends, including Krista Kranyak, a friend and the owner of the fantastic Ten Tables restaurants here in the Boston area. We arrived to a kind 40 minute wait – much less than I had anticipated – and upon drifting towards the bar to wait for our table, our senses were teased by the sight and smell of the plates passing by. A couple seats cleared at the impressively large bar, we swooped in for a landing, and started on our international culinary adventure.

I am a sucker for good bread, and Zaytinya tops most, delivering freshly baked pita, still puffed-up and warm, with accompanying Greek olive oil and a vinegar drizzle. Despite our bartender's friendly recommendation to "save some room", we easily plowed through the first basket in no time. Whoops. We were rescued soon thereafter by a constant stream of mezze, including:

Baby Beet Salad
golden & candy cane beets, fennel, cress, feta, walnuts $7.00

Seasonal Mushrooms 

sautéed mushrooms, dates, toasted almonds $10.00

Octopus Santorini

grilled baby octopus, marinated onions, capers, yellow split pea puree $10.00

Veal Cheeks Manitaro
slow cooked, lemon chanterelle mushroom puree $11.00

Knisa Lamb Chops
grilled lamb chops, smoked yogurt, caper-dill salsa 
12.00

We closed out the evening with sweet perfection: Greek Yogurt with muscat soaked apricots, vanilla yogurt cream, apricot sorbet, and a pistachio powder. I am not usually a fan of the fruity desserts, however this was a total grand slam, and perhaps one of the top desserts to ever tantalize my tastebuds.

I'll be back, and I'd love to check out one of José Andrés other restaurants in the city: minibar by josé andrés, Cafe Atlantico, Jaleo and Oyamel.

Zaytinya
www.zaytinya.com
701 9th St NW
Washington, DC 20001
202.638.0800