In my family three of us are born in early January. Having a birthday so close to Christmas meant that instead of a big party and gifts we would get a small gift and my mother would cook us our favorite meal - whatever that was. Every year I would ask for my mother's baked macaroni & cheese and cauliflower with cheese sauce. It was cheese overload!
In the years past my tastes have changed as well as our birthday traditions. Some years we all go to brunch to cover the three birthdays all in one delicious sitting and some years my mother takes ous out to our choice restaurant to celebrate. This year was that kind of year.
Knowing that this 35th birthday of mine felt like a huge milestone my mother suggested we go somewhere really delicious to celebrate. After tossing around a few ideas we decided to dine at Craigie on Main in Cambridge.
If you check out their site you will see that Chef Tony Maws puts a lot of emphasis on using local and fresh ingredients into his food. As a matter of fact, the last page on the menu is dedicated to listing the local business where the chef gets his ingredients. One aspect that attracted me to this restaurant was the chef's use of the whole animal through the menu. [Apparently this is called "nose to tail" cooking?] Not only was braised pork belly available but so were the pigs tails and I believe at some point last night I heard use of the head.
Trying to chose from this menu was made difficult by not only the delicious offerings but by the three different ways you can order: prix fixe, a la carte or the chef's tasting in six or ten (!) plates. We opted for the six-course chef's tasting. What better way to experience a restaurant than to have the chef choose what you will be having?
Please forgive my horrible memory!! I should take notes next time. I was planning on snapping some pics without my flash but then didn't feel comfortable enough to do so once we were actually seated.
The first dish we were served was an amuse bouche consisting of three bites: monkfish liver with a housemade rice cracker, squid noodles with nuoc cham sauce and crispy garlic, and crispy salt cod fritter in squid ink. I keep trying it but I'm still not a fan of organ meat so the monkfish liver was lost on me. My mother's favorite of these three were the squid noodles, which were fresh tasting and the sauce was bright, but my personal favorite of the three was the salt cod in the squid ink. What a pretty little dish that was with that black ink! [Here is an image of the same dish but with lobster]
The next plate was sashimi with shiso and harissa, over thinly sliced avocado -and while I don't remember what fish it was I do remember the server saying that it was part of the Jack family (I catch a lot of jack in Florida). Very delicious and clean. It had a nice kick to it too.
The raw fish was followed by some delicious monkfish cheeks with sea urchin. I've been told that some people don't like monkfish (poorman's lobster) because of the texture but I rather like it. I never have texture issues with food. I wasn't crazy about the sauce that came with it but that is a matter of personal taste. Any 'asian' flavored sauce doesn't excited me -too many years here in Chinatown, I guess.
Next up was a rustic take on lasagna that featured rabbit and fresh mozerella. I'm pretty sure it used thinly sliced potato instead of noodles but I could be wrong. I was in a happy food coma by this time and absolutely drunk on the yumminess of this dish. Rich, earthy and a bit sweet this dish was my favorite of them all (until later).
The second to last savory was a braised pork belly with an apple puree and pomegranate seeds. Ya'll know I love my pomegranate! Had I ordered off the a la carte menu I probably would have gone the pork route so I was happy to see this dish as part of our tasting. It was delicious - although very rich for my taste. My tummy was happy to take a quick break once this dish was finished. The braised meat was sweet and rich and contrasted perfectly with the puree and tart pomegranate.
The final savory dish was presented by the Chef himself which was a really nice touch. Organic squab stuffed with Chinese sausage, served with parsnip puree and the most delicious sauce I've ever tasted. I have no idea what the sauce was because I forgot (I'm a total ass, I know) but again....TOTAL FOOD COMA. The bold flavor of the squab with the sweetness of the sauce was in-sane and this dish quickly rose to the top of my favorites. In addition, the squab was presented beautifully.
After that delectable parade of savory dishes were were presented with a duo of panna cottas (jasmine and rooibus tea infused) which was then followed by a beautiful desert of peanut butter parfait with house-made cookie, cocoa nibs and banana foam, and a very delicious gingerbread pain perdu with poached cranberries, and young ginger ice cream. Neither my mother or I are big on desserts but that gingerbread with ginger ice cream was right down my alley.
Over all the meal was fantastic - with the squab just barely beating out the rabbit dish as my favorite. By choosing the Tasting Menu and a nice bottle of wine it does become a pricey evening but also an very memorable one. Today my mother and I keep emailing each other back and forth about the meal, and I've pretty much gushed about it to anyone in my office who will listen to me. If you are looking for a wonderful experience to share with a loved one - I highly recommend you take a trip over to Craigie on Main!
[also - they have a bar menu if you want a scaled down adventure. Go try the piggy tails!]
[in my search for a photo to use I came across this great blog which featured their tasting menu experience - with photos! It's not the same exact menu but you can still get an idea of the food.]
[Definitely go view the Craige on Main photoset via Flickr]
