Le Cirque (Bellagio)

This is the first post in the Winter in Las Vegas series.

Out of all the lavish and extravagant things to be had in Las Vegas, my absolute favorite thing is actually completely free.

I'll never lose my fascination with the magical fountains in front of the Bellagio. This dramatic 5-minute long show - where water dances in perfect time to the ever-changing music - never ceases to capture me. I can sit all night and stare at the fountains - song after song after song.

In fact, the one time Bryan and I got to stay in a fountain-facing room at the Bellagio (in the dead heat of the desert summer when rates were actually very reasonable), I just sat in our room and stared out the window for several hours, entranced by this captivating show.

There are just a few restaurants that are lucky enough to have that coveted fountain-facing real estate. I had visited one previously (and absolutely fell in love with sitting on the terrace there). This past trip, I got the chance to visit another fountain facing restaurant: the whimsical and playful Le Cirque.

This is the second "flagship" location of Le Cirque. The original restaurant resides in New York, where it's been there for almost forty years. It boasts its own share of famous past chefs, including Daniel Boulud as executive chef from 1986-1992.

The Las Vegas location has been awarded one Michelin Star (interesting the New York one doesn't have one). Gregory Putin is the executive chef at Le Cirque in Las Vegas. Previously, Chef Putin helped Joel Robuchon open up eight new restaurants worldwide, staying on as executive sous chef at L'Atelier de Joel Robuchon in New York for 2 years.

He joined Le Cirque in 2011 after earning a Michelin star as executive chef at Veritas in New York.

The Menu
The menu has many options. There's a Degustation tasting menu for $135 per person (6-7 courses). You can also opt for the pre-theatre menu (available 5:15-6:30), which includes an amuse, two courses + dessert for $72 (+$30 for wine pairing). Finally, there's an a la carte menu, where appetizers cost $31 and entrees $52 (yes, dining on the Las Vegas Strip is just expensive!).

The folks at the Bellagio were kind enough to treat us to a lovely Degustation tasting menu showcasing some of their best stuff.
 We started with the Santa Barbara Sea Urchin “Ice Cream”, which is served with ginger-lemongrass gelée, fennel purée and topped with Osetra caviar and an edible gold leaf. It's creamy, decadent, and clearly meant to impress. How often do you see edible gold in your food?Bering Sea Snow Crab came next with a gorgeous assortment of colorfully plated vegetables, including turnips, avocadoes, granny Smith apples, and pomegranate seeds tossed together in a rosemary vinaigrette. This was paired with a lovely champagne called Ruinart, Blanc de Blancs, Reims, MV
We could smell the next course well before it arrived at our table.

The Nantucket Bay Scallops were covered with gorgeously fragrant shaved white truffles. We seriously couldn't stop inhaling the aromas of our dish before actually tasting it. The scallops sat over a butternut squash purée, thinly sliced jamón Ibérico (my favorite), potato gnocchi, and chestnut espuma.  This was paired with Puligny-Montrachet, Jean Chartron, Burgundy, 2010.New Zealand Langoustine and Foie Gras Royale came wrapped in a thin later of cabbage with black truffles. The soup, a potato and leek velouté (a velvety, creamy soup), was poured table-side. We ate this while sipping on Tokaji, 5 Puttonyos, Royal Tokaji, Hungary, 2008 Alaskan Black Cod was served with crushed fingerling potatoes, grapefruit and “citrus caviar”. A creamy shellfish and coconut nage (a flavorful broth made from shellfish, vegetables, and herbs) was again poured table-side. This came with Condrieu, E. Guigal, Rhone, 2009.New Zealand Cervena Venison was cooked rare and served with a few sticks of spiced squash, quince, and a tiny little cake topped with huckleberry compote. The venison was appropriately served with "Grand Veneur" sauce, a "huntsman's sauce" based on the classic pepper or poivre sauce but made from game meat. This paired with Nuits-Saint-Georges, Vieille Vignes, Patrice Rion, Burgundy, 2009 Japanese A5 Kobe Beef Tenderloin was served with pommes boulangère (French gratin potatoes), cardons gratinés (a cheesy version of a celery-like vegetable), and a croquette filled with Béarnaise sauce. The server told us we were supposed to "crack" the croquette over the A5 beef, thus allowing the creamy and rich Béarnaise sauce to envelop the small piece of beef. This beef was also served with a bordelaise sauce and the entire meal was served with Margaux, Château Giscours, Bordeaux, 2006. Bryan loved this dish and ended up eating half of mine (not the first time this has happened with rich, Japanese steak).

A brief aside about steak in Japan
Just so you can appreciate how incredibly rare A5 steak is, here's a brief aside about Japanese Kobe beef. Unlike in the US, where we just have four grades of beef ("prime", "choice", "select", and "standard"), Japanese beef is rated on multiple different scales. First you have "yield grade" (A, B, or C), which indicates what percentage of good, usable beef you can cut out.

Then you "Total Meat Quality", which takes into account a number of factors, such as meat color and brightness, firmness and texture, fat color, and beef marbling. Most of these are rated from 1-5, except for beef marbling (one of the most important ones!) which is rated on a 12-point scale.

source of chart:  J.R. Busboom and J.J. Reeves Washington State University Pullman, WA 99164

The final score is a combination of the average overall meat quality grade and the yield score. The highest score a piece of meat can achieve is A5: a yield score of A plus a quality grade of 5.

Between 2010 and 2012, it was illegal to import any beef from Japan due to fears about foot and mouth disease. It wasn't until late 2012 that this ban was lifted. Now, if you're lucky, you may be able to find Japanese A5 Kobe beef in a few select places in the US (like here!).

Back to our French meal . . . .

For the cheese course, we enjoyed a few slices of warm Epoisses, a pungeant, creamy, unpasteurized cow's milk cheese with a washed rind. It comes from the French village called Epoisses in Eastern France. This was topped with shaved black truffles and served with bread.For our "Dessert Fantasy", the sommelier brought over one of my favorite styles of dessert wine: Sauternes.  This one is Le Tertre du Lys d’Or, Bordeaux from 2005.  
Each of us received a different dessert, and each one was extravagant and beautiful in its own way. The Boule de Sucre (literally "sugar sphere") comes with chocolate mousse, cranberry gelée, and Oreo dust. Doesn't that just look like a piece of art?
Another delicate dessert came with finely spun sugar threads, ice cream, tiny little batons, and yet another gold leaf.

The Petite Boule de Chocolat has its own dramatic presentation. A perfectly formed chocolate ball, topped with a tiny gold leaf, undergoes transformation when the server pours chocolate sauce over it. As you can see from the photos, the ball dissolves to reveal its insides: a praline mousse, white chocolate ice cream, and a hazelnut caramel crunch.
We thought it was over, but the presentation of Les Mignardises is what really made us gasp. Our little after dinner "bites" came with the most gorgeous sugar swans. It's like hand-blown glass, but with sugar instead. We were floored with the elegance and beauty of the desserts.

And finally, every diner got to take away a small little gift: chocolate truffles are hidden inside those whimsical drawers.

We had a lovely evening at Le Cirque. I would say that the style of dining is pretty traditional upscale French, complete with all your typical "fancy" French ingredients (foie gras, caviar, velouté,  Béarnaise sauce, etc.). There are glimpses of international influences, such as the use of jamón Ibérico (very Spanish), sea urchin (Japanese?), and gnocchi with white truffles (so Italian!). The coconut nage in the fish almost made me think Southeast Asian. In general, however, I still think that the flavors lean towards being more traditional, conservative, and "safe." You won't find anything too crazy here, which is good for events like business dinners and situations where you need to please a wide range of palates.

Well, I guess there is one very unique, very special aspect.

We sat right next to the window, and therefore had a perfect view of the lovely fountain show outside. That combined with those breathtaking desserts, how much more romantic can you get?

Le Cirque at The Bellagio
3600 Las Vegas Blvd
S Las Vegas, NV
89109


Disclaimer: I did not pay for this meal. All opinions are my own.

Nobu Miso Black Cod

There are certain dishes that are foolproof and just right. These dish have that magical combination of ingredients that really don't need to be (and arguable can't) be improved. They are already perfect. I believe this Nobu black cod recipe just might be one of them.

I saw "sablefish" in the frozen section of Trader Joe's the other day. Sablefish (also called "black cod" or "butterfish"), is a buttery, high fat white-fleshed fish that can be found in the Pacific Ocean, both near Alaska and also the US Pacific Northwest.

Sablefish is very nutritious, having about the same amount of omega-3 fatty acids as salmon. It's a rich, fatty fish which seems to "melt in your mouth" like butter, thus the nickname "butterfish."

I love this simple yet super flavorful recipe from Nobu's cookbook. This rich fish picks up tons of umami from the magical combination of miso, sake, and mirin. It's foolproof, super easy, and tastes fantastic every single time.

Heat shiro miso (white miso paste) together with sake, mirin, and sugar in a saucepan until everything is melted. Marinate the black cod overnight (you don't have to use a vacuum bag, but I like to maximize the amount of fish that "fits" with a certain amount of marinade, and I find I can save on marinade if I use the bag).

The next day, try to remove as much marinade as possible from the fish (I wiped it off with my fingers). Then simply sear the fish on a hot cast iron skillet until nicely browned (2 minutes), and then finish in a  400 °F oven for about 10 minutes, or until flaky and done. You can use the broiler instead if you don't want to sear.

Serve!

This recipe is forgiving of mistakes and it can still tastes pretty good despite minor mishaps. The first time I made it, my oven wasn't nearly hot enough, so my "broiled" fish became more like a steamed fish. It looked awful, but it still tasted pretty good. The marinade speaks for itself. Also, sablefish is pretty rich, so you can overcook it a bit and it won't taste completely dried out. In other words, if I want something easy that's reasonably foolproof, this isn't a bad dish to make!

Enjoy!

Nobu Miso Black Cod
Source: Food and Wine from Nobu Matsuhisa
1/4 cup mirin
1/4 cup sake
4 T white miso paste
3 T sugar

Bring mirin and sake to a boil. Add white miso paste and mix until smooth. Add sugar and heat until melted. Let cool. Combine with black cod and place in a vacuum bag or a baking dish, making sure the fish is completely covered. Let marinate in the refrigerator overnight.

Preheat oven to 400 °F. Heat up a cast-iron skillet (or grill pan) and briefly sear the fish until it is browned (about 2 minutes). Cook in the oven until flaky, about 10 minutes.

Serve!


And it's not too late to vote for my lamb recipe here! We're getting down to the wire, with only a few days left for voting. If you haven't voted yet, please stop by. No registration or anything necessarily - just click and vote! 

Have a great day!

Bon Me (Cambridge)

Ever find yourself craving a Vietnamese sandwich? Or maybe a tea egg or edamame in the middle of the work day?

I used to work right in One Kendall Square in Cambridge, and I would have loved to have something like that just downstairs from my lab. It's too bad I don't work in the area anymore, because Bon Me, the popular Asian food truck, has opened up its first brick & mortar location right in One Kendall Square.

Bon Me originally started out as a food truck in Boston.  Husband and wife team Patrick Lynch and Alison ("Ali") Fong entered the City of Boston's Food Truck Contest on a whim in 2010 and won. Soon afterward, they opened their first food truck.

Here it is parked right at the Rose Kennedy Greenway (dreaming back to warmer times!). There are now two trucks (a blue one and a yellow one), and you can find them throughout Boston, such as at BU East on Commonwealth Avenue, SOWA outdoor market, and the Seaport area.

Patrick and Ali live in Cambridge and really wanted to open a brick-and-mortar place in their own backyard. Their dreams are finally realized this week as Bon Me in One Kendall Square opens its doors on Friday, February 22, 2013.

I had a chance to check out their menu at their "Friends and Family" soft opening earlier last week.

The menu is relatively simple - not too different from the truck menu - although they are adding a few new dishes, such as a Carrot, Hijiki and Wheatberry Salad. 

There are several fun types of Asian-inspired drinks from which to choose. I got the Thai Basil Limade, which is wonderfully fragrant and refreshingly not too sweet. The Vietnamese Ice Coffee is lighter than your typical Vietnamese iced coffee in terms of sweetness and creaminess. I would have preferred a stronger coffee, but overall the flavors were OK, and I'm glad it's not that sweet.

The Deviled Tea Egg is topped with spicy mayo and cayenne pepper and could be a great mid-day snack (much healthier than those chips in my vending machine at work!). Bryan really enjoyed this one.

The Edamame is served with a star anise and sesame salt, which is surprisingly tasty (even for someone like me who doesn't love anise). The edamame is served cold, which surprised me a bit, though that is how they serve it on the truck.

As for main dishes, you choose between three types: Sandwich ($6), Noodle Salad ($7), or Rice Bowl ($6). You then pick a "filling" to go with it. The night I went, the choices were Chinese BBQ Pork, Spice-rubbed Chicken, and Roasted Soy and Paprika Tofu.

If you choose noodles, you get a choice between soba or rice noodles. The rice noodles are a great choice for those who can't have gluten. The soba is a nuttier noodle, with a deeper flavor. I went with the soba and the tofu, which I really liked. All the vegetables were fresh, and the soft, marinated tofu was quite flavorful and carried the dish well.

Bryan went with the brown rice and spice-rubbed chicken. Bryan preferred the flavor of his chicken dish to my tofu dish, probably because the tofu is sort of sweet, and Bryan prefers savory foods in general.

Of course, if a place is called "Bon Me", you have to try their "bahn-mi" (Vietnamese sandwich). The sandwich turned out to be our favorite out of the three dishes. Not surprisingly, it's also their most popular item. It's not exactly a traditional Vietnamese bahn-mi ("decidedly unauthentic" is what they call it). After all, it is filled with Chinese BBQ Pork.

Nevertheless, the combination of the spicy mayo, pickled vegetables, and house made pate works well with the pork. The overall sandwich is tasty, and a pretty good value at $6 (especially for that area!).

The interior space is really nice. It's modern, clean, and comfortable. There isn't a ton of seating, but I anticipate this place will do a lot of lunchtime takeaway business. They also plan on ramping up their catering business, which will serve local businesses really well.

I think this will turn out to be a great, affordable option for a quick, healthy, and tasty lunch in Kendall. They plan on being open until 10PM at night, so it'll also be a great spot for a late night snack if you're hungry.

Best of luck to Patrick and Ali with your new endeavor!

Disclaimer - I did not pay for this meal. All opinions are my own.

A Winter in Vegas

It's become a given at this point.

Every January Bryan and I pack our bags and head out to sunny Las Vegas in the middle of Boston's frigid winter. Usually, it's a welcomed relief from the cold East coast weather. This year, oddly enough, Las Vegas got a horrible cold spell, and, I kid you not, it was warmer in Cambridge than in Las Vegas on the day I flew back.

Despite the cold front that had attacked Las Vegas, we still had a great time. We spent our days checking out the Consumer Electronic Show (cool new TVs, tablets, 3D printers, and even a toy you control with your brain waves!). At night, we visited the incredible restaurants in Las Vegas.

They had on display my new travel-sized food camera, broken down into its parts!

 Here's a peek at some of the places we visited!

We may have figured out the secret to nabbing one of those hard-to-get Riserva steaks at Bryan's favorite steak restaurant in Vegas: go during lunch. We scored two Riserva steaks (Bryan was thrilled), and I tried their burger, which was fantastic (how can you go wrong when they are grinding up their own 60-day dry aged beef for this burger?)

We enjoyed paella at a popular Spanish tapas restaurant inside Aria.

This really unusual, off the menu, "secret" drink ("just ask for the "flower" drink) from the bar at the Cosmopolitan comes with these mysterious yellow flowers. Once you chew the flower, the drink begins to taste really really different. It's a wild tongue "trip" that you just have to try to get the full experience.

We were treated to an absolutely stunning, over-the-top meal at one of the nicest restaurants on the Strip, complete with this sugar spun dessert that just blew us away.

This wild, intimate tasting menu consists of 20 courses and incorporates everything from dry ice to blue flames in a 2-hour dinner. It very well may be one of my new favorite restaurants in all of Vegas.

One of the biggest shockers of the whole trip - running into an ex-US president at Mesa Grill. He actually said "hi" to all of us before sitting down at a table really really close to us. Yes, there were tons of secret servicemen around. Apparently he had given a keynote speech at CES earlier that day.
You can't beat this: gorgeous views of the Grand Canyon on my flight out of Vegas.

Stay tuned for detailed posts on many of these restaurants above!

*  *  *

The Dining Alternative

Supper Club? Not exactly . . . way too refined for that.

Underground restaurant? Hmmm, maybe a bit closer.

Bryan and I had a unique opportunity to enjoy a delightful evening at the home of Chef Peter Ungár and his wife, Ginhee. This wasn't just an ordinary dinner party. Instead, Chef Ungár is a private chef with a pretty impressive background. He recently returned from Paris, where he worked for a year as a poissonnier at the two-star Michelin restaurant Le Grand Véfour.

Chef Ungár's past experience includes spending several years in Boston with the Four Seasons, gaining experience at restaurants such as Aujourd'hui and The Bristol Lounge. More recently, he has worked as a private chef for his own company, The Dining Alternative, which includes these 9-course "Chef's Table" dinners at his home.

One a chilly January evening, Bryan and I receive an email with a location in Somerville and a time of arrival.

It is a bit unnerving, but we drive up to the house, ring the doorbell, and enter Peter and Ginhee's warm and inviting home.

We are immediately greeted personally by Chef Peter, his wife Ginhee, and the sommelier who is helping out with the wines that evening. In a matter of minutes, our coats are whisked away and we are holding glasses of biodynamic champagne from France.

There is a flurry of activity in Chef Ungár's kitchen, where multiple chefs work feverishly to plate the first course, a series of "amuses" for the guests to enjoy with their bubblies.

Chef Ungár personally presents each individual platter to the guests, explaining how each bite was made. We try Rice Smoked Ocean Trout with Lime (top left) , Paprika Thyme Puff (top right), and the Black Olive and Edamame Mousse with Speck (bottom left). My favorite is the Paprika Thyme Puff, which reminds me of a gougere.

WINE: CHATEAU LA TOUR GRISE 2001 SAUMUR, BRUT NON DOSE

Soon after we finish the pre-dinner bites, we sit down at our "assigned" seats. We soon get to know the people who sit around us, which is fun. On my left side is a chef who works in a high-end Japanese restaurant in Portland and totally shares my love of food. On my right is a couple who loves to travel as much as we do. I am totally soaking up information about all sorts of interesting trip ideas, such as visiting Alba during white truffle season (can you imagine??!). I like how the dinner brings together people with similar interests over excellent food and wine.

Chef Ungár takes great care of us, carefully explaining each dish as he brings them out. Chef Ungár is fanatic about trying his hardest to use locally sourced, sustainable, and high quality product. More than once he emphasizes how he only picks out the best parts of a particular cut of meat for the courses he prepared.

Just one look at his kitchen and you can tell that he's extremely organized and meticulous about his work.

Our first course is Sea Urchin, a delicately presented Japanese-style "chawanmushi" (egg custard) served with black trumpet mushrooms and shaved black winter truffles. Bryan loves the strong uni flavor in the dish, which works nicely with the delicate egg custard and the mushrooms. I love the presentation and the delicate egg custard, but I find the pungent uni flavor a bit too strong for me.

WINE: VIGNOBLE REVEILLE 2011 BLANC DE POT COTES CATALANES ROUSILLION, CARIGNAN BLANC

One of my favorite dishes of the evening is the Sea Scallop, served in a gorgeous scallop shell on top of a velvety sauce with flavor elements of yuzu, pomelo, preserved lemon, and avocado oil cream. I already love yuzu (a Japanese citrus), so it's no surprise that I love this zesty combination of flavors. Of course, the fresh scallops, which are nearly raw, are incredibly fresh and sweet.

WINE: PASCAL PIBALEAU 2011 TOURAINE, CHENIN BLANC
One of Bryan's favorite dishes is the Hand rolled Seaweed Pasta (painstakingly rolled out one by one!), which comes with Hen of the Woods Mushrooms (also known as maitake in Japan) and anchovies in a flavorful kelp broth poured table side. I love the Japanese influence in this - everything from the maitake mushrooms to the kelp flavored broth. Of course Bryan loves the texture of the homemade noodles, but more than that, he really appreciates the complex mix of umami in the flavors, contributed by the crunchy anchovies, earthy mushrooms, and kelp broth.

WINE: CHATEAU LA TOUR GRISE 2011 ZEC ROSE, CABERNET FRANC

The lovely, delicate Sea Bream is served on top of a bright red rhubarb sauce and served alongside beetroot "roses" and a gorgeous "roll" that incorporated elements of pomegranate, campari, and sake.

WINE: PASCAL PIBALEAU 2009 CREMANT DE LOIRE ROSE, GROLLEAU

The meatier Monkfish comes with fennel braised in milk jam, an intense parsley sauce, and micro-diced cucumbers served with browned butter.

WINE: CHATEAU DE RONTETS 2009 CLOS VARAMBON POUILLY FUISSE

We pause for a palate cleansing "course" called Schisandra Berry, inspired by a Korean drink called omija cha, so called because this tea is supposed to embody all five flavors in one drink: sweet, sour, salty, bitter, and "pungent". Chef Ungar's version comes with a pine nut cookie on top.

We try to taste all five flavors, but frankly, I'm not sure if I can taste all five.

Chef Ungár makes good use of sous vide as a cooking technique. Here you can see him using a blowtorch to char a piece of duck that was cooked under sous vide.

This Miso Cured Duck is one of the most time-consuming dishes to make. Chef Ungár prepares and cures this duck for over a week. It is then served with various "sheets" of flavor, such as pear, daikon, and celery, along with smoked sea salt and an edamame foam.

Bryan and I both love this dish. I don't usually love duck, but I have to admit that this miso-cured duck is fantastic. The miso adds a lovely umami depth to the duck. Furthermore, the sous vide treatment results in gorgeously tender and juicy pieces. This is definitely another highlight of the evening.

WINE: VALENTIN ZUSSLIN 2010 CLOS LIEBENBERG RIESLING ORSCHWIHR, ALSACE

The Dry Aged Rib Eye & Cap of Beef comes with a red curry foam and dots of an intense cilantro sauce. The presentation for this dish is creative: Chef Ungár served two different pieces of beef but tried to make them look the same. I can't remember the details, but he somehow cut the rib-eye and shapes it in such a way so that it resembles a cap of beef. It is interesting to eat these side by side.

WINE: VIGNOBLE REVEILLE 2010 FRANC TIREUR COTES CATALANES, 100+YEAR OLD CARIGNAN

For our first dessert, we again are influenced by Japan with this Green Tea Meringue which has been browned with a blowtorch (and thus smells like fire-toasted marshmallows!).  This comes with a mango lime "pudding" (more like a thick sauce) and homemade ginger ice cream.

WINE: VALENTIN ZUSSLIN 2008 BOLLENBERG, VENDANGE TARDIVE GEWURTZTRAMINER
The next dessert is Guava + Chocolate. This gorgeous plate consists of a deep, intense chocolate "cake" (I would almost call it a fudge!) topped with a macadamia nut "crust" and served with rings of guava sauce.

WINE: BRUNO VERDI 2010 SANGUE DI GIUDA OLTREPO PAVESE, BONARDA / BARBERA

Finally, we are given Parting Morsels, which include rose beet marshmallow, chocolate almond shell, and pear lemongrass "chew" (like a pate fruit).

At this point, people are chatting as if they have known each other for years. The atmosphere is noticeably livelier. I'm sure the wine didn't hurt either!

I am surprised at what a lovely time I had. Seriously, I wasn't sure what to expect. Would most people enjoy going to a dinner party with strangers? It's surprisingly enjoyable.

Chef Ungár still has these tastings a couple times a month. You buy tickets beforehand ($150 all-inclusive of wine pairing, tax, and gratuity). Seating is only limited to 12 guests per dinner, so the environment is most definitely intimate and cozy. In fact, more often than not, by the time you leave the place, you've made more than a few friends. It's a fun and unique dining experience, for sure.

Chef Ungár is planning to open a restaurant with this dining concept soon (he's currently looking at locations in Boston). Diners will sit in a bar-like setting where chefs cook right in front of their eyes. This allows them to hand food to the diners the moment it's done. It's a chance to taste food at its freshest, it's best. It sort of reminds me of one of my favorite restaurants in Las Vegas.

I'm really excited about this. Bryan and I *really* enjoyed the cozy evening we had at Chef Ungár's home. Chef Ungár and his staff know how to create a warm and inviting atmosphere in which guests can enjoy stunning food, great conversation, and excellent service.

Bryan especially loved the ambiance of eating in a home setting and seeing the chefs cooking up close. He even said, "if he [Chef Ungár] can recreate that same type of experience in a restaurant setting, I would totally go."

I personally really admired Chef Ungár's devotion to food itself. He is fanatic about everything local and seasonal, going out of his way to carefully source his ingredients. He is also very interested in biodynamic wines. In fact, almost every single one of our wines that evening were biodynamic wines from France.

Frankly, even though $150 sounds like a lot, it's really quite a great value when you consider that you're getting 9 courses, 10 different (smaller) glasses of wine, tax and gratuity all-inclusive. At our meal, we had 12 guests and 6 people working in the kitchen. That's a 2:1 guest: staff ratio - seriously pampered!

Let's hope the best for Chef Ungár as he continues to seek out a space and (hopefully) make this restaurant a reality. I can't wait!

The Dining Alternative
Somerville, MA


Disclaimer: Bryan and I did not pay for this meal. All opinions are my own.