Sorellina (Boston Restaurant Week)

I have been "burned" by so many bad Restaurant Week experiences in the past that I was a bit wary of going again. Restaurant Week is a set period of time (2 weeks this summer) when many local high-end restaurants offer 3-course prix fixe dinners for only $33.09 (3-course prix fixe lunches for only $20.09). Among foodies, it's gotten a bad reputation because many typically excellent restaurants churn out very subpar food for the masses during this time. It's really hit or miss.

Despite my reservations, I took a leap of faith and made reservations at two places: Sorellina and Uni. I had mostly been hesitant to go to Sorellina because people say the food is excellent but "overpriced."

Over all conclusion? The food was very enjoyable and a good value for only $33.09. I wasn't necessarily "wow"ed, but maybe it's hard for such a fancy restaurant to pull off a "wow" meal when they have to churn out dish after dish without using fancy ingredients at such a low cost.

Zuppa: sweet silver corn, Maine crab, basil olio

If you've been reading this blog for awhile, you'll know that I love corn. So, of course, I loved this soup. The subtle sweetness of corn was the foundation of this cold soup, while the chunks of Maine crab served as hilights. The basil oil rounded out the dish. It was great.

Linguini: tender baby claims, garlic chilies, crispy guanciale, E.V.O.O.

This pasta was very flavorful and really well done. Even though it was not made with fresh, handmade pasta, the pasta was perfectly al dente and the guanciale (unsmoked bacon made from a pig's cheeks) had a glorious smoky flavor that really made the dish very fragrant and enjoyable. Yum.

This is the one bite I was able to try (since I didn't order this!)

Truffle Fries

We saw that the table next to us had ordered truffled fries ($12). I had heard that the fries were good here, so on a whim, we added it to our order. The texture of the fries were amazing - probably the best I've ever had. They were narrower than your typical fry and cylindrical. They were air and crunchy while being the least bit greasy. Superb texture. Super addictive.

The truffle flavor, however, was weak, and the fries were not piping hot. We could not help but compare the fries to Garden at the Cellar, who won the contest hands down. The fries at Garden at the Cellar, though slightly subpar on texture, kick butt on flavor.

While I was saying out loud "Garden at the Cellar is SOOOO much better" the couple next to us, who had ordered fries after seeing our order, wholehearted agreed. We both talked about how that was one of our favorites restaurants. So funny . . .

MERLUZZO:Pan roasted Silver hake, tomato "acqua pazza" farmer's market vegetables

The fish was definitely expertly cooked here - it was just barely done, super soft with a slight crispy edge on the outside. Excellent work. The flavor was fine - nothing interesting. It was lightly salted & peppered fish with a side of veggies. Nothing inventive about the recipe, but the ingredients were high quality, which made the meal solid, just not exciting.

ANATRA: slow roasted half duck, Tuscan style, sweet corn and summer bean ragu

The duck was enjoyable. Bryan said that the beans were quite tasty -they were flavored well. As I am not a huge fan of duck, I just can't be objective in my review of the duck. Let's just take Bryan's word for the fact that it was tasty.

Almond Gelato with espresso and Italian cookie

I loved how the strong espresso flavor contrasted the creamy gelato and the whipped cream on top. This dessert was enjoyable, but nothing super unique. I love coffee, so anything coffee flavored tastes pretty good to me.

Almond Torte with Cherry Gelato

Again, solid piece of dessert that was tasty, but not super interesting.

All in all, Sorellina did a pretty good job with Restaurant Week. All the dishes were expertly cooked, though some of the recipes were not the most exciting. I did look at their normal menu and started salivating because those items looked so inventive and interesting. Now that I know they can definitely cook well, maybe I'll go back again and try some of the more interesting (and expensive :P) dishes.