Tasteblazer

Spreading the Grotto Gospel

Grotto is one of Boston's best-kept dining secrets, mainly because its location on a Beacon Hill side street is desserted after the State House workers go home for the evening.  The tiny restaurant is tucked below street level on Beacon Hill, easily missed until you notice the warm glow of the signage hovering just above knee-level.  Those who are fortunate enough to chance upon it, or hear about it through word-of-mouth, discover an intimate setting for fabulous food.  Inside, Grotto's red walls and seemingly-haphazardly-propped paintings give the appearance of a sophisticated boho apartment, a laid-back and sensuous respite from the tony buttoned-up neighborhood.

Chef/owner Scott Herritt's menu is Italian-inspired bistro menu is full of stews, pastas, and marinated meats, culling bits and pieces from all over Italy, and then some.  Fontina cheese fondue with tenderloin tips.  Crab ravioli with pistachio nuts and saffron.  Semolina crusted trout with bacon gnocchi. Atkins and cholesterol be damned.  As the red walls seem to say, life is too short to forgo a little hedonism.

On to the tasting menu.  The starter I chose was the baby spinach salad with incredibly juicy beets and raspberry vinaigrette.  I’m not normally a salad orderer, unless I feel weighed down by whatever I had the previous day, but this was simply amazing.  Next was the main course, potato gnocchi with braised short ribs, mushrooms, and gorgonzola.  The gnocchi and ribs are cooked so perfectly that they simply melt in your mouth. 

And speaking of melting, for dessert, the piece of melting chocolate cake shared by my neighbor was incredible.   Still, my own dessert was better: a banana bread pudding topped with butter pecan ice cream that puts other bread puddings to shame.

Herritt took time away from his kitchen to come by the table and thank us for coming.  Although the restaurant has been running for roughly a year and a half, it was still fairly empty for such a high-calibur restaurant, even for a Wednesday night.  We had to admit to him that we had only heard about it recently ourselves.

"It's the neighborhood, I guess," he said.  "I've sort of been relying on the devoted food fanatics who come and seek us out." 

We'll spread the word, we promised. 

Grotto - 37 Bowdoin St., Beacon Hill

Oh Baby (Pumpkin)

 Boston’s first and only Afghan restaurant is located in an unassuming building that blends in with the factories and warehouses of its East Cambridge neighborhood.  Once you step inside, however, the giant fireplace, elaborate woven wall hangings, and uber-plush seating will make you feel as though you’re some dignitary’s houseguest.  (Note of interest: The owner’s brother is the current prime minister of Afghanistan.) 

The food has a blend of Indian, Persian, Arabic, and Mediterranean influences, filled with complex but not too overwhelming spices that allow you to linger over each bite, instead of diving straight for the water glass.  The naan/flatbread they bring to the table is fresh from the oven (and you get a great view of the oven from the center of the room) and comes complete with a subtle wood smoke flavor. 

For an appetizer, the five of us shared the aushuk, ravioli with leeks and scallions, also available as an entrees.

The kaddo and banjan challow, a dish of pan-fried baby pumpkin and eggplant topped with yogurt and ground beef, quite possibly one of the best entrees I've ever tasted.  The baby pumpkin (available by itself as an appetizer) is sweetened and blends incredibly well with everything else on the plate.  The seekh kabab, a charbroiled leg of lamb with sauteed eggplant and rice, was plump and delicious and did not leave an aftertaste (a quality my overly sensitive tastebuds hate in bad cuts of lamb.)  The theeka kabob, the prime rib with lentils, was equally great. 

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The dessert menu was limited, so we ordered the spiced vanilla ice cream, which I didn’t really care for.  But which appetizers and entrees this good, I’m willing to overlook the lack of a sweet finishing touch.  Besides, the Cheesecake Factory is right around the corner.

The Helmand - 143 1st St, East Cambridge

 

Chinatown's Penang

 There is no secret that the best restaurant in Chinatown isn’t even Chinese, but Malaysian.  Boston’s many Chinatown restaurants, on a whole, are inferior to those of other major U.S. cities.  However, its one Malaysian establishment (part of a small Northeast cities chain) is prone to induce unstoppable salivating.  Which is why my family has spent countless birthdays, anniversaries, Mother’s Days, and Father’s Days here.

The spacious two-tiered dining room is in a modeled after Malaysia’s huts, which sounds kitschier than it actually is.  The high ceiling and walls are lined with natural wood paneling, and there is an open kitchen were diners can see just how big a fire those woks need. 

There is no simpler and tastier appetizer here than the roti canai, also called an Indian Pancake on the menu.  It is flakier and much lighter than naan, and comes with a delicious yellow curry dip with chunks of chicken.  The chicken and beef satays are always sweet and tender. 

One of the best entrees is the Buddhist Yam Pot, which is a fried but meaty taro shell filed with vegetables and either seafood or chicken (go for the seafood...live a little.)  Likewise, any of the soup casseroles served in a clay pot are great.  The duck in bean curd is another spectacular dish in which the two distinct flavor meld perfectly in your mouth. 

On dishes I don’t like, and there are few:  My mother has a special affinity for fish head, which I will never understand, so she sometimes orders Penang’s version in curry broth.  I also don’t care much for the Hainanese Chicken which is as bland as it is in Chinese restaurants, even with the soy sauce.  The Pad Thai is likewise bland and so oily that you begin to feel your arteries clogging after the first few bites.

The dried curried chicken comes with bone and skin on, and no sauce.  Instead, it is cooked over low heat with a curry glaze, which somehow always results in a slightly bitter taste.  If you’re a curry fan, I suggest just getting more orders of the Roti Canai if only for the dip. 

My only complaint, other than the aforementioned dishes, is the service.  When the restaurant gets busy, the servers tend to rush you and slide the check onto the table as soon as you’re done eating.  Best to go for lunch or a weekday dinner. 

But back to the positives.

A few other recommended dishes are the mango chicken, the sizzling seafood combination platter with scallops, shrimp, and squid, and the fried pearl noodles with shrimp, pork, egg, and sprouts.

None of the dishes are too spicy, but if you want a cool nonalcoholic beverage anyway, the menu has a long list of exotic and nonexotic fruit drinks, and soy, durian, and red bean shakes.  There is even a whole fresh coconut, which I may order the next time I go.  Which, knowing my family, is likely to be very soon.

Penang - 685 Washington St., Chinatown