One of the best parts about moving away from a city is having the excuse to eat many last meals with friends. For most of last week, I was going to Last Meal after Last Meal, sampling as many Boston restaurants as I could before I moved away. I ended up having four Last Meals total, and Domani on Huntington Ave. was my Friday night pick.
Domani was designed to imitate a trendy Roman trattoria, from the food to the ambiance. The modernist décor is bathed in reds and browns. A bright red Vespa, though not zipping around the streets like if it were in Italy, is on display in a glass case set into the wall. The up-tempo music makes the restaurant a suitable dinner stop for those headed to Saint, the adjacent nightclub. In nice weather, the front restaurant wall opens up to the streets, so diners are treated to the bustle of Back Bay traffic. Unfortunately, last Friday coincided with yet another summer storm, so we could only glimpse the street through the rain-soaked window panes.
With so many Italian restaurants in the Boston area, newcomers have to find their niche by specializing in the cuisine. Chef Rene Michelena, who trained at Chicago’s Charlie Trotter’s and L.A.’s Patina, two of the country’s most innovative kitchens, focuses on Roman cuisine with a dab of Asian fusion. (This applies to the main dishes more so than the appetizers.)
For the appetizers we chose a rare beef bresaola, which seemed overly salty. There were also a few salads to choose from, as well as Roman-styled pizzas, but we chose the soft-shelled crab special instead. It came with walnuts and was deliciously crisp.
Most of the pastas we tried erred on the adventurous side. The crab meatballs with garganelli pasta was doused in a fennel and parsnip cream sauce and layered with bits of pistachio. The polenta gnocchi with artichoke was also swimming in an overly complex sauce. The tortellini, however, was a real treat. Filled with peas and fava beans, the plump little squares were lightly flavored with a mint and zesty orange syrup. The Asian-influenced (and Trotter-influenced) sweet/savory flavor combo continue into the meat and fish entrees. The baked black cod with carrot truffle glaze brings to mind the sweet glaze on top of eel served in Japanese restaurants. My only question was whether the rest of the main entrees matched the inventive simplicity of the cod, or whether they were trying too hard, like the crab meatball pasta dish or the polenta gnocchi.
I don’t know how authentic peach cobbler is in Roman cuisine, but it was the special and it seemed more appealing than anything else on the dessert menu. It had bits of white chocolate (not very Italian) and served with a side of vanilla gelato (pretty Italian.) Overall, it wasn’t a classic Italian dessert, but then again, most of the dishes I liked weren’t classic Italian either, but instead fused with something totally unexpected. Much like the red Vespa elevated in a glass case, the food at Domani is best when the main ingredient is placed in a whole new environment.
Domani
41 Huntington Ave., Back Bay
Comments