Budget tasting menus

[CDRFloppingham]

Monday evening, my fiance and I had the pleasure of dining at EVOO http://www.evoorestaurant.com/ in Somerville, MA. Boston is a wonderful city by the way; neither of us had been before. Clio did not disappoint although I wish we had room for their tasting menu.

But I digress. Here was the 8-course tasting menu (I'm missing a few items, sauces, and accoutrements- this is from memory).

House terrine with pickles and whole-grain mustard

Braised tongue, potato croquette, habanero hollandaise

Salad with rabbit confit

Lamb's head soup

Pork skin risotto/arancini with pan seared scallop

House-made BBQ sauce, chicken sausage, plantains, onion pickle

Local ashed-goat cheese with honey

Beignet with fresh berries and whipped cream

The food was expertly prepared and plated and we got the accompanying wine flight (one wine per course - good thing we took a cab).

What does this meal cost? $60 ($90 with the wine flight). I think it is a stupendous bargain compared to most other tasting menus. I think the skill was quite close to a high-end joint (in DC we have Cityzen or 2491 or Komi). What we didn't get was very expensive high-end meats and produce (no foie or Kobe or morels) and, it must be noted, many high-end places do offer more bites. It could be that the wines were cheap as well...I'm not very knowledgable.

In this economy, I'm pretty sure I would prefer 2+ of these "budget" tasting menus over one Citronelle.

That's how I roll.

Please discuss.

Edited April 29, 2009 by CDRFloppingham (log)