A Dinner in Boston
Estragon
11/15/2011
Boston, MA
Abstract
Estragon was a place we had visited before for restaurant week. It left enough of an impression that we purchased some Groupons in order to make certain we got back. A great ambiance, a good menu and attentive service is always available. This time we had a little disappointment with some of our food choices but since we chose, we can't always be right on!
Estragon
Estragon is a fair sized place in the south end of Boston. As a tapas bar you can expect the menu to reflect various Spanish influenced dishes consistent with family recipes from the Madrid native chefs that create the menus. The drink menu they bring with the menu has a limited cocktails list but a very nice wine list with both by the glass and by the bottle options.
The ambiance of the place is what I enjoy the most. While not "Spanish" influenced they self-describe the decor as art deco meets vintage chic. I would tend to agree and am always really enthralled with the back sitting area which consists of some vintage couches and chairs gathered around coffee and end tables. Such a fantastic way to spend a night chatting with your friends, tucked away in the back of a subtlety lit room with the bustle of diners and waitstaff around.
The location is easy to get to and although they say the parking nearer to the restaraunt is scarce we found that on an early Tuesday evening we didn't have much trouble. Additionally there is a parking garage quite near by as well.
Our Trip
Nick and I habitually go out on Tuesday nights for dinner. Usually we hit up local places or chains and don't really make a big to-do about it other than getting to hang out for a few hours mid-week. Typically this also always involves me bringing home leftovers for Stephan.
This Tuesday, however, I had an appointment for work in Boston on Tuesday so I decided to ask Nick if he wanted to go into the city for dinner that night for "something different". We debated a few options but decided on Estragon because of the location and, honestly, because we had a Groupon! I ended up heading out of the city in the early afternoon, meeting up with Nick at his place and then driving back in but the drive was fairly uneventful and finding parking was so easy we ended up with an extra 25 minutes or so on our hands before the restaurant opened so we took a walk around the neighborhood, visited Foodie's Urban Market and ogled some of the more rare stuff you don't get to see in a regular grocery store. As opening time for Estragon grew close though we abandoned that adventure for our food adventure at the restaurant instead!
Our Food
Appetizer
We debated not getting an appetizer but upon reviewing the list a few times we decided on the Cabrales a la Sidra. I took enough time to wikipedia "cabrales" to know that it was a cheese so we thought... we like cheese... why not!? Well, in comes the appetizer and to say it was blue cheese would probably be putting it lightly :) We didn't get a picture of it before we tried it but we did grab this picture (well demonstrating the lighting inside Estragon!) of what we ended up leaving on the plate because it was much to... rich? stinky? not to our liking as we thought it might be.
The basic description of the dish from the menu and my additions: Toast covered generously in Cider-Whipped Cabrales, three green apple slices and honey. Honestly, the honey was the saving grace for the cheese with us but there just wasn't enough to get through this last piece!
Verduras - The Veggies
Being a tapas place, everything is pretty a la carte and so after we had both decided on a dinner we also went back to check out what we wanted for veggies to go with our dinner. It was our veggies that came out next in the progress of the meal.
Nick, being an avid disliker of most things that grow from the dirt (he doesn't eat a LOT of veggies) was happy to see that they had at least ONE of his favorite veggies on the menu and ordered the Esparragos Verdes.
Grilled green asparagus, lemon oil and sea salt was the descriptor on the menu. Nick said that the biggest criticism he had for this dish is that it was almost too salty and too lemony but a little more butter probably would have balanced it out just fine. He still ended up eating ever single one of those green little beauties!
I ordered Berenjenas Fritas even though it was self described, in Spanish, as "fried". Typically I don't eat fried foods any more because they can really mess me up by sitting like lead in my little pouch but I saw the word "eggplant" and I couldn't peel myself away. I'm addicted to the strange vegetable and, thus, this plate appeared in front of me when Nick's asparagus showed up.
I was hopeful before they got to the table that they would be more lightly breaded but instead they got to me heavily breaded and SUPER deep fried. Consequently there was little more to taste than the bread crumbs and the sauce if I dipped them in the sauce which I did for a little while before it got a little too salty-tomato-y for me. Again, these weren't "terrible" and someone who actually likes a lot of fried food would probably have thought them terrific but I wasn't thrilled with my choice. I still ate through most of them. There were a few that were over done even for me, though. You can kind of see them in the top right of my plate in the picture.
Carnes - Our Main Courses
Although the menu has a myriad of things to choose from we both ended up ordering off the Carnes menu for our main courses.
I opted for the Flamenquines because the other things that I had my eye on just didn't seem as appealing as pork that night and so, I decided, willingly, to go out on limb with these. Again... I should have read more closely before I ordered but, have no fear, my feedback here is good!
So, you can guess by now that I wish I had really spotted the word "fried" in the description because I might have opted for the Pechuga Villeroy instead but... I didn't. Now, the good news here is that these little sticks of stuffed pork were very tasty! Although they came with the same red sauce as my eggplant fries, I didn't use it for my pork because the balance of pork, manchego cheese and Serrano ham was a really tasty balance. Be you of normal or modified tummy, I would say if you don't mind some lightly breaded and lightly fried pork dishes, this is definitely worth a try. I vote stay away from the sauce, myself, because I thought it was too tart, sour and overpowering on the rest of the flavors but I can be a bit of a purist when it comes to my foods.
Nick couldn't remember what he had last time we were out at Estragon so he opted for the Enpanada de Cordeo, or lamb empanada.
A very beautiful and neat presentation, it was filled with lamb, seasonings and some onions (which he had to pick out) but he said the wrapper was delicious and started at the edges and worked his way around one half of it before starting in for real on the middle. He said that parts of the bottom of the crust were a little oily and he thought that there would be cheese in there with the lamb but it was pretty much mostly lamb and spicing and not a lot else but he was happy with his choice.
Dessert
We opted out on dessert even though there were some really tasty ice cream flavors for the day that would have likely put me into sugar shock. Additionally the flavor of the day on the other desserts they had to offer sounded really good too but we just had no room left! I would say that the flavor changing daily on some of the specifically named types of dessert is a good draw and I'd probably be likely to ask every time regardless of whether or not I decide to have dessert. I love places that "shake things up" by changing up the flavorings in their desserts on a regular basis. Then again, I'm a fan of variety and trying new things.
Drinks
We started our night by actually reviewing the drink menu. Having decided to be the driver on this expedition I opted out from the alcohol since I was in the city... with my car... yeah, no, I'm not drinking :)
So that lovely glass of water in the front? Yes, those are my lip prints at the top, that was my beverage of choice for the evening. I like the fact that the server comes out with the water caraffe/bottle, fills our water glasses and then leaves that bottle on the table. I don't even care if it's Boston tap water, I think that's a classy presentation.
Nick's drink is in the back behind the table candle and it was called the "Prickly Pear". It consisted of brandy, pear cognac, ginger liqueur and citrus. He promptly remembered having this drink during our last visit and expressed his happiness at having ordered it again. It is definitely on the "like" list in Nick's cocktails book!
In my overview I said that the cocktails list was pretty limited but, really, they had a fairly good menu of various specialty drinks but they also have a very well-stocked bar and will most likely be able to meet any of your cocktail desires (insert lines from the movie Cocktail here.) Again, I think this place would make a fantastic place to just go and have some drinks with your friends or to chill out by yourself for a little while. The bartender always seemed attentive and talented with crafting the cocktails. I definitely recommend trying something here at the bar!
Summary
Being our second trip to this location with a significant time gap between the two trips (I believe we went last back in March of this year), it's always a little interesting to see what your thoughts are on the second go-round. Overall I would say our food experience was not quite as good as the first visit but we both truly believed that was more due to our food choices than to the preparation or freshness of the products.
The food was all properly heated or cooled, there were no major faux pas in the order, the execution of service or attentiveness and we both still thoroughly enjoyed the ambiance. We would recommend that if you're looking for a fairly decent menu of tapas that you check this place out. If you're looking for a "neat place" to hang out with some friends or arrange a get together, this would probably be a comfortable and positive experience. Again, much props to the attentive staff for making the experience memorable enough to want to bring us back again.
We will be back to Estragon.
Estragon is a fair sized place in the south end of Boston. As a tapas bar you can expect the menu to reflect various Spanish influenced dishes consistent with family recipes from the Madrid native chefs that create the menus. The drink menu they bring with the menu has a limited cocktails list but a very nice wine list with both by the glass and by the bottle options.
The ambiance of the place is what I enjoy the most. While not "Spanish" influenced they self-describe the decor as art deco meets vintage chic. I would tend to agree and am always really enthralled with the back sitting area which consists of some vintage couches and chairs gathered around coffee and end tables. Such a fantastic way to spend a night chatting with your friends, tucked away in the back of a subtlety lit room with the bustle of diners and waitstaff around.
The location is easy to get to and although they say the parking nearer to the restaraunt is scarce we found that on an early Tuesday evening we didn't have much trouble. Additionally there is a parking garage quite near by as well.
Our Trip
Nick and I habitually go out on Tuesday nights for dinner. Usually we hit up local places or chains and don't really make a big to-do about it other than getting to hang out for a few hours mid-week. Typically this also always involves me bringing home leftovers for Stephan.
This Tuesday, however, I had an appointment for work in Boston on Tuesday so I decided to ask Nick if he wanted to go into the city for dinner that night for "something different". We debated a few options but decided on Estragon because of the location and, honestly, because we had a Groupon! I ended up heading out of the city in the early afternoon, meeting up with Nick at his place and then driving back in but the drive was fairly uneventful and finding parking was so easy we ended up with an extra 25 minutes or so on our hands before the restaurant opened so we took a walk around the neighborhood, visited Foodie's Urban Market and ogled some of the more rare stuff you don't get to see in a regular grocery store. As opening time for Estragon grew close though we abandoned that adventure for our food adventure at the restaurant instead!
Our Food
Appetizer
We debated not getting an appetizer but upon reviewing the list a few times we decided on the Cabrales a la Sidra. I took enough time to wikipedia "cabrales" to know that it was a cheese so we thought... we like cheese... why not!? Well, in comes the appetizer and to say it was blue cheese would probably be putting it lightly :) We didn't get a picture of it before we tried it but we did grab this picture (well demonstrating the lighting inside Estragon!) of what we ended up leaving on the plate because it was much to... rich? stinky? not to our liking as we thought it might be.
Verduras - The Veggies
Being a tapas place, everything is pretty a la carte and so after we had both decided on a dinner we also went back to check out what we wanted for veggies to go with our dinner. It was our veggies that came out next in the progress of the meal.
Nick, being an avid disliker of most things that grow from the dirt (he doesn't eat a LOT of veggies) was happy to see that they had at least ONE of his favorite veggies on the menu and ordered the Esparragos Verdes.
I ordered Berenjenas Fritas even though it was self described, in Spanish, as "fried". Typically I don't eat fried foods any more because they can really mess me up by sitting like lead in my little pouch but I saw the word "eggplant" and I couldn't peel myself away. I'm addicted to the strange vegetable and, thus, this plate appeared in front of me when Nick's asparagus showed up.
Carnes - Our Main Courses
Although the menu has a myriad of things to choose from we both ended up ordering off the Carnes menu for our main courses.
I opted for the Flamenquines because the other things that I had my eye on just didn't seem as appealing as pork that night and so, I decided, willingly, to go out on limb with these. Again... I should have read more closely before I ordered but, have no fear, my feedback here is good!
So, you can guess by now that I wish I had really spotted the word "fried" in the description because I might have opted for the Pechuga Villeroy instead but... I didn't. Now, the good news here is that these little sticks of stuffed pork were very tasty! Although they came with the same red sauce as my eggplant fries, I didn't use it for my pork because the balance of pork, manchego cheese and Serrano ham was a really tasty balance. Be you of normal or modified tummy, I would say if you don't mind some lightly breaded and lightly fried pork dishes, this is definitely worth a try. I vote stay away from the sauce, myself, because I thought it was too tart, sour and overpowering on the rest of the flavors but I can be a bit of a purist when it comes to my foods.
Nick couldn't remember what he had last time we were out at Estragon so he opted for the Enpanada de Cordeo, or lamb empanada.
A very beautiful and neat presentation, it was filled with lamb, seasonings and some onions (which he had to pick out) but he said the wrapper was delicious and started at the edges and worked his way around one half of it before starting in for real on the middle. He said that parts of the bottom of the crust were a little oily and he thought that there would be cheese in there with the lamb but it was pretty much mostly lamb and spicing and not a lot else but he was happy with his choice.
Dessert
We opted out on dessert even though there were some really tasty ice cream flavors for the day that would have likely put me into sugar shock. Additionally the flavor of the day on the other desserts they had to offer sounded really good too but we just had no room left! I would say that the flavor changing daily on some of the specifically named types of dessert is a good draw and I'd probably be likely to ask every time regardless of whether or not I decide to have dessert. I love places that "shake things up" by changing up the flavorings in their desserts on a regular basis. Then again, I'm a fan of variety and trying new things.
Drinks
We started our night by actually reviewing the drink menu. Having decided to be the driver on this expedition I opted out from the alcohol since I was in the city... with my car... yeah, no, I'm not drinking :)
Nick's drink is in the back behind the table candle and it was called the "Prickly Pear". It consisted of brandy, pear cognac, ginger liqueur and citrus. He promptly remembered having this drink during our last visit and expressed his happiness at having ordered it again. It is definitely on the "like" list in Nick's cocktails book!
In my overview I said that the cocktails list was pretty limited but, really, they had a fairly good menu of various specialty drinks but they also have a very well-stocked bar and will most likely be able to meet any of your cocktail desires (insert lines from the movie Cocktail here.) Again, I think this place would make a fantastic place to just go and have some drinks with your friends or to chill out by yourself for a little while. The bartender always seemed attentive and talented with crafting the cocktails. I definitely recommend trying something here at the bar!
Summary
Being our second trip to this location with a significant time gap between the two trips (I believe we went last back in March of this year), it's always a little interesting to see what your thoughts are on the second go-round. Overall I would say our food experience was not quite as good as the first visit but we both truly believed that was more due to our food choices than to the preparation or freshness of the products.
The food was all properly heated or cooled, there were no major faux pas in the order, the execution of service or attentiveness and we both still thoroughly enjoyed the ambiance. We would recommend that if you're looking for a fairly decent menu of tapas that you check this place out. If you're looking for a "neat place" to hang out with some friends or arrange a get together, this would probably be a comfortable and positive experience. Again, much props to the attentive staff for making the experience memorable enough to want to bring us back again.
We will be back to Estragon.
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