The Gallows!

The last few weeks have seen me eating out much more than usual, and nearly everything I've been eating has been fantastic. Great burgers at Grassfed, suckling pig at Citizen Public House, great bites at Redd's in Rozzie, and a really awesome and incredibly satisfying trip to The Gallows. The Gallows, in Boston's South End touts itself as a loud and fun place to have a cocktail and some food. The menu changes frequently and sharing items is encouraged. Our party of 6 split a selection of appetizers and small plates including a creamy buffalo chicken dip, scotch egg, 'early spring' poutine (vegetarian), house made pickle plate, and brown sugar cauliflower.  For our main's we had a 'brontosaurus' spare rib, a few burgers, a ploughman's board, and a plate of duel sides (the incredible carrot & Brussels sprout gratin with horseradish & roasted asparagus with kimchi & topped with fried egg).  We also sampled a few of their cocktails. The Empress Josephine (cucumber, rose gin, lemon) being voted crowd favorite. 

Since it opened almost a year ago The Gallows has been met with nothing but praise, and after our meal there I would say rightfully so as everything we had tasted great and we left full and happy. 

The food was so delicious that snapping some pictures was no easy task but I did manage to get a few:

The scotch egg (above features a soft boiled egg, a crispy sausage outside and fresh chives. Though I prefer the egg to be hard boiled, this was tasty and the crispy sausage wasn't too greasy. 

The early spring poutine was AMAZEBALLS! Perfectly crispy (and not at all greasy) fries, asparagus, ramps, chives and a creamy cheese sauce. This was promptly devoured by most of the table.

I picked the Ploughman as my entree because I am a sucker for a charcuterie board. This one did not disappoint. Top row: veal tartare, house pickled carrot & radish, Cabot Clothbound cheddar, bread
Bottom row: crisp lamb belly rillettes, green tomato chutney, mustard, chicken liver pate.

This was great. First, the amount of bread they provided was enough for most of my board, which was nice. Second, they provided a nice wedge of cheese to go along with my cured meats which was great. Third, their house made pickles and chutney were very good, and finally, the meat itself was awesome! I'm not a huge tartar fan but the veal tartare was flavorful and not overpowering. The crisp lamb rillettes were out of this world good - something I'd love to attempt on my own.

Overall the meal was really great. Boston has an exciting restaurant scene full of many options, making it hard to go back to a restaurant multiple times, even a good one, but I look forward to coming back to The Gallows as often as I can get down there!

No. 9 Park - Tasting Menu

Gail and I, along with my family recently had the pleasure of enjoying the Chef's tasting menu at No. 9 Park.  I will not give a breakdown of every dish on the menu, but at our table we had a vegetarian tasting, a seafood free tasting, and their usual tasting menu for the week. Everything was cooked well and the presentation was absolutely beautiful. By look and taste there were a few dishes that definitely stood out in our party:
Peekytoe Crab Salad - asparagus, tangerine, Marcona almonds. I am allergic to seafood and did not eat this dish, but it looked stunning and everyone at the table who did eat it was very pleased.
Moral Mushroom Tartlet - petite salade, herbed chevre, truffle vinaigrette vegetarian menu. Very creative dish and it tasted fantastic. A nice blend of flavors that was presented beautifully.
Saffron Couscous - merguez, fava beans, Greek yogurt. The merguez was very flavorful, but the saffron couscous was the star of this dish, and was also featured in a later dish on the vegetarian menu.
Potato & Ramp Tortellini -  fava beans, sauce Americaine vegetarian menu These tortellini tasted as if they were born of fall and spring. Great combination.
Prune Stuffed Gnocchi- foie gras, almonds, Vin Santo. A No. 9 Park signature dish. The vegetarian option was served without foie gras. Either way it is many complex flavors delicately balanced in one bight.
Chocolate Cookie & Homemade Marshmellow. Not really a dessert course, but when the check was put on the table it came on a plate arranged with small homemade marshmellows and delicate chocolate cookies. A nice conclusion to a memorable meal that left everyone thoroughly impressed with the structure of the dishes, presentation of the food, and overall attention to detail.