Four Worth-Every-Penny Feasts
When you want to splurge, tasting menus offer great value, with multiple courses of the chef’s finest work for less than you’d pay à la carte. A sampler of dishes from a few of the city’s elite:
Tasting Menu No. 1: Salts
Nantucket bay scallops with black truffles, Meyer lemon, and celery
Roasted local beets with caramelized apple and smoked yogurt
Crisp pork confit with Macumber turnip, tart cherries, and gingerbread
“S’mores”: chocolate, caramel marshmallow, graham cracker, and wild cherry smoke
Five courses total for $75 (add $25 for wine pairings). 798 Main St., Cambridge, 617-876-8444, saltsrestaurant.com.
Tasting Menu No. 2: Clio
Cured kinmedai and smoked Maine sea urchin with goldenberries, salsa, and caviar
Bay scallops with Chantenay carrot, nigella seeds, and argan oil
Brandade soup with russet potato, quail egg, black truffle, and gold leaf
Grilled Wagyu with toasted japonica rice, hayashi marinade, and matsutake mushrooms
Truffle-crusted sole with Brussels sprouts, crispy chestnuts, and coffee sauce Normande
Foie gras terrine with Concord grapes, yogurt, and candied anise
14 courses total for $135 (add $100 for wine pairings). 370 Commonwealth Ave., Boston, 617-536-7200, cliorestaurant.com.
Tasting Menu No. 3: O Ya
Kumamoto oyster with watermelon pearls and cucumber mignonette
Spot prawn with garlic butter, white soy, and preserved yuzu
Chilled daikon “dumpling” with miso-cashew “cheese,” kimchi, seaweed, pine nut mayo, and nori sauce
Foie gras with balsamic chocolate unagi sauce, raisin-cocoa pulp, and sake
Tamago roll with dashi sauce, black truffles, robiola cheese, and chives
Yellowjack tuna and sea urchin with ceviche vinaigrette and cilantro
Seared Wagyu with smoked potato, grilled onion, and freshly grated wasabi
Hamachi with soy, caviar, and fresh citrus
14 courses total for $120–$300 (sake pairing prices vary). 9 East St., Boston, 617-654-9900.
Tasting Menu No. 4: Craigie Street Bistrot
Chili-marinated lemonfish with purple sweet potato and matsutake mushrooms
Roasted marrow with smoked beef tongue, escargots, and shiitake mushrooms
Banyuls-cured duck breast and fennel-and-pepper-cured lardo
Venison sausage–stuffed quail with apples, raisins, and autumn olive coulis
Mocha mille-feuille with homemade graham crackers and pear-saffron sauce
Seven courses total for $115 (wine pairing prices vary). 5 Craigie Cir., Cambridge, 617-497-5511, craigiestreetbistrot.com.
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