Grotto

Well, we started off our Restaurant Week journey at Grotto, on Bowdoin St. on Beacon Hill. I had heard a lot about this place so I was excited, and it turned out that there is Italian food in Boston outside of the North End.

Maybe it was just the three courses mandated by restaurant week, and the fact that we were all sharing, but looking back at the night at Grotto it was just an unending barrage of flavors that, by the end of night, got a little overwhelming. Everything from the bread to the wine had its own distinct flavor, kind of like they were fighting for the spotlight in our wine filled memories and leaving us in their wake.

First, I got the buffalo mozzarella with some spinach, roasted red peppers, and balsamic vinegar. The mozzarella wasn't anything that blew you away but the rest was pretty good, especially the peppers. Seeing as though this was probably the blandest dish of the night, and this is with a nice strong balsamic vinegar and roasted red peppers, I was glad that I started with this one to leave some room for what was to come. Meghan's cavatelle was probably my favorite dish of the night, perfect pasta and a sauce that had the smokiness of pancetta and the sweetness of italian sausage...it was something like the baked ziti dish with peas and sausage you see at every little Italian place, just taken to the extreme. Carrie's fondue was fun, and as good as portobello mushrooms and steak tips are when dipped in fontina cheese, it was just that. Even though Meghan will probably talk about the truffle oil mixed in there.

Main courses. Gnocchi with spare ribs and mushrooms for me. The gnocchi were good; nice texture and a good potato taste. But what set this apart was the beef rib meat. There was a ton of incredible tender and flavorful chunks that not only flavored the sauce and the entire dish but fell apart in your mouth. The mushrooms worked to keep Carrie and Meghan away and I really really enjoyed it, even though it was quite heavy and really a ton of food for three courses. Meghan's bolognese was really saucy, which is great for bolognese but curiously, and in the theme of the night, had a strong (and kind of random) thyme flavor to it. I didn't not like it, but I'll leave comments on that to the bolognese queen herself. Carrie's sweet potato ravioli were 180 degrees from both of our dishes, with a nice sweet and cinnamony sauce but I don't think I could have had more than 2 (and she didn't). For some reason that seems to always happen with sweet ravioli?

Dessert was easy, three melting chocolate cake type things with vanilla ice cream. Not much to say here, pretty classic, really good.

As for wine, it was at the top of our usual price range, but 2 girls and 1 guy never turn down wine. The valpolicella was really good, lots of flavor and spiciness from a wine that I had gotten used to in Venice. I think Carrie really liked it. Prosecco for dessert, really tasted like a dry white wine with bubbles instead of the usually sweet shit that you usually get.

When we stumbled out from our corner we managed not to knock any tables around the crammed tiny basement that is Grotto (the bathroom is in the kitchen?) which I think needs to be recognized. Get a reservation, this place is tiny, and maybe just stick to one course because that's really all you'll need.

John