We rounded out our week in Cambridge with a visit to Eastern Standard Kitchen. ESK isn’t actually in Cambridge, rather in Boston’s Kenmore Square… but we needed sustenance after our day at the MFA.* This was our second visit to ESK, and it was just as good as the first time.

www.easternstandardboston.com

When we first arrived, we were cranky, hungry and needed a stiff drink. ESK’s warm and calming enviro immediately soothed us (dark wood, red accents, well-stocked bar, brasserie styling), and we were further palliated by (another) expert sidecar for me(although not as good as Central Kitchen), and a well prepared mint julep for Mr. Rab. ESK has a well-earned reputation for its superlative bartending, but their extensive cocktail list doesn’t always tell you what ingredients are in each drink, and this can be a little frustrating. I love to experiment with cocktails, but I want to know what I’m getting into.

The food… Mr. Rabbit started with half a dozen oysters, preferring the Wellfleet to the Malpeque (all local Massachusetts varieties). He moved on to a prime rib sandwich with blue cheese — a pressed panini served with kettle chips. He said the sandwich was good, but its presentation was rather ordinary to me. The chips were addictive, but on par with Miss Vicki’s, and not particularly special. I had a large salad nicoise — nicely seared tuna came with potato, beans, olives, a sun dried tomato tapenade, egg, artichokes…. the regular deal. This was light, refreshing summer fare, and washed down well with a glass of rose (actually so good I had two — and ESK has an extensive list of roses this summer… a delightful surprise).

We split a chocolate bread pudding for dessert, which was super-rich, but excellent. Texture was very dense and chocolate-y, sometimes even fudge-y. We wondered about its bread-pudding-y authenticity, but had not quarrel with its sufficiency as dessert.

Service was affable. We were not offered any bread, and while these omissions tend to irritate me, once I was finished with the bread pudding I was a little grateful that I’d not had the double carb bomb. This place is beautiful, food and drink are well executed, interesting mix of people, good service, nice buzz, reasonable pricing (we spent about $120 before tax and tip… half food, half liquor). We will be back.

* Note: Food at the MFA café was disappointing… very busy, problematic service (cutlery, please!), limited ingredients (everything is ostensibly made with lettuce and chicken), and generally dull food execution. Plus we hurt our teeth on the toasted flatbread - ouch!

Posted on August 21st, 2007 by rabbit
Filed under: Boston, Restaurant Reviews