Sonic Youth and the Feelies vs. A Giant Hole of Suck
Why Does the Wilbur Theatre Suck? Better Rock Shows in 5 Steps
Photo of the Day, November 23, 2009: Stark
Photo of the Day, November 24, 2009: Hook, Line, and Sinker
Where Should You Eat? A Fast Food Flowchart
On a Friday night, after finding the Franklin completely full, we strolled down to the South End Buttery, which recently began serving dinner in addition to their breakfast goodies. The Buttery beckoned with open tables in back and candlelit two-tops outside on the sidewalk, so we thought we'd try the new menu. We settled in towards the back at a high table, and our bouncy waitress was quick to hand out the paper menus, which now feature a wide array of cocktails, wines, salads, entrees and of course, tasty-sounding desserts.
The star of the cocktail list, we found, was a hibiscus and prosecco cocktail (pictured), beautiful in its presentation and lip-smackingly refreshing in its execution, with an edible flower at the bottom. A St. Germaine-based cocktail was a bit too sweet, the "Buttery Margarita" a bit strong, but the other standout drink was the watermelon mojito, which was flavorful and fresh. All cocktails cost $10 or thereabouts.
We also started out with an order of french fries and a side of truffle aioli (truffle oil = nectar of the yuppies). We couldn't finish this fast enough, and kept peeking into the cone it came in for more tasty fries. After we had eaten every last crumb, we continued to eat the aioli on its own. It was that good.
More on the Buttery after the jump!
For our mains, we tried the gnocchi with baby beets, wilted beet greens, toasted walnuts, and horseradish ($17), the roasted Vermont chicken with black bean, tomato and grilled corn salad with mixed local greens ($18), and the grilled hanger steak with salsa verde butter, fried potatoes and watercress ($19).
The winner here seemed to be the hanger steak, which at only $2 more than the gnocchi came with almost twice the food, including a stellar side of potatoes and a fresh heap of watercress. Equally hearty was the chicken dish, with its tasty lime-flavored salad, which had corn seemingly cut right off the cob.
The gnocchi, while tasty, was a huge disappointment for the price. Seventeen clams gets you 4 or 5 pieces of gnocchi and a smattering of beets, hardly enough for a hungry person--which is unfortunate, because it's also the only vegetarian entree on the menu (although there are some vegetarian salads). Here's hoping the Buttery revises either the variety of veg options or their prices in the future.
For dessert, we were still hungry, so we ordered the Earl Grey crème bruleé with an orange shortbread cookie ($8), the sticky toffee pudding with vanilla crème chantilly ($8), and the trifle with fresh plums, berries, ruby port and pastry cream ($8). The trifle was tasty enough, with fresh cream, but didn't grab our attention. We were too busy savoring the sticky toffee pudding and the crème bruleé.
While some crème bruleé purists claim that you simply can't improve on the perfection of a good vanilla custard with a crisp sugar top, the Buttery's version stands as proof that you can make this dessert even more sophisticated and far more interesting. The Earl Grey gave the dish a smoky, spicy taste, while the orange shortbread sidekick packed a wallop of orange flavor into a tiny cookie.
Overall, we were far more pleased with our drinks and desserts than we were with our meals. The Buttery's always been known for its high prices, but for some reason, it stings less to indulge in, say, a six-dollar yogurt than an overpriced entree that doesn't satisfy. But we will be back for that hibiscus cocktail.
add to stumble upon
add to reddit
tweet this
post to facebook
Post a comment (Comment Policy)