Stuff to Eat in the Suburbs: West Newton—Lumière

For this visit we were brought an amuse bouche of some local chanterelle mushrooms, lightly cooked and sprinkled with house made balsamic vinegar that let us know we were in for a great meal. This Bostonist has had a lifelong hatred of mushrooms, but one bite of these tender, buttery beauties perfectly accompanied by the sweet bite of the balsamic was enough to reconsider our position. We started with a Verrill Farm sweet corn soup garnished with house smoked bluefish and corn salad. The soup was smooth and sweet; it didn’t taste just like puréed corn but was somehow much richer. The corn salad and bluefish was the perfect taste and texture accompaniment to the soup, just a little bit of crunch and light fish flavor without interrupting the flow of the soup.

Another person at our table tried the seared local sea scallops with sweet corn, bean, and bacon succotash. This was incredible; the scallops were perfectly prepared: slightly crisp on the outside but tender on the inside not under- or over-cooked. And who can go wrong with beans, corn, and bacon? This salty, sweet, crunchy combo was an amazing accent to the perfection of the scallops.

For our entrée, we tried the Northeast Family Farms hanger steak with French fries and a balsamic vinegar sauce. Our delightful waiter informed us that we could have the steak cooked any way we wanted and presented us with far more detailed options than the standard rare, medium rare, medium, medium well, and well. The steak was perfectly cooked, tender, and exactly the “medium rare plus” that we had asked for. The balsamic sauce was rich and sweet and worth dipping both the fries and the steak in. The fries were super salty and crunchy; a perfect pairing with the sweet sauce and tender steak.

To finish off this lovely meal we ordered different desserts and then shared them around. The Sophia’s Greek yogurt with local blueberry compote, candied ginger, Vermont honey and cornmeal cookies was a light and different dessert than were expecting. The blueberries were not too sweet or in any way overpowering, they blended right into the smooth creaminess of the yogurt and were accented by the slight bite of the ginger and the floral sweet touch of the honey. The cookies added a small unexpected crunch. Next on the roster was the local nectarine and raspberry shortcake with cream biscuit and Chantilly cream. The fruits in this end of summer delight were cooked just right, tender and warm while still maintaining their integrity. The cream biscuit was not too sweet or too salty creating a palate for the cream and the fruit to shine.

Finally, we tried the molten Valrhona Manjari chocolate cake sundae with malted vanilla ice cream, hot fudge and marshmallow sauces, whipped cream, and a housemade maraschino cherry. Despite having so much going on, it was an amazing dessert. The cake was a warm sticky brownie consistency on the outside with just a little bit of runny dark chocolate on the inside to add a rich coca burst to each bite. The cake was a little saltier than your typical chocolate cake which was perfect for maintaining a balance with all of the sweet goodness that surrounded it. The marshmallow sauce was exceptional, clearly homemade, the sweet gooey puddle of marshmallow meshed well with the deep chocolate flavor of the hot fudge and the vanilla of the ice cream. The housemade maraschino cherry was a table favorite, its alcoholic bite was surprising but welcome and made us all rethink the kind of cherry we want topping our next ice cream sundae.

Lumière was a delightful experience, from our amazingly knowledgeable and funny waiter, to the perfectly paired wine selection. Everyone left full, happy, and laughing. Lumière is located in West Newton, and you can read about the chef, look up the menu, or check out upcoming events on their website.