Monday, May 20, 2013

Sycamore

          The recently opened Sycamore restaurant in Newton Centre is the latest project from Chef-owner David Punch, (formerly of Ten Tables Cambridge). The former butcher shop location retains its rustic feel, which is perfect for the upscale but simple French bistro style cuisine. I tried it recently with a friend and had an excellent experience.

          I started with the spring-dug parsnip soup with crispy duck confit & vadouvan (an Indian spice blend). It was drizzled with truffle oil on top, and the duck was fried into a crisp cake, that was both tender and flavorful.

          My friend ordered the equinox farm greens salad with goat cheese, hazelnuts, dried pears, and champagne vinaigrette, which looked delicious.


           Next we shared the asparagus topped with a poached egg, tiny shrimp, and chanterelle mushrooms. The egg was cooked perfectly, and the runny yolk created a nice sauce for the rest of the dish.


          For the main Course we shared the lamb board, consisting of four different lamb preparations: confit with carrots and peas, grilled leg with farro, sausage over cucumber salad, and belly roulette with tomato jam.


          I had a hard time picking a favorite, but if I had to choose it would have been a toss up between the sausage and the confit.

          We asked our server for a wine pairing. and he recommended two, one more traditional and one a little unusual. We split these into half glasses so we could each try both.

          The classic pairing was a syrah grenache blend.



          The slightly more unusual option was a French blend of cab franc and malbec.



          Both were delicious and worked well with the lamb, but we preferred the less traditional pairing.

          Although I was stuffed I had to try dessert, and went with the warm sugared beignets with house-made milk jam (dulce de leche). I didn't regret this decision at all.


          Overall my meal at Sycamore was fantastic; definitely the best I've had outside of Boston in a long time. I will definitely be back!

 Sycamore on Urbanspoon

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