Whisk at Wink and Nod

          I've been wanting to try Whisk since I heard about the concept while they were in the North End. I was finally able to make it in this week, shortly after they reopened in collaboration with Wink and Nod a new speakeasy style restaurant and bar in the South End. They've been open a couple of weeks serving a small bar menu, and later this month plan to offer an additional tasting menu for dinner.

          My first impression upon walking in was that I loved the atmosphere... it felt old school and swanky. The bf and I were seated at the perfect table in the lounge area just overlooking the bar. We ordered a couple of drinks and shared several of the dishes on the menu.

          We started with the oysters, which were amazing and set the tone for the rest of the meal. The variety that night were Island Creek and had a bit of a sweet flavor, which was contrasted beautifully by the addition of the smoky orange and the green onion.

          The venison tartare was a little bit out of my comfort zone, but I planned to try just one bite. I ended up really enjoying this dish and definitely ate my share!

          Next were the duck fois gras meatballs, in a rich sauce served with a bits of duck rind and pickled blueberry. Our server suggested we try to get a little bit of each for the perfect bite, and she was spot on.

          The yakotori was next and by far the most impressive presentation of the meal. This dish included skewers of chicken, quail, beef, and pork, served in a jar with smoke coming out once opened. The meat was so tender, and I loved the smokey flavor.

           The next dish was one of my favorites, duck confit pancake with apple meringue and sliced apples. This felt like a creative twist on the classic potato pancake with applesauce, and you can never go wrong with duck confit!

          Both the General Manager Curtis and the Chef Jeremy stopped by our table at this point, and both were so friendly and excited about the food (and drinks). Though we were starting to get full, we asked Jeremy to recommend a dish we HAD to try if we were going to order one more thing. I was glad we asked because he suggested the black pasta, which I probably wouldn't have ordered on my own. This ended up being another favorite; the pasta was cooked perfectly and I loved the combination of the baby octopus, cauliflower puree, and toasted garlic.

          By now we were completely full, but I needed to try the house made twinkie. I was glad to see they were fairly small when they came out, it was the perfect dessert after such a big, rich meal.

          I had an amazing first experience at Whisk at Wink and Nod, and can't wait to check out the new tasting menu when it comes out!