New Chef at Tomasso Trattoria

          If you've been reading this blog regularly, you know that Tomasso Trattoria in Southboro is one of my all time favorite restaurants. I've been over 125 times, which is probably the most I've ever eaten at a single restaurant.

          They've recently brought a new Executive Chef on board, Daniele Baliani who has worked at at Le Cirque in New York, Pignoli in Boston and il Casale in Belmont.  I went with in with the fiancé on one of chef's first nights to check out the new menu.

          Upon walking in and chatting with the owners and staff, we learned that the Bolognese recipe had been updated. Tomasso's original Bolognese sauce was one of the dishes I tried when I first visited the restaurant 7-8 years ago, and it was one of the dishes that always kept me coming back. With a few changes in chefs over the years the sauce gradually evolved over time, but there were never any major changes until now. As much as I loved the old, I was excited to try the new version!

          Since they were  still transitioning, there was some of the old sauce available and we had the opportunity to try both side by side and compare. I liked the new sauce better! The major differences are that it uses red wine instead of white, no cream, and includes chicken liver which is hard to detect but adds a richness to the sauce. 

Old Bolognese

New Bolognese

           Trying and comparing the two bolognese dishes was the highlight for me since it was the most fun, but the rest of the meal was excellent as always! Here are some of my favorites:

Amuse Bouche: Seared scallop with citrus

Bruschetta with fresh ricotta, peas, basil, and pancetta

Grilled swordfish, eggplant caponata, grilled Verrill Farm squashes

          We heard there will be even more changes over the next few weeks as the new Chef gets settled in, and plan to try Tomasso again sometime soon to see what he has in store!