Hingham's Caffe Tosca

After a lazy Saturday on the South Shore, the RRR's and I headed out to Hingham's Caffe Tosca for dinner.

This was my second trip to Caffe Tosca and one of many visits for RRR and Mr. RRR. Looking back on my previous post, I wasn't too surprised to discover that Mr. RRR ordered the same entree (he likes consistency) and that RRR was torn between ordering her usual eggplant pizza or venturing out into the menu and trying something new.

I began my meal with a lovely cocktail, the pomegranite fizz which was made with Absolut Citron, pomegranite juice and a splash of prosecco.

From there I decided to go for the pasta tasting which was a choice of three pastas from the menu. One of my pasta choices was the cappellini with broccolini, garlic, red pepper flakes and chilis. This simple dish was light, fresh and delicious and offered a nice balance to the richness of my other pasta choices.

On the heavier side, I chose the bucatini with pancetta and chunky tomotoes along with the ravioli with sweet corn and pancetta. Both pastas were the perfect size and the freshness of the ingredients really shown through. And when RRR dips her fork into a plate of pasta more than once, you know it's good!

Speaking of RRR, she went with a pizza offered as a special, with baby arugula, mozzarella and salami. We were a bit surprised (that would be pleasantly surprised for Mr. RRR and myself) to see a pizza with sausage come to the table and unfortunately for the other patron, didn't realize we were given the wrong pizza until it was two slices gone! Oh well! An extra tasting for us!

The pizzas at Caffe Tosca are outstanding. Super thin crust and are served on the back of a baking sheet table side. And in what is becoming my mantra, when you start with quality fresh ingredients you really can't go wrong.

And while I didn't manage to sneak in a bite of Mr. RRR's steak, I did sneak of few of the tasty Asiago fries that came with his dish. Salty, cheesy goodness!

We skipped dessert and headed into Hingham Center to Nona's for some post meal ice cream. I had the Hingham Harbor Sludge, chocolate ice cream with tons of caramel and fudge complete with super thin chocolate sprinkles. Rich, rich, rich! Actually much more caramel and fudge than ice cream but I'll take it! What a way to end a meal!

Weekend in Boston

Saturday was RRR's birthday. My 'gift'? The pleasure of my company for the weekend. I drove up on Friday, picked her up from Logan Airport and we headed into Boston's South End to meet Mitch and SheGal for dinner and drinks.

We met at Stella in the South End or SoWa as it is being termed. The decor was minimalist yet modern and the bar scene was pretty hopping for an early Friday evening.

For appetizers, we shared the spicy mussels with saffron cream, roasted peppers, white wine and garlic. The broth was a bit creamier than expected but in a good way. A bread-sopping good way. We also enjoyed the crispy fried artichoke hearts with country mustard remoulade.

There was a lot of tempting choices on the menu but I couldn't get past the pastas. SheGal and I both decided to get the tagliatelle in Bolognese sauce. The noodles were soft yet firm enough to support the hearty tomato sauce and chunky pieces of meat. There was definitely a heavy handed dose of cream used to finish the sauce and I found myself eating beyond the point of being satiated. It was just that good.

RRR went her usual pizza route but deviated somewhat from the usual mushroom with truffle oil route and instead went for the meatball. Not as many meatballs as she would have hoped but certainly with a large enough portion to have leftovers to bring home. Unfortunately, I completely forgot what Mitch ordered so perhaps she will read this post and comment below.

And in an unusual turn of events, we skipped on dessert and did manage to find some room later to have some birthday cake at casa de RRR.

On Saturday, RRR and I continued the celebration with a casual lunch at Not Your Average Joe's. We started off with a couple glasses of wine (I chose a lovely dry Alice White chardonnay) and some of Joe's signature bread. They serve their foccacia-type bread with a dipping sauce of olive oil, grated cheese, minced garlic and some crushed red pepper, assembled tableside by our uber-chipper server Joe (Ironic huh?). Okay, he poured oil into a dish of cheese and garlic and gave it a stir, but it's the thought that counts.

We split the crispy Asian chicken rolls which were filled with chicken, ginger, soy, carrots, mushrooms and rice noodles, and served with both a cucumber-carrot salad and a peanut dipping sauce. The dipping sauce was okay but we were more impressed by the curry in the rolls. The chicken might have been a bit too moist though since the rolls did start to fall apart but all in all this appetizer was much better than expected.

For our 'main' we split a crab cake sandwich and some fries. Poor RRR didn't even get a chance to ask for a salad before I told Joe we wanted the fries as our side. The crab cakes were nice and flaky without a lot of heavy breading and served on a buttery brioche roll.

We attempted to pass on dessert, but Joe lured us in with Not Your Average's clever offering of "sweet petites"; tiny versions of their desserts served in miniature martini glasses. We were wooed by the key lime pie with raspberry sauce and whipped cream. A few perfect spoons of sweet to finish a meal!

RRR's birthday dinner was at what can only be termed as Hingham's hottest restaurant, the Scarlet Oak Tavern. It was difficult for Cousina to get a reservation there at the same time and her crew wound up at the Square Cafe instead. 5:30 or 10? What is this Nobu? Perhaps it's the happening bar scene...this place was jam packed! Crazy!

I started with a delicious French martini, not too sweet, not too strong. From there I moved on to the arugula salad with goat cheese complete with red and gold beets and pistachios. Mitch had the most adorable appetizer of the group, the farmhouse grilled cheeses complete with a tomato soup dipping sauce. Awwww....

Steaks are the thing at the Scarlet Oak and I chose the 6 oz filet mignon. It was pretty good, however, I made the mistake of ordering medium instead of medium rare so it was cooked a bit more than I would have preferred.

Interestingly enough for a nominal fee, you can add a lobster tail, grilled shrimp or shrimp scampi as an add-on to your steak if you are in the surf and turf mood. The two sides that came with my steak were quite enough thank you and I thoroughly enjoyed the butternut squash puree with Vermont maple syrup and the sauteed wild mushrooms. I did manage to sneak a fork into Mr. RRR's two deliciously decadent sides: corn bread stuffing and classic mac and cheese bake.

This time around, I did manage to find some room for dessert complimented by a d'Arenberg shiraz port. Rich, ruby and sugary sweet with a deep berry aroma. Mitch got a delicious carrot cake that was far better than any carrot cake I've had in recent memory. There were bits of carrots in every bite and the fresh hit of nutmeg on the back end. I chose a large cakey brownie complete with pecans and vanilla ice cream and a sweet caramel sauce and of course monopolized the dessert.

I can see why the Scarlet Tavern is a hot spot, but perhaps I might have to return for further investigation...starting with the dessert menu!

Christmas Eve at Casa Cousina!

Well the big day had arrived and we were heading to Cousina's for dinner.

When we got to Cousina's the rest of the clan was there and had already gone through half of the seafood aspic. Our dish even got kudos from Cousina Solvita, the originator of the recipe. I was so proud of us!

The sausage bread was just perfect and while I could eat just these two appetizers all night and be completely satisfied, this was only the proverbial tip of the culinary iceberg!

First we started with Kristina's Cocktail aptly named for the hostess with the "mostess"... Normally, I don't enjoy drinks on the sweet side, but I found myself going back for seconds and thirds and fourths. It was delicious!

We retired to Cousina's beautifully decorated dining room where we began our meal with some homemade New England clam chowder, courtesy of Cousina's mother-in-law. The soup was the perfect amount of richness without being overbearing and creamy without overdoing it. The clams and potatoes rounding out the soup were diced to the perfect dimension. Wow!

Next course, was Cousina Solvita's lobster and avocado salad. I must say, this is one dish that I was anticipating for weeks! The dish is super simple (the best dishes usually are): chopped lobster, avocado, dill, mayonnaise and a bit of lemon juice.

While I am not a fan of mayonnaise based products, there is something about the freshness of the lobster coupled with the creaminess of the avocado that is absolute heaven! I stopped myself at my second helping.

For the main event, Mr. Cousina had been busy minding the grill while his mesquite beef tenderloin was cooked to perfection. A nice char on the outside and perfectly pink on the inside. The beef was served with some fresh asparagus and another treasured menu item from Christmas past, Cousina Solvita's mushroom cups.

After busting a gut, it was time to bust out in song and then to bust open some gifts. The kids were looking forward to opening presents and I was looking forward to dessert!

Auntie Lee made an amazing cheesecake (better than our pumpkin one for sure) and a chocolate trifle. We also had cream puffs and cookies. Now that's Italian!

When the kiddie chaos settled down, it was time to pick on some more cookies, call it a night and get ready for Santa!

I wonder what culinary gifts would be left under the tree for Ms. Foodie?

Hello Hingham! Guess Who's Back?

On Friday afternoon, RRR & I headed up to Boston for her birthday weekend. We met up with Mitch at The Square Cafe in Hingham Center for a cocktail. I went for a repeat performance of the previous posted X-Rated martini, RRR had a delightful pear martini and Mitch had a white cranberry version. All of the drinks were smooth, clean, fresh and absolutely delicious! This is THE place to go for a great cocktail!

We left Square Cafe and met up with Mr. RRR for dinner at Caffe Tosca; a regular stop for the RRR's - her for the pizza, him for the steak. I started with a Caesar salad which is a most unusual choice for me but the description of domestic Asiago, cherry tomatoes and with or without white anchovies and I was sold. I took mine with the anchovies!

RRR & Mitch both had a salad with crunchy Romaine hearts, cherry tomatoes, red onions and I believe Feta cheese? All the salads were fresh and delicious and I'm still in shock that I ate a Caesar salad! What a caloric faux pas!

For entrees, Mr. RRR chose the 'Caffe' Hanger Steak with Asiago fries, garlic butter, and watercress. Yes, my bro-in-law is a (well-done) meat & potato man and in this instance he made a great choice. I managed to grab a fry off his plate before it was inhaled and yes I only managed A FRY.

Mrs. RRR chose the pizza (yes neither of the RRR's deviated from their norm) and had the eggplant pizza which arrived tableside on an upside down baking sheet. The thin crispy crust and fresh cheese makes it standout in an area that hasn't shown much of a penchant for making a decent pizza.

Like my choice of Caesar salad, Mitch went against her 'norm' and ordered the chicken parmigiano with aged provolone and a side of ricotta gnocchi in a creamy pink sauce. The chicken was moist and tender on the inside with a rich tomato sauce and this entree exceeded expectations.

I went with the wood seared pork steak on a bed of fig and sage polenta and roasted garlic. The thick boneless chop had a nice sear on the outside was well cooked but too much to be dried out whcih is not such an easy feat with such a thick piece of meat.

The fig and sage polenta was the standout item here; the creamy savory polenta had a hint of herby sage to add a great depth of flavor to the roasted garlic and chewy sweet figs. The balsamic glaze brought this sweet and savory dish together perfectly. Wow! What a gastronomic surprise!

The generous portions had us way too full for dessert and unfortunately for me, I left my leftovers in RRR's refrigerator. My loss is certainly her gain!