Sunday, February 22, 2015

Birthday Binge Continues

In addition to yesterday's visit to the Plate, my friends and husband surprised me with a dinner out. I mean, I knew I was having dinner somewhere. The actual place was a surprise.

After a trudge through the slushy streets of Boston, we arrived at Marliave. I was super excited when I saw this as Marliave is on my list of Restaurants to Visit in the Boston/Providence area (yes, I have a legit running list. Don't judge.).

Marliave has a cool, vintage feel with an actual history. You walk in and it looks like you are in a speakeasy during the Prohibition. The restaurant opened in 1885 and was founded by a French immigrant, Henry Marliave. The owner of Grotto in Boston bought it a few years ago and added an Italian influence. The dishes are definitely a mix of French, American, and Italian. The drink list is filled with ingredients such a bourbon, allspice, St. Germain, and rye and features "Smashes, Slings, Mules, Daisies, & Royals." I obviously got a Mule called the Plymouth Mule with vodka, cranberry shrub,  and domaine de canton ginger (a ginger liquor). 



My second drink, not pictured, was a James E. Pepper featuring bourbon, vanilla, orange, bitters, lemon and sugar. All drinks were $12. Not bad at all, well-made and strong. I loved all of their unique flavor combinations.

Next up was cheeses and meats. You can pick them out a la carte from the menu and there are American, French, and Italian cheeses. We picked 3 cheeses and 2 meats that came with warmed bread, fig jam, walnuts, and honey. Seriously, give me this spread anytime and I'm a happy girl.



Sorry for the not so great quality of the pictures, it was a bit dark and my heavy duty iPhone 5 could just not handle it. Oh! Also, we ordered Escargot. Yup, I had snail. They weren't in the shells but hey were cooked in butter, garlic, and cheese and it tasted amazing believe it or not.

Our main courses were served in those really cool silver serving things. The waiters and waitresses brought our meals over and then lifted them all up at the same time for the great reveal.


I got a Beef Wellington which I've never had before but I figured I should go all out because it was my birthday and all. Sorry again for the horrible picture but Beef Wellington is basically beef tenderloin wrapped in a pastry crust.



We skipped dessert as we had another secret destination to go to, also in the city. As a note, never use the Waze app when you want to go to a place that you want to keep a secret from someone. It told us that we were going to be arriving at Drink in 1000 feet (actually, maybe even further away). Who does that?!

Drink was our final stop of the evening in the Fort Point area of Boston. We had to wait about a half hour to get in because they make sure it doesn't get really crowded inside. Everyone gets a seat or at least space at the bar which winds around throughout the whole place. Drink is located under Sportello and both are owned by the renowned Barbara Lynch. This also had a speakeasy feel being in a basement with lots of beams and exposed brick. 



The cool thing about Drink is that there is no cocktail menu (they have wine and beer and small plates) but you tell the bartender what you like/what you are in the mood for and they concoct something for you. Obviously you need to be fairly open minded but can get pretty specific in your request. I wanted something with bourbon but on the sweeter side. He asked a few follow-up questions (did I like cherry? did I want something light or spirit-driven?) and came out with a bourbon and cherry libation. So good and strong. The bartenders do not rush you at all and you can really take your time. Which is a nice change of pace for a bar. Next I wanted something more on the dessert side and sweet and got this:



I forget what was in it but it was almost like a creamy espresso martini. Perfect end to a perfect night. The drinks were $12 each so definitely reasonable. I wouldn't recommend coming with a big party (someone tried to get in with 15 people. But he was alone. And then he found out all of his friends were across the street at not at Drink.).

Has anyone out there been to Drink before?




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