August 26th 2014: 7 Course Dinner Tasting with a Friend at Bergamot, Somerville

Today after work, I met up with a friend who I thought was visiting from Texas for a 7 course tasting dinner at Bergamot, the top restaurant in Somerville. As it turned out, she was going to stay in Massachusetts for a while as she hated living in Texas. Anyway, I don't think anyone else is interested in the details of that, so on to the restaurant and the food.

To be honest, I was expecting much more from the decor for the top restaurant in Somerville, but it wasn't too bad either.

We started off with olive bread and butter,

along with a mushroom pate.

Not too bad, with the pate having mild flavors of all its components.

Our first course was a salad of Heirloom Tomatoes (Lobster, Basil Aioli, Bacon-Brioche Crumb),

which was really tasty with all the ingredients eaten together, especially because of the basil.

Our next course was another kind of salad, the Smoked Bluefish (Corona and Romano Beans, New Potato, Eggplant Puree, Farm Egg). 

Once again, a perfect combination of ingredients, the saltiness of the smoked fish being balanced by everything else on the plate.


The Andalusian Gazpacho (Grilled Calamari, Chickpeas, Mizuna)

was a little sour for me, but still pretty good.

Our 4th course, the Buccatini (Woodbury Clam, Cherry Tomatoes, Chorizo Dust, Whipped Eggplant, Anchovy)

 also contained tomatoes, which was becoming a trend by now. The pasta was still excellent, of course.

The Pan Seared Local Hake (Yukon Gold Potato, Braised Celery, Marinated Green Tomatoes, Tongue of Fire Beans, Cuisson)

was cooked just right, although I felt the sourness of the tomatoes did not jive well with the rest of the dish, which my friend declined to agree with.

Finally, a dish without tomatoes. I ate everything on the Grilled Sirloin Steak (Green and Yellow Beans, French Breakfast Radish, Sweet Onion, Miso-Whole Grain Mustard Sauce) 

plate except for the onions, which I gave to my friend in exchange for her steak fat. She does not know what she's missing out on.

It was on to the desserts, with a complimentary Plum Sorbet arriving first.

 I'm not a fan of Plum, but thankfully there wasn't too much of the plum taste in the sorbet.

The final course came in the form of the Roasted Banana Custard (Blueberry Ice Cream, Macadamia Nuts, Lemon Curd, Raspberries).

Amazing combination of flavors, although the sourness of the raspberries did not go well with everything else.

There was one more dish, in the form of some sort of cake-bread,

although it wasn't anything extraordinary. I don't know why they ended the meal with it. Oh well.

Overall, a pretty good meal, especially because I got to treat my friend with a Groupon. I still think Sarma is a better restaurant though. It should be #1 instead.