A Long Boston Weekend: Part 5
Yet another establishment I’ve passed a million times but never tried is Aquitaine in the South End. En route to Rocca for dinner, we took time for a cocktail.
Any place that uses a microplaner to garner its zest is fine by me.
Here it was in service of the St. Cloud – a delightfully simple, and deceptively potent, concoction of vodka, grapefruit and rosemary essence, along with the aforementioned lime zest. The gentleman next to us was having the same, and recommending it strongly. After two of them, he was chatty, and recounting the film history of Guy Madison – the most beautiful man in the world at one point, according to him.
Andy was slightly more enthralled than me, but the gentleman was nice, and full of historical details regarding film and Emily Dickinson.
To be honest, I was more interested in the bathroom, and as soon as politely possible I excused myself to check it out. I was not disappointed. The walls were covered in wine labels (I like that) and it made strategic use of its mirrors, unconventionally angled to add the illusion of space – a rare instance when it really worked. Best of all, the hand soap: almond. Mmmmm… perfection.
We walked along the charming side streets to Rocca, where we sat down at the bar and ordered a Persephone. (I should have ordered it straight up, but the bartenders didn’t seem to be amenable to changes, so I didn’t bother.)
We moved to a couch by the window, and about ten minutes past our reservation time (tsk, tsk) we were seated. But hey, as long as there’s a decent cocktail in my hand I’m happy. (Oh, the only reason I mention the tardiness is because once we were seated I noticed that there were only about two other tables seated in the entire restaurant, so there was no overt reason for the delay.)
I’m easily appeased, however, as seen in this soon-to-be-devoured bunch of
Fries with Eyes. I had thought they were simply french fries speckled with black pepper, but it turns out the eyes were literal. Upon asking what they were, we were told they were goldenfish from Chinatown, fried up and served with some basil leaves. I loved them. In fact, I left wishing all my fries had eyes.
Andy had his usual cranberry with club, while I switched to water. After the St. Cloud and the Persephone, I wanted to be able to partially recollect the meal.
And that was a good decision, because this lobster gnochetti was to-die-for. Check out the tiny edible flower blossoms on it! Glorious and delicious.
It was another grand meal, and our first time in SoWa, so it looks like we’ll be returning to the area soon. (I have been shamefully remiss on checking out the SoWa Sunday market, but it will be rectified on my next trip in the Fall.)
Next: A Surreal Walk Home