Sibling Rivalry restaurant in the South End of Boston boasts fantastic ambiance and terrific service with incredible food to boot!
The space is dim and romantic with amber lighting, but not so much that you cannot enjoy a meal with a group of friends as well.
This is a review of a General Dinner Experience and a "Fight Night" Monday dinner during which each chef creates a menu featuring the same basic ingredients.
The concept of the menu, of course, exemplifies the sibling rivalry between brothers and owners Chef Bob Kinkead and Chef David Kinkead. The dueling menu features each brother's creations for multiple courses.
The General Dinner Experience:
I thought the pressure would be on attempting to decide between the two menus, but I was with a few good friends and we decided to try practically everything by way of starters!
Our server, Zoe, was a doll! She was bubbly, patient, and super friendly...even kind enough to snap a few photos for us throughout the night!
Cocktail:
I ordered the Cherry Champagne Cocktail made with House-Made Cherry Bitters, Raw Sugar Cube, and bubbly! It was a unique twist on a Classic Champagne cocktail.
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The food is presented artfully and thus exhibits real thought and passion behind it. This is always a thrill to me.
Starters:
The Crispy Fried Soft Shell Crab with corn+okra relish and grain mustard cream sauce was lovely. The crab was lightly coated and flavored well. The relish added a bit of spring to the fried dish and worked well.
The Pristine Sushi Grade Tuna Tartare over warm rice, nori, sticky soy glaze, and spicy aioli was pristine indeed! A generous portion of rich, well-marbled toro (fatty tuna) was piled upon the other ingredients which together was presented as a deconstructed tuna roll! Not only was this dish clever, the flavors and quality were exceptional.
The Vietnamese Crispy Fried Squid with green papaya and lime-chile dipping sauce had a nice crisp coating. The squid was cooked perfectly tender and the dipping sauce was simple with a kick - reminiscent of green papaya salad.
The Homemade Spring Pea Ravioli with fava beans, pea tendrils, and crispy pancetta was exquisite. The raviolis were light and the pancetta added a bit of saltiness.
Entrees:
The Beef Tenderloin "Au Poivre" with melting potato, haricot vert and a cognac-green peppercorn sauce was amazing! The peppercorn crust on the tenderloin was lovely. This classic French dish overall was a home run but I especially loved the rich melting potato!
The Skillet Roasted Chicken Breast was served with a crispy, airy potato cake, caramelized onion, broccoli, and lemon chicken jus. The chicken was moist and the potato cake served as a nice crisp contrast side.
The Slow-Braised Beef Short Ribs were a sparse portion, but the meat was tender with great flavor! The short ribs were served atop silky whipped potato with a portobello mushrooms and horseradish cream. Ms. J's recommendation: "Fill up on the cornbread!"
The "Fight Night" Dinner Experience:
You must sit at the Chef's Bar to experience the Fight Night experience! You'll be privy to a bird's eye view of the action in the kitchen. Though on this particular night, the kitchen and restaurant seemed a bit slow. We were thoroughly entertained by and well taken care of by our server Mr. Sherman Hanke (who is also a talented massage therapist with a Massage Studio in Brighton, MA).
My guest and I ordered from each menu. The duel was between Sous Chef Mark & Chef David Kinkead.
Starters:
Little Neck Clams with Smoked Salmon. This was not my favorite dish, as I found the marriage between to the two a tad bit odd, but I gave it an A+ for presentation!
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| Littleneck clams with smoked salmon |
The Crabcake was very great with a medium coating and generous lump crab meat. It was brilliantly paired with creamed corn!
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| Crabcake with creamed corn and aioli |
Off of the regular menu, I thouroughly enjoyed the mild flavors of the Hand-Rolled Beef Cannelloni with slow-braised beed and parmesan sauce. The meat was moist and tender....a really good dish.
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| Beef Cannelloni |
The Duck Breast with cherry-enhanced jus, creamy polenta, flecks of fresh cherries, and sugar snap peas was fantastic. The duck was tender and prepared perfectly and the creamy polenta cut the bittersweet flavors of the cherry.
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| Duck |
I particular loved the Lamb! Served with orzo mixed with oven-roasted tomato, feta cheese, sugar snap peas, and halved olives, this dish was a winner for me! The lamb was tender and juicy and perfect!
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| Lamb |
Dessert & Cocktails:
I really enjoyed the Pamplemousse, a martini served up, featuring fresh-squeezed grapefruit juice, vodka, pomegranate-honey Syrup, and fresh Mint/ When reading the ingredients, I thought it might be too sweet for my taste, but the grapefruit juice really mellowed the cocktail.
With dessert Sherman introduced us to two wonderfully unique liquers.
The first was Belle de Brillet Pear Liquer which was sensational. It presented flavors to your palate that linger and roam around your tastebuds! It was fruity and floral yet mature and sophisticated with some viscosity that assisted with the clinging notes.
Sherman paired the Belle de Brillet perfectly with my
dessert, A mint candy ice cream between tow chocolate macaron-like
cookies/cakes and a side of mint ice cream.
My friend's dessert, a Bulvarian ice cream on a chocolate crumb crust, was paired with a 2008 Chapoutier Banyuls, which equally excited the palate! My friend spoke the Quote of the Night after tasting it: "Whoa, that tastes like a bad decision!" LOL
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| http://www.chapoutier.com/banyuls-red,banyuls-2007,wine,70.html |
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| The Bulvarian ice cream with maraschino cherries and chocolate sauce. The Asian character atop the dessert means "Chocolate". |
www.siblingrivalryboston.com
