Beefeater Gin Presented: A Very UK April Fools, An Urban Legend Event at Abby Lane (Theatre District), 255 Tremont Street, Boston, MA

 

This event, featured Hell's Kitchen's Chef Gordon Ramsay and his progeny and Chef/Owner of Blue, Inc. and latest venture Abby Lane, Chef Jason (Jay) Santos.
 
The place was absolutely packed - so much so that, just as at the last Blu, Inc event we attended, getting access to the limited hors d'oeuvres was impossible - so we enjoyed the cocktails, company, and "Mr. T", then ordered food later on in the evening.

The Cocktails:

All cocktails were made with Beefeater Gin.  Not being a huge London dry gin fan by any means, I still decided to try the cocktails that were offered.  I would say that my favorite out of the two that were available once I arrived would be the English Sparkle.

English Fizz
Beafeater
Rosemary
Honey

Abby Lane Crumble
Beefeater
Ginger
Carrot
Walnut Crumble

English Sparkle
Beafeater
Lemon Sugar
Elderflower
Champagne




The Abby Crumble was heavily sugared and mostly undrinkable.  This was a disappointment because I am always drawn to drinks with ginger.  The English Fizz was discontinued by the time I ordered on, so I ordered a classic French 75, then tried the English Sparkle with was just ok, but way better than the Abby Crumble, mostly because I enjoy St. Germain (elderflower liqueur) and bubbles.


Our photo shoot with "Mr. T":

"Mr. T" and Me

Jacquinn and "Mr. T"

Danette and "Mr. T"

Danette knocks "Mr. T" OUT!

A Few Late Night Snacks:

I ordered some a few oysters and a couple of sliders, which were delicious - tender, juicy kobe beef slathered in smoked onion aioli and topped with pepper jack cheese and lettuce on a soft bun.
My friend had one of the full-sized burger, which he seemed to enjoy and another was disappointed by the grilled shrimp tacos.  I found the slaw to be pretty basic.  One other friend enjoyed the tuna tartare with wonton chips, red ginger, and sesame dressing.

 

I'll definitely head back to Abby Lane for a proper full dinner service.

Oishii Sushi (South End Location), 1166 Washington Street, Boston, MA

Me and Chef Ting (Owner)

Oishii Boston is a totally different world from Oishii Chestnut Hill and we had a few minutes to chat with the uber-friendly Chef/Owner, Chef Ting about the difference.  Greeting us with hugs and smiles, as my friend Erika has been a regular for years, his smile and great energy was tremendous and contagious. 

Oishii Boston is sexy and the out-of-this world creative dishes even sexier!  Watching what comes out of the kitchen is like attending a high end fashion runway show.

We sat at the sushi bar where just watching the talented, fast hands of Boston's top sushi chefs was entertainment and satisfaction enough!  The did brilliant tricks with torched kobe beef maki rolls with arugula centers, seared hamachi and O-toro, dollops of tobiko (flying fish roe- a personal favorite) and ikura (salmon roe).

We, of course, ordered our favorite spicy, crunchy tuna Gunkan followed by a few pieces of sashimi: o-toro, hamachi, and Grade A uni.

Hamachi, Uni, and O-toro

We followed up with beautiful torched kobe beef and salmon topped with ikura.

I really enjoyed the miso shiru (miso soup) with wrapped sea bass, made more aromatic by an outer bowl of fresh mint leaves seeped (tableside) in boiling water.

The highlight was a spicy dish of o-toro topped with tempura serrano and jalapeno peppers and gold flakes.

A Quick Yummy Bite @ Addis Red Sea Ethiopian Restaurant, 544 Tremont St., Boston (South End), MA

This was only my second visit to Addis Red Sea and I absolutely LOVE Ethiopian food!

We decided to order a bottle of wine.  The Goats do Roam Red 2011 was a nice medium bodied pairing with our meal.

For our meal, we enjoyed the buttery, very generous serving of Kitfo (Ethiopian-style steak tartare seasoned with herbed butter sauce and hot chili powder (mitmita), a sadly miniscule Yasa Wot (chunks of fresh white fish cooked in oil and onions, stewed in a spiced red pepper sauce), and a small serving of cabbage and Yesmir Wot (lentils simmered in hot berbere sauce) served, of course, with Addis' tender, mild injera bread.

Throw in great conversation and plenty of laughs with my good girlfriend Erika and it was a perfect Saturday afternoon lunch!