Sibling Rivalry: Restaurant Week

I visited Sibling Rivalry this evening as part of Restaurant Week. For Restaurant Week, nearly all of the restaurants have special, limited menus available. You often have about three choices for your appetizer and entree. I had previewed the online menu for Sibling Rivalry and they hade four appetizer choices, three entrees and two desserts. The choices intrigued me so I made reservations.

I had visited Sibling Rivalry before, for brunch, and had an enjoyable meal. So, I anticipated that dinner would be good as well.

I was lucky to get a parking spot close to the restaurant. Though they do have valet service available. Our table was immediately available when we arrived. We received the wine list and the menu and were pleasantly surprised when we were told that the Restaurant Week menu was much larger than what I had previously seen. The entire regular menu, or nearly all of it, was available. There were eleven appetizers and eleven entrees available. Looking at their menu online, there are only a couple items that were not there, including the grilled lobster. There were plenty of interesting options available and it took a little time for me to decide what I wanted to order. With all these choices, this makes Sibling Rivalry a great selection.

While waiting for our food, we were given a bread basket with several different choices, including a delicious corn bread and some fruit/grain breads.

I ordered a bottle of wine, the 2004 Trinitas Old Vine Cuvee ($40). This was a California wine, a blend of several varietals, especially Zinfandel, Mataro and Carignane. This was an excellent and flavorful wine with good dark berry flavors as well as a nice spicy finish. Very good choice.

One of our appetizers was the Warm Fig Salad with Pancetta, Grilled Flat Bread, Roquefort Cream and Port Wine Vinaigrette. Presentation was very nice, and everything tasted very good. Our other appetizer was the Pristine Tuna Tartar Served on Warm Sushi Rice, With Sticky Soy Glaze, Pickled Ginger and Spicy Aioli. This was a superb dish with plenty of small cubes of tender tuna. The different sauces were a nice accompaniement. I would definitely order this appetizer again. Again, the presentation was very nice.

Our first entree a Tender Filet of Beef with Tomato Jam, Creamed Onions, and Black Pepper Gnocchi. A wonderful piece of very tender beef, cooked perfectly rare. The gnochhi were also very interesting and delicious, making us desire more of them. The second entree was the Crispy Pressed Half Duck with Grilled Bacon Wrapped Stuffed Medjool Dates, Port Sauce and Watercress Salad. A small part of the duck skin had been a bit overcooked and blackened. Our waitress was quick to offer me a new duck if I wanted but I chose to keep what I had. I did not want to wait for a replacement and it was only a minor issue. But, they earn points for offering to remedy the situation. The duck was a half duck but it certainly was a large half. It had plenty of meat and some nice crispy skin. The meat was tender and juicy, and not greasy at all. And there was almost no fat. The sauce was superb. I very much enjoyed the duck and would order it again.

For dessert, we had three choices though you could also get a cheese plate for an additional cost. We had the Chocolate Mousse Cake with Vanilla Creme Anglaise, Raspberry Coulis and White Chocolate Mousse. A delicious and decadent dessert. We also had a Wild Berry dessert with an Oatmeal drizzle and Vanilla ice cream. This was also a very good dessert with lots of sweet berries.

Service was excellent, attentive without being overbearing.

Overall, this was an excellent dining experience. Especially for Restaurant Week. I would heartily recommend Sibling Rivalry at any time, not just during Restaurant Week. I will definitely return there.

Sibling Rivalry
525 Tremont St.
Boston, MA
Phone: 617-338-5338