Rant: A Sense of Discovery

The city of Boston has over 4,000 eating and drinking establishments, and about 25% of them have liquor licenses. For some perspective, Maine, New Hampshire, Rhode Island, and Vermont each have less than that many eating and drinking establishments in their entire state. It would be near impossible to check out every restaurant that exists in Boston. Plus, if you add in all of the eating and drinking establishments in the nearby communities, such as Cambridge, Somerville and Jamaica Plain, there are just too many for any one person to sample all of them.

Thus, there are probably some excellent restaurants you've never visited, despite their accolades from family, friends, and the media. With the ongoing pandemic, numerous restaurants have not yet reopened, don't yet provide exterior/inside dining, have limited hours, or other restrictions. Take-out and delivery have become popular, though that alone won't support most restaurants. Hopefully, you are trying to support your favorite restaurants, but please also patronize some places you've never dined before.

Have a sense of discovery this summer. Be an explorer and check out one of the thousands of restaurants which you've never visited before. Expand your palate and try something different. You might find a new favorite. Your choices are currently limited in a number of respects so it's worthwhile to look into some of the different choices that exist.

To celebrate my birthday recently, some of my favorites were either closed or unavailable on the date I needed. After some research, I opted to try Saltie Girl, a seafood spot on Dartmouth Street, even though I'd never been there before. I'd heard much good about it but just never had gotten there. The menu looked appealing and I made reservations for their patio.

It turned out to be a wonderful evening, with so much delicious food. A culinary wonderland of seafood. Fresh, bursting with flavor, and well prepared. We ordered a small mound of silky slices of Toro as well as a Raw Tuna dish (with pickled mushrooms, fried shallots, shish & avocado puree). A Warm Spicy King Crab Roll and Mussels Escabeche (with such a delicious brother). A Dry Aged Steak Tartare (quail egg, truffle aioli, reggiano, buttered brioche) and a rich Foie Gras Torchon. And Fried Calamari (Spanish chorizo, pickled peppers, yuzu aioli). Most of this I didn't photograph as I was primarily there to enjoy myself, but two dishes enticed me sufficiently to take a couple pictures.

The Unagi Fried Rice, with corn, beech mushrooms, foie and a soy glaze, was an impressive dish. Silky and flavorful, sweet and savory, and a nice umami.

Fried Lobster & Waffles with sweet corn butter. A decadent treat, and variation on the traditional chicken & waffles.

I'll certainly be dining there again soon, as there's plenty on the menu I still wish to taste. And I never would have experienced this restaurant if I didn't decide to explore a place unfamiliar to me. Service was excellent, I felt safe on their patio, and every dish I ordered was delicious and pleasing.

So please support your favorite restaurants right now, but also take some time to have a sense of discovery and try a restaurant you've never been to before.