Craigie on Main – Cambridge, MA

Craigie on Main has been at the top of my list of ‘must-try’ Boston restaurants ever since we moved to town about a year ago. I keep hearing such good things about this small, upscale spot in Cambridge offering a modern interpretation on a French bistro theme (I wasn’t clever enough to come up with that on my own…I read it somewhere, I just can’t remember where). You can learn more about the restaurant on their website, including this choice nugget about Chef Tony Maws’ philosophy “that local, seasonal and sustainably sourced ingredients are intrinsically better, and that these ingredients form the most significant part of what makes great food great”. After reading more about the chef’s beliefs, his background, his interest in the “nose-to-tail” movement, and the many glowingly positive reviews from those in the Yelp community, I was sold. Now we just needed a special occasion to justify such a big meal…how about a first year wedding anniversary? Done.

The wife had the good sense to call the restaurant a few days before our reservation to inform them that we were celebrating our anniversary. She also mentioned that I am a culinary school student and that we wanted to be seated at the ‘chef’s table’, right in front of the action. The restaurant was kind enough to actually listen to the wife and they honored us by giving us (in our opinions) the two best seats in the house and the ‘Happy Anniversary’ card in the below picture, a very nice gesture. Here is the view directly in front of us:

Note that the chef’s table is less table and more counter space. There are 4 seats at the counter, with the 2 seats on the right-half of the counter (our seats) affording an unobstructed view of the area where were many of the dishes are assembled and finished. This image below is the view just off to the right of where we were sitting:

Here’s a close-up of some dishes being plated:

This counter-top was a flurry of activity all night long. Also worth noting; the temperature at our seats right by the kitchen was about 15 degrees hotter than the rest of the restaurant.

On to the meal. From the moment that we made our reservation, we knew that we had to do the 10 course tasting menu. Excessive? Maybe a bit, but hey, we were celebrating. We could’ve also had a 6 course tasting menu, the special chef’s price fix menu, or just selected some items off of the menu but to do anything less than the 10 course tasting felt like we’d be missing out…go big or go home, that’s what we always say. As a nice touch, once we established our intent to gorge ourselves silly, our server asked us if we had any food allergies and also inquired about our general level of food adventurousness. We told her that we’re fearless…we came to dinner with open minds, ready to sample whatever the chef felt like putting in front of us. I did make one request…sweetbreads. I’d only had them once before and had been dying to have them again. Our sever said she’d pass that along to chef and then, we were off.

Course 1. From left to right, Squid ‘noodles’, lobster salad, house cured sardine:

Course 2. Kampachi served on top of avocado and harissa oil:

Course 3. Seared scallops and scallop roe served with finely diced pineapple:

Course 4: Soft Shell Crab

Course 5: Sorrel/leek/potato soup garnished with pork ‘crouton’ (not pictured):

Course 6. Pig’s trotters served with country fresh egg:

Course 7. Veal two ways – cheek and sweetbreads:

Course 8. Cheese plate (this was a bonus course…the wife is a sucker for cheese plates, so we just had to add this):

Course 9. Panna cotta two ways – jasmine on the left, rooibos on the right:

Course 10 (the wife’s). Chocolate mousse:

Course 10 (mine). Peanut butter ice cream with peanut butter cookie, served with a muscat syrup and foam:

Course 11. Rhubarb mousse served with a yogurt foam:

Chef Tony contemplates his next move:

I really don’t know where to begin. Over the course of nearly 4 hours, the wife and I were continually awed and amazed by just about everything that was placed in front of us. To say that we ate very well and enjoyed our meal is such an understatement, it’s almost not even worth saying. Our meal was creative, thoughtful, colorful, flavorful, bold, rich, perfectly cooked and executed, and just looked great from a presentation viewpoint. Sitting up close and watching the chef and the cooks at work was also a great thrill. Everyone in that kitchen busted their asses during the whole time we were there. We saw our meal come together right before our very eyes, warts and all, and it was a great experience…seeing the amount of hard work that went into the meal really can make you appreciate it all that much more.

There were many nice touches throughout the meal as well. Our server (for the most part) was very attentive. She made very good wine recommendations and also came by many times during the early and middle parts of the meal to check on us, making sure that we were surviving the culinary onslaught and curious to know how we liked all of the flavors in our dishes. She also wished us a happy anniversary and wished me luck in my studies. The chef himself came by and served our 7th course to us, which I thought was great since the sweetbreads were my special request. The wife and I really tried hard to find any flaws in the evening and we only were able to come up with 2 minor nitpicks. As attentive as our server was during the early and middle parts of the meal, after the cheese course, I don’t remember seeing her until the very end of the meal. The wife and I both thought that was a bit long to have not been checked on, especially when we were both feeling the need for something hot and caffeinated. Also, while we both thought that all of our desserts tasted and looked great, we felt that they all had roughly the same texture and consistency; I think it would’ve made for a nice contrast in texture to have been served something that wasn’t so smooth and ‘mousse-like’ for one of our desserts. Like I said, I’m nitpicking here. As an added bonus, they even gave us the cheese plate on-the-house. Overall, the meal, the ambiance, the environment, and the service was all fantastic…a meal that we will not soon forget. 5 stars, for sure.