Pairings

Monday, December 28, 2009 at 08:23 AM | Posted by caroloc

50 Park Plaza
Boston, MA 02116

by Rachel Lebeaux

Atmosphere:
Although only open for a couple of months, Pairings, a contemporary-American restaurant set in the Park Plaza Hotel & Towers, looks right at home in one of the city’s most venerable establishments. A sleek entry portico opens into a cavernous, elegant dining room with high arched ceilings, massive brushed-steel columns and white lattice-work chandeliers. The deep reds and browns of the space’s former occupant, Bonfire, have been replaced by soothing grays and taupes. Floor-to-ceiling glass doors currently overlook the twinkling lights of the holiday season; once warmer weather rolls around, they will swing open so that visitors can dine al fresco.

The bar, which boasts a stonework backsplash and runs alongside with the entire right side of the dining room, served as the inspiration for the entire space, according to Executive Chef Robert Bean, who worked under Todd English at Bonfire. “Sometimes, people think we’re supposed to pair wine and cocktails with the food, but it’s more than that – we’re pairing people together,” Bean said. Parties can sit at the bar, order four or five small plates and share them around. With those small bites, diners can enjoy one of the best aspects of Pairings: Many wines are available as either 3 oz. or 6 oz. pours, allowing visitors to taste a few without breaking the bank. In location and in menu choices, Pairings is an ideal spot for a pre- and post-theatre drink or meal, as well as lunch for downtown workers and the weekend brunch crowd.

Drinks:
Bean’s point is well taken that “Pairings” doesn’t refer only to the wine, but with that name, we would have loved some visual cues on the menu directing us toward a select wine for each small plate. The 3 oz. pours are such a draw; why not make it easy for the diner not up on his or her wine-pairing abilities to pick a pour to match each course? That goes for beers and cocktails too!

That said, our waiter made a good effort to provide recommendations based on our wine preferences and the plates we planned to order. (He was a very genial man, enchanting us with stories of celebrating New Year’s Eve in his homeland of Chile.) Knowing that we were leaning toward a few seafood starters, he recommended 3 oz. pours of the August Kesseler “R” ‘08 Riesling, a German wine, ($5 for 3 oz., $8 for 6 oz., $31 for a bottle), followed by the Sonoma Cutrer Russian River Ranches ‘07 chardonnay ($7, $11, $41). The Riesling was sweet, vibrant and citrusy, while the chardonnay was dry, crisp and smooth. With our heartier meat dishes, we selected the Big Fire ‘07 pinot noir ($6, $10, $37), a smoky, ruby-red Oregon wine that held up well with food.

Pairings’ cocktails include the festive-sounding dancing sugar plums ($9) with pearl plum vodka, hard cider and honey-poached cranberries; the Grecian goddess ($9) with Grey Goose vodka and smoked, feta-stuffed kalamata olives (to try it with gin, order the Grecian god), and the harvest martini ($12), a mix of Grey Goose vodka, fresh apple cider and a champagne floater.

Appetizers:
Pairings is already gaining a reputation for its small-plate offerings so we decided to give several a shot. The complimentary sourdough bread served as an excellent base for the cuttlefish ($8) with chorizo, wild cipollini onions and orange flavors. Served in a small black cast-iron pot, the thin strands of cuttlefish – the first time I can recall seeing this particular fish on a menu – was sprinkled with red pepper flakes and sliced scallions and blended well with the soft onions and cubed sausage. It was too salty for our tastes (unfortunately, this was true for many of our dishes this evening) but still a dish I would definitely order again.

Next up was another seafood-sausage-vegetable combo, the grilled baby octopus layered with morcilla sausage and hearts of palm ($9).
The texture of the pink octopi was excellent – not at all rubbery as I anticipated, but tender and succulent. The rich sausage was a good match for the lighter heart of palm, and dabs of black squid ink and avocado accented the plate, surrounding the three tiny towers.

Continuing our seafood theme, we heeded our waiter’s recommendation and tried the grilled prawns with shishito, espelette and piquillo peppers ($12). It was like a little U.N. summit on our table: The whole green Japanese shishitos, chopped rosy French espelettes and diced red Spanish piquillos garnishing a half-dozen shrimp, served with the heads and tails attached so that diners can (as our waiter urged us) “suck the insides out.” The presentation – a tangle of shrimp legs, peppers and leafy toppings – was visually compelling, and while there’s not a lot of heat to this dish, the peppers each carry a distinctive flavor.

We finally took a break from seafood and ordered the duck with figs, chestnuts and arugula ($10). A chestnut glaze across the bottom of the plate acted as a base for the duck, rolled in its own skin and crowned with arugula. The pulled duck meat was moist and didn’t seem particularly fatty – very nicely done. A fig compote sat to the side of the duck, providing a sweet contrast.

A selection of these small plates could easily serve as a full meal. In addition to those we tried, I was also intrigued by the descriptions of the albondigas (Spanish meatballs) with tomato and chipotle ($7); glazed short rib with bone marrow and raisins ($8); grilled flatbread with porchetta, arugula and figs ($9—and I hear it’s excellent); lobster corndogs with vadouvan (a French spice blend reminiscent of Indian curry), pickled cabbage and lemon ($12); roasted beet salad with endives, bleu cheese and pistachios ($8); and red kuri squash soup with curry, molasses and pumpkin seeds ($8). Go with a group and try them all!

Entrees:
When our entrees arrived, my first instinct was that the phrase “artistically plated” would understate the elegance of the presentation. The white square plates on which the entrees were served contrasted with the whimsical, colorful stripes, swipes, smears, daubs and dollops the chef created with his sauces. Both dishes looked stunning, an apt reflection of the graceful dining room.

Looking to branch out from our seafood-heavy first courses, I bypassed the sea scallops with barbeque lentils, cauliflower and short rib ($24) and instead selected the roasted chicken ($22), while my companion ordered the hangar steak ($26). My chicken was served in two forms: a large white-meat wing with the bone sticking into the air, atop a bed of wilted spinach and a pool of golden parsnip puree; and in dark-meat rolls enveloped by crispy, fragrant skin. Three large, lusty chanterelle mushrooms encircled the chicken, and sprinkles of white beans covered the entire plate. I preferred the flavor of the dark-meat chicken but appreciated both versions, and the spinach was the mild, healthful accompaniment I sought.

As promised, my companion’s hangar steak was presented atop a bed of golden, protein-rich quinoa, but we were surprised to see it was encrusted with toasted black quinoa as well. My companion felt the combination was just OK, but I really enjoyed it—the “pop” of the toasted quinoa provided the seared steak with a crunchiness that elevated the dish beyond the typical cut of meat. The grilled oyster mushrooms were delicious as well, and most unusual was the round root vegetable hollowed out and stuffed with rich, slow-cooked oxtail.

Desserts:
The dessert menu was short but filled with simple-sounding selections that made me salivate: pumpkin bread with cinnamon ice cream, apples and ginger ($8); a cardamom shake and chocolate chip cookies ($8); and, perhaps most tempting, a cheese plate with four different cheeses ($12) –the Roquefort-crusted goat cheese sounds absolutely dreamy. But we opted for the more atypical and ordered fried cheesecake ($8). I had envisioned a slice of cheesecake covered in breading and fried (a la fried ice cream at many Mexican restaurants), but instead what arrived at our table were five golden-fried ping pong balls of mascarpone and cream cheese encased in crumbled graham crackers. They were lined up in the middle of a long plate, surrounded on either side by a swipe of tart blood-orange jelly and a stripe of crushed pistachios. They were a bit too sweet but a nice, light ending to the meal.

Well, the meal wasn’t quite over yet. The dessert menu included this enticing option: “Grow a private garden at your table.” For $7, our waiter brought us a quarter-sized tea bud wrapped around lily, jasmine and lavender blossoms and deposited it in a wine goblet filled with steaming water. Over the course of several minutes, the outer layers of the bud peeled back, and tiny white flowers blossomed up the center of glass. It was almost a magical experience watching the tea bud unfurl – I highly recommend it!

Assessment:
As a new restaurant, Pairings still has some kinks to work out—I would really like more emphasis placed on pairing food and drink, and we observed some spelling mistakes on the menu. But the restaurant’s sophisticated atmosphere, 3 oz. pour policy, creative small plates and artistically-plated entrees are much-appreciated additions to the Boston dining scene.

Address: 50 Park Plaza, Boston, MA 02116
Phone: 617.262.3473
Website: http://www.pairingsboston.com; on Twitter, @pairingsboston
Cuisine: Contemporary American
Price: $3-$14 for small plates; $16-$26 for entrees
Hours: Mon-Thu: 630am-1am; Fri & Sat: 630am-2am; Sun: 630am-2pm (with breaks between meals)
Features: prix fixe menu, 3 oz. wine pours, creative small plates
Recommendations: cuttlefish, baby octopus, duck, hangar steak, tea blossom
Public Transit and Parking: Street parking, garages, valet. On the T: Green line to Arlington.
Reservations: accepted
Payment Options: all major credit cards