A Boston Sommelier’s Insights
Karen and I were recently in Boston for a long weekend, visiting the Presidential Libraries there and in Hyde Park, New York. Two very different leaders, responding to two very different times in the history of our nation.
We became interested in visiting all of the libraries of the fourteen presidents who have them, after a visit to the Bush library here in Dallas. We discovered the National Archives and Records Administration have an annual membership which allows you to visit any or all of the libraries as many times as you like for one low fee.
What we like is they are generally not crowded, and we learn so much history about a time we know but did not really know. On the way back to the hotel we trade tidbits about things we learned, and it is always a long list.
Anyway… serendipity struck us on Saturday after a long drive to and from Boston to Hyde Park, New York. We were staying at the Seaport Hotel, which is very convenient to shops, restaurants and highways. On Sunday we walked to the Quincy Market and the North End. Ask me about Mike’s Pastry shop sometime. It says it is the home of the cannoli. Maybe.
On Saturday we looked for a place to eat and decided to try a place called the Barcelona Winebar at 525 Tremont Street. About a ten-minute Uber from the hotel. When we got there, they had a two hour wait. Looked good, but not two-hour wait good.
Next door we found an outdoor café called the Beehive (541 Tremont Street – phone 617-423-0069)
They could accommodate us, so we examined the menu and found interesting opportunities. We decided to split three appetizers and one entre followed by both deserts they offered that night.
We began with the Bean Dip, slightly sweet but creamy with pita, cauliflower, radishes and an interesting pepper that was neither hot nor sweet. This was followed by the Truffle Cauliflower, which was slightly crispy with the truffles encasing the barely cooked cauliflower. The next appetizer was Fall Off the Bone Short Ribs, which had a rich glaze and was not only tasty and very tender, but a large portion for an appetizer. Finally the Fresh Homemade Gnocchi had pesto, mushrooms and lemon, which we found to be a delightful, if unusual, combination. The deserts were a fruit covered cheesecake and a chocolate-caramel Pot de Crème. Both were not stand-outs.
The highlight of the evening was the wine: an I Clivi Venezia Giulia Ribolla Gialia 2019 white wine. We had never had this particular varietal previously and found it delightful. The most unusual taste note was tarragon. Not sure I’ve ever found that in a wine before. While I could not find I Clivi on Vivino or other wine websites, I did find Ribolla Gialia and will be adding it to the wine room refrigerator soon.
The wine steward was also an interesting fellow. Said he had to see who bought this particular bottle. Right next to it on the wine list was a Pinot Grigio by the same winery. As he put it, everyone buys what they know. He wanted to see if I knew this wine or was the unusual person willing to risk a ruined evening with a wine I did not like. I convinced him I was neither because if I did not like it, I would simply buy a different bottle. He asked how many times I have done that. I informed him, never.
He then went on a discourse of how, in his wine journey, he has been able to take facts he learns in one place and integrate them with facts from something else to gain new insights into wine. I hope I can follow his example.
