Must visit restaurant

Happy Wednesday! Since I started the week on a Tuesday, I feel like it is flying by. Today was a good one, with a great dinner, and because I bought tickets to “Get your hands dirty” a Westport Rivers winery event where I get to go out in the fields to pick grapes and learn about the vines, THEN eat a gourmet lunch and drink wine!

 I am looking forward to an action packed weekend ahead: The Healthy Living Summit (if you are going let me know! I have 2 hours to kill between work and the cocktail party and would love to meet up!), a friend’s cocktail party, a long run, and some time with my favorite pooches at the MSPCA.

Tomorrow I will be cracking open some of my new snacks from Good Health Natural Products to eat and review, and Friday I have a great guest post from Chicago Marathon Val. Psst. . . she has a really cool new blog so check it out!!!

 Tonight we went on our first Boston Restaurant Week date to Upstairs on the Square in Cambridge. Upstairs on the Square is a very cool place pretty much smack in the center of it all in Harvard Square. It is beautifully, eclectically decorated with rich fabrics and colors. I came here for their Inauguration night party, but only had a couple of fabulous cocktails, so I was looking forward to eating here.

Upstairs on the Square has two dining options, the Soiree Room and the Monday Club. We chose the Soiree Room, a bit pricier, but still affordable due to it being Restaurant Week.

 Throughout, the restaurant is like an Alice in Wonderland scene. Bright colors, eclectic wall sconces, interesting banquettes and chairs fill the space, and in the Soiree Room, a long table is full of open bottles of wine, ready to be poured 🙂

We ordered wine; I got a glass of Mar de castilla tempranillo which I savored throughout the meal. Our server brought us each an amuse bouche, a spoon filled with honeyed ricotta with mint oil and fresh radishes. What a combination of flavors and textures! Creamy, sweet, salty, tangy, and crunchy. After eating this bit of heaven we knew we were in for a treat!

For my first course, I ordered the heirloom tomato salad with raspberry vinegar, raspberries, Thai basil, and Vermont goat cheese. Each bite was summery perfection. The sweetness of the raspberries and vinegar plus the fresh flavorful tomatoes and the creamy goat cheese were complimented by a bit of sea salt. I ate every bite.

Totally farm fresh and delicious

 My second course was corn three ways. I figured I could not go wrong with one of my favorite seasonal ingredients. The plate was beautifully presented with a ramekin of native corn chowder, crispy polenta with Greek salad, and sweet corn flan with candied bacon.

Corn three ways

The flan was absolutely my favorite part of this dish. The taste of sweet summer corn just came through in such a creamy and light way. I don’t normally eat pork, but I had a tiny taste of the candied bacon, and it was spectacular. Then I passed it off to the hubs 🙂 The polenta was hot and crispy and perfectly complimented by the cool, crunchy salad on top. The chowder was rich and yummy, but maybe a little too rich for me in the summer. In January I would be all over it!

I was stuffed but managed to save room for churros con chocolate.

I can't even describe how good these were.

Hot, crispy, soft, sugary, dipped in spiced chocolate. I licked my fingers to get all of the cinnamon sugar off. It was that good. Our fabulous and charming server, whose name I did not catch, told us that in his native Brazil, they make hollow churros with caramel in the center. Nom.

Overall, our dining experience at Upstairs on the Square was elegant, unique, delicious, and comfortable. They have an extensive list of events throughout the year, and now that I am on their email list, you will definitely be hearing more about them from me. If you are spending time in the Boston area and want a remarkable dinner, go here!

 Next up on my Restaurant Week schedule is Vlora, where I will be having lunch. Do you have restaurant week in your city? If so, do you take part?

I have had a few not so great meals during this week in the past, but overall it is just a great way to try new restaurants for a great fixed price.

 I am off to do some bloggy stuff and some travel planning. Have a great night everyone!

(P.S. Have any of you signed up at condron.us to promote your blog? I just found it and was thinking of signing up.)