Fifteen dollar mac & cheese. Let’s discuss.

It’s outrageous. Absurd, even. Especially when found on the menu of B-Side Lounge, loud yet cozy restaurant on the outskirts of Kendell Square, Cambridge. Generally I go there for a casual drink with a group of friends and split a cheese fondue and discuss zombie movies. But as an avid mac & cheese enthusiast, the moment I saw this on the menu I had to know what a fifteen dollar mac & cheese tastes like. Your typical boxed-up, store-bought mac goes for a buck a pop, on average, though i tend to treat myself to the ones with special shapes so that’s an extra penny or two. [they taste better with shapes] With a little zing of crushed red pepper and shredded cheddar, one dollar tastes mighty fine. B-side stepped it up by equipping their comfort food classic with goat cheese, broccoli and bacon, served hot in its skillet and accompanied with buttered up bread. I was thrilled with it, as were my quick-with-the-fork friends, but it was most certainly a one-time occurrence. Fifteen dollars is a lot to throw down for a dish I can whip up at home, cheaper and better. But I thank you, B-Side, for enlightening me with how else I can add some pizzazz to my rainy day meal.

Two months ago, I could not tell you what lobster roll is. I could barely even surmise. Sushi, perhaps. Lobster deep fried on a stick. But lobster with mayo on a bun? I had my doubts about the flavor combination. Ranking high on Boston’s definitive foods, on par with clam chowder and a hot dog at the Red Sox game, it was necessary for a neo-Bostonian, like myself, to experience. And I was appropriately wowed when my first encounter with lobster roll, served from Central Kitchen in Central Square of Cambridge. I don’t know if it was the presentation or the quality of the ingredients or the novelty of it all, but something made me savor each bite in slow motion. Or at least that’s how my memory plays out my brief love affair with my first lobster roll. 

From that moment on, I decided to seek out the most precious lobster roll of the greater Boston region.  One beautiful day, I set out with friends on the hunt.  A fine day for lobster roll.  After an hour of on-foot investigation, The Barking Crab, a waterfront restaurant rumored to have excellent lobster in general, seemed promising.  We sat in the open air picnic bench seating alongside our dining neighbors, munching on calamari and awaiting our food.  When it arrived, I was unexpectedly unmoved by my second lobster roll experience.  The sandwich just lacked any special flair or flavor that it could have been any meat doused in mayo and labeled a sandwich.  So I spent the remainder of my evening soothing my disappointed taste buds with crab legs, a guaranteed pleaser.  And I still plan on returning for straight-up lobster.

Somewhere along the journey, I discovered that lobster roll served cold with mayo is the standard style, but some restaurants offer an alternative: hot with butter.  And Neptune Oyster, a North End seafood restaurant, is one of these places.  Soon after my previous experience, I ran over there for lunch, unprepared for just how satiated my insides would be.  Huge chunks of buttery lobster meat slathered in a buttered brioche roll probably all drizzled with more butter.  Butter butter butter.  Mmm.  The texture of the sandwich alone was hauntingly addictive.  I could only eat half before I was wailing at how stuffed I was.  In a good way.  The rest was packed up and devoured once my stomach was ready for another onslaught of butter. 

Hot with butter.  Cold with mayo.  Both divine, if done properly.  The search will continue, just not in such a concentrated manner.  So as to give my blood vessels a chance to thin out.  And now I’m just a Sox ticket away from being a true Bostonian.

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A while back, I took my favorite fellow epicurean out for a birthday dinner. In order to ensure a proper celebration, I had spent the previous four hours researching local restaurants for an unforgettably delectable experience. Here is where I discovered, and immediately became ensconced by, the prix fixe menu, a kind of tasting journey made up of the chef’s selection of courses. Surprisingly, most of the restaurants at the top of my list had such a menu. And Mare, a natural coastal Italian restaurant found in the North End, won over my mental taste buds with its seven-course tasting menu accompanied with respective wine pairings.

I’m resisting the urge to hit the caps lock when I say it was spectacular.

It was a modestly sized restaurant contained within one room in which the main wall was a glowing of solid color. The staff was welcoming and knowledgeable, while also busying themselves with overall service down to the crumbs on my side of the table. (I’m a bit of a mess while eating.) New silverware was provided with every course, descriptions provided with each dish and wine selection and an earnest concern for our satisfaction was apparent.

As for the food, it really was quite the feast. Seven courses. (preceded by an amuse bouche, French for “mouth amuser,” which is a bite-sized serving of food) Fourteen courses, really, since the chef arduously prepared a different menu for both my partner and I. Trading dishes became unavoidable, even though they were small portions. Among the fourteen dishes, my mouth was introduced to inventive flavor combinations, many of which could not be found on the regular menu. However, of the ones that are, I recommend the Grilled Octopus, with Genovese pesto and potato foam (foam, people. Foam.), and the Wild Mushroom Spaghettoni, with black truffles and spinach in handmade pasta. The latter dish made me absolutely melt in my seat only to be mopped up just in time for dessert. We left completely and utterly satisfied.

Be forewarned. This was a pricy expedition, but one I do not regret. Prix Fixe menus can range from 30 to 300 dollars a person, depending on number of course, wine pairings and quality. Some restaurants have fixed menus that can be perused before ordering, and some are left to the chef’s discretion. I suggest this experience, especially with Mare, to any one with an adventurous tongue and willing to submit to a chef’s culinary whim.