Yours was smoked? Mine was the non-smoked version and unfortunately it had a really tough bark that was hard to chew through. Other than that it was good but overpriced. But that squid ink bucatini with cuttlefish bolognese, wow, highlight of the night for me.
Bookmarked! Providence used to have a squid bolognese, where squid was used in place of pasta and ground meat, that was amaze balls so I’m naturally drawn to something similar!
Server probably did say Slow Cooked. I was trying to photograph the food while listening, so may have mis-heard.
Who knows how long they smoked it?
It says 12 hours
Ah, right. I’ve had lots of ribs smoked longer that weren’t very smoky at all. I think it depends on the smoker and the wood.
That’s a different rib. Not short or smoked.
No. It’s a short rib and it was never smoked to begin with.
Does nightshade have bar/walk-in space?
yes, there are five seats at the bar.
That’s not much.
Is there a big demand/line/wait?
not sure, i’ve always had a reservation. the bar always looked full though.
I was completely confused. Looks like a very different prep, though.
ok now that we established that the rib is NOT smoked, I’m super curious how they achieved that dark bark associated with smoking. Anyone know?
no idea, but she mentioned using a combi.
It’s possibly combi-smoked then. Most combi-ovens have an option to use it as a smoker as well and the beauty of it is that you can fully control the humidity and temperature so she probably smokes it overnight in the combi.
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Went last night - no short rib special, but here’s the most current menu:
We ordered the scallops, onion, sunchokes, lasagna, hot quail, and guava dessert. Plus two cocktails each. Total = $250 (inclusive, + $15 for the valet).
Everything was good, with the scallops being a standout, and the newest version of the sunchokes being our least favorite (and feeling slightly culinarily confused, but c’est la vie).
Nonetheless, we both left feeling … underwhelmed? I think that’s the right word. I dunno, I’m still trying to put my finger on exactly why.
It wasn’t portion sizes, it wasn’t that dishes were poorly seasoned (whether over or under), it wasn’t the space; I’m sure part of it is QPR, though I certainly don’t mind spending that money (and have spent a fair bit more for things like Noma - Mexico and the like), but I also think that, while good, most of the dishes just made me want what they’re approximating.
For example - 10/10 times I’d take Howlin Rays over that quail. And the lasagna, while an interesting riff, truly sort of bored me. I’d rather have gone to a Szechuan joint and just gotten Ma Po Tofu. Or made lasagna at home.
I’m sure part of it is expectations - after reading this thread, I truly did have high hopes going in. As my better half pointed out, I was gung-ho going in, and gung-low heading home.
I keep using “I”, because I wonder if this is more about me and less about the restaurant. Anymore I find myself bored by these restaurants that keep popping up - Nightshade, Simone, pick-your-hyped-restaurant-du-jour (just NOT Bavel, which I will fucking fight over). I guess I’d call them “mid-tier”, though that seems pejorative, which is not at all my intention.
We are obnoxiously blessed with such a wealth of cuisines here, and I increasingly find myself much more captivated with the tiny place (or cart!) making tlayudas, or the high-concept place (e.g. Somni or Vespertine) that is trying to stretch boundaries. So, most of said “mid-tier” places just blend into a blur of “sameness”.
Wow. Didn’t mean for this to turn into an angsty-teen blog, but there you have it.
For us, the food was good, just not “craveable” (either taste-wise or intellectually) cringes
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Was Mei Lin in the kitchen? Tuesday seems like the most likely night she’d take off. Not that that’s any excuse.