Ten Tables

Ten Tables

Valentines Day came late to the Gastro household this year, as it tends to do. When Mr. Gastro and I first started dating we were both working on the same theatrical production, and tech week was the week of Valentines Day, meaning neither one of us was going to be spending much time anywhere but at the theater. This was the story every Valentines Day until we graduated from college, at which point I found myself working in the floral industry for several years--a very romantic place to spend Valentines Day, you might say. And if you believe that, then you have obviously never spent Valentines Day wading in foliage and rose thorns up to mid-calf, running on nothing but pizza, coffee and nicotine and about 3 hours of sleep, listening to strangers scream at you on your busiest day of the year about how their roses are the wrong shade of pink. (Yes, this has actually happened.)

This year it was a simple quirk of Mr. Gastro's work schedule that kept us from celebrating Valentines Day out on the town like two newlyweds ought, and so we had a quiet evening at home with a pair of bone-in pork chops, a peanut butter pie, and a box of chocolate dipped strawberries from Godiva. (Who needs flowers when your hubby brings you chocolate dipped strawberries?) We were determined, however, to have a lovely restaurant dinner to celebrate our first married Valentines Day in style, even if we had to do it a little late, and so tonight Mr. Gastro brought me to Ten Tables in Cambridge.

With a website that boasts of locally sourced ingredients and thoughtfully crafted dishes, I was looking forward to a smart, fresh, New American menu, and I was not disappointed. We left ourselves at the mercy of the kitchen and agreed without hesitating on the four course chef's tasting menu (a complete steal at $42 per person) and were rewarded for the first course with a sweet and mild bacon wrapped pork pâté. The pâté was served alongside a coarse brown mustard, sweet and tangy caramelized onions, and the tiniest, most delicate slices of pickle you've ever seen. The whole was deceptively elegant in spite of all its seemingly humble parts , and combined sweet, tart, and spicy elements to perfection in one amazingly savory starter.

Next came Mr. Gastro's personal favorite, a tender white slab of swordfish, topped with a Meyer lemon and Picholine olive salsa that absolutely made the entire dish. The zip of Meyer lemon meets you first head on, and then the olive and complicated bouquet of tarragon, chive and chervil grounds the bright citrus flavor, giving it roots. The fish came on a nutty bed of tender barley, beets and red pepper. The barley and beets were the perfect accompaniment, but I couldn't help but feel like the red pepper faded in comparison to the soprano song of the salsa and the barley's earthy alto, and probably could have been left out altogether.

Tri-tip steak came next, and the gorgeously arranged slices of bright pink meat filled me with hope, but sadly this round was a little off. The steak brought flavor to the table you just couldn't argue with, but Mr. Gastro and I both agreed it was tough. The steak was saved, however, with the brilliant addition of a grape compote that was an absolute inspiration--everyone knows that red wine and red meat are natural partners, so how is it that we never thought of the grapes themselves? I vowed to attempt a reproduction of this brilliant pairing at home, and for the sake of the compote, decided to forgive the steak for being a little chewy. By the time we'd received out Meyer lemon sorbet, I was over it.

Finally for dessert, Mr. Gastro and I parted ways, at least on our plates. Mr. Gastro claims that his Meyer lemon cheesecake with berry compote was the victor of the dessert round, and I must confess it was very good, but I just couldn't get enough of my chocolate terrine with sea salt and Thai basil ice cream. The basil sliced right through the overwhelming richness of the chocolate ("But I LIKE rich chocolate!" argues Mr. Gastro), and the sea salt jumps out from underneath the ice cream for just a split second and dances under your teeth before fading away. The dessert, like almost every other aspect of this meal was smart, complex, creative and unexpected, and Mr. Gastro and i left feeling very much in the Valentines Day spirit, even if we were, once again, a little late.