Viva Las Ventas – Boston

I thought it didn’t get any better than Flour and Blunch until I went to Las Ventas. This non-descript sandwich shop resides under the same awning as the inedible Estragon, but in contrast to its how-the-heck-did-your-chef-finish-culinary-school-neighbor, Las Ventas has mastered the art of the sandwich. Las Ventas serves up high-end Spanish sandwiches with perfectly paired ingredients that almost make you forget that you’re eating a sandwich. I also never thought that caramelizing was such a lucrative art…

The Las Ventas on French bread is nothing short of amazing – tortilla Espanola seems so simple – just egg and potato, but it just shows you the power of salt. Add caramelized green pepper and aioli and you have an Herbal Essences commercial except the model is dry and eating a sandwich.

 The Castilla is another worthy candidate of your Las Ventas virginity – the chorizo is otherworldly flavorful, and everything tastes good on their crispy-crust, chewy-in-the-middle French loaf. Not a fan of French bread? No problem – you get four choices of bread. But don’t say I didn’t warn you if nothing is as good as the French…

Other options: The Extremadura is good if you’re craving pork loin and the caramelized onions add the perfect gooey finish, and the Delcampo is tasty (but absolutely not the one I recommend) if you’re a portabella lover. But seriously, if you’re getting something here, the Delcampo just isn’t the way to go.

It seems that South End is hub of amazing sandwiches. Some of the restaurants could take a lesson from my big 3: Las Ventas, Flour, Blunch – perfection between two slices of bread is pretty hard to do …

I swore I’d never go back to Estragon and had no reason to even venture near there, but now Las Ventas has me returning constantly. I just might be the one-woman effort to keep this place in business so try it and bring your friends. Trust me, you’ll come back, but don’t linger too long – you may buy all the delicious chorizos and Serrano ham behind the counter…

The Miracle of Tico - Boston

The impossible has happened – I seriously thought being struck by lightning was more likely…

I’ve discovered a five-star restaurant in Boston that isn’t Toro and isn’t a sandwich shop. All I know is, if Michael Schlow’s newest restaurant is this good, I can only imagine what the original will be like. Time to save up money to eat at Radius…

Balance is the key at Tico and it seems Mr. Schlow actually understands the definition of fusion and uses these elements to create the food nirvana that is Tico.

The first praiseworthy item is our server’s Buddhist-like patience, exhibited by his ability to serve, satisfy, and not strangle two of Boston’s most indecisive diners. He revisited our table on four occasions before we actually ordered. Having waiting tables myself, I assure you, while service with a smile is standard, only a man with the patience of a deity could have dealt with our level of wavering interspersed with bickering that could put an old married couple to shame.

Fish Tacos: Funny, the menu didn’t say anything about a sinfully-amazingly-delicious, artery-clogging mayo-like sauce…

The corn soft taco shells are a hint of sweetness,and the fish is evenly breaded and fried to a crisp but still soft golden tan. The little strands of pickled onion keep the fried fish and mayo combination from being nauseatingly heavy, and the red jalapeno contribute a light kick of spice, but the mayo staves off the after-burn.

Probably the best thing on the menu.

Pork Tacos: They weren’t lying when they described the pork as tender. The pork is the golden standard of carnitas and though I’m didn’t really taste much spiciness in the cucumber, this simple combination adds a crispy texture to the soft pork and introduces a refreshing aspect to a notoriously heavy meat.

Braised Short Rib: The grilled zucchini is gallantly grilled, and the short rib is brilliantly braised. You know the meat is good when you cut it without a knife. The grain salad is a crunchier, harder version of couscous, but it’s cold to balance out the hot food, and contributes yet another burst of fun freshness. Warning: the grains are tiny. NOT for those with dentures.

As my past reviews have explicitly stated, I have a huge pet peeve of anything drowned in sauce, but this short rib had the exact right amount of gravy – just enough to cover the meat, but not enough to spread around the plate. Yummmm...

Chocolate Gelato, Peanut Butter Mousse, Caramelized Banana Split: I never order dessert because it disappoints me so often. Even Toro’s churros suck! But this was amazing. The burnt sugar on the half-banana was almost unnecessary considering just how good everything else was. The gelato was thick and the peanut butter mousse was rich but we got through all three scoops without feeling full…it’s like when Jesus fed everyone with a basket of bread and fish except the opposite….

Chen-fucius say “Chef who balance food know how to carry tray.”

Chen-fucius adamantly believes that perfectly-cooked ingredients should be expected at any restaurants. After all, isn’t cooking the first thing you learn in culinary school? Only the truly great restaurants such as Tico can combine those ingredients to achieve the perfect balance of flavors, turning a good dish into something truly exceptional.