text:
Strip T's increasing funkiness
- Ruprecht Jul 14, 2011 01:29 PM
And I mean funkiness in a good way. Over the past several months there, I have seen an increasing amount of southern food and Asian influence in their menu (something they had a bit of in the past.) A couple of nights ago, they had a fried pig-tail appetizer with watermelon and peanuts, a few weeks ago deep-fried brussels sprouts. The salmon entree included grilled bok choy, finely shredded crispy carrot strings, and a generous amount of what I think was a cilantro pesto. And their takeout menu (not yet online) had a stew featuring tripe. All-in-all, a bit more adventurous than is normal for the area. Anyone know whether the management has changed?
Strip-T's Restaurant
93 School St, Watertown, MA 02472
Yeah, http://chowhound.chow.com/topics/7914...
Apparently, a Momofuku vet is in the kitchen now.
re: VintageMolly
this link is a little more direct: http://www.bostonchefs.com/news/2011/...
re: VintageMolly
I also went with four friends recently. I really want this place to hit it out of the park with the new chef, but my experience was a bit more mixed.
We did some heavy grazing.
The selection of funky sodas is great.
Wines and beers are well selected and priced.
We split the poutine to start. Delicious dish, but having never had poutine I can't vouch for it's authenticiy. It was a bit light on the cheese curds, and the curds were not squeaky chewy. But the dish as a whole was great. A bit more curds would have made this a 9.5. As it was 8.5.
The burrito, no other way to say it was just bland. No oomph to it at all. Totally forgettable. The pulled pork needs some more flavor.
One of us wanted a Cobb salad which we ordered. I think this is a hangover from the old menu it was fine, but nothing noteworthy.
Had the Buffalo sweetbreads with pickled celery. The sweetbreads were excellent, exactly what you'd expect. The pickled celery was minced so finely and sprinkled so delicately on top that it essentially didn't exist as a flavor component. If you want to riff on buffalo wings but sub the very cool idea of sweetbreads instead then take it to it's logical conclusion. Perhaps big slabs of pickled celery would have done the trick. The sweetbreads themselves were cooked to perfection and quite delicious. The only quibble here is that they were just a bit overwhelmed by the buffalo sauce. Really just a quibble cause the sweetbreads were cooked perfectly.
We also had the Scorpion Bowl of mussels and fries. Also another execution that did not quite hold together. I love the fact that it was served in a huge Tiki-style scorpion bowl.
The fries were drowned in hot sauce and all sort of mushy-soggy. Some effort to keep them separate and crispy would have been a HUGE improvement. The sauce was essentially identical to the Buffalo sauce on the sweetbreads. If the server had told us that we would not have ordered both buffalo-ey dishes.
One of us also had a burger which was competently done according to my friend, but I forgot to take a bite (drat) so can't really comment. He liked it well enough.
I would go again in a heartbeat.
Prices are great.
And the general flavors etc. are far more interesting then they were.
Feel like they are still getting their legs during the transition, but I also get the feel that this is really his first shot as a chef calling the shots, and he is still working to get his legs under him.
I hope he gets his mojo working cause the potential is there.
Nice report! Totally going to get overlooked in Watertown I fear - I will try to do my part.
I was there for lunch recently and the specials included poutine, vegetarian banh mi, and soft shell crab something or other. Definitely not your grandpa's Strip-T's, although they still had the old menu with the usual steak tips, Caesar salad, etc. I had the poutine and banh mi (which is why I can remember them) and both were excellent. Prices were around $8-12 for the lunch specials. I don't think I'll be going back soon, unfortunately, because the place is so small it's really difficult to navigate with my two little ones -- even though both the staff and the customers are so nice that they went out of their way for us, with several people getting out of their seats so we could get out of the restaurant and someone hopping out of line to hold the door!
Strip-T's Restaurant
93 School St, Watertown, MA 02472
Went back for dinner last night. The charred baby octopus with smoked tomato wasbi sauce was one of the best things I have eaten in a while. Also had a tasty "scorpion" moule-frites dish, which was spicy and served in a scorpion bowl (a la The Hong Kong in Harvard Square). Definitely will be a regular here, I hope it lasts.
re: Ruprecht
this thread has me anxious to try it there. Plse describe interior - what kind of seating; wicked crammed w/ tables? loud?reservations possible? thnx much.
re: opinionatedchef
Tiny. Handful of tables on left, carryout area on right.
Bathroom is downstairs around side of kitchen through a door and then up some stairs to a throne of sorts.
Portions for lunch are small.
re: lergnom
I'd say it has the look/ambience of an old-fashioned "coffee shop," although the food, old or new, was definitely better. The service is very friendly; several of the wait and take-out people remember my name, and it's not as tho I go there every day. It isn't usually crowded at dinner time; at lunch, if you wait til after 1, it's not much of a wait for a seat.
re: DoubleMan
not the only one
I love this story. Strip-T's has always been a solid little indie joint (albeit one I mocked among my list of worst-named restaurants in Boston), a good value if not exactly a boundary-pusher. Looks like the torch has passed, and the new kid has a stint at Ssäm Bar under his belt, which I imagine makes it tough to just do turkey tips and rollups.
Strip-T's Restaurant
93 School St, Watertown, MA 02472
We have been twice in the past two weeks and have loved the food each visit. Both the old standard dishes (like the Ceasar salad) and the "funkier ones" (the exceptionally tasty baby octopus dish) have been amazing, our favorite being the catfish and grits - those grits, I wish I could eat them every day. It has been pretty empty each time we have went, although I like that we can always get a seat, I hope it starts to fill up more.
PS - I forgot to mention another huge plus of this place - the really reasonably priced beers (for example, $3 Sam Adams)
Well, my son and I had dinner here last night and it was pretty awesome.
To start we split a couple of small plates. The crispy pig tails with pickled watermelon and peanuts were really delicious. The meat was very tender and the acid in the watermelon was a perfect foil for the sweet sauce on the tails. So good. The second small plate was braised oxtail with poached egg and frisee with a really nice mustardy dressing. The oxtail was extremely tender and the rich egg yolk and pungent dressing really gave balance to the dish. They both hit the mark.
For mains we split the ribs with mac and cheese and the haddock and scallop casserole. The ribs were really tender with a sweet and vinegary sauce. Not much smoke flavor. The mac and cheese had a terrific crust and lots of flavor, but we both felt it could have used a little salt. We still managed to devour it. Nothing left on that plate. The seafood casserole was classic, slightly updated New England comfort food, with a crisp paprika bread crumb topping and tender seafood in a butter-seafood stock sauce with a bit of chorizo for flavor. Very tasty.
With two glasses of a pleasant tempranillo and a Narragansett, the bill was $60 before tip. Ridiculously low for the quality of the food. Sadly, it looked like most people were ordering off the old menu. Hope this menu catches on and this young chef gets some notice from the local community.
re: bear
We had a great time recently as well.
The grilled baby octopi in the smoked tomato and wasabi sauce were fantastic - so tender and an interesting flavor in the sauce.
The Moxie wings had that great herbal/root-y flavor from the soda. Messy, but tasty.
My friend raved about the tofu and eggplant Japanese (weird, I know) banh mi, but I did not try it.
Everyone's favorite dish was the steak frites with chimichurri. They simply just killed it, and for $15. Perfectly cooked and seasoned steak with one of the better chimuchurris I've had. Great fries and tasty pickled peppers rounded everything out. Not wildly creative like some other things, but you don't need to have all creative dishes when you can perfectly execute dishes like this.
Only letdown was the fried chicken with waffles. The waffles were fluffy and tasty, a very solid rendition. The collard greens were simply outstanding - perfect balance of tender yet substantial, bright acidity balancing with the savoriness. Truly a great version. The fried chicken, however, was a total bummer. The chicken itself was well-cooked and perfectly seasoned (maybe a brine going on there), but I thought the crust was all wrong. Way too thick and more of a hard crunch than a good crispness, to the point that it was hard to eat. He must double (at least) coat the chicken before frying. If the chicken had a coating 1/2 as thick, I think the dish could be near perfect. As it is, it still blows that version at Trina's out of the water. (Maybe others have different experiences but I think the chicken and waffles at Trina's is pathetic - dry, flavorless chicken on top of a dry, flavorless waffle. It boggles my mind that they've received national attention for that dish.)
re: DoubleMan
thanks, bear and double, those dish details are v helpful. we'll have to get over there this week.
re: opinionatedchef
My very jet-lagged husband and I needed a quick dinner Friday night so we stopped by to try the burgers, which caught my attention the night before. I had the Strip T's burger with smoked miso, lemon aioli and pickled onions, ordered med-rare. Really, really good. Very juicy, cooked properly and the miso gave just the right amount of salty smokiness. The aioli was really bright and delicious. On a large Iggy's (I'm guessing) brioche roll, which managed to hold up to the burger. I'd definitely order it again. $12 with fries.
My husband's was a simple chuck burger with Cabot cheddar, and just as juicy and delicious. A good value at $10. Fries were hand-cut and tasty.
re: opinionatedchef
We went 8pm tonight and tasted alot of dishes. terrific friendly waitress ;only 2 other occupied tables so we had lots of room, but noise really reflects in there. The food was pretty good but nothing that would draw me back.
We pre-tasted and did not order the lobster 'bisque' which was the equivalent of lobster demi; i cannot imagine he really served that product without adding cream and fish stock etc.
The tomato wasabi sauce under the baby octopus was the most interesting flavor of the evening but the dark brown octopus was deep fried? or overfried in very very hot oil, and it was definitely chewy tough and not tender. The poutine was very interesting and much better than most; fresh fries w/ a spicy coating, excellent semi melted cheese cubes and a 'gravy' that tasted chinese but i couldn't figure out why. Moxy wings were moist, but all about wicked sweet and hoisin( a personal strong dislike of mine.) Catfish was flavorful and moist, with a sauteed pepper and onion cajunesque sauce, served over straightforward grits with good chewy stone ground texture. Onion rings were thin and simply coated with buttermilk and cornmeal. The cioppino base was not particularly flavorful. The corn was the winner for me, coated with a spicy mayo and parm.That corn I WOULD go back for.
When the PR around a previously unknown young chef claims stints at prestigious restaurants like Momofoku, I am always wary because I know how long it can take a chef fresh out of culinary school- to just get beyond vegetable prep, much less start to really understand the complexity of the art of making great food. In the case of this chef, I'm guessing that 'the kid' (26 i'm told but looking all of 20) didn't do much decision making in his brief stint at momofoku, but i wish him the best as he grows. The menu is very broad: mexican, french, indian, regional american, asian.... Something for everyone. Portions were large and pricing very reasonable. And judging from the CH response, this is a niche that needs filling and a possible neighborhood gem in the making.
re: opinionatedchef
Sorry to hear about the octopus. My understanding is that it is grilled, and when I tried it, it was as tender as could be.
re: DoubleMan
I had both the octopus and grilled corn last week - I held off my review because, like opinionatedchef, my octopus was a tad overdone. It's so easy to overcook it, and once it is, it's rubbery. Thankfully I had a serrated knife.
I also loved the corn - a good take on the mexican street food version with chili and cotija cheese and a lime to squeeze!
re: DoubleMan
Ditto, mine was on-the-money tender. Let's not make the mistake of comparing the poor guy to David Chang, regardless of where he has worked. To me, the quality, value, and inventiveness of the food are just about perfect for the neighborhood. I do agree with opinionatedchef's assessment of the tendency of some dishes towards overly sweet in an Americanized-Chinese kind of way, but so far I have had many more hits than misses.
re: opinionatedchef
Sorry you didn't particularly enjoy it, oc. We didn't try the octopus (sounds like there are consistency problems with the grilling), since the oxtail and poached egg app won out. I even enjoyed the tripe "croutons", which were nice and crispy, and I don't particularly love tripe. We were happy with our dishes and felt that they were well-conceived and executed. I do agree that the sauces on the ribs and the crispy pig tails were a quite sweet, though, and distract a bit from the tender pork.
He clearly is a young chef, but he seems to have a solid foundation and I think his time as co-chef de cuisine at Ssam Bar probably helped him develop a bit more in a tough kitchen. It will be interesting to see where he takes it.
re: bear
My concern with such places is finding and keeping an audience after a big tonal shift like this. I understand the yong chef is keeping some classic Strip-T's items on the menu, which is a nice nod to their longstanding regulars, but how many non-Chowhounds will be aware of the new direction?
Sometimes the neighborhood just isn't supportive, either, and you need the neighbors on board at a place like this. Witness the rapid backpedaling that Savin Hill Bar & Kitchen did only a couple of months after opening with a more modern, ambitious menu.
Strip-T's Restaurant
93 School St, Watertown, MA 02472
re: MC Slim JB
Yeah, that is a potential problem, and so is keeping a young, inventive chef at a joint that can only seat 15 people at a time. I was there for lunch the other day (the menu for which is unchanged, btw) and saw a note on the sidewalk specials board explaining the shift in dinner focus.
re: MC Slim JB
On two recent visits, most of the crowd were regulars.
I guess I don't see which audience they might be losing with some of these changes. Regulars are still coming in and getting favorites (at least half the menu are holdovers) and hounds are also starting to come. If they were having trouble before, I see these moves as expanding their market. If they were doing well, it seems like those people are still coming in.
If the plan is to totally switch to the new stuff, I agree that it could be problematic, but right now I think they are hitting the right balance.
Related: the burger with smoked miso and lemon aioli is really tasty and the skirt steak with chimichurri has been absolutely perfect on two visits.
re: MC Slim JB
good idea; wrong neighborhood. This restaurant would be better located in boston or central square in cambridge.
re: cambridgedoctpr
disagree totally. why??
totally swamped in town , quality would suffer, rents would be doubled, less chance for trying something different, total checks would increase 60%. parking would be a huge pain in the ass.
whats wrong with where it is?
re: cambridgedoctpr
Count me in the Totally DIsagree camp as well. Strip-T's has been a Watertown establishment for over 20 years with plenty of regulars AND newcomers. It is wonderful that a restaurant like this has reinvented itself and caught the attention of Chowhounders. I see no reason why it would not continue to do well, especially with a rave Phoenix review. It doesn't have to be in Cambridge to be hip (also see post on Arlington restaurants).
Had myself their soft shell crab po boy a little while ago when soft shell crabs were in season and was lucky enough to snag the last one at lunch time. Perfectly done with a light (not at all greasy!), crisp exterior on the crab. Still dreaming about it.....
Strip-T's Restaurant
93 School St, Watertown, MA 02472
re: Crazy Egg
Count me in the totally disagree camp too....if it was in Cambridge I probably wouldn't visit here as often.
re: Infomaniac
As Yogi Berra once (sort of) said:
No one goes to restaurants in Cambridge any more... they are always too crowded.
re: cambridgedoctpr
I like it where it is, but per a recent interview with the father and son, the fancy food has not been met with tremendous enthusiasm by the main line Watertown crowd.
Agree that buffalo sweetbreads and banh mi tend to have a more welcoming audience in Cambridge.
That being said, I have faith that great cuisine will win out, 9 times out of 10.
re: Bob Dobalina
I am sure they will be able to navigate keeping the old-timers happy whilst turning the cuisine up a notch or three.
Heck if the Watertown/Belmont area can support Red Lentil, Shangri-La, Golden Garden, Town Diner, Arax, Sevan, Eastern Lamejun, Massi, Fastachi, Donohue's Conley's, Gustazo, Kitchen on Common, Il Casale, Grappa, Fordees, Pho and Thai, Demos, Tabrizi Bakery, 2 Persian restaurants (names?), Halfway Cafe, Sofra, Celebrity Pizza, East Side Wings, Stella's Pizza, all of which server pretty decent chow, I think this region has the demand and market to support the newly reinvigorated Strip T's.
In fact I think the Red Lentil crowd (and it is ALWAYS busy) overlaps significantly with the clientele that Strip T's will be going for. I look forward to them being around for another 20 years with the son at the helm.
re: StriperGuy
Jasmine & Molana. http://www.jasminetasteofpersia.com/f...
Molana Restaurants
5 Spring St, Watertown, MA 02472
re: Taralli
re: Taralli
And Shiraz.
re: cambridgedoctpr
Come mothers and fathers
Throughout the land
And don't criticize
What you can't understand
Your sons and your daughters
Are beyond your command
Your old road is rapidly agin'
Please get out of the new one if you can't lend your hand
For the times they are a-changin'
re: LStaff
nice, but no matter what bob dylan said, we are still stuck here in side of mobile with the memphis blues again
re: cambridgedoctpr
OTOH the prices for floating rock went through the roof and the quality went to crap.
re: StriperGuy
Exactly :)
Living in central, I love the idea of something like Strip T's moving closer to me but now that I've seen what happened to FR I'll not be advocating that!
re: cambridgedoctpr
Uhhh, I'll chime in for the Totally Disagree crowd as well. I think it is perfect exactly where it is.
Being a little off the beaten track, with a low key Watertown chef in a low key Watertown local relieves a lot of the pressure and lets him cooks the way he wants.
Never mind if he had to put up with the annoyingly finicky Cambridge, South End, or Back Bay clientele the place just would not be the same.
Had the pig tails and the eggplant tofu bahn mi last week and both totally blew my mind. Truly excellent chow with none of the Tony Maws attitude.
That Bahn mi (though perhaps not spot on authentic) might just be my favorite sandwich in Boston period. Kinda healthy, totally amazing!
re: opinionatedchef
I've had the octopus there and it was very tender and delicious. I'm not sure why the age of the person who cooks your food matters so much, if you have ever been to momofuku before, you would look into the kitchen and see a bunch of "kids" working in their kitchens, also i believe david chang is also in his early thirties. all of that aside, i would agree with okra and say there are many more hits than misses, not every dish every chef makes is going to be outstanding. I think the bottom line is the food is simple and straight forward without being boring. The specials often change and the menu is ambitious. i love the cioppino and the steak and chimichurri with picklled peppers is awesome!!
re: muffin_lover
i'm sure this is self evident, but age plays an intrinsic part in a chef's career. just because you are" working in momofuku's kitchen" means nothing on its own. Typically, prof chefs start by doing everything from washing dishes to chopping mise en place for the first few years. early on, they typically are not given responsibility for the key flavor elements of even one dish, much less planning a menu. but as i said, i wish him the best, and i am so glad he is making lots of people happy.
re: opinionatedchef
True geniuses in almost any field tend to exhibit that genius quite young.
Nothing wrong with the traditional francophone approach of several years of tutelage essentially as a serf in the kitchen until one is trusted to actually create a dish or two.
But even the most stuffy old fashioned restaurant these days will recognize talent when they see it.
Also, in any well run organization, restaurant or otherwise, talent that is not given some running room often picks up and leaves. A well run organization recognizes that talent (young or old) and challenges is and gives it room to prosper.
When talent is ignored, often enough they open a resto right next door that is better than the original...
re: opinionatedchef
I would say it is experience, and not age, that plays a part. Some people start working in professional kitchens in high school; depending on how talented they are and who they're working for, they might be quite accomplished by 26. A career-changer who drops out of biotech to start culinary school at 45 is not more valuable in the kitchen because he or she is older.
re: stomachofsteel
re: DoubleMan
For those of you out there who might venture to south to PVD, North (listed on Strip T's friends/links page) is now open.
The space, when it housed Ama, felt like a jewel-box. Lovely. I wonder what they've done to the place. And the menu is intriguing.
EDIT: Not replying to Double Man's post...not sure how mine ended up here.
Very interesting article on the father-and-son Strip T's duo from the Watertown Tab:
It says the son's aim is to make Strip T's into a "fine casual dining" restaurant. This is absolutely my favorite thing about it right now. I have two little kids and we can't get out much. But I can get TAKEOUT grilled baby octopus. At reasonable prices, too. I cannot express how much I love that.
re: Pia
Thanks for posting this awesome article. I have to get over there soon.
And their specials on Facebook...
buffalo sweetbreads with blue cheese and pickled celery
new dessert : hot brioche doughnuts with carrot chai and pinapple- great combo!
Man oh man do we need to represent - sweetbreads in h2Otown?! holy carp - skip the fish and chips, grab a townie and go!
re: Bob Dobalina
So I went the night of this post and was very happy with my meal.
We started out with much lauded grilled baby octopus. If I had only that all night, I would have been a very happy man. This preparation is something I have searched for in Boston and have been unable to find in over 10 years (it was fairly standard in another city's sushi bars). In fact, every time I have ever seen baby octopi in Boston, they have been of the cold, marinated variety - the grill is the right way to treat these babies...and man was this dish yummy, accompanying fennel and tomato wasabi was very complimentary of the smoky octopus.
For dinner, my DW had the chef's salad - it was very large, very competently made - of particular note, the chicken was an entire roast chicken breast, not the chunk chicken you might often encounter. Lots of bacon too.
I had the house-smoked kielbasa, purple cabbage, pretzel bread and spiced yogurt sauce - the kielbasa was awesome, great flavor, and everything went really well with a couple of Thomas Hooker (CT) blonde ales. Just great.
So we had to get dessert - it was the special - hot brioche doughnuts with carrot chai and pineapple - dusted with some black powder - turned out to be pineapple ash - interesting idea. The dessert was rather non-typical - more savory than sweet - which is to say that I was pleasantly surprised.
I really enjoyed the place - the fact that it is in Watertown and has a certain hidden gem quality makes it a *bit* more interesting, but my honest food evaluation is that it is definitely worth a visit.
I really admire the chef's ambition and I hope more local folks will continue to take a shine to the stuff he puts out, and heck, I'll try to humbly support him with a couple of visits a season.
Thanks entirely to this thread, I stopped in to Strip-T's for a late dinner last night after an event in town. I had been a bunch of times but it had fallen out of the rotation the last couple of years because really there were only 1 or 2 things that were consistently good and I just got kind of tired of them. Wow, has that ever changed! First course was easy, I knew before walking in that istwas going to be the crispy pigs tails ($9). But choosing a main course was though: there were 5 entrees I wanted. That just never happens to me, it is unusual that I am stuck between 3. So I ended up ordering the skirt steak with chimichurri described above ($16). Those pigs tails were a revelation. I don't know why we bother with the other parts of the pig when the tails are so amazing. They serve them with a wet-nap and a dish for the bone discards and it really is food you have to pick up and gnaw on, and it is the essence of porkiness. Wow. It is going to be very hard not to order those every single time I go in. The steak was also outstanding -- it arrived in a bowl, which made my heart sink (hate trying to cut things in a bowl) until I saw that it had been sliced into perfect bite-sized pieces and then reassempled on top of a mound of crispy tiny potaotes, julienned peppers and watercress, with a generous mound of chimichurri on top. Of course after the tails, at least half came home with me for a delicious lunch today. Each and every thing was right on the money, including nice service and a decent Malbec. I stopped to compliment Tim on the way out and said that I had been to Pigalle and to EVOO for RW and I thought his cooking was right on a par with theirs but at half the price (his entrees are in the $13 to $16 range). He said, yeah but we're totally no frills -- which of course is exactly right: in that sense the restaurants do not compare at all. I do wish him a lot of success, I want that cooking available to me for a long time yet to come!
Strip-T's Restaurant
93 School St, Watertown, MA 02472
re: GretchenS
We've been fans of strip-T's for a long time but hadn't been in a while, so were caught by surprise by the new menu. Surprised, and blown away. What a gem! I had the grilled octupus, which was fantastic, tender and flavorful. My partner had a special, the central American tripe stew. We split a small plate app, pumpkin toast with quanciale, and a small caesar salad. The cheese toast was the least successful, the very chewy quanciale made it tough to either cut or eat as finger food. But everything was delicious and the menu had so many intriguing items that we wanted to try. The attention to detail was amazing, from the very finely julienned apple strips on the stew, the beautiful fennel fronds on the octopus, the artistically arranged plates, it all felt like a much more expensive restaurant but still in the funky neighborhood joint. We'll definitely be back and not wait so long this time.
re: GretchenS
well, gretchen, the details you provided about the steak- have convinced me to give this spot a second go. Thanks much for that. (But if my octopus is fried to shoe leather again like last time, this time i'm sending it back!)
re: GretchenS
Went back last night with friends and it was amazing again. I was running late so they went ahead and ordered a couple of apps while they were waiting -- the grilled baby octopus and the central American tripe stews that luvsummer mentions. I arrived to see the last bite going down but they said both were absolutely superb, the octopus just outstandingly tender. Next up was a grilled romaine topped with spicy oxtails and a poached egg. The waitress put it in the middle of the table and we attacked it like sharks in a feeding frenzy -- I think it was gone in two minutes -- it was so good that I seriously contemplated ordering another as my entree. Then came the pigs tails. My friends were not expecting actual pigs tails but once I talked them into trying, they snarfed them right down and said they would never come to Strip-Ts without ordering them. The waitress wanted to know which was their favortie app and they said "all of them". For mains, I had the fried chicken, grits and collards. One of my DCs is from the South and pronounced the chicken to be the real-deal Southern style. I thought it was fantastic, juicy (even the white meat), crispy and spicy. I have never liked grits but I sure liked these ones and my SOuther DC could not keep her fork out of them. She had the moules frites and loved them. The frites were homemade, properly twice-fried and fantastic. The other DC had a fried Japanese eggplant and tofu bahn mi which he adored and a cauliflower side dish that was very tasty. We also hot the hot brioche donut dessert mentioned above. I am no sweet eater at all, but thought it was very interesting. My DCs loved it. We can hardly wait to go back, this is serious cooking at a ridiculously low price point. Service again was wonderful.
One thing for opinionated chef to consider: I have noticed over the months that our tastes do not tend to line up -- for example, I love Francesca's eggplant parm, must have had it two dozen times so am fairly confident that it is consistent. That is fine, it would be a boring old world if we were all the same, but I think you should not go here on my recommendation, wait until you hear from someone you tend to line up with better. Just sayin.
Strip-T's Restaurant
93 School St, Watertown, MA 02472
re: GretchenS
Another outstanding meal last night, third time there in 6 weeks or so and Tim greeted me by name -- now that is hospitality! My friend and I split the pigs tails, the grilled romaine with spicy oxtails and poached egg, and the eggplant and fried tofu bahn mi. All three were perfectly executed and delicious. It was also the perfect amount of food for us. The place was nearly full the whole time we were there and it looked as though about 2/3 of the tables were ordering from the tamer side of the menu and the other 1/3 from the funkier part. Service as ever was extremely sweet. Each of those 3 plates was $9 and the very acceptable Malbec $6/glass, making this an incredible value for money proposition.
re: GretchenS
I think it's my new favorite restaurant. It's just so fun to go and try the specials, get great, interesting food, friendly service, and spend less than $25 per person. I've noticed they've added quite a few interesting local beers. I hope they start that same trend with the wine.
Have you had the oysters? They have been superb on two recent visits - really fresh with a great mignonette.
re: DoubleMan
Do you know if the specials and oysters are only offered after 5PM or might they be available during the day too?
re: Taralli
Not sure. I suspect the oysters are just for dinner. They have lunch specials, some of which carryover to dinner, but some are lunch-only. They do a good job posting the lunch specials on their facebook page, but they don't do the same for dinner specials.
re: DoubleMan
We went a while back and once again loved it. For three of us, we ordered the baby octopus, which was deliciously smoky and tender and the sauce was killer. We also had the delicious buffalo sweetbreads (sheepishly have to say that I thought they would be sweetbreads from buffaloes...hangs head in shame), and the very tasty cauliflower with chorizo. Next came the house-smoked kielbasa that Bob D. described above. Fantastic flavor and texture, and the house-baked pretzel roll was the perfect accompaniment. We ordered potato salad thinking it would be a fun side for the kielbasa. It was very flavorful, but way too much food. The vegetarian among us had the banh mi and some solid if unremarkable fries and was very happy.
For top-notch, complex and creative food that left three people stuffed, along with two glasses of wine and two beers, the bill was under $70. Fantastic value.
GretchenS, so glad to hear that more people are ordering off the new menu.
One thought: it's really hard (for me at least) to find the new dinner menu on the Facebook page. The old menu is on their website. The lunch specials are posted daily. I'm not on Facebook, but I wonder if anyone who is would be willing to post a suggestion that they have a direct link to the dinner menu? Or maybe someone from the restaurant will read this. I think that could drum up more interest.
I must say, with regret, that I agree that Strip T's is very good. My regret comes from knowing that they'll be mobbed as the news spreads, and I want to avoid that happening until I've eaten there a few more times.
I've sampled several things. Nothing was less than very good and most of the food has been excellent or above. Humble poutine was elevated by the freshest and whitest of cheese curds, sprinkled with red pepper flakes for an unexpected bite, and drizzled with a gravy that had more depth of flavor that any poutine gravy has any right to have. The caesar salad had fresh, crunchy greens and a tangy, anchovy-flecked dressing. The clam chowder had a clean creaminess, extraordinarily tender clams, and potatoes cooked to the perfect point between holding their shape and almost dissolving on your tongue. The fish stew had salmon, haddock (I think), clams, shrimp, and mussels in a tomato based broth that simultaneosly soothed and bit. Excellent though all these were, the charred bluefish sitting on a base of the creamiest grits I've ever had hit a level of sublimeness that you usually only encounter at twice the price (and often not there either). The only weak note was the dish with clams (beautifully tender, as all their seafood is), potatoes (sliced fingerlings, again texturally perfect) and housemade sausage. Their facebook page trumpeted this sausage, but I found it overly dense, not hugely tasty, and cut into chunks too large to go with the clams and potatoes.
This is a kitchen being run with a sure hand and a great instinct for food. Go. (But wait a month.)
re: FoodDabbler
I agree about the sausage dish. I preferred the earlier iteration with a pork chop to the almost kielbasa-like sausage they have now, and the sauce could use a bit more mustard or acid to balance the richness.
The fish over grits dish has been superb on three recent visits, but this weekend that sauce was also lacking some acidity found in previous visits, which made the dish really sing.
I heard the chef talking that there would be mention in the Phoenix soon. I've been going more than once a week and absolutely love the place. I'm glad they are getting attention (they deserve it), but I hope I can still get in soon.
re: DoubleMan
I went last night and it wasn't that crowded. There were a number of empty tables at 7:30. I think they were expecting a bigger crowd because of the Phoenix review, but it was totally empty by 9pm and they had planned on staying open until 10. Maybe this weekend will be more crowded, but it hasn't hit yet.
Although the flavors were great, much seemed rather dry or overcooked last night, especially the bluefish over the very tasty grits. The baby octopi and pig tails were perhaps chewier than they should have been. The brioche doughnuts were like lead sinkers...
I'd go back, because it's interesting, the service is nice and the prices are good. Certainly worth another try! (except for those doughnuts....)
re: silver queen
well, we will see how well this restaurant does.
I am not sure how well it will do, but i sure will try it soon.
re: FoodDabbler
Boston Phoenix gave it a serious rave this week. Wanted to review it myself, but another On the Cheap reviewer called dibs on it. (I only do one or two of those a month now.)
I've had the tofu and eggplant banh mi recently and I agree with Gretchen, Striper, etc., that it's very good. It balances the crisp (fried tofu) with the creamy (eggplant), the hot (tofu, toasted bread, etc.) with the cold (kewpie-ish mayo, veggies), the kick of a little bite with the less assertive flavors beautifully. It's well worth having again and again.
I also thought I'd try things from the regular/old side. The pastrami was a disappointment. It was cut too thin, and although it had flavor it was dry. The board advertised it as "lean pastrami" and that should have warned me off, but I was curious. Is it possible that the new chef only handles the new items?
We were there for an early lunch once and the place wasn't crowded. I do wonder if all the new items can survive. Red Lentil and several of the places Striper mentions all have slightly better locations, and a slight difference like that might make a big difference to survival. As others report, most of the customers when I've been there have been regulars, known to the staff by name, and they have ordered conventional items.
Red Lentil
600 Mt Auburn St, Watertown, MA 02472
re: FoodDabbler
i loved the eggplant banh mi and found it surprisingly innovative. my husband likes their fairly conventional but very tasty turkey chili for lunch. I consider this place a great value spot and love the innovation in a small, neighborhood driven space. Not everything works perfectly, but there are far more hits than misses and you won't be bored.
A second sampling of grilled bluefish on grits had slightly less creamy grits -- still excellent but a shade short of sublime. The salmon with cauliflower puree, etc., was just a little overcooked, but the overall balance of tastes and textures, and the presentation, was superb. This evening it was the sides that were the stars: the collard greens were tender without being mushy, and seemed to me to whisper ham, although there wasn't any visible. The caramelized cauliflower was extraordinary. Even the french fries were special: crisp, greaseless, and well sprinkled with slightly coarse salt.
On a Friday evening at about 6 the place was half full. But, at one end of the counter in the front room a plate of steak was posing for a Globe photographer.
re: chocojosh
I had the vegetable bahn mi for lunch today and was very happy with it. I would love to recreate it at home with the eggplant and the fried tofu....yummmmmm
re: lmuller
That fried tofu emerges with a layered, almost honeycombed structure that's reminiscent, in some vague sense, of thick crackling.
re: lmuller
You can buy that tofu at Ebisuya in Medford. It's called aburaage and comes frozen (prefried). Broil it lightly and it gets crispy like that. Stuffed with cheese is delicious.
re: chocojosh
Not the same stuff.
You can buy pre-fried tofu in both Chinese and Korean markets, but this was definitely deep fried on the spot, and quite different then the packaged variety of pre-fried tofu.
It's fluffy, crispy deliciousness could have only come straight from the deep frier.
re: StriperGuy
He might have deep fried it again. The tofu was the exact size, shape, and color of the one they sell frozen.
Of course, I didn't go back into the kitchen, so who knows...
re: chocojosh
You might be right. DOUBLE deep fried tofu!
Well now the secret is *really* out, the place was reviewed in the Cheap Eats column of the Globe, at http://www.bostonglobe.com/lifestyle/...
re: luvsummer
Not surprised. As I mentioned above, I saw the Globe photoshoot in progress last week. They don't seem to have used the steak photo I saw them staging.
re: FoodDabbler
was there at three oclock today and were the only people in the joint while we ate. if you are interested in trying this place currently, not a bad time to go. they start serving there dinner menu at 5. roasted pork sandwich with rabe and a 16oz 'gansett , DC had getting-famous bahn mi and pumple drumkin and we were out the door under 20usd apiece. the waitress said they had been bombed all week. go early or late.
re: C. Hamster
Yes, but it's more Diner vibe then bar vibe.
re: StriperGuy
Thats fine. THANKS!
I had been planning to drop in Wednesday night and was a bit chagrined to see the Globe review which would mean a lot of other eager eaters would be dropping in too. I went anyway, quite early, about 6:15, and was really glad I did, the place had such a buzz and everyone was so excited. They had lots of extra help on in anticipation of the crowds, including Tim's lovely girlfriend Jee-Eun and his dad Paul. I got the grilled romaine with spicy oxtail and poached egg, which may even edge out the pigs tails as my favorite thing there (but only by a whisker) -- I was really surprised that neither dish made the Globe review. It was fabulous as always. I then had the Strip-Ts burger and fries that had been teasing me every time I had been. Holy cow, what a burger! It goes right into contention in the never-ending burger wars, as far as I'm concerned. My only problem was the whole eyes-bigger-then stomach thing: I had to leave an embarrassing amount of the fabulous fries, and couldn't even finish the burger, which almost never happens. But man was it good. The place was hopping the whole time I was there but no actual line to get in. Everyone in the place seemed jazzed, the food was awesome as usual, my waitress was a hoot, and I thoroughly enjoyed myself and was delighted I went. What more can you ask?
Strip-T's Restaurant
93 School St, Watertown, MA 02472
re: GretchenS
That's great to hear. Let's hope the buzz continues after the review fades. Hard to imagine that there won't be lots of new fans after they try that fabulous food at those prices.
We had the oxtail/poached egg salad when it was served with frisee and just swooned. I can only imagine it with the grilled romaine. The Strip T's burger is quite amazing, too.
re: GretchenS
i bet i know which waitress you had and she is a hoot.
re: GretchenS
In for the first time 11/12, all of the food we had was excellent, loved the small plates we tried - octopus, pigs tail, and grilled romaine/oxtail/poached egg were all great. Burgers were also very good. We will definitely be back for the grilled romaine (really, really excellent) and to try some of the stuff we didn't as well as the specials. Very pleased to see a place in the 'burbs doing interesting food at a reasonable price.
Was in last night for a very early dinner and had the cauliflower appetizer -- richly caramelized cauilflowerettes with a delicious spicy sauce, pickled onions, and just a dusting of cotija. Wonderful. I followed that with another app: a special of braised veal cheeks (meltingly tender with a rich mahogany glazed crust) on a bed of wilted escarole and a tiny pool of rich broth of some sort, the slight bitterness of the escarole an outstanding foil for the wonderfully gelatinous and rich meat and broth, with three teeny tiny egg rolls, perfectly crisp (the man knows his frying) and filled with spaghetti squash with a hauntingly savory flavoring which turned out upon inquiry to be a thyme red wine gastrique. The whole thing was just plain heaven on a plate. I think it would only work as an app because it was so rich and there was so much going on. On the other hand, for me it was the perfect size as my entree, but I just can't eat like I used to. At $14 it is way more expensive than the other apps but to my mind, not only worth every penny but also still a steal compared to what the same app would cost elsewhere. Anyway, if it is on offer when you are there, get it and I predict you will be blown away. Tim continues to impress.
re: GretchenS
man, that gastrique element sounds v. special!
re: GretchenS
Thanks for the heads-up! Gotta get out there again soon and support this guy.
re: GretchenS
Gretchen -- we must have been there at the same time. I loved the veal cheeks, as well as the pig head toast, the corned beef tongue with beet sauce, and the eggplant bahn mi. Oh! And the octopus was incredible!
The more "conventional" food at the surrounding tables (fish n chips, fried chicken) also looked great, but this chef is doing something really special.
Pictures below (octopus, pig head toasts, pig tails, bahn mi, cheeks, corned beef tongue)
re: yumyum
Those veal cheeks are just insanely good.
re: yumyum
yum, i love it when you post your photos. they are just sooo helpful! we're headed over soon.
re: opinionatedchef
Went to Strip T's on Friday thanks to these posts and basically copied Gretchen's ordering...
Had a "wicked small" caesar salad and cauliflower for apps - the banh mi and the veal cheeks for entree - the caesar is actually quite awesome and big enough to split, despite the name. The cauli was excellent - bordering on the edge of salty, but paired with the salad, it was not too much. How is he cooking that cauli? It was thoroughly browned/caramelized but I could not tell if it had been deepfried without a batter? Washed that down with the first half of a 22 oz. Pretty Things american ale (of some variety) - excellent.
The veal cheeks were delicious, although from Gretchen's description of the egg rolls, I was expecting perhaps too much from the egg rolls, though they were very good and I really enjoyed the dish. Most subtle experience than I was expecting - Very rich as you said, and just right for an entree. It was almost like a take on the pork and chinese broccoli over rice one might get as Thai street food or locally at Rod Dee (minus the rice).
The vibe is awesome - cool tunes playing, everyone seems to be thrilled to have the place bustling on a Friday night - Still saw a fair number of burritos too, which makes me scratch my head. A lot of the salmon dish too on Friday - looked great.
re: Bob Dobalina
Bob, I think we were there at the same time on Friday night.
This was our second visit, and we were just blown away by the food. We had a bunch of small plates - pretty much everything in yumyum's pictures plus the cauliflower, and the donut desert special, which sounds similar to the donuts described by others here. Still thinking about the cauliflower dish and the donut desert special almost a week later.
It was very clear that help had been brought into professionalize the service, and all of the little touches were there this time.
Also, since no one else has posted this, this place got a nice story on the Bon Appetit blog: http://www.bonappetit.com/blogsandfor...
re: VintageMolly
Thanks for the article link - incidentally, the salmon dish that is referenced in the article is not what I saw going out on Friday night - the night version of salmon, rice and veggies seemed quite a bit more refined.
Funny that you should mention that you were there - I had an urge to stand up and ask how many chowhound readers were in the dining room, but alas, I held my tongue.
re: Bob Dobalina
I have sometimes fantasized about having a kind of secret neenoo nanoo CH hand symbol. Making a C w/ your right thumb and forefinger? :-} Sounds like fodder for some good TV scenes........
re: opinionatedchef
Badges. We all need name badges with our handles on them.
re: Bob Dobalina
I bark loudly every time I enter a restaurant, then raise my head and howl, hoping other hounds will introduce themselves.
re: yumyum
One more thing. If you decide to go to Strip T's before 12/25... you will find they are accepting donations for toys to be delivered to the area's needy. There is a growing pile right inside the door. I bet they'd accept an envelope with "Toys" written on it as well.
Nice people do nice things. And make nice food.
I got pics at this very unusual place. It is not my usual standard in photography, because I was asked to put away some equipment. Undeterred, I made it work. This place is worth the hike, whether it's a bus, train or hoofing it. The menu and plates are small enough so that you can try everything in two or three visits. Anyway I cannot wait to return, hopefully to get better pics. https://www.facebook.com/photo.php?fb...
I also think you should go soon if interested because I doubt he'll stay on for very long, maybe a year tops.
re: tatsu
Those pics make me want to never post another dumbassed cameraphone pic ever again. Scary what pros can do!
Also, I have to agree with Tatsu here: this young chef's talent is too big for that tiny, out-of-the-way space. Some smart investor is going to offer him a shiny showplace closer to the center of the Boston restaurant scene. I hope he jumps at the chance.
re: StriperGuy
Wonder if they said the same thing about Heston Blumenthal - not suggesting this guy is in the same league, just proposing that if the food is good enough, people will travel to it, maybe even all the way to Watertown...
re: Bob Dobalina
my fervent hope is that they do keep the family business, just expand in Watertown someplace big enough to showcase his talents, make money, and bring business. Watertown could certainly use a nice, mid-luxury stop with innovative food and a comfortable environment. It's got parking, it's got people, it's actually got the gorgeous charles river. If they ever open a river-view restaurant with a chef as good as this young man, I'm a confirmed patron. Why, with a resource as gorgeous as the Charles, we don't have such a destination spot, is beyond me. Wish I were an investor....
re: teezeetoo
It is ironic that Watertown basically turns it back to the Charles River.
re: Bob Dobalina
So true.
Of course there is the gorgeous property just at the intersection of Arsenal and Greenough which used to have signs indicating that it was a low level radioactive waste site. 5-10 years ago (after no remediation) they changed the signs to something more innocuous....
re: tatsu
Tatsu, your photos sent us over the edge so we went tonight. 5PM Saturday. 1st in the door; at 5:50 every table was taken except a deuce.
We sampled lots and really enjoyed ourselves. So great to go somewhere and enjoy the music.
--Thatcher Island Oysters w/ thai basil granita and pickled sliced cranberries- i never mess w/ mignonettes, just lemon, but this was a major wowwwww. (and I didn't know hunka oysters could taste this good.)
--Grilled Romaine w/ oxtail and sousvide egg- Unctuous meaty meets char/crunchy meets rich creamy
--Baby Octopus w/ Fennel,Smoked Tomato Wasabi Sauce- unique perfection
-- Caesar Salad- puts all others to shame
-- Buttermilk Doughnut w/ Lemon Glaze and grilled pineapple
--Fennel and Bacon Soup- great flavor but thick enough to be a good pasta sauce
-- Veal Cheeks w/ collards and squash spring rolls(agree that these latter could be a lot more interesting)
-- Beef Tongue and Apple in Beet Sauce- good but just too rich for me.
One thing I particularly appreciated about our plates(all very handsomely set down) was that they included greens, and not all the same one. My one concern was that the meat components (offal and unusual cuts) were rather rich. Good thing they were small plates; too rich for entree portions for me.
After dinner, had the luck to catch Tim's handsome dad; had a long talk w/ him about how difficult it is to change an established 25 year restaurant w/ its own staff and kitchen routines, but how the rough period is over and how delighted he is with the skills of his son. We both agreed that my shoe leather octopus back in August was the result of the old kitchen staff . Now that Tim has his Momofuku compere with him, those problems should be a thing of the past. (Turns out Tim was the co-head chef at Momo.)
thanks again for all you ravers who inspired us to return. Look forward to returning soon. I sure hope he keeps those oysters on the menu.
re: opinionatedchef
Thanks opinionated, I appreciate corrections on the dishes, they are pretty complex, not that it excuses my lack of accuracy.
I really enjoy shooting food I enjoy and am glad it sent more business their way. I am definitely returning soon, hope to can catch them at a time where I can shoot in my style.
re: tatsu
Responding to Bear on the Watertown thread, I recently went with a friend and enjoyed the grilled octopus, apple-tongue salad and a nice homey slice of cake. Octopus was great, tongue was good, though I think I might be of the opinion that tongue is simply not the best cut of the cow (strangely enough, tongue is a childhood nostalgia food for me, same category as fish sticks). The most compelling reasons to visit Strip-Ts, I think, are that it accommodates a nice range of palates, from burger-eaters to the more adventurous, and perhaps more significantly, it's a nice, independent neighborhood joint that is a little bit trendy but not precious. Hope that they do well!
re: WilderPenfield
Thanks, Wilder. Great concise report!
If you've enjoyed yourself here at lunch before... consider stopping by to say good-luck to Ginny before Christmas. You might remember her, she most likely took your order and fetched your food. No acrimony, she's just burnt... as many here can attest, restaurants can do that. But a very funny and genuine person.
After watching this thread for months I finally had the chance to get to Strip-T's last night. Thanks, hounds, for the pointer to a great dinner. Three of us had four small plates and two entrees, and then couldn't resist sharing a dessert.
The special pate de campaigne was my least favorite, not that it was bad, I just liked everything else more. We also had poutine (I might give the nod to Duckfat in Portland's version, but only by a bit), the grilled romaine with oxtail (set off beautifully by the chili vinaigrette), and pig head toasts (fantastic, I claimed the lion's share of those as my entree).
My DCs were kind enough to share tastes of their large plates. The bluefish was good and they swapped out the sauce with peppers (that one DC can't eat) without any fuss. The fish n' chips were perfectly fried with light and crispy batter. The chips, cole slaw, and tartar were also spot-on. I'm glad they render diner classics like that so well.
After sending back cleaned plates, we shared a dessert special of buttermilk doughnuts with carrot-chai puree and pickled pineapple hash (that was also caramelized). It was another perfect frying job and flavor combo (and plenty for three); one of my DC's said it was the best doughnut he'd ever had. According to our waiter it's been so popular that it's likely to stay on the board for a while.
I really like the atmosphere of the place, tasty food in creative combinations at good prices without being pretentious or precious. I hope they can keep it up and I get back there soon.
re: T.B.
Nice report!
I really love that pig's-head toast, too: so jammy. That's offal even the organ-averse could love. The bluefish is really nicely executed, too, if on the conventional side. Grilled romaine: could eat two orders of those: a perfectly-chosen spot for a poached egg. And the square donuts: a first in my experience.
I just cited this place as the "Modest Restaurant of the Year" in my Boston Phoenix "On the Cheap" year-end roundup.
re: MC Slim JB
MC, I guess you've never been to the Doughnut Plant in New York, a place you would love (known for their square donuts). By the way, your Devil's Dining Awards were a ton of fun and full of great stuff. Thanks for writing that up.
re: hckybg
Good to know about other square donuts! And thanks for the kind words about the Devil's Dining Awards, though I still think the best part is the illustration I commissioned for it.
re: MC Slim JB
Yes, well, let's just say if I see a guy in a pinstripe suit drinking Fernet and eating Pinkberry while holding a pitchwork, then your cover is blown.
re: T.B.
Had been several times for lunch, but recently got a chance to go for dinnner. Grilled romaine and oxtail could hardly have been a better starter, and the steak with chimchuri is a real winner. I'm not sure it goes well atop uncooked watercress, and undercooked minature potatoes thoough. The steak was cooked absolutely perfectly medium-rare but could have been served a little warmer (a sign of sous vide cooking, perhaps? at least, that's what happens when I sous vide at home) but each bite was so delicious, with the natural flavors of the steak and the terrific flavors in the sauce mingling together. Earnest waitstaff, earnest chef, amazingly low prices, square doughnuts and Saranac Orange Cream Soda --- what more can one ask for?
So what's good for lunch here, or does Strip T's shine more at dinner? Our lunch today was just OK, which was disappointing given the raves here.
They didn't have the vegetarian banh mi special which sounded good on these boards. I went for the corned beef tongue special instead. The tongue was not prepared correctly, sliced way too thick and therefore very stringy and tough. The fact that the rye it came on was totally soggy from sitting in the pass for 10 minutes didn't help either. My DC's popeye salad was a decent portion, but unremarkable. The thin cut onion rings were the highlight. After eating we waited 15 min for a check to be dropped after the plates were cleared, after asking twice. The one server couldn't handle their lunch rush.
I figured any special would be a treat, so not sure where I might have ordered differently. I'm willing to try it again for dinner, but we expected more given the hype.
re: Gabatta
I talked to the chef, and he says he only puts a couple of interesting things on the lunch menu. My guess is that the old-school crowd is bigger at lunch. The dinner menu is where the really good stuff is.
re: MC Slim JB
That's what the crowd looked like. I suppose it is a fine balance for them between the old and new customers. We will try for dinner at some point hoping for better.
re: Gabatta
Had the pork/kale/provolone special earlier this week, it was superb. DC got the tongue sandwich, it was also soggy from getting it as takeout, but was pretty delicious.
Slim's assessment seems most likely, alot of regulars present while we waited.
Holy smokes, this place is an absolute gem. I braved the cold last night to get there last night (by bus). Fully rewarded, from start to finish. We had the grilled romaine with oxtail, eggplant bahn mi, fried chicken and waffle, strip steak, and square donuts. No complaints about any of it, the oxtail was probably the highlight but everything was so well executed, it was extremely hard to discern a favorite. Eating here reminded me how many of our favorite area restaurants are great but essentially copies of ideas successful elsewhere. There are very few where a chef is working completely off-the-cuff and with a fully experimental attitude. East by Northeast strikes me as one, Bondir as another, and Strip-T's as a third.
re: hckybg
Glad you had a good experience. I have to get back soon. That oxtail was fabulous. Was it busy? I'm hoping the buzz will keep them hopping.
re: bear
It was quite busy. We had a thirty minute wait around 7, with a couple two tops ahead of us. But by the time we were eating I bet there were five or six parties waiting at a time, and even when we left at 9 the front area was pretty full. There wasn't an empty seat the entire time we were there. The staff is really delightful, very unpretentious and clearly enjoying the food and the clientele.
re: hckybg
That's so good to hear. I wish them lots of success, although I do miss just walking in and getting a seat!
re: hckybg
We had another great evening there last night. Tues. 7:30pm. Just 2 2tops open other than ours.
I finally got to taste that Japanese Eggplant Fried Tofu Banh Mi. And wow, that is SOME sandwich! Very hefty, which surprised and pleased me both. Crispy baguette filled with thick slabs of soy glazed eggplant topped with pillows of fried tofu, julienned carrots and daikon slaw, mayo and cilantro and a piquant sauce. My Love was really happy with his red curry swordfish and side of local mushrooms. The sweet Maine shrimp in a simple saute were o.k. but maybe just not my thing. (But I liked what they added to the banh mi.) After taking a good long time to finish my grilled romaine with braised oxtail and sous vide egg zapped with a chili balsamic, I declared it 'the best dish i've had in the last year.' This was my second time having it and for me, it is just a perfect plate. Comfort food to be sure, satisfying and filling, but also really exciting and zingy. Iirc, the smoothly running team in the kitchen now includes Tim's sous from Momofuku and a chef from Upstairs on the Square. I completely agree with hckybg's pairing of Tim of ST's with Philip at East by Northeast, as far as their adventuresome natures. It seems obvious to me that ST's is just getting better, and their appreciative audience is growing right along with them. I won't be surprised if and when they move to a new larger venue. Meanwhile, we can't wait to return. We still haven't had a go with that chimichurri skirt steak!
re: opinionatedchef
Glad you enjoyed those dishes too. I haven't been back but can't wait, it's the kind of place that really sticks with you. I've been talking it up but not too much--I want to be able to get a seat when I go back!
We had a much earlier dinner at ST last night after our quarterly stock-up trip to Target. I was so wowed by my meal I almost forgot about my trunk full or toilet paper and laundry detergent when I arrived back home.
Like opinionated chef I also had the grilled romaine with braised oxtail. Again I say wow! It's flavors were redolent of Nua Yang Num-Tok with those refreshing chilies and mint. But the oxtail is way better than any meat I've had with that dish. I loved the combo of flavors... I wouldn't have minded a tiny bit more heat. The chilies on there were a bit of tease.
We also split the pig head toast. Thanks to MC Slim for nudging the "offal averse" to this dish... I'm not offal averse per se but I just haven't had a lot...I need to go out to eat with an offal enthusiast that will take responsibility of the ordering. I really enjoyed the toasts though MR said there was a flavor in there that he just couldn't put his finger on... I suggested that perhaps it was the pig's head.
For my main I had the bahn mi. I could take or leave the fried tofu but that eggplant! Amazing. A beauty to the eye and to the tastebuds. That was probably the best vegetarian sandwich I've ever had.
MR had the Strip-Ts burger which he loved. Said the miso really worked on it. I didn't take a bite because I was in my own little world. I can't wait to go back for some fried chicken.
Just a head's up: Take your preprandial pee at work or home before you get here. I'm 5'4'' and I bumped my head twice (in the bathroom and on the stairwell) on my trip to the restroom... and I was "being careful" as they warned me. Maybe taller people wouldn't have as much issue because they are always on alert but being borderline petite I'm just not used to ducking. Seeing stars did not ruin my meal though ;)
re: heypielady
new word new word!
A review from the current Improper Bostonian piles on the praise...
Strip-T's Restaurant
93 School St, Watertown, MA 02472
re: mats77
Consider the source
It's been a few weeks since I have visited. Went tonight and luckily got seats at the counter at 6pm. Ten minutes later a party of four came in and the waiter (formerly of craigie) said it would be a 90 minute wait. Yikes!
Things were as tasty as usual, except for one thing. I'm not sure when it happened, but they changed the chocolate cake from what they used to call the "crack cake," a holdover from the old menu. I really loved the old cake, it reminded me of cakes I used to eat as a kid - sort of a doctored box cake. It just hit that tasty/nostalgic nerve perfectly. Now it's a more typical rich chocolate cake with some ganache and buttercream frosting - total snooze.
Bring back the crack cake!
re: DoubleMan
Too bad about that chocolate cake DM. MR and I were too full for dessert when we left but when we arrived his eyes lit up and said "ooh do they still have that chocolate cake?" I would have been disappointed to get anything besides that old school bake sale style cake.
re: heypielady
Had a mighty fine doughnut there this morning - homemade, yeasty, light and fluffy.
After reading about this place for months, I finally made it to Strip T's tonight for the first time. Overall, I thought it was really impressive, and one of the best meals I've had in Boston.
Two of us shared:
Poutine - Really good fries and a nice gravy. I agree with other reviewers that it could have used a bit more cheese, but I liked the white cheese curds. Quite a large serving, too.
Grilled Romaine with Oxtail - This was really fantastic, as others have described. I had high expectations, and I am happy to say they were met. The oxtail reminded me of a really good pulled-brisket in terms of the texture, and had a slight spice. Generous serving here as well.
Eggplant Banh Mi - Also outstanding, especially the eggplant - super moist and flavorful. The pickled veggies were great, the baguette was great. One of the best sandwiches in Boston, although definitely more expensive than other banh mi elsewhere.
Those three items came first, and really that was enough for the 2 of us! But we managed to eat most of this, and then we still had more coming:
Strip steak with chimichurri, fingerling potatoes, pickled peppers and watercress - The steak was cooked medium rare, and served sliced over the greens, which in turn were over the potatoes. The pickled peppers were cut really thin, so didn't add much, but the watercress was beautiful (a variety I hadn't seen before, with dark green stripes on light green leaves) and was even better in the steak's juices. The potatoes were good, although I was somewhat potatoed out by this point thanks to the poutine.
Side of grilled fennel w/ grapefruit and bacon. This was good, especially the bites that combined all three main ingredients....the sauce was buttery and lemony and slightly sweet - like a light, completely liquid lemon curd. In a good way.
We each had a soda (there's an impressive soft-drink list) and were too full for dessert (we ended up taking leftovers home). Check came with two small homemade blackberry (or raspberry?) marshmallows, which had a nice texture...i didn't love the taste. But it was a nice touch.
I liked the space, and it's definitely a cool thing that is happening here. With the recent reviews, it was CROWDED tonight...I had a 6 PM reservation, but by the time we left at 7:30, there must have been 20 people waiting to get seated.
This was a great find and I'm glad I had a chance to try this place!
Dave MP
re: Dave MP
yay dave! smaht job of ordering!
re: opinionatedchef
Thanks! Yeah, I think a smarter strategy with two people would be to order 2 small things, 1 main and 1 side. Or 3 small things and 1 main. Then there might be room for dessert!
re: Dave MP
or just order one of whatever wows you and take leftovers for tomorrow because <we pass this way but once> :-}
Finally ran into a Young Chef Maslow dish here that wasn't awesome, though I still mostly enjoyed it: a lunchtime special of sauerbraten. Very fine version of German sour beef, but marred by being served atop a mound of cold potato salad. The two elements side-by-side would have been much better, as both were of high quality, but this suffered from a temperature combination that rarely works in my experience. That beef would be better piping hot, instead of being cooled to lukewarm by contact with a cold base.
Excellent filter coffee served alongside, with cream in one of those cunning little porcelain pig pitchers. I am gratified to see that the list of "Tim dishes" is growing at lunch, mostly in the form of a longer specials list. Most of the lunch menu is still dad's fine but dull old stuff, which I don't consider worth hauling out to Watertown for.
Oh my. It is everything evryone says. I had grabbed lunch there before, but was dying to try the dinner menu
We went SAT night--arrived round 7:00, had just enough time to order a drink before the two of us were seated (2 was easy vs 3 or more).
Service was warm, friendly and knowledgable. We ordered pig's head toast, oxtail-poached egg, grilled romaine, grilled octopus. And loved them in that order with the pig's head and oxtail way, way out front.
Aslo got a burger and wanted the bahn mi, but were too full for the latter. Excellent burger.
Can not wait to go back. Wish to death that they were in Quincy. (Speaking of which, this is what Remick's should be (but every time I go there the meal is a 5 or 6 out of 10-sigh!)
Strip T's was a 19 out of 10!!
And yes, the bath situation is funny--but the coooks were very friendly while I waited and I got a good look at their supplies--want someof that hibiscus!!
re: SeaSide Tomato
I admit to being a little nosy on my way to Strip-T's one-of-a-kind bathroom, too.
re: SeaSide Tomato
I have to admit that's the most unique restaurant bathroom I've been in in a long long time
re: grant.cook
I think that bathroom would be extremely challenging to use if you were a man much over 6'1", and/or drunk.
re: MC Slim JB
My friend the drunk 6'8" contortionist has no problems whatsoever ;-).
Heck, I'm 5'10" and that bathroom is an adventure.
re: StriperGuy
For those wondering, this photo doesn't quite capture the precariousness of the water closet, but it's the best I could do. Imagine a low ceiling over this.
Welcome to Chowhound, where we discuss the *full range* of the dining-out experience. Ask me about my Trattoria Toscana interesting-bathroom photos sometime.
re: MC Slim JB
I am so glad you guys are running with this! It was worth my two bumps on the head to have the result be MC posting that photo.
re: heypielady
I found it much like old (retro-fitted) bathrooms in Paris or Rome (if not better)--which only added tro the charm!
We got takeout from there last night. (I said this upthread, but as a mom of young kids, I LOVE that they still do takeout even though their menu is all fancy now! Especially because their menu is all fancy now!) Bass with red curry sauce was excellent -- the side of cubed winter squash, mussels out of their shells, and crispy noodles provided a great texture contrast and the noodles soaked up the sauce nicely. Our favorite, surprisingly, was the sauteed kale. I got that in an effort to be healthy, but it was delicious -- it somehow managed to be a little crunchy and juicy. Lightly sweet, in a sauce that tasted vaguely Japanese -- maybe it had dashi in it? With the Strip-T's burger and a side of grits, it was a great Valentine's Day meal, and we got to have it at home after the kids went to bed.
re: DoubleMan
Good tip. Thanks.
re: opinionatedchef
Not much to add to the raves, with which I agree, having fallen in love with the eggplant banh mi at lunch many moons ago, and never getting past needing the oxtail and romaine salad and the pighead toast, with an occasional nod in the direction of the octopus and "ben's wild mushrooms." I keep hoping I can get to the rest of the menu but I just am not ready to give up on those loves. The only useful addition I can make, other than redeclaring my view that this is the best new "old" restaurant in the Boston area, is that, starting Monday, they will take reservations. On the whole, a good thing, but it's a little scary to think of them "stepping up to formal." Right now, this is the happiest little shop in town and clearly one of the most innovative.
re: teezeetoo
The only drawback to that oxtail dish is that it may cause me to never order oxtail anywhere else (case in point, Oxtail w/ gnocchi at Rendezvous last week). but if that isn't the best kind of drawback, i don't know what is!
re: teezeetoo
My husband's 40th birthday is coming up and I have the crazy idea of having his birthday celebration there. Now that they have reservations, that would help with planning. :)
re: Crazy Egg
this is def a GOOD crazy idea.
I stopped in yesterday for lunch. They have revamped the lunch menu somewhat but it is nothing at all like the dinner menu. IIRC, the only overlaps are the wicked small caesar salad and the french fries. Oh, maybe onion rings too. Anyway, I had a totally fabulous sandwich off the specials board: roast pork with sauteed escarole and melty sharp provolone on crusty french bread. I can't think of a better sandwich I have had in ages. And enormous. I had a nice conversation with Jee-Eun and she said that they are playing around with the whole reservations thing, trying to get it right. And thinking about extending the counter for a few more seats. Another nice thing she shared is that on Monday nights, when many other restaurants are closed, they are getting a lot of "industry" trade. Good for them! I cannot figure out why I have not been there for a couple of months, but will rectify that immediately! :)
re: GretchenS
The most interesting, dinner-like dishes at lunch appear to be specials, and the list appears to be getting longer every time I go (only 2 or 3 early on in young Maslow's tenure, more like 5 these days).
re: MC Slim JB
with all the chatter about this place (and the food!), whats the over/under on how long they can stay at the current location?
re: hyde
Oh, I hope they stay there. I live in Watertown & haven't been able to go yet (budget is extremely tight right now, and will be for awhile).
One thing that worries me is how Walmart decided to lease space not far from Strip T's location (they initiated a 20 yr lease at a location around the corner fr ST's, on Arsenal St., last July) , despite the current city/town laws that would prevent them from locating there. There's a strong local grassroots fight here - but I really worry what will happen to our wonderful local businesses if this fight fails.
re: hyde
I can envision three scenarios:
1) The Fenway Park approach: do what you can to make the existing facility more attractive. Sounds like this is already under consideration with more counter seating. A ladies room would probably be a plus.
2) The existing operation moves to a slightly shinier space somewhere nearby in Watertown.
3) Young Maslow decamps to work for another owner, perhaps in Cambridge or Boston, in a more upmarket setting, and dad reverts Strip-T's to what it was.
My money's on #1 for now. Don't know if you saw the Eater interview, but Tim seems pretty grounded: http://boston.eater.com/archives/2012...
re: MC Slim JB
I'm hoping for #1, fearing #3.
re: DoubleMan
Same here.
re: DoubleMan
nah. from my discussion w/ them, #2 likely. def not #3. (you don't change your whole life, leave a top job at one of the most famous restnts in the u.s., and move back home with your Love and live in the family homestead WITH dad, and then go work for someone else.) Lucky us!
re: GretchenS
Yes, that pork sandwich is very good. The only better sandwich I've had recently is the vegetarian banh mi there itself. I've also had their eggplant parm. It too was excellent, with thick, meaty (yet tender) slices of crisply breaded-and-fried eggplant, and a nice balance of sauce and cheese. It was even better than the one I had at Torrisi in NYC a few months ago.
Yep, things are shakin' at Strip T's. 6PM Tuesday reservations and only 1 deuce open during our 2 hour dinner. When we left at 8:15 there were 2 parties of 4/6 perched around the counter room, eating oysters and table-waiting; a few waiting couples and a take-out order.
We met and were helped by 2 new guys who came from the opening thru 4 yrs at Craigie on Main. Both very excited about the ST team and Tim's vision. One of them building the wine list; we had some really good red choices. This was our 5th visit here and we had another stellar meal tonight. This was my first experience not ordering The oxtail/grilled romaine/egg Epiphany(has a certain ring to it; they should rename it, don't you think?); so i was a bit shaky, but after the new dishes came, i settled down and was fine.
We both started with the amazing special of house-smoked duck and frisee salad with a creamy citrus dressing. Gone-zo, in nothing flat. Then came the beef; skirt steak with chimichurri for him; house hamburger for me. We hadn't had any beef in a while so we were both in the mood. Many people have written about that skirt steak. The surprise for me was that it was so unusually soft and tender. wow. And my burger couldn't have been better. (Boy have I been wanting to say those words for the longest time. But i never order a burger because, like a creamy baveuse omelet or scrambled eggs, i've never found one i liked in Boston. But now this has changed. Yippee!)
What an interesting and low key combination of flavors. Miso and whatever in the fire grilled beef, lemon aioli, grilled and rice wine vinegar pickled onions, soft lovely bun that doesn't overwhelm the meat, and lettuce.(hey, wait, i don't EAT lettuce on my burger....) And accompanied by a generous serving of crispy thin skin-on fries. Man, now we have a go-to burger place when we don't feel like prepping and grilling. For dessert, i would suggest that you stay away from the disappointing brownie bars etc. (which i think are part of their 20 yr. lunch business.) But those doughnuts are still sooo worth it. The nuttiness of whole wheat flour and light spicing, crispy outside and soft/toothsome inside, warm from the fryer to your mouth. Not cloyingly sweet; in fact, just sweet enough. Very filling.
Big smiles evening. Can't wait to go back.
I'm hoping to try Strip-T's for dinner soon, but the menu seemed kind of sparse for my vegetarian dinner companion (not sure DC will go for the eggplant banh mi). Anyone know if they offer more salads or veggies for dinner that aren't listed on the dinner menu online? Oddly, the lunch menu seems much more vegetarian-friendly...but no burger available then, which is what I want!
re: taterjane
tj, i would call late aftnoon(3-4) and talk to them. awfully nice folks and i'm sure they'd be helpful. they do do daily specials but they change ev day. maybe some of the reg dishes w/ meat removed? or maybe they'd combine components from various dishes to make some veg. plates.
re: opinionatedchef
Or, just get the eggplant bahn mi! It's really one of the best sandwiches in the area. Tell that vegetarian to expand his or her horizons!
I had not been to dinner at Strip T's in too long, but I had not reallized it had been 3 months! Surely not, must have missed filing a report. Anyway, a friend and I went last night and shared five small plates, the grilled romaine with oxtail and poached egg (because that is our very favorite thing and we can't NOT order it) plus 4 things we had never had before. The amazing thing is that as superlative as that grilled romaine dish is, the other four were EVEN BETTER. First, a trifecta of duck offerings from the specials board: duck necks, roasted then braised, with some sort of savory sauce, tiny pickled mushrooms of some exotic sort, and grilled scallions. You pick them up and gnaw on them like the pigs tails of yore. And just as delicious! Next up, a turnip cake (in the style of Chinese ones) with duck confit incorporated into it and fried in duck fat, garnished with sauteed exotic golden-colored mushrooms (tired and didn't retain the names of the mushrooms), with sauteed greens and cranberry mostarda. That was unbeliveably good, I wished I wasn't sharing that one! Now, a bowl of brussels sprouts that had been duck fat roasted, garnished with a big blob of airy whipped duck fat and little crispy bits that I think were duck crackling. Wow, a bowl of that with a poached egg atop would make a perfect dinner on its own. With that, an order of Janapese sweet potato wedges that were crispy on the outside, creamy on the inside, and, when dunked into accompanying sauce (aioli?), completely addictive. I KNOW I swiped more than my fair share of those. And the grilled romaine dish, which remains sublime but was eclipsed last night by everything else. We were drinking a Rioja recommended by our waiter that worked perfectly with everything. The FOH staff has been expanded consderably since my last visit and all highly professional. The service was very nice indeed and quite knowledgable, no complaints at all, but I do miss the sweetness and slight goofiness (in a good way) of the staff that used to be there. But the current FOH staff is more in keeping with the extremely high level of food Tim is turning out of that tiny kitchen. We waddled out having as usual eaten far more than we should have but unable to stop ourselves because food that good just cannot be resisted. Oh, I forgot: tiny little homemade marshmallows tasting like the essence of apple were delivered along with our check.
re: GretchenS
Whew! Awesome report!
re: GretchenS
That's a lot of duck fat.
re: Bob Dobalina
it was a lot of duck fat but oddly none of it felt heavy or greasy.
re: GretchenS
We're finally making it over to Strip T's for the first time tomorrow night. I could not be more excited after reading this.
re: GretchenS
Of the servers, are the nice young guy (maybe 18 or so) and the blond waitress still around? I sure hope so. I'd be sad if the staff became super professionalized.
re: hckybg
The young guy was there last Saturday when I went for lunch. Not sure who you mean by the blond waitress -- the slightly zany one? I like her a lot too, she was not there last night.
re: GretchenS
Happt o report that the tall blonde who we met our very first visit (feels like years, but just months ago) is still working there. a young brown haired guy i'd not seen before was there the other night. Susan Regis was there w/ a table of Upstairs on the Square cohorts, being well fed by their former co-worker, matt, newly added to the ST kitchen crew. I saw that MOUND of whipped duck fat atop a heaping bowl of br sprouts! whew! next time............ Interesting, his vendors are not ones i'm familiar with; surprised me.(sorry, didn't write them down so they are long gone into the crowded stratosphere of forgotten things....)
re: opinionatedchef
I hope the Upstairs people were taking notes; they could learn a few things from Maslow.
re: GretchenS
She's from the neighborhood--when I was there she was wearing a Watertown Basketball shirt. Sounds like she's likely still there. It's great that they are able to both go haute but also maintain humble roots. I'd say that's precisely why they are so loved around here.
I won't waste time to reiterate the greatness that is Strip T's, other than to say that our first meal there on Saturday night was fabulous. They lost our reservation, which was a minor hiccup, but the manager was gracious enough to honor it anyways. The cauliflower appetizer was incredible. That chorizo puree that it comes with is addictively good. My chicken and waffles were absolutely perfect - salty, sweet and crunchy. We were served by that young waiter mentioned above. He was quite good, though I did see him getting chewed out by the chef for doing something wrong.
re: mkfisher
congrats mk! that chicken dish was devoured by My Love last week and that is precisely what I'm (finally) going to order on our next visit! sans waffle, but avec grits, yessiree!
re: mkfisher
MR and I took a chance and at the last minute (7:15) got in the car and headed to Watertown with no reservation. As expected on a lovely spring evening, it was packed. Luckily we were the only one's waiting sans reservation... until around 8 when party after party just started filing through the door.
We were prepared to wait, and good thing because our predicted 25 minute wait turned out to be more like 40 minutes. It was worth it though. The reason we went was because I had an unstoppable fried chicken craving... and not just any fried chicken... it had to be that one. Boy, did it deliver. Even after sharing an entree size portion of mussels (delicious by the way) as an appetizer, I finished every last bite of that chicken. It was one of the juiciest chickens I ever had.
It sounds like a lot of you get it with the grits but I gotta say, the waffles were really satisfying. With the warm maple syrup it was like having dinner and dessert on the same plate. Was Strip T's full of hounds last night ? Because almost every table was eating fried chicken.
MR got the fish and chips for dinner. He says it was delicious. I didn't try any because I was really tucked into my dish. Regarding the kale... perhaps they toned down the sweetness? It wasn't overwhelming to me. I almost didn't get maple syrup with the waffles (!!!!) because I was afraid that the whole thing would be too sweet. Thankfully the waiter talked me into it.
re: bluerib
There are threads over on General Chowhounding that regularly go past 500 posts. I don't think we're in danger of that.
re: VintageMolly
Some have over 1000 posts. I don't think there is a limit as such, but once you start getting up over a few hundred I find it takes longer to load a thread, and I have less and less interest in scrolling down (and down, and down) to find the new post(s).
Most hyped and totally justified restaurant I've been to in a long time. I feel bad I haven't written; the meal we had was just so delicious and satisfying and everyone was so nice. We went two weeks ago and I am counting the days till we can go back. This is one place (especially thanks to the high quality of food and reasonable prices) that I can see becoming a regular.
Four of us had a chowdown of:
Japanese sweet potato wedges: Creamy inside, crunchy outside, served with a tangy miso sauce that played off the sweetness of potatoes.
Cauliflower dish: This was actually a miss for us. The cauliflower was limp and overcooked/overfried and lacked crunch inside from proper cooking or crunch from frying. Sauces with it were lost in the slightly burnt taste of the cauliflower.
Eggplant Bahn-Mi: Exceptional! Tender eggplant, crunchy tofu, great bread. If I worked near Strip T's I would be getting this for lunch often. Heck I'll have a hard time ordering it for dinner. Great execution.
Steamed PEI mussels: The description on the menu does nothing for these. This was our favorite dish of the night. Perfectly cooked mussels on a bed of mashed potatoes and a slightly spicy creamy sauce that I wanted to lick off the plate. Definitely order this!
Charred baby octopus: Perfectly cooked and charred. Great flavor and nice light dish.
Seared Pork and Provolone sausage: I only had a bite of this. The sausage was undercooked but the rest of the dish was good.
Fried Chicken: Just when we thought we were full. They brought this out for us to try. Fried chicken was perfectly crispy with a well seasoned and flavorful crust. Meat was some of the juiciest I've had. They told us they brined it for 3 days. Greens were cloying with a sauce that tasted to me like "duck sauce." Grits were good.
The service was fantastic and so so friendly. A $24 bottle of wine rounded it all out and was tasty and perfect for a casual dinner. We all loved the cooking; yes, a few things fell flat or felt like they were still getting kinks worked out, but the originality of many dishes, interesting flavors, and overall deliciousness coupled with reasonable prices and super friendly service will keep us coming back.
re: Klunco
so glad you made it there. Yes, what IS it with that icky sweet sauce next to the delic. chicken? i could not figure that out for the life of me. The next time i ordered chicken, I asked them to give me the grits with the wonderful squash etc (it's a side) and charge me extra. Heaven.Takes those grits to a whole 'nother place!- so maybe try that next time you have the chicken. And I urge you, as long as we're talking next time, to have the charred romaine/oxtail/egg dish and the special burger.Ah, you'll be such a happy camper :-}
re: opinionatedchef
Couple of small notes...
Web presence which used to span Facebook and/or Twitter has been extended to
and, alas - those of us that would stop in each morning for coffee, breakfast seems to be a thing of the past....
re: opinionatedchef
I had this confused. It's not a sweet sauce on the grits that come with the chicken. It's a chicken skin sauce. And I never want to taste it again, major yech. Can't figure out this coming from the same palate that produces all the marvels there!?
An online friend noted that dinner prices have gone up recently. I replied, "It was already a crazy-good value, so I'm okay with that, especially if it funds extra counter seating and maybe the addition of a proper ladies' room."
re: MC Slim JB
well, it may get even busier since they were featured on Phantom Gourmet today. Now all thats left is for Guy Fieri to decide its a Diner and Dive and noone will ever be able to get in without a months advance reservation! On Phantom, t the owner said his son got tired of Manhattan and asked to come work at StripT's and that they fought like crazy about it for a while. The dad joked that it was a good thing that no weapons were handy! He said that they compromised and the lunches are the old menu and dinner is the son's. The review raved but showed lots of empty seats and said that the old clientele is afraid to come in, which is why they have kept lunch..However, it does sound like all that is changing by the hour..I'm glad theyre doing so well.. My mom's friend is the mother of the owner. I havent been for years since i lived across the street and had lunches there. The title of this thread may have been best changed to describe what is really going on there, but now i am guessing that noone feels the need to get this place even more crowded and thus i imagina the thread title will remain mystreious and in code.. BTW , obviously father and son have worked out their different approaches and are getting along famously now..He spoke very proudly..
re: chompie
I noticed Dan Andelman was afraid to describe the corned beef tongue as tongue. He just called it corned beef. I thought the whole piece soft-pedalled young Maslow's innovation, focused mainly on the kid-comes-home story.
I wonder if the Phantom has inadvertently opened up a new world for the deep-fried syrup-soaked cheese-on-everything set, or if they will just be confused and repelled. I prefer to believe that inside every unironic Phantom watcher, there's an adventurous, discerning food nerd waiting to be awakened. It will be interesting to see if these folks return to Strip-T's after one visit.
re: chompie
I stand by my thread title and note that is has gotten even funkier (in a good way) since the original post!
Hey Hounds, just wanted to make sure everyone knew that, in addition to the dinner menu, the eggplant bahn mi is now part of the regular lunch menu. Same price. Mostly the same deliciousness. All the flavors are there but I'm guessing the my fried tofu suffered due to the car ride from W-town to Belmont. It was just a little greasy but didn't drag down the whole sandwich. Of course even in the restaurant at dinner the tofu was my least favorite component of the sandwich.
Just had another superlative early dinner here. Special of duck breast (tenderest duck breast EVER), over caramelized Brussels sprouts, ramps, and wonderful exotic mushrooms, with a fabulous reduction of some sort that made me want to lick the plate. It paired perfectly with the Boujolais Villages that Tom recommended. No more pigs head toast on the menu or the much-missed pigs tails. On the other hand every new thing is just as good if not better!!!
I finally made it out on a Wednesday night. It was packed! We waited around 30 minutes for a table, starting around 7:30pm. Anyways, don't want to reiterate too much of what was covered in this thread, but we had:
(Special of the day) Grilled Sweetbread with pepper relish and cauliflower sauce - My first time having sweetbread! It was great--charred perfectly to get some character, but not overwhelming. The sweet pepper relish and cauliflower sauce just all went very well together. I was impressed!
Grilled Romaine w/oxtail and poached egg - As described in this thread, Amazing.
Fried Chicken with waffles and collared greens - Fried chicken was nice and juicy, and had a very nice crust. I kind of like how they left the chicken foot on the drumstick! Collard greens were really good as well, tossed in a nice dressing. For some reason I was perturbed by the additional $3 for syrup.
Dessert - Chocolate mouse with a shiitake mushroom kind of glaze, croutons, and thyme. Very strange combination, but the flavors really worked well to a nice combination.
All in all, my DC and I were very impressed, and I can't wait to go back. The way he put all the seemingly random flavors together was so exciting. Every dish was great and inventive. Probably the first restaurant where, although the food was amazing, I don't think I will get the same dishes again so I can try more! Well, maybe I will get the grilled romaine again ;)
re: chowda
chowda- excellent report; congrats on getting there! that grilled sweetbreads was really interesting. I've never had them grilled before, always sauteed, so it was neat to catch that difference. So hopefully you will have the house burger, and the doughnuts, and the grits with butternut squash and mushroms in a not-too-distant future!!
FYI, From the website
Dear Loyal Patrons,
We will be closed for the beginning of next week (estimated time monday 16th & tuesday 17th), for some renovations.
New Lunch menu coming
re: okra
I just came on here to post about the lunch menu. (But I totally did not see that notice re next Mon/Tues so thank much for posting that) The lunch menu that I found on the site, linked by you, looked new to me but they mean a NEWER one is coming? that's pretty neat, eh? lots of crossover with the dinner menu for those lucky enough to be near there for lunch. One bummer on the dinner menu- no more of those dreamy special grits with butternut squash and nuts. dirty rice instead (chix livers and cracklings.) Ah well, at least we were lucky enough to have them a couple of times! I notice that they've added a few desserts.
Renovations>> ya think they'll get a new bathroom? I always make sure to time it so I don't need to visit theirs, with its spatial challenges...
re: opinionatedchef
I hear ya! I cannot wait to see what they actually do to the lunch menu and the space. I am one of the lucky few who live literally running distance from Strip-T's, so on the days I work from home, I can go for a quick run, pick up my lunch and head home. :) Also, a couple of gals and I are going there for a girls' night out in a couple of weeks, so I hope to post. Stay tuned!!
re: Crazy Egg
I dunno - I was there this week, waiting for my lamb shoulder / watercress sandwich for lunch - and the guy behind me was ordering a "Turkey on sourdough" etc, etc...
Always nerve wracking when changing a menu - this is a middle class working neighborhood by day.
(been there lotsa times, yet to use the rest room, if there really is one) :)
re: okra
okra, somehow i guess i just misread that 'new lunch coming soon' page and now i am realizing (yes?) that that page IS the new menu, which will start next week, yes? if so, it's a good thing the reinterpretation finally penetrated my dense brain tonight so i didn't flash over there tomorrow lunch expecting to be able to get that great burger. that would have been a BUMmer.
is that what you were referencing when you talked about going for a lamb sandwich last wk?(but it wasn't new menu time yet?)
re: opinionatedchef
You got it, opinionatedchef. New lunch will start when they re-open, featuring some of the specials from the old lunch menu.
re: okra
Had amazing WHALE size soft shell crab last night- in red curry sauce.never been served one that big. yes $22 but terrific of course. Also loved the special- turnip cake with braised pork, special oregon morel-relatives, ramps.... so much better than other turnip cakes i've had. Finally got around to the grilled fennel with grapefruit and bacon. Oh MY!! We didn't fight about it, but boy that baby disappeared fast! I was unimpressed with the new triple flavor pot de creme. Chocolate was wishy washy, butterscotch same, shiitake flavor invisible. But Donuts are still a must.
I was, unfortunately, wrong to guess bathrm as target of their revonation. ( kinda like that slip so i left it) Instead, they are painting and getting a new dishwasher.We had no trouble as 5PM walk-ins (Sat night) but when we left at 7 there was a full house of folks waiting .
re: opinionatedchef
Hmmm 5pm last Saturday you say.... I was there as well. I wasn't paying too much attention to the other parties, but I was probably there for an opinionated chef sighting.
I went with a friend who had never been there before, and the friend really wanted to get the smoked octopus. I do enjoy the incredible amount of smokiness they get into the octopus, but I do find it to be one of their smaller small plates. We also got the turnip cake with the glace as they called it. I think the word you're looking for (special oregon morel-relatives) is verpa. The Verpas and ramps were excellent as was the turnip cake, if a bit small for $18. Also had the fried chicken there for the first time, which I enjoyed, but probably not the best I've had in Boston. It came with dirty rice with some sort of blue cheese or gorgonzola type cheese in there as well as chicken "cracklins" which were bits of fried chicken skin. It was interesting but not quite as good as their grits. I really wanted to try the Soft Shell Crab, but will have to wait for another time. Not my best trip to Strip T's (No Pig's Head toast on the menu, also didn't get the grilled romaine) but as always, I walked away happy.
re: tysonmcneely
Yes, I too really like the Octopus, but I too find the size too small especially for $12. This is not the South End afterall. The other items prices are reasonable for now, hopefully they don't keep on creeping up the prices and start charging Toro prices.
re: tysonmcneely
were you at one end of the banquette? if so, i had a feeling you might be Ch! Do we have CH auras?( or, more likely, body types...!)
yes,thk you, those special morel related shrooms were Verpas. I'd never heard of them before. You? i'm guessing they and the ramps are expensive. Funny, something, or many things, about Strip Ts- cause me to trust that they never overcharge for their food. Now, i understand that that comment can be debated/ interpreted ad infinitum. But to clarify, I mean that these people work so hard ,and seem so generous by nature, that i have an inherent trust of them there, that whatever they charge, it is reasonable. I bet you feel the same. (I mean, you could look at the soft shell crab plate, and say $22?! But that soft shell crab is bigger than any you're likely to ever be served again- really- as big as a steak! ) I am just so happy that they now continually have a full house of appreciative customers.
re: opinionatedchef
BTW soft shell crab po-boy is mkt price ($14). Seemed like 50% of the lunch crowd was still trying to order items from the old menu - this will pass....
re: StriperGuy
Confession - My favorite New Orleans po-boy sandwiches from Domilise's and Mother's ... are served on a pretty soft americanized french bread.
Part of a perfect sandwich is the symphony of bread and contents. If the sandwich's bread is hard and crusty (re: an Iggy's baguette), well then - you can't really compress the sandwich without compressing the (very hot soft shell crab) contents, or risking the despised "slippage".
I understand that this is an interpretation of that classic sandwich, complete with cheese.... and I appreciate the intensity and passion of it's creator. Shrugs - I found it very tasty, albeit more difficult to eat than it's Big Easy cousin.
My $0.02, your mileage may vary.
re: okra
just fyi, many of us adore that egggplant/fried tofu banh mi at ST but you may not lke it for that same ' slippery'quality. Just to throw in another CH 2 cents, i would never eat a soft shell crab on bread anyway.< toss the bread, pass the lemon>
(focus everything on this rare luscious creature!)
re: okra
I'm not so sure about that. Per an earlier post you made, turkey on sourdough is what a lot of their regulars want for lunch (not lamb & watercress, etc). While I am sure they have considered this and it is a conscious change, I heard overheard grumbling from local regulars the last time I was in regarding the changing menu, increasing prices, inability to get seated on a weekend night and (ahem) changing crowd in particular. This new lunch menu is definitely a push further in that direction. While most of us on these boards appreciate the lunch menu taking cues from the dinner service, it is not necessarily a positive for many of their neighborhood customers. What may pass is their patronizing a old local favorite.
re: Gabatta
I feel for the old-timers, but Malsow père recently said that lunch business had gotten so slow that he was considering discontinuing it. You can get a tuna melt anywhere; I can't blame them for going where the business is.
re: MC Slim JB
I was there LATE for lunch yesterday and it was pretty busy at 1:30.
re: StriperGuy
This does not surprise me, especially given the construction hiatus and curiosity about the makeover. What does it look like? How many seats did they add?
I put these complaining folks in the same category as myself when I see a place I liked go out of business and realize I haven't been back myself in months.
re: MC Slim JB
Honestly not much of a change, fresh coat of paint and some new paintings on the walls.
re: StriperGuy
sg, don't forget the excellent new (invisible but essential) plumbing!
re: Gabatta
Took out some sandwiches today, including the lamb and watercress, eggplant banh mi, and shrimp po boy. Damn, those were fine sandwiches.
re: nsenada
I had a taste of several sandwiches yesterday--the lamb, a special sauerbraten, the shrimp po boy. They were fine sandwiches but not compelling, to my taste. I like a little more piquancy/contrast in my sandwiches. Moxie wings were tasty and the accompanying fries were hot and salted. The grilled romaine/braised oxtail salad was totally compelling, I'd go back just for that. The chocolate cake was indeed nice and homey. That salad has me determined to finally make it in for dinner.
re: Crazy Egg
thx so much,egg. guess that paint job took alot longer than expected....
re: opinionatedchef
Slight chance of re-opening tomorrow, Tues, but they're shooting for this Wed. Plumbing problems (but no new bathrm.)
re: opinionatedchef
Thx mch fr th nf.
re: FoodDabbler
you bet, fd! officially re-opening tomorrow wed. for lunch and dinner
re: Bugsey34
This is from their site home page:
Hours of Operation:
Mon-Fri 11am-4pm,5pm-10:00pm & Sat 11:30am-4pm, 5pm-10:00pm
I hope this helps! They are only open on Saturdays and not open on Sundays.
I called yesterday and had a really pleasant conversation with a young man, I am assuming is Tim. Strip-T's is up and running, but they are packed to the gills because of their delayed opening from their renovations. Try to call and get a reservation, but hard to get one for prime dinner time (between 6-9pm).
Went for dinner yesterday, hoping we could get in without a res at 7:30 on a rainy Tuesday. They were slammed, which is apparently normal these days, but we did get two seats at the counter and enjoyed both the food and the show from the prep area. It was great to get a clear view of dishes I haven't tried yet without making the other customers nervous.
The current number of seats looks to be the limit of what that tiny kitchen can handle. The staff were harried but dealing, and recognized us even though we hadn't been by in a couple of months ("You're getting the special, right? You guys are alway good for the specials." Busted :-).
I'm still sad pig's head toast is no longer on the menu, but the banh mi was as good as ever. We also gave the cauliflower a try, and it was great, especially with the pickled red onion. I love how the dishes here are accented with something bright and unexpected to complement the savory.
And yes, we did get the night's special, soft shell crab okonomiyaki, just before they ran out. It was huge, as promised, and quite tasty. The accents provided by crispy snow peas and a wedge of lemon worked really well with the crab. We asked about future availability but they weren't sure about how much more crab they'd get this season.
We were too full for dessert but got the doughnuts anyway. They weren't as stellar as usual (the fry job was a little off) but still delicious. I was also happy that despite the busy, the cappuccino was made very well.
The other menu change that made us sad had a happy ending. Crispin is no longer on offer, but the Bantam Wunderkind Cider (from Cambridge, using locally-sourced apples) they just started carrying was fantastic, so good that we popped over to Craft Beer Cellar in Belmont to get some to take home.
I'm going to have to make a point of coming by more often for as long as Strip-T's lasts in its current incarnation. I hope it'll hang on a while, but it did feel like the dining crowd had changed a lot since our last visit.
re: T.B.
t.b., thanks to your report, we went by tonight at 5 and got seated. My Love really enjoyed that cider(which we only knew of thx to you) and we both had the soft shell okonomiyaki which was STELLAr (I had called them this aftnoon to see if they were going to do it again, so that's why we hustled on over there!). Btw, w/ the serious $ they just poured into their plumbing (why they were closed for a week), and the steady sold-out seats, no worries about it hanging on awhile here!
With their talent and level of energy and commitment, it just keeps getting better and better. It was neat to see 2 parties of moms with their teen and younger kids tonight.Something for everyone.
re: opinionatedchef
Strip T's - Watertown's answer to the Fat Duck. Ok, not quite, but it's a funny idea anyway.
re: opinionatedchef
A little bit of dissent: my wife and I went to Strip T's last night for the second time, and we were, for the second time, underwhelmed. The two of us split the cauliflower, squid salad, and the okonomiyaki. The cauliflower was, by a long shot, the best of the three. Enough has been said about it that I think I can skip the compliments. The squid salad was fairly good: the squid was nicely cooked (does anybody know how they do it?) and the pine nuts were nice. The problem was that the salad was way over-dressed. There was a pool of dressing at the bottom of the bowl and on each of our plates. The okonomiyaki, on our view, was a disaster. Ours was overcooked on the outside and undercooked and gummy on the inside. It also didn't have nearly as much seafood as we were lead to believe. The worst part, though, was the treatment of the softshell crab. The flavors and textures of the softshell were completely lost to the pancake. Such a delicacy should never end in a gummy grave!
Also, we found the service to be quite odd. Our server was clearly hard-working, skilled, and nice. However, the restaurant had her doing some strage things. For instance, there were at least three cutlery changes. She also wiped down the table between courses. These flourishes seemed out-of-touch and counterproductive. In such a small space, in an informal restaurant, interruptions should be minimized. (We also think that the waitress may have tried to up-sell us at one point, though we're not really sure.)
The experimentation is fun, and we've had some genuinely great tastes there. However, for the most part, we find it inferior to, say, East by Northeast and Myers+Chang. Sorry to be such a downer, everyone. As I said, we like what they are trying to do, we just think what they are doing could use a bit of work.
re: dlieb
this is so interesting! i am not discounting your experience at all (I also was not impressed with the squid salad, but ours was not overdressed, just a bit bland. And there was an issue with the [delicious for me] okonomiyaki having some undercooked spots of raw batter which i noticed but My Love scarfed right down.)
I'm saying your post is interesting because i think i have been reading this thread since it began and, except for my early pan of it (leathery octopus et al) I think yours is the only(or one of the only) negative review in some 220? posts. I'm just glad you have had some positive experiences there before, and I hope there will be more.( Btw, we are also big fans of Myers+Chang and EastxNortheast, so it seems we all share some love of Asian influences.Lucky campers aren't we, to have these three spots in our town?!)
re: dlieb
Also went to Strip T's last night. And had great meal as usual.
I had the skirt steak with chimichuri. My only minor complaint is that the meat itself could have been warmer --- my same minor quibble last time I had this dish. They've since changed the plating and some of the accompaniments. I'm still surprised by the raw watercress under the steak, but I still like it in a slightly challenging way. One DC had the Strip T's Burger, which I helped her finish. Terrific burger, with a really strong, serious miso taste, and excellent french fries, which I ::ahem:: also helped her finish. My other DC is a vegetarian, and I was a little worried when we sat down and looked at the menu that there wasn't much for her. Fortunately, the only vegetarian main dish (i.e. that's not a side order) is the outstanding Japanese eggplant banh mi. We also had the mushroom mix and the grilled sweet peas for the table. I'm sure the cauliflower or the fennel could have been made vegetarian as well. I liked them both, although a few of the peas were grilled too far.
When I saw it on the dessert menu I was perplexed why the mocha chocolate cake was only $4 while the other two desserts were twice as expensive. We ordered the cake on our waitresses recommendation (downselling? I would have ordered the doughtnuts otherwise) and I saw why. It was just a simple sheet cake with some simple icing atop. The kind of thing your mother might bake . . . if your mother happened to be a pastry chef. This cake was made with care and attention, even if the form of the dessert was very simple and very traditional. So it's not an elaborate plated dessert, and usually I like elaborate plated desserts, but this cake personified something about Strip T's to me --- elevating a little neighborhood place with care and attention and heart.
It is a little funky, like paper napkins combined with cleaning resetting the table with proper flatware; serving homemade marshmellows as dessert petit-fours and also plunking down a cup of coffee without a word and earnest but slightly confused waitstaff. New tables and refreshed walls, combined with a basement restroom that's no Ten Tables JP. I like it all though.
I hope the funky basement restroom stays, although I feel for people for whom its an accesibility challenge. It's also nice to chat briefly with the guys cleaning and cutting the mushrooms in the basement. I wonder if they realized what they would be in for when they applied for a job at a little neighborhood place tucked into a niche in Watertown!
re: lipoff
Those grilled sweet peas look great - is that orange zest on there?
Grilling podded spring veggies seems to be a mini-trend? I had grilled whole favas at Area 4 the other night - thought it was odd, knowing that the pods are filled with that fuzzy lining and the beans have that tough outer coat. They were edible, but in my opinion, just not a good concept. Way too much fiber.
re: Bob Dobalina
You can never have too much fiber. Think how clean -- or, at least, cleaned out --you felt the next day.
re: Bob Dobalina
Aleppo pepper, not orange zest!
Our anniversary dinner tonight was mostly entirely successful, though the one major drawback was pretty annoying.
We split the cauliflower app, which was as delicious as advertised. Allstonian had little but raves for the chicken and waffle, although I thought the foot-on presentation of the leg was a little twee. (It's just a needless "Look how adventurous we are, y'all!" affectation.)
My burger was excellent: not the much-vaunted Strip-Ts burger, just because I wasn't in the mood for that flavor profile tonight, but a cheddar-bacon-fried egg concoction. Sadly, it was served with the single worst batch of french fries I've ever been served. All I can assume is that the order was mistimed and they sat at the pass for a long time while the rest of our order was prepared. Because surely the fries aren't always served stone cold, are they? And weirdly, even if they'd been properly hot, they wouldn't have been that great: although everything else we got was pretty aggressively salted -- in the case of the side of mixed mushrooms we shared, almost too much so -- these tasted like they hadn't been salted at all.
So why didn't I tell the waitress this? Because after she dropped off our plates, we didn't see her again until it was coffee and dessert time, and she whisked away the plates so brusquely then, there wasn't any time to bring up the problem. Although honestly, if you're a waitress and you see that the plates were damn near licked clean EXCEPT that all but about two of the fries were still there...it wouldn't occur to you to ask, "So what's up with the fries?"
That said, Allstonian is still raving about the pots de creme, with good reason, and I just realized that the reason I feel so fondly about the mocha chocolate cake is that it was an exact replica of the first great chocolate cake of my life. (Which was to be found in the cafeteria at Yoakum County Hospital in Denver City, Texas during the '70s.) So those made up for the disappointment, but...honestly, how hard is it to time the fries to be done at the same time as the burger? It's a bush-league mistake compounded by the weird way our initially chatty and helpful waitress just completely froze us out as soon as the plates were down.
re: Jenny Ondioline
what a bummer about those fries. what i learned early on at ST was not to do my usual 'well done' request because, however they are produced, even though they're pretty light brown, they're done more than they look.
anyway, i hate it when that happens w/ a waitperson, though that's never happened to us there. They do, however, team task a bit so I'm surprised you didn't just flag someone else- such a tiny room, pretty easy to 'grab' someone(literally and figuratively actually) if you want to......
as to the chicken, i really don't think this guy is into 'twee' anything. when you talk w/ him, you'll prob see what i mean. I think it's more along the lines of the "Wicked Small Caesar" naming on the menu,i.e. a wry sense of humor. just my take, anyway. hope you return and have a better experience. glad you enjoyed what you ate. Btw, were they still doing the soft shell okonomiyaki? (i'm guessing you don't order it out because of your wkly home made version.)
re: opinionatedchef
We would have been more than happy to report the cold fries to one of the other staffers working tables, but none of them stopped by our table either. I had actually expected that the gentleman actively soliciting feedback from the 4-top next to us was headed our way next - sadly, no.
As for the softshell crab okonomiyaki, our homecooked okonimiyaki is more a monthly treat than weekly, but I had in fact made a batch only a few days prior. Since two of the three reports on that dish in this thread (including your own) mentioned that it wasn't cooked all the way through, we skipped it. But yes, it was still on offer Friday evening.
Stopped by for lunch on Saturday - thought I noticed a table of CH'ers in the house -
Had the eggplant banh mi, the cauliflower sandwich and the shrimp po' boy. I think the po' boy (which did not try) is part of the throwback menu? A few grilled (or fried) shrimp, cheese (?), lettuce, tomato, mayo - just looked rather ordinary, but it was enjoyed. Did not really strike me as a po' boy.
And as good as the banh mi is, that cauliflower sandwich stood head, shoulders, and midsection above.
Also, Japanese sweet potato fries were outstanding - sweet, but not too - garlic aioli for dipping - wow.
We left stuffed.
re: Bob Dobalina
Yes, 5 hounds, after meeting up at Roksana & discovering it was only take-out w/no tables, regrouped at Strip T's for lunch. We shared 2 orders of the grilled romaine w/oxtail, poached egg, chili vin, sandwiches: lamb shoulder w/watercress, roasted onions, yogurt, grilled shrimp po' boy w/cheddar, pickles, spicy mayo, sauerbraten spec'l, an order of moxie wings & moist, dark chocolate cake. We also thought the cheese on the po'boy was an odd ingredient, but ok. Wish it had been fried oysters instead. The lamb sandwich was delicious & Iiked the sauerbraten. Those moxie wings were finger-lickin & stickin good. We all agreed the hands-down favorite was the grilled romaine w/oxtail, so wonderfully rich w/the poached egg. Service was excellent providing bev naps, changing plates & silver, refilling water glasses & having the kitchen aportion the sandwiches. We got in just in time before 1pm to get our party seated in this popular, bustling place. Looking forward to going back for the dinner menu & those soft shell crabs, if they're still on the menu.
re: Taralli
I too was in on Saturday for a very late lunch (Strip Ts burger with sweet potato wedges, awesome as always). At the table next to me, a family of 5 was busily snarfing down all kinds of deliciousness and the mother suddenly said, "this is the best sandwich I have ever eaten in my life!" Turned out to be the bahn mi. Cannot wait to try the cauliflower sandwich based on Bob Dobalina's endorsement.
re: GretchenS
I let out a whoop when I saw the cover of today's Boston Globe sunday mag.>> the Strip T's burger! (Feature article about Boston's best burgers.) And I heard from CH Rich Chudy (bostonburgerblog.com)that he finally made it to Strip T's last week, so hopefully he'll be reviewing it in his next monthly blog post.
re: opinionatedchef
while good for them, i have to raise a tepid "yay" for the hordes that will descend on this patially hidden gem. hopefully it is on guy fieri"s radar to completely destroy the chance of getting in.
let me restate, i could not be happier for the family as i have been eating here for 5 years ( i liked it even before its recent incarnation) and they deserve the business, but for it to get Rino-fied is too bad for me.
Had dinner there tonight. Great value. We had the eggplant side dish as an app, followed by steak with chimichurri sauce and smoked trout with johnnycakes. Brioche donut with blueberry filling and lemon meringe topping for dessert. Food was just perfect, delicious and complex. Service a bit on the diffident side. But overall a really, really good dinner.
re: brooklinehound
oooh,what was the eggplnt side? must have been a special , unless they've changed their main menu since last monday.
re: opinionatedchef
I was there too last night! New side: roasted fairytale eggplant with almonds and pomegranate molasses. You can see the updated menu at their web site. We did not get that but got several new-to-us things, including that same dessert that brooklinehound had, which knocked our socks off, as did pretty much everything else we had. I have been 3 times in the last 3 weeks, and I feel only slightly sheepish to admit I am going again with friends tonight. I would not have thought this possible but I think that Tim and his talented staff have taken things a notch higher than the high level they were already playing at. He is working with a forager who brings him random interesting things (several of which were in my arugula salad last night, and let me tell you that was a very far cry from the now-cliched arugula salads you see around town). One of my DCs had deep-fried moose moss on her scallop crudo special last night, along with some other things, and really loved it. The new grilled summer squashes with fresno peppers and green tomatoes dish proves once again that Tim and his staff can take an ingredient you think you don't like (in my case, summer squashes) and turn it into something you are fighting your friends for the last bite of -- and we were fighting over the last of that dish. He has previously done that for me with polenta and grits which other than in his hands have always bored me. If you are able to get there, please go, fellow Chowhounds, you will not be disappointed. And although all the tables were full there were counter seats available last night even at prime time.
re: GretchenS
Can you tell me a bit more about the eggplant dish? I have those three ingredients at home and would love to give it a whirl. Obviously, trying it myself would be the best option, but I am not going to be free anytime soon.
re: Bob Dobalina
If we get it tonight I will let you know -- we didn't try it last night, just noticed it on the menu. brooklinehound, can you give any help?
re: GretchenS
Sorry - I see that now.
Here's a NYT recipe with those ingredients - let me know if it is similar - http://www.nytimes.com/2010/07/21/hea...
re: GretchenS
I also had the squash on a recent visit and was blown away. The sweet/hot combo is really outstanding and I think I'd eat the fresno sauce by the spoonful.
They had a special (I think) of persian cucumber soup with smoked striped bass rillette that was just as good as it sounds. I forget what the woman at the next table was eating, but she kept insisting that it was the most delicious thing she'd ever had. They seem to be killing it on a daily basis.
re: GretchenS
no need to be sheepish with most of us on this thread, gretchen. Go Girl!
re: opinionatedchef
Agreed, op!! In fact, gretchen, this only gives you a higher status of respect from the rest of your fellow chowhounds. :D (I need to get there for a first time visit, btw - and I live right here in Watertown!).
re: nsenada
they do take reservations and its best to make them unless you're happy to wait an hour or more or like dinner at 5:30.
re: nsenada
There are often seats available at the counter if you can deal with that. And they do take reservations.
OK so second night in a row they hit it out of the park. They had a roasted beef marrow bone special that I had and it was simply amazing. About a 3 or 4 inch piece of bone cut in half the long way, roasted with some nice caramelization on it, heaped with foraged mushrooms and fig-onion jam, with thin slices of chewy grilled french bread, stunningly plated. Absolutely fantastic. My only criticism is that they really need to start bringing an extra napkin when they serve this sort of thing, I was a mess. :) Also had the housemade pork and provolone sausage with quinoa salad which I mercifully shared with a DC. That would have been really good but was taken to the next level and topped out at incredible by the addition of nearly transparently-thinly sliced pickled radishes and jalapenos and some kind of heirloom radish, plus some thick, luxurious emerald green foam that turned out to be puree of radish leaves. Other DC had the octopus starter and the smoked trout which was slathered with a whipped creme fraiche lightened up with hebs and fish stock (?) and sprinkled with fish (trout?) roe and resting on a johnnycake. He is not a sharer but was moaning and groaning and saying he had never eaten anything like it so I think it is safe ot say it was transcendant, he is not a hyperbolist.
re: GretchenS
Gretchen maybe that was you raving about the bone marrow to my group on the way out as we were waiting for our table.
I was hugely impressed by how much it lived up to the hype on my first visit. So many neat tricks and gee-whizardry, rarely is the term umami actually justified but you truly get it in almost every dish here. The bone marrow was indeed a standout, our table thought it was the best prep in town. We had a green tomato relish, mushrooms and radishes to spread over our toasts, perhaps they switched it up during the course of the evening. There wasn't much on the menu we didn't order, and everything would be a standout on most other menus in town, but I am left still thinking about that roasted fairytale eggplant dish, yowsas.
re: Nab
OOOH, do tell about the roasted fairy eggplant, we did not get it either time. And it was not me raving to you about the bone marrow although I would have been very happy to do so! So very glad your meals lived up to advnace billing, I refuse to call it hype since to me that sounds like exaggeration and my reporting has been strictly factual. :)
re: GretchenS
The eggplant side was delicious, some Asian flavors, not too sweet, not too heavy. But my favorite was the steak: perfectly seared, with a nice slightly (but not overly) salty crust, tender and flavorful (tough combination to pulloff), with deep fried maitake mushrooms that had a nice, light crisp crust.
re: brooklinehound
Went back last night (I'm getting a bit obsessed), with the kid (teenagers) this time. We were told ahead of time that the kitchen was having trouble with the stove, but decided to chance it anyway. Waited a half hour for a table (with an 8:30) reservation, but staff was incredibly apologetic and accomodating: took our order while we waited for table to pay so apps were served almost as soon as we sat down.
Appetizer of grilled romaine with oxtail and poached egg was amazing. Lots of different flavors and textures, but worked so well. Oxtail was tender and flavorful. Grilled romaine was only lightly grilled, so still crispy.
Husband had the hamburger which was amazing, The miso is mixed in to the meat, giving it a depth of flavor that enhances the beef flavor.
I wanted the bluefish, but they were out, so I was offered striped bass instead. Perfectly cooked, served with very thin strips of vegetables (summer squash) that had the feel of pasta but the taste of vegetables. Really, really good.
Kids had the fried chicken which I thought was excellent, bu they thought was just "good." One thought it was too greasy but isn't that the point of fried chicken? Chicken had great flavor and the crust was crisp but not too thick. Served iwth "dirty rice", mixed with chicken liver and corn. This was really good, nice texture, a little bit crispy. Liver taste was not too pronounced which actually was a bit of a disappointment for me.
The only meh items were the "wicked small caesar" and the chocolate cake for dessert. Nothing wrong with them (although husband noted that the caesar seemed to have garlic salt in it instead of real garlic, which would surprise me), just nothing special.
Kids did like the different sodas: orange cream soda "tastes like a creamsicle" according to one. They even tried the pumpkin pie soda, nice cinnamon flavor.
re: brooklinehound
Interesting about the dirty rice, it varies some, our order last week tasted very "offal-y" (which some of us liked better than others) but I have had it other times when it was not. I share your obsession: I was back yet again Monday night and had the paté special with corn and mushrooms and various other things that did not sound like they would work together but came together as a symphony on the plate, and the smoked trout, with whipped creme fraiche, trout roe and herbs, which also was wonderful (a DC had had it the previous week and I could not get it off my mind till I had it too, I get like that sometimes).
re: brooklinehound
The "wicked small caesar" and the cake are old-menu holdovers, beloved by pre-fancification regulars.
re: brooklinehound
Picky details:
I didn't taste your husb's Ceasar of course, but when we get it (often) it is sometimes too garlicky for me, but def not garlic salt, just too much fresh garlic.
I think the miso is spread on the burger, not part of the meat mix.
That cake is def meh.Many others feel differently, but, except for their original doughnut, i have not had a dessert there that i would order again. I keep wishing...........
More important: so happy to hear you love Strip T's! Isn't it fun to feel excited like this about a new place?!
re: opinionatedchef
Definitely exciting. Thanks for the point abou the miso, I didn't examine closely but was taking DC's word for it. I think what I like about this place is that it is unpredictable in a good way: you can look at the menu and find interesting combinations of things that you haven't seen in 20 other places. And they're not trying too hard, they actually taste good together.
Have you tried the brioche donut with blueberry cream and lemon glaze? That was one delicious dessert.
re: brooklinehound
bh, i'm prob the only one who doesn't care for that donut. Go figure!(and I always give away our marshmallows to another table too!)
Btw, i think your description of 'what I like about this place' is perfectly worded. Best 'in a nutshell' description i've seen!
re: opinionatedchef
Thanks. Since you mention the marshmallows, I should say that on our last visit the marshmallows were tomato and basil. This did not work for me at all (and don't ask how my teenaged boys, excited when they saw the marshmallows, reacted to the taste) but it seems churlish to complain about the little gift that comes with the check.
Just had lunch at Strip-T's:
Pork shank terrine with pimento cheese Po' Boy.
My DC had the Italian Sausage with Rape (which I thought would be boring).
Both sammys were insanely delicious. The sausage was smokey/grilly with some amazing sauce. My terrine and the home made pimento cheese were just amazing.
This guy is hitting it out of the park. YUM.
re: StriperGuy
Having eaten there a total of 6 times in the past 5 weeks (lunch and dinner) I don't think this kitchen (Tim and talented staff) is capable of boring. Both your sammys sound fabulous!
re: GretchenS
Both just mouth-wateringly fantastic.
re: StriperGuy
I am planning on going for an early pre-Fenway dinner this Saturday for my first burger in like 15 years. I've been researching over the years and I have decided that the smoked miso burger is going to be IT. The fries are integral for my burger experience - it sounds like when the Strip T's version are fresh, they are the s#*t. Wish it wasn't a brioche bun (see yumyum et al) but I guess I can deal with it. Wish me luck, people!
re: Gabatta
This is so funny, gabatta. while i'm cheering on your strip t's love and posts, my experience is the opposite of yours on this point. I USUALLY ask for my fries well done wherever i go, but the first time i did that at ST's, they were, while not dark brown, way too done/hard for me. So the next and subsequent orders, I ordered them 'as is', and they taste well done( but look deceptively light colored.) I think it was Rich Chudy in his Boston Burger Blog that had the same experience as mine. I've never had any other fries that did this and I haven't yet asked Tim the why behind it, but I will at some point! So i'm surprised that your 'well done' experience has been different there. Go figure!
re: opinionatedchef
I got soggy fries on my first two experiences there, so I have taken to ordering the crispies there. Maybe I just have had bad luck, and will try them regular next time.
I find a great deal of info in the Boston Burger Blog to differ from my experiences, so no surprise there.
Finally got to Strip T's last evening (Wed) for the first time. Opinionatedchef, were you sitting under the chalkboard? If not, it was how I've always imagined you! Anyway, the Moxie wings were fall off the bone great. The much vaunted Grilled Romaine with oxtail didn't disappoint, with the egg being the most perfect poached egg I have had. My wife had the skirt steak (excellent, but the only thin we had that I felt I could get somewhere else, and I had the smoked trout, which was a revelation! My only other experience with smoked trout was in Idaho, and it was heavily smoked. It was phenomenal, it tasted like ham. This was fresh trout lightly smoked, in a cream and corn broth, and a five hour egg (yolk perfectly liquid, white completely firm). It came on a slice of some type of toast to soak up the sauce, but I wish I'd asked for a spoon. We also had a side of the baby fairy eggplant roasted with almonds, which was my wife's favorite dish, and my third after the trout and romaine. Service a little scattered, but they were super nice about everything. Our entrees took a bit to come out, they comped us a nice strawberry vermouth, that one of the bartenders had made. Split the donut for dessert, blueberry cream. My wife said "eh", I loved it (but it's right up my alley). Had to forgo my usual panna cotta to try it, hopefully that will be on the menu next time. Excellent coffee as well, a sticking point for me. Nothing is worse than having a nice meal be ruined by a lousy cup of coffee afterwards. Can't wait to get back there.
re: kimfair1
Hey kimfair, I THOUGHT that was you, giving me the official CH Nannu Nannu sign!
(naw, really, just kidding! we weren't there last night.) That trout sounds just lovely. Funny, because last night we were having our own smoky-grilled steelhead trout here, w/ a side of crusty potato bacon corn and basil hash..... Knew you would love it there. Aren't those the tiniest eggplant you've ever eaten?so cool- that pomegranate almond treatment. I was really surprised that the skirt steak was pretty meh for me; i had always thought i would love it.
i think those moxie wings are the only thing we've never had there; must get them next time!
re: kimfair1
When I see kebab, I think meat on a skewer...
What happens here for lunch is ground chicken/pork are grilled on a skewer.... then combined with local tomato (isn't this the ONLY 8 weeks of the year worth eating tomatoes?)... Peach mustard.... touch of spicy mayo.... mixed greens (including the tiniest bit of fresh mint).... and served on a soft, in house baked milk bun...
That's why I come - to get my tastes awakened, and my perceptions of what I think I know, altered.
re: opinionatedchef
This thread isn't showing up in search at the moment. We're looking into this now.
- Shane
re: opinionatedchef
Search should be back up and running again. And sure enough, when I search for this particular thread, I find it right away now.
My wife and I are going to Strip T's for the first time next Tuesday to celebrate our 8th anniversary. I am wondering if anyone who has been recently can recommend some can't miss dishes. She eats seafood and veggie options only, I eat everything that isn't tooooo weird. :)
re: kt1969
Eggplant Bahn Mi!
re: VintageMolly
Eggplant bahn mi is fantastic but I am going to say, you really cannot miss. I tend toward the blackboard specials unless they have things I am allergic to. The smoked trout, if it is still on the menu, is exemplary, as is the housemade sausage. But you really cannot go wrong, I don't think I have ever had a miss under Tim's direction.
re: GretchenS
The smoked trout was phenomenal, as well as the grilled romaine with oxtail and egg.
re: kimfair1
I had that smoked trout the other night: phenomenal, indeed, and beautiful, too.
re: MC Slim JB
The cool thing is, the smoked trout is plated differently every time based on what garnishes have come in from the forager, plus the base veggie and sauce get changed up periodically. But it's always gorgeous and yummy.
re: kimfair1
The smoked trout dish was easily within the top 5 dishes I've ever had; it was perfect. You will notice my prep. was slightly different then MC Slim JB's, as referenced by GretchenS. I will also suggest getting anything that features their house-made breads. I think that they are really well made.
re: GretchenS
What Gretchen said, especially about the specials. Last few times I've been in they've leaned seafood and veg. And the grilled squash plate is really good--sweet/sour/lightly spicy.
re: kt1969
Grilled romaine w/oxtail, poached egg & chili vin.
re: Taralli
this is IT for me. I had it every time we went, weekly, for the first four visits! Since she doesn't eat meat, kt, that means you get it all to yourself!!
re: kt1969
Yes to all of the above recs. I just had a fantastic pasta w/ pork ragu special there and great Plymouth oysters, especially with the rhubarb-ginger-scallion garnish.
Possibly not quite festive enough for an anniversary meal, but for when you go back the fish & chips is a great example of same.
re: kt1969
Thanks for your advice everyone! I went with the grilled romaine and the burger, wife had the eggplant banh mi and the smoked trout. All was delicious. She couldn't get over that bahn mi, definitely her favorite. The smoked trout had this sauce that both of us couldn't get enough of...asked the waiter and apparently it was corn soup with some kind of very mild curry [vadouvan, I think he said]...oh wow, it was heavenly. Plus chanterelles and some roe and some rye crisp and the egg...she didn't love every element but it was an overall win. And ohhh, that sauce/soup. The waiter was great, brought tastes of three wines when my wife couldn't figure out what white to order. Just really liked the vibe of the place in general. Will definitely be back.
I had not been to lunch here in a long time but persuaded a colleague that he really needed to try it today. We shared the lamb shoulder sandwich with watercress, roasted onions and yogurt; the housemade pork sausage sandwich with provolone, broccoli rabe and pickled peppers; and the housemade potato chips, all first-time tries for me (and for him, obviously, this being his first time there). Started with the lamb sandwich which was very possibly the best sandwich ever -- tender, delicious lamb and perfect counterpoints in the accompaniments. Really, the only downside was we figured that the pork sausage sandwich would not be as good and we each could have had a whole lamb sandwich to ourselves. Well, as anyone who has eaten here will not be surprised to hear (and what was I thinking???), the pork sausage was every bit as good as the lamb one. I mean seriously, it is simply insane how good both sandwiches were. My colleague can't wait to get his wife there. The potato chips were also out-of-this-world good and the delightfully goofy waitress I had not seen in ages was there, in full flower, which was the icing on the cake. Bravo to Strip-T's once again.
re: GretchenS
That woman is so pretty and she has such a positive energy; a real treat! And now we HAVE to get those sandwiches, so thx much for the nudge. We tried to have lunch there on a Sat in Sept. and it was PACKED! so we'll go on a wkday.
re: opinionatedchef
Hmmm...what time?
I made it over right at 12pm on Saturday and got a couple seats at the bar. Never was too crazy, there was a bit of a wait as we were eating, I believe they were quoting 15-20 minutes...but the people waiting weren't spilling out onto the sidewalk or anything. I'm sure by 1 or 2 it would get really busy though.
re: rknrll
And just the opposite on a weekday (at least yesterday): a mob scene noon to 1:00 then some seats open and a huge crowd waiting for takeout.
Stopped in for a quick light dinner tonight. Had the oxtail romaine (once an addict, always an addict...) and a board special called Anson Mills semolina gnocchi with heirloom tomato sauce and taleggio.
Yum. Less a true gnocchi and more like the evil love child of gnocchi and good polenta fries. A dozen one-inch fried cubes, a simmered-down sauce with a hint of heat, and some melted taleggio with a bit of cheese funk.
re: newhound
Semolina gnocchi aka Roman Gnocchi. So delicious on their own; I am sure this prep was amazing.
re: newhound
that's not fair. I WANT that!!
We went for lunch the other day. That braised lamb sandwich is a killer. It was sooo rich and filling, i could only eat half.Enjoyed the Chicken Pho sandwich- baguette w/ grilled chick breast, mint, thai basil, bean sprouts, avocado mash etc. I would have preferred a fish sauce type mayo or dressing rather than the sweet one it has, but it was stll a treat. And boy, they should give workshops to the rest of the world in how to grill chicken breast>> so moist and tender....! Even their mayo cole slaw and potato salad had enough unique flavor to make them special, and really delicious.
We were the only ones there at 3pm. The coconut panna cotta was a light and lovely way to end a very filling meal.
And so…
The smoked fish has worked itself onto the lunch menu as a smoked fish melt, on grilled 7 grain bread with swiss, tomato, cucumber, and a pickle. Generous serving, well executed.
They are having a 80's hair band brunch II Sunday Oct 28th from 11am-2:30 pm in conjunction with High and Mighty Brewery. 3 courses, 3 beers, $33. Period dress is encouraged. (617) 923-4330
I went to Strip-T's for lunch the other day. It was a Sunday. It was closed, as it always is on Sundays. Which I guess in the back of my mind was a fact I had absorbed at some point, but that must have been buried by my desire to have lunch at Strip-T's on a Sunday. I parked (wow, a space right in front!), went up to the door, peered in, looked at the chairs on top of the tables, frowned. Is it really closed on Sundays? There's a paper sign for some brunch-thingy they're doing at some point! Who can I bargain with on this? Nope, it's closed. Rats.
Had a sweet-potato waffle with butter and honey, plus linguiça and a couple of eggs at Deluxe Town as consolation. That was pretty fine, and by myself, I had no wait for a counter seat. The filter coffee was really good, as was my sweet server. Got some lamejuns at Massis on the way out, very nice to snack on while watching the Pats later that afternoon. But I was still kind of steamed, and could only be steamed at my own futile expectations.
re: rknrll
that's good to know. thx. they have a number of new dishes on their 'recently' changed dinner menu. time for a visit. btw, youall might like to know that Serious Eats has put Tim into the pool for "Best Chef, Boston 2012" and you can vote (but darned if i can find the link now.)
re: rknrll
Ugh that sucks! I need to go back for that burger soon...
All too often, when I do go out to restaurants, I find myself disappointed probably because I am a bit of a food snob (more appropriately a cooking snob) and I often come away feeling that the food was fairly pedestrian, mediocre and lacked creativity and imagination. That said, I was utterly impressed with Strip T's on my second visit (my first visit was about 25 years ago when it was a totally different restaurant). The food was very good bordering on exceptional; it was creative, imaginative and plated and presented beautifully. You can certainly tell that the Chef is exceptional from his attention to detail, the plating, and the willingness to create dishes with an unusual and imaginative use and combination of ingredients. I have not found many, if any, restaurants in Boston doing what they are doing here. But not for the terrible weather last night, we probably would not have gotten in but we got very lucky indeed. As far as the food, my daughter and I split the Japanese Eggplant Banh MI, I had the Smoked Rainbow Trout and she had the Skirt Steak.
re: bakerboyz
bb, sounds good, but what are those pictures of? Don't see a Banh mi, a fish or a steak in there.
re: justbeingpolite
Sorry...lousy photographer and iphone took bad pics but on the left is the Strip Steak sliced and on the right is the Smoked Trout. No pics of the Banh Mi.
re: StriperGuy
Don't wait too long. It was on the 86 board today (5, 4, 3 remaining). I think they only make X number of servings of noodles and broth.....
re: StriperGuy
I was thinking the same thing! StriperGuy, if you want to have an early lunch (to make sure we don't miss the ramen), my email is in my profile.