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Re-Creating Restaurants: Rendezvous in Central Square Cambridge – Part 1, The Dining Experience

This is a restaurant review for ‘Rendezvous in Central Square‘ in Cambridge, MA.  Check back in the near future, as we attempt to remake some of the dishes we tasted at the restaurant in our new ‘Re-creating Restaurants’ column.

If you live in the Boston area, or have visited Cambridge in the past, you probably know that Central Square is a pretty colorful part of town.  Full of hipsters and bums, it has always seemed to attract some of the more interesting people in the city to its busy streets.  Recently, the infamous Burger King restaurant that had inhabited the store front next to Hi-Fi Pizza closed its doors and a new Restaurant called Rendezvous opened. We noticed it almost immediately when we moved to the neighborhood and decided to try it soon after, each being a really great experience.

So with our kitchen project ongoing, we decided to take a break and head back to one of our favorite neighborhood spots – and we weren’t disappointed.  Chef Steve Johnson had some really excellent menu choices from local sources that included some vegetables and herbs from their rooftop garden – that’s right, central square grown baby!  We walked in on a Tuesday evening, and though the place was moderately crowded, were able to sit right down.  We learned that they’re currently featuring a 3 course tasting menu 7 nights a week for $38, and since the meal was for a review, decided to go for it.  Ah, but first, can’t forget the cocktails:

The custom cocktail menu at Rendezvous is interesting and inventive, featuring 6-7 signature drink for around $9-10 each.  Though they are a little pricey, the taste and creativity don’t disappoint.  I ordered a drink called ‘Nehru’ that blended saffron infused gin, cardamom and lemon and was an intense bright yellow color thanks to the saffron explosion and lemon that was the base of this drink.  As you might expect, the drink was more savory than sweet, a reflection of the delicious gin that made the drink unique.  Aimee ordered a ‘Rhum’ drink that was made with Haitian Rhum (rum) and intensly good bitters that left the drink with a great pink color.  Finished with 3-4 lime wedges and ice, it was tasty and refreshing.

Onto the apps, where Aimee proudly ordered the halibut ceviche, which was served in a really gorgeous presentation, each item of the dish making their presence felt on the plate and laid out in a really creative way.

The fish appeared to be marinated in grapefruit and orange juices, and was served with grapefruit segments, radish and radish sprouts, mint, minced chives (which seemed to be a favorite garnish of theirs) and what appeared to be a chili oil.  Whatever it was it gave the dish quite a kick.

I had a dish that popped right out to me, being from the Maine coast – Bluefish cakes.  Though the presentation wasn’t quite as impressive as the ceviche, these bad boys were insanely delicious, and will be the dish that I look forward to re-creating.  I do love crab cakes and other seafood cakes as well, but I feel like a lot of the time, what the cakes are paired with lose some inspiration.  That’s where these bluefish cakes shined.  Accompanying the cakes was a deliciously acidic cool salad of picked red onion, cucumber, mint leaves, cilantro, scallion and lime.  Truly a perfect pairing.

Next up were the entrees – I could decide between the pork and veal meatballs, served with orecchiette pasta or the crispy roasted chicken with summer herbs and vegetables.  I ended up with the chicken and though the meatballs looked (and smelled) really good, I’m glad I did.  My chicken was perhaps just a tiny bit over-cooked, but it wasn’t dry, and the summer vegetables and broth on the plate helped to accentuate the great crispy skin.  The portion was huge too, a whole 1/2 a bird – breast de-boned but thigh left with bone-in for moisture’s sake.  Vegetables were seasoned perfectly and included summer squash, potato, yellow beans, corn and grape tomatoes, which were perfectly in season and sweet like candy.

Aimee ordered the swordfish with braised artichokes and eggplant ‘caponata’ which appeared to consist of slow cooked eggplant, onions and olives.  First of all, the fish was cooked perfectly, succulent throughout – though the one issue that we both had with the dish was that the olives in the caponata somewhat overpowered the fish.  I know, I know, it’s swordfish, which does have a fairly robust flavor and meaty texture – but I do think that using olives diminished from the overall swordfish experience.  The artichokes were tender and delicious (even the leafy parts).

Onto desert and all I can say is that both were amazing – I had the lemon buttermilk pudding, which was more like a soft cake.  Served with a sweet huckleberry reduction, this was insane.  Aimee’s might have actually been even better – an apricot/blueberry crostata with caramel and honey lavender ice cream.  Yep, sounds good doesn’t it?  You gotta try it for yourself.  Perhaps the best dish of the evening, and I’m not even a sweets person really.  Not too much sugar, and just the right amount of dough.  An excellent end to the evening!

Tags: Rendezvous, restaurant review