Wednesday, August 1, 2007

Icarus Doesn't Fly High Enough

Icarus spent the month of July celebrating its 29th birthday with a special $29, 3-course menu. The menu consisted of 6 appetizers, 5 entrees, and 4 desserts. I don't believe they were offering a regular menu as well, but really, at $29 there was no reason not to order off the prix fixe.

Everything I had was very tasty (sorry no pics, it was way too dark and I'm not crazy about using a flash in restaurants). I started with corn chowder with crispy bacon and scallops. Three decent-sized scallops floated in a thin broth, accompanied by corn, potatoes and thick, red slivers of bacon. The broth was a little too thin for my tastes, but I'm rather particular about chowder. Because there was little integration between the broth and the solids, I really had to chase the pieces around in the shallow bowl in order to get them onto my spoon. But everything tasted really good.

For my entree, I had the grilled lamb with socca stuffed with peppery greens and a lemon caper vinaigrette. The meat was nicely cooked, with a hint of rosemary, but I think I've been spoiled by my parents' lamb skills at home, because this should have been better. The socca was the primary reason I ordered the dish, and I enjoyed them heartily. Socca is a thin pancake made out of chickpea flour, popular in Italy and southern France. The chard inside was a little tough with the crispy socca, but it was a great side dish for the lamb.

Dessert was surprising. I ordered the lemon buttermilk panna cotta, and we all laughed a lot when it was brought out as we jiggled our plates for a few minutes, watching it dance. The buttermilk gave it a very bright and clean flavor, and the accompanying blueberries gave it a burst of fruitiness.

So overall, it was a good meal, but I don't think I would hurry back to Icarus any time soon. It's not that I didn't like the food... it's just, at their regular prices, I can think of many other places I would rather dine. Boston has tons of great restaurants (although sometimes it can be hard to see the forest for the trees), and I would rather not settle for something that's just "good."

2 comments:

Anonymous said...

I just found your blog through going.com -- I love it! I didn't love my experience at Icarus earlier this year. I'd been wanting to try it for so long and while the food was good, it just didn't floor me. At the non-anniversary prices I really wanted to be floored.

Pam said...

I love going.com! Thanks for checking me out.