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."