aimstar eats.

on a whim, dan and i decided to go out to eat in cambridge. it takes alot for me to go across the river but he was finishing up an interview and i was hungry. now, i am not very familiar with cambridge’s winding streets, ivy league stature, or restaurant scene however, i knew russell house tavern was located within its squares and i had been dying to go.

maybe i’ve become bourgeois about food or my expectations were too high but everything fell a little flat for me. it was like each dish had great potential but ended up being very one note and for a place as pricey as russell house, i wanted a little more for my pennies.

a large and sprawling menu had me jumping from dish to dish. unsure of what i wanted, i asked plenty of questions that our waiter answered with expertise. he was definitely one of the best parts of the meal. friendly and smart, he took us through the menu and gave us the time to decide over a couple of drinks. i ended up getting a bunch of small plates.

for starters, dan and i gravitated to the charcuterie board (on a quest to try everyone in town) and the steak tartare. the board included chicken liver paté, duck ham, pork rillette, guanicale, prune and honey jam.

appetizers:

charcuterie

chicken liver paté: very delicious though that sort of grey, cooked organ color always turns me off a bit. i like the tiny ramekin it was served in and the crunchy toasted crostini went very well with the creaminess of the paté.

duck ham: a bit slimy for my liking, the duck ham was a great rich red color with a border of white fat and a soft and malleable texture. the taste was all there with a sort of lingering flavor.

pork rillette: covered in a layer of duck fat, you had to jam your knife into the dish to reach the pork underneath and it was worth the extra effort. the pork rillette tasted like thanksgiving (though obviously not turkey) and had a pulled pork quality that was absolutely delicious. i couldn’t stomach the duck fat layer so we just popped it off the top and dug into the rillette.

guanciale: a new board item to me, guanciale is a bacon made from pig jowels/cheeks. thinly sliced and nearly translucent, the guanciale melted in your mouth. though slightly flavorless, it was still a nice addition to the board.

the prune and honey jam was delicious and paired really well with all the charcuterie items. i’m such a sucker for a sweet spread.

steak tartare: chewy, cold, tangy, raw deliciousness. the steak tartare was great and paired with griddled caper-brioche slices and topped with a farm egg, it had all the textures i love to eat: chewy, crunchy, creamy. 

small plates:

i went back and forth on so many of these, it was hard for me to narrow it down to just a few but in the end i decided upon the warm burrata salad, deviled local farm eggs, and a lobster slider. i had my eyes on the marrow bone but it was looking to be a rich evening and i wasn’t sure my stomach would hold up.

burrata salad: i like burrata and when its creaminess is actually paired up with something that can stand it, the cheese can be perfect. served in a little clay dish alongside honey roasted brussel sprouts, apples slices, and covered in a chili oil, this small plate just missed the mark for me. the crunch of the apple worked very well with the smoothness of the burrata. the brussel sprouts’ earthy tones rounded out the flavors but something was missing and i think it was the chili oil. either it was left off my dish or it wasn’t on it enough; the chili oil really would’ve taken this plate to the next level. it needed an extra tang, an extra zip on the tongue. good burrata salads are a delicate thing and its necessary to have every component layered for ultimate flavor and contrast.

deviled farm eggs: deviled eggs are a staple at my house and my mom does them exceptionally. RHT had a nice and intriguing take on them: topped with shrimp over a bed of avocado, sweet cantaloupe, micro greens, and drizzled in chili oil. again, this dish was missing something as well and again, it was the chili oil. creamy deviled eggs with creamy avocado and slightly creamy cantaloupe was offset sort of well with the microgreens. the shrimp could have sat atop the deviled yolks or not, they added nor took away anything to the dish. the chili oil was smattered on the sides of the plate but really needed to be all over it or at least incorporated into the yolks for a different flavor. everything just tasted the same.

maybe i shouldn’t have gotten burrata and deviled eggs at the same time but the dishes should’ve stood out regardless.

lobster slider: yummy but at $6, not worth it. a tiny spoonful of lobster sat on a toasted brioche roll and microgreens. the menu said it included pickled rhubarb which would have added a very nice crunch but i can’t recall tasting it.

dan got the beef cheeks which came with a cheddar fritter and parsnips and were amazing. fall apart, beefy goodness, the beef cheeks were like a perfectly cooked brisket that had been simmering away for days on the stove. i would go back to RHT purely for those cheeks.

dessert wasn’t really in the cards but we figured we might as well try something out so we went with the caramel apple mousse semifreddo. well, i wish we hadn’t. an apple spice tea cake shaped into a small square and topped with a little bit of apple mousse and a salted caramel drizzle (salted? i don’t think so) sounds delicious but man, it didn’t deliver. the cake was a weird consistency and left a residue both on the spoon and the tongue. the caramel drizzle was sparse and the apple mousse just tasted like whipped cream.

lots of great ideas on this menu but nothing really to write home about. i’d go back and try the andriana pizza: local burrata, black mission fig, and sweet garlic. if anything, go to RHT for the decor and stick around for the drink menu. if you’re there, ask for adam and leave him a big tip.

-russell house tavern

-14 jfk street

-cambridge, ma 02138

the salty pig features an array of “salty pig parts,” (mmm, charcuterie) that you can pair with a variety of artisan cheeses and little sides. the entire menu is meant to be personalized, tweaked exactly to what you’re craving. served on a wooden board with a handle (like those you see being used to paddle backsides at fraternity initiation ceremonies), the charcuterie is artfully displayed next to complimentary house cured pickles, stone ground mustard, and crostini.

the menu is very straightforward, directing you to “START HERE” with No. 1: SALTY PIG PARTS then down to No. 2: STINKY CHEESES and finally No. 3: ROUND OUT THE PLATE.

while the salty pig does offer entrees in addition to their house-cured meats (like wood fired pizzas and hearty sammiches), it’s better to stick with the board. after visiting the pig three times, once for a midday snack, once for brunch, and once for an event, i still recommend keeping it simple with their various charcute delicacies. don’t get your heart set on a favorite once you’re there though, the menu changes relatively regularly.

disclaimer: i do NOT like pork all that much. strange for me to enjoy charcuterie so much then, yes? well, yes. give me salty pig parts and bacon and i’ll happily dine on swine. put a tenderloin in front of me or a chop, i’ll stay away.

the pig parts:

after many minutes perusing for parts (and a bit of bickering), we (that’s me and mr. bucky) decided on porchetta, fried duroc pig tails, chicken liver mousse, coppa, and speck.

porchetta: sort of like deli ham with a bit more substance, it was tasty if just a bit boring. yummy on it’s own but not a stand out.

duroc pig tails: okay, this was a dan choice because as soon as i read fried pig tails, i turned away. after popping one in my mouth, i decided it was pretty delicious but really just ended up tasting like the frying batter.

chicken liver mousse: to. die. for. devastated when it was gone and was moments away from ordering more but got a glass of wine instead… the consistency, flavor, and texture was all perfect. without a doubt, the best selection on their menu (however not on the menu at the moment). wonderfully smooth and tasty with enough flavor to not make me feel as though i was eating an organ. a must have.

coppa: dry cured pork shoulder deliciousness. it’s brother, coppa piccante, is just as tasty. really nice tearing when you take a bite and leaves you with a saltiness and flavor that sticks around.

speck: i had different ideas of what speck actually was. for some reason, i always thought of jellied meats. maybe i had aspic in mind? gross. anyways, the speck was tasty and smoky and a very nice addition to our board.

the cheeses:

i’m a big cheese lover so i was very excited to see such a variety on the menu. now, dating a waiter comes with some pomposity about foods and dan was very eager to explain to me exactly what i was choosing. in the end, he steered me right despite his arrogance. we went with comté, stilton, and a gouda that i can’t remember the name of.

comté: from france and made with cow’s milk, this cheese has a medium bite and paired perfectly with every single item on our plate. my favorite combo was the crostini smeared with fig jam (we’ll get to that later), a little bit of ground mustard, a swipe of chicken liver mousse and a square of comté on top. heavenly.

stilton: hate blue cheese dressing, loooove a nice piece of blue cheese. definitely a strong one, this blue comes from england and had a slightly crumbly texture. it stood up nicely against the coppa and blended with the ground mustard.

gouda i can’t remember: gouda is good, ya? always. on its own, with the rind on, stuck to a piece of pig, you can’t go wrong with a gouda.

the sides:

i am a sauce person. extra sauce on my pizza, in my pasta, on my fries, i like things extra saucy. the same goes for condiments and the salty pig had a bevy of very reasonably priced sides to go along with all that pork. sweet and salty (savory / umami / whatever we’re calling it these days) is my absolutely favorite flavor. i had heard rave reviews of the fig jam so obviously we added that to our board as well as smoked mushrooms and sumac-onion salad.

fig jam: incredible. i wanted to smear it on everything. the sweetness of the fig worked so absolutely perfectly with the spicy and pungent ground mustard. that combination plus the saltiness of the charcuterie made my taste buds explode. i would eat that fig jam with a spoon.

smoked mushrooms: the few i could get my hands on were great (dan had a flying fork that made it nearly impossible for me to try the little earthy snacks). a really nice muddy, earthy flavor with a slight bitter smokiness.

sumac-onion salad: alright, pretty boring. what is sumac? this didn’t really make me all that excited despite my love for onions. i’d say try out a different side.

all that fabulousness being said, it was hard for me to get over the very lackluster “other delights.” on our second visit, we tried the brunch menu which included the burrata and marinated tomato salad and fried pig trotter and cheese dish.

burrata: the big creamy burrata went with beefsteak tomato slices, puffed rice, fennel-basil oil, and vin cotto. there wasn’t enough on the plate to balance out the huge portion on burrata. with a cheese that is that thick, it really needed some more acidity and something with a stronger flavor to cut through the cheese.

pig trotter: not necessarily a favorite of mine (read: pig feet are not necessarily appetizing to everyone), i went for it but came up empty handed. there were big pieces of lardon all over the plate that were almost inedible. i ended up handing my half of the dish over to dan because i just couldn’t finish it.

all in all, the space is fantastic. we were lucky enough to have great weather the first two times we went and sat outside under the orange aperol umbrellas, sipping drinks in the sunshine. the last time we visited, we milled about inside and enjoyed the charkboard-like walls, cool fixtures, and family style seating.

while i was disappointed by the mains, the fig jam is worth the trip alone. with a great drink menu and friendly and knowledgeable staff, it’s hard to not like the salty pig.

-the salty pig

-130 dartmouth street

-boston, ma 02116

i’m embarking on a restaurant review quest. UNDER CONSTRUCTION!