Don’t you just love it when you find a little gem of a restaurant is still undiscovered by the public? That’s exactly how we felt when we recently visited City Landing in Boston. We’ve been anxiously waiting to see what would open in the former Sel de la Terre space on Long Wharf near the New England Aquarium.
When we arrived, we were seated at a table that overlooked bustling State Street and were quickly greeted by our friendly server. We started with a glass of pinot grigio with an order of super fresh yellowfin tuna sashimi served with a side of fiery wasabi, pickled ginger and soy sauce. The pan-steamed mussels are a must-try, served in a decadently rich garlic-white wine butter sauce with tomatoes and basil. It comes served with a side of crunchy crostinis for dipping.
Next, we opted for Justin cabernet that we paired up with a sampling of duck bruschetta, a flavor-filled combination of foie gras mousse, sweet fig, pickled red onion, duck prosciutto and shaved manchego. The menu is so varied that even though you see some favorite dishes, you will soon find an unexpected twist to the standard variation. For example, Bill Brodsky offers a Bostonian taken on shrimp and grits, but his version is made with roasted pepper, Linguiça and stone milled polenta. His lobster rolls aren’t made with mayonnaise but are butter-poached and served on Portuguese bread with micro celery. Ten-inch “pizettas” come in all sorts of flavors like chicken-apple white; an artisan of smoked pepperoni, sausage, tomato, red onion and basil; and our favorite, the rustica — a deliciously tasty combination of fig, prosciutto ham and gorgonzola.
For dinner, we loved the tender and juicy chipotle-brown-sugar-cured veal porterhouse chop topped with roasted corn. The caramelized sea scallops were enormous with mushroom ravioli and a nice tarragon cream sauce. Other entrees include lamb Bolognese, grilled New York strip steak with mushroom goat cheese grits and a full lobster bake complete with butter poached de-shelled whole lobster with corn pudding, steamed potato, asparagus and littleneck clams.
City Landing is bright, open and airy with a lively weekend scene. Chef/Owner Bill Brodsky decided to take a leap of faith opening the restaurant after spending the past decade down on Cape Cod as the executive chef and director of food and beverage at the Wequassett Resort and Golf Club in Harwich. It’s a leap that we’re thankful he took.
