Baby Artichokes at Highland Kitchen
Went to HK 2 times this weekend. Had some of previously mentioned items; Cuban Reuben, mussles, chicken liver crostini, and deviled eggs. They were all terrific. The big highlight tonight was grilled baby artichokes. They appeared to be just quartered, grilled and served with a garlic mayo and lemon wedges. They were simple but outstanding. Made me wonder where these things are available so that I might cook them myself. Also had the Periodista cocktail for the first time. I loved that too. As I tend to like anything with rum I was also wondering if theirs is considered a good one vs. Eastern Standard for example.
mimish
Apr 20, 2008 10:05PM
not sure about the cocktails, but you an pretty much bet that anything from the bar at ESK is going to be great. As for the artichokes (i love them too!) I actually saw them yesterday at the Trader Joe's in brookline. When artichokes are in season, its generally pretty easy to find them!
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I had the baby artichokes Friday night - very good, grilled, looked like some sort of oil-based marinade prior to grilling.
You can find baby artichokes lots of places - I got some at Stop and Shop a few weeks back. Not sure if they have a season, per se.
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They had them as the special last weekend as well but were sold out by the time I got there. Hopefully they will continue them through spring.
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Russo's had them Saturday. I think they are the chokes that they prune off the plants so that the remaining chokes will get big.
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They are just artichokes that grow lower on the plant, not getting as much sun, so they grow small..
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I had the grilled baby artichokes last weekend and they were delicious! Simply grilled vegetables are my favorite preparation.
The Super Shop & Shop on McGrath had baby artichokes yesterday. Spring is usually the best time for them.
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Agreed -- we had the grilled baby chokes last WE at HK and they were excellent. We've been to HK probably half a dozen times by now and the good is generally quite good, although I'm wishing the menu were a little more extensive. Happened to be at Wilson's Farm where they had some so we picked up a pack. I think spring is the best time to find these little guys.
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I'll join in too - had the baby chokes Saturday night, stems and all, and they were outstanding.
Also had the Reuban Cuban, which was enormous, delicious and a steal at $9 iirc.
Came with fries which were very good - thinly cut, well fried.
GF had the asparagus soup I believe, which she loved. Caesar salad came with abundant anchovies and was properly dressed.
Overheard that the kitchen was a two-person operation - pretty impressive really.
Had a bourbon cocktail on the specials blackboard - cannot remember the name - but it had baked rhubarb in it - I think I tasted a slight hint of sourness from it - regardless, it was a darn good bourbon punch-style drink. Could have easily downed three or four without blinking - dangerous stuff that.
After stuffing myself, went to see the Flight of the Red Balloon at Kendall - I was snoring within 20 minutes, thanks to this great Highland Kitchen chow. :)
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I was just there tonight and had the baby chokes. Absolutely delicious - a testament to simple food done well. I also cannot get enough of the bloodhounds; for me, they are the perfect cocktail. We ate at the bar and were totally impressed by the friendly, yet unobtrusive style of the bartenders as well.
The only downside was the invasion of HK by a group of stuffy suits who hovered at the bar for a good hour and made the bartenders pour them about 5 flights each before agreeing to a bottle of wine. Given the fact that I just returned from a CA wine country vacation and met some tasters who knew their shit (I do not!), these guys' undeserved pretension made me want to serve up some under the bar shin kicks. I don't want to lose HK to this crowd!
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I love the bloodhound - had one after my dinner on Friday night. Such a perfect springtime cocktail.
I thought about the artichokes but decided against since I was having the pulled pork sandwich and thought it would be too much. Bad decision I guess. Dang.
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I'm a fan of the bloodhound as well. The perfect combination of sweet and sour, and you can barely taste the vodka...could be good or bad, depending on how you look at it!
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Snoring in 20 min. Too funny!
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