Karl's Rant at Zuzu (Middle East)
Slim mentioned this place the other day on the Openings & Closings :
http://www.facebook.com/pages/Karls-R...
I like a simple sandwich, usually no more than 3 ingredients. These sandwiches sounded too complicated for my tastes. I was pleasantly surprised at how well the combination of flavas worked, clearly well-thought out and test-driven.
"Duck, Duck Chicken - Slow-roasted duck / chicken liver & fig pate / raw red onion / mushroom ragout / grapefruit vinaigrette" - duck was just a tad chewy, though certainly not dry, the sweet notes of the fig, bite of red onion, and acidity of the dressing resulted in a well-balanced sandwich.
“Roast Beast - Horseradish-roasted beef / whipped garlic / sprouts / cheddar / bleu cheese & neufchatel spread" - this is a potent one with big bite of garlic, horseradish, and pungent cheese flavas, but I thoroughly enjoyed it, and will be repelling vampires for the next few hours.
The bread will soon be upgraded to Iggy's I'm told, but for now is a reasonable and totally inoffensive 'baguette' style. I also appreciated the sandwich assembly, but this may not suit the tastes of those who prefer a piled-mile-high approach. The sandwich is not huge by any means, but was satisfying. They're using good ingredients so the sandwiches are a little spendy (~$10) and do not come with any side item, but I'm hoping they might address this point soon - I'd call it even-steven if they threw a bag of chips on the plate.
Zuzu!
474 Mass Ave. Central Square Cambridge (at The Middle East
)617-864-3278 ext.237
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Middle East Restaurant
472 Massachusetts Ave, Cambridge, MA 02139
Zuzu Restaurant
472 Massachusetts Ave, Cambridge, MA 02139
By Nab
on Sep 9, 2011 10:55 AM
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I guess this is another option in the expensive fancy sandwich category currently occupied by Flour and Mariposa?
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and EVOO, and what looks to be another dozen places opening up near you too. we need a few more $20 burger joints to round it out. ;)
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EVOO Restaurant
350 Third Street, Cambridge, MA 02143
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dammit... why can't we just get more chacareros and a decent sub shop
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nab- what a cool menu! many fun combos.they certainly are complex, however. Maybe you alrdy eat at All Star (as complex it seems); they too are quite inventive. Depending upon the amounts of those ingredients,it can be a bit too confused,or it can work. Certainly it's more challenging and fun for the chefs!
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I am familiar with the whipped garlic of which you speak. Make it more like DAYS of repelling vampires. That is seriously good stuff, but it is downright crazy, too - basically raw cloves blended to a paste. Yum.
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just fyi, they sell that in the deli case section of markets like arax and sevan in watertown.
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nab, delighted to see it positively written up in Stuff 11/15/11 pg.43. Seems they've changed the name to Z Rant.
http://stuffboston.com/feed/archive/2...
hope to go soon.
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