Last night, we went to the Somerville restaurant Gargoyles on the Square (that’s Davis Square). We had been there about 15 years ago, when they were a few doors down from their current location. At that time, it was good, but not exceptional.

Recently, Howard read that Gargoyles was now known for sous-vide cooking and other creative techniques. You know from previous posts that Howard dabbles in sous vide at home. He was really interested in checking out this restaurant again.

We went on a Friday night (easily getting a reservation from Open Table). The restaurant was remarkably quiet. Our meal was fabulous. The food was creative, unusual, and delicious. The service was attentive and helpful. We’ll definitely be back to see what they have in store for the next season.

I went with the “Signature” dishes. For an appetizer, I had the Hawaiian Style Tuna Poke. It was like sashimi with a pile of tuna with hijiki, nori oil, and red ginger. It was served with chopsticks. It was bursting with flavor. For my entree, I chose
Hoisin and Honey-Glazed Duck Confit. It was two tender duck legs served with sweet sticky rice, mango, and cashews. The dish complemented my appetizer because both the poke and the duck had Asian flavors.

Howard went the more creative route. For an appetizer, he had Calamari “Spaghetti”, which calamari bodies sliced incredibly thin, like spaghetti with a bolognese sauce make with chopped pastrami, accompanied by squid ink puffs that you could dip into black garlic bread puree. Wow! It was fun and yummy. For his entree, Howard picked Sous Vide Veal Cheeks with parsnip puree and king oyster mushrooms. The meat was meltingly tender. The veal was cooking in an immersion bath for 8 hours. It was fun for him to eat a sous vide dish. His own efforts definitely measure up to the pros.

We didn’t have dessert because I had picked up some cupcakes at Cake, a bakery in Lexington. I had a coupon: buy 5, get 1 free. So, I picked out half a dozen different flavors. We had cupcakes at home for dessert. I had Peanut Butter and Chocolate, which was a chocolate cupcake with peanut butter frosting (and half a mini-Reese cup). Howard had the Midnight Delight, which was, of course, chocolate, chocolate, chocolate. It was a nice end to the evening.