Wednesday, February 20, 2008

Fig's



Diminutive may perfectly describe the size of this restaurant as the lot size is narrow and long. With the space taken for the entry, the dining area may only be 10' wide as the tables didn't appear any longer than 3'. The seating is so limited, the bread pudding dessert is only offered as a "take out"! Unfortunately, it was raining the day we visited, so dessert on a park bench in Boston Gardens, only 1 1/2 blocks away, was not an option. Although Fig's may be the smallest of Todd English's restaurants, where size matters it was big. Big on flavor, big on originality.

A warm, rich tasting bread arrived at the table accompanied by a small bowl of a grassy flavored olive oil, decorated with a few perfect green and black olives. We split an order of deep fried calamari ($10) lightly drizzled with garlic aioli and sprinkled with parsley. I liked the visual appeal of the plate. Parsley perked up the bland looking calamari, a small detail that often is missed. They were perfectly tender and perfectly seasoned.

We were about to order one pizza each, until the waiter cautioned us that they were 16" and 8 slices. We selected the Balsamic fig, Gorgonzola, prosciutto pizza seen in the photos, because we loved it the last time we visited Boston, and had been looking forward to eating it again. Still, the Portobello, wild mushroom puree pizza with Fontina will be on my plate the next time we stop by.
Our pizza had a very thin crust, crisp on the bottom, fresh from the brick pizza oven. It was rich and sweet from the balsamic infused dried figs, and salty from the Gorgonzola and prosciutto; a perfectly balanced combination of flavors. As you can see, fresh slivers of scallion were added, and again, that small touch enhanced the look, maybe more so than the flavor.


http://www.toddenglish.com/

42 Charles St
Boston MA 02108
(617 742-3447)

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