Grazing is a great way to experience several restaurants in one fell swoop, torching your testbeds into fiery submission as you go from one to the other for splendid dining. This was the course I followed starting on Friday evening. What ensued was the progression of two dining establishments to create the evening meal in which the new world met the old and a weekend to follow with multiple ports of call in the offing.
Sur-Lie presents an inventive but very approachable modern-day menu of small plates done with utter creativity and style. The second stop was Back Bay Grill, where more traditional techniques and fare—done superbly—offered great counterpoint.
The respective bar rooms for dining at Sur Lie and Back Bay Grill
First order of business was to order a drink made by Sur-Lie’s great bartender, Sam Babcock. I proceeded to have my favorite dish at Sur Lie– the sweet pea hummus. It’s presented in a big white bowl that contains the brightest puree, almost blindingly green from the freshness of the peas rendered into a luxuriously silken dip. Chef Emil Rivera—whose cooking gets better and better to be, at times, absolutely wonderful– floats the flavors of lemon and mint that capture the sublime texture and flavor of the sabayon, which tops the hummus like whipped cream on a sundae.
