Each Friday, this list will track five of the best things Heavy Table’s writers, editors, and photographers have recently bitten or sipped. Have a suggestion for the Hot Five? Email editor@heavytable.com.
The Hot Five is a weekly feature created by the Heavy Table and supported by Shepherd Song Farm.
Stewed Goat at Som Taste
The goat meat entree at the newly opened Som Taste restaurant is a revelation. Other versions we’ve tried ended up gamy and tough, with lots of little bones to pick through, but Som Taste’s goat was tender, milder, and with few bones. In texture and flavor, it was similar to a mildly barbecued pork dish. Each meat dish also came with a small green salad, pita, and a comfort-food side of carrots and potatoes in a mild curry sauce. Look for our full review of Som Taste this coming Monday.
[Debuting on the Hot Five | Submitted from an upcoming review by Amy Rea]
Cheddar and Bacon Doughnut at Silhouette
One of University Avenue’s newest restaurants, Silhouette, offers a fried-to-order treat we haven’t seen before: a cheddar-bacon doughnut served with a side of honey butter. While the cheddar flavor is missing in action, we didn’t mourn its loss. The bacon-plus-cornbread power of this sweet-and-savory doughnut was plenty to keep us busy, and the dead simple honey butter (melted butter plus honey) was a lovely accompaniment.
[Debuting on the Hot Five | Submitted from an upcoming Green Line Checklist by James Norton]
City Loaf from Fire and Flour Bread
The City Loaf from the newly established Fire and Flour Community Bread is a handmade, seriously robust, but also seriously utile baked good. Its crust is substantial (your bread knife had better come correct), but its interior is a lovely balance between depth of flavor and mellow, mild approachability. And while it’s dense stuff, it’s yielding and a lovely partner to toppings such as jam or butter. It would serve well as sandwich bread for robust fillings without swamping them in either texture or taste.
[Last Week on the Hot Five: #1 | Submitted by James Norton]
Smoked Brisket at Erik the Red
While we have some bones to pick with Erik the Red’s value prospect and atmosphere, we can’t fault the newly opened restaurant for the quality of its brisket, which is gently smoky, tender and moist, and full of flavor. A lot of things can and generally do go wrong with this dish, but Erik the Red already seems to have it dialed in.
[Debuting on the Hot Five | Submitted from a review by James Norton]
Raspberry Rhubarb Pimm’s and Blueberry Bourbon Sage Jams from Serious Jam
The raspberry rhubarb Pimm’s is more sauce than jam, with chunks of rhubarb swimming in raspberries. It has the bracing tartness of rhubarb, the sweetness of ripe berries, and just a hint of the medicinal quality of Pimm’s. The blueberry bourbon sage has the prominent spice of bourbon and whole, cooked blueberries. With its sage, this jam would lend itself well to a savory application, though both jams were excellent on whole grain or sourdough bread.
[Last Week on the Hot Five: #2 | Submitted from a story by Ted Held]