The experience of dining out is often a series of compromises. The "either−or" scenario leaves diners weighing the importance of service or ambiance in relation to the quality of food. Generally, if the food is good, diners will overlook subpar service or ambiance. Yet, the holistic dining experience is more than what appears on the plate; rather, it is the aggregate of miniscule details.
Bergamot is aware of every detail that defines the meal. Its superb food lacks pretension or haughtiness. Thanks to its conscientious front−of−the−house service and back−of−the−house staff, Bergamot is the rare restaurant that combines comfort and luxury, featuring Boston−quality food with suburban prices.
The spacious interior peppered with round tables evokes a sense of community. The well−lit full service bar offers diners a more casual meal. For Tufts students, the bar would be an excellent spot to grab a cocktail and split an entree.
Like most restaurants, dining at Bergamot begins with bread and butter. However, Bergamot treats the bread with as much care as anything else on the menu. Forgoing the breadbasket, the service staff keeps an attentive eye out, offering a new piece whenever they see a barren plate. Instead of wallowing in staleness, the pieces of bread are kept warm and brought to your table as needed. A wedge of in−house honey compound−butter complements the subtly sweet brioche.
The extensive wine list is sub−divided into naturalistic descriptions of the flavors to make it more approachable. While the sub−categorization is helpful, the descriptions, at times, come off as too elaborate. But have no fear. The well−versed servers can cheerfully steer you to a wine that is palatable to both mouth and wallet. The cocktail list is equally appealing and incorporates a variety of different liqueurs and syrups. Bottles of wine start in the high $20 range, while the signature cocktails are reasonably priced at around $10.
The appetizer menu dabbled into some staples with decent results, while delicious starters such as the braised sweetbreads, butternut squash gnocchi and duck confit salad seemed routine in their preparation. The highlights were the farro and the carpaccio. Farro can be a tricky appetizer due to its density; if the crunchy wheat dish is prepared too generously, diners won't have room for their main course.
Bergamot smartly emphasized the black trumpet and porcini mushrooms. At the restaurant, the porcini broth, along with several dollops of a truffle emulsion, are used to lend a deep, earthy flavor to the dish.
While the thin slices of raw sirloin provided a strong foundation, the salpicon garnish elevated the carpaccio beyond the conventional. The salpicon — a creamy mixture of diced ingredients — contained stinging nettle flowers, king oyster mushrooms and delicate brioche croutons. Topped with a quail egg, the carpaccio was easily the highlight of the evening.
Of the entrees, three stood out as clear winners. First was the hake, a white fish similar in texture and flavor to cod. Its delicate flavor and texture are paired with a subtly sweet saffron broth. Saffron, a traditional Spanish spice made up of the dried stigmas of the saffron crocus flower, is the most expensive seasoning around. Its flavor in this dish is pronounced, as if to announce itself to the world. I found myself unabashedly spooning up the broth long after the hake was eaten.
Chicken is a hard dish to get right in a restaurant. Many chefs — most publicly, Anthony Bourdain — have expressed apathy toward chicken. But at Bergamot, the breast meat, glazed in its own drippings, is exceptionally moist. Shavings of black truffles garnished the plate like plucked petals of a flower in an epicurean game of she−loves−me, she−loves−me−not. These truffle shavings, along with the leeks and Swiss chard complement the chicken's humble flavor.
The lamb special of the evening is indicative of Bergamot's emphasis on local ingredients. The lamb came from a small Vermont farm and was served both braised and roasted.
There were some lovely ingredients and techniques used in the preparation of certain desserts. While the Bergamot−infused panna cotta was delicious, the highlight was the toffee and pear cake with crème fraiche ice cream and powderized cocoa nibs. The cake was served with slices of compressed pears. Compression is a culinary technique that involves vacuum−sealing and freezing to infuse fruit with a flavor or to compact the loose cell structure and decrease water content. In this case, the thin slices of pear were exceptionally crisp, providing a textural contrast to the dense cake.
Chef and co−owner Keith Pooler and general manager and co−owner Servio Garcia don't reinvent the wheel — they just try to perfect it. The food at Bergamot excels in its humility. Instead of relying on esoteric or gimmicky ingredients, the kitchen strives to let familiar flavors shine. Bergamot combines honest food with genuine service.
