As Colonial-inspired restaurant Loyal Nine and its adjoining cafe were preparing to open in the spring of 2015, ideas for ways to round out guests’ experience started percolating. “Typically, you need electricity to do any form of coffee,” says cafe manager Lena Johnson. “But with siphon, because it uses the Bunsen burner, it’s electricity free.” Then came the light bulb moment: “Why not do it tableside?” Before wheeling over the after-dinner treat, servers grind beans and gather a thermometer, a timer and other tools for the five-minute process that has them fielding questions from excited onlookers. Says Johnson, “It’s like a science experiment at your table.”
-Dating back to the 19th century, the siphon combines two methods—immersion, as in a French press, and filter brewing, as with a V60—which lends a unique flavor profile. “You get those deep, rich flavors from that long-term contact with the coffee, as well as that clean, crisp feeling.”
-When a server appears, diners get a lesson in vacuum pressure. “As you boil the water, it rises to the top of the chamber,” Johnson explains. When the water reaches about 93 degrees Celsius, an exact amount of ground beans—here, 34 grams—is mixed in with the liquid and stirred twice. “When you cut the heat after a minute or so, the coffee then filters through.” Because there’s little transfer of heat, it’s piping hot, Johnson says.
-Loyal Nine’s guest roast program highlights a new purveyor, like Denver’s Huckleberry Roasters or Montreal’s Dispatch Coffee, every two months. “The philosophy is offering one coffee multiple ways, so you can decipher how the different methods bring out different flavors within the coffee,” Johnson says. Colorado’s Sweet Bloom Coffee Roasters is on tap through November.
-Alongside their siphoned cup of joe, Johnson suggests diners order the four-days-in-the-making sourdough chocolate brewis. “It’s this super rich, chocolate-y bread pudding dish with all these textures and flavors. It’s kind of a show in and of itself because the server will come over and explain each topping as they pour it on.” Its many garnishes, sauces and housemade candies might include pumpkin seed brittle with smoked cayenne and toasted yeast streusel.
- -“This is a huge crowd-pleaser,” Johnson says of the theatrical brewing method. “It does require some attention to detail, but if you have a little bit of the knowledge and the interest, it’s totally possible to do on your own.” The cafe’s Japanese Hario brewer isn’t hard to track down, but her top tip for serving great coffee at home is to invest in a good grinder.
Loyal Nine 660 Cambridge St., Cambridge (617-945-2576) loyalninecambridge.com
Off the Carts
From baristas to bartenders, hospitality pros weigh in on tableside offerings you can roll out at your own holiday bash.
By Sarah Hagman | Photo Credit: Holly Rike | Nov. 11, 2016
Capo’s Amari Cart
Earlier this year, Capo beverage director Kevin Mabry was sitting with fellow bartenders around a big restaurant table in Venice. “At the end of the meal, they rolled over this cart, and I was like, ‘What is going on right now?’ ” recalls Mabry, who says it was stocked with amari, grappa, amaretto and sambuca. “Everything you’d expect after a big Italian meal in an Italian household, it was on that cart.” At that moment, he decided to recreate the experience back in Boston, where diners can now order a tableside service that highlights the bitter Italian liqueurs, digestive aids that follow indulgent meals. Servers can initiate the unfamiliar or wax on for those more well-versed, offering tastes until drinkers land on a two-ounce pour worthy of savoring.
-For newcomers, Mabry explains, “We try to choose the ones that are more floral, that have botanicals that are a little bit less assertive and less drying on the palate.” Served in a snifter and lighter in body, Amaro Montenegro fits the bill.
-Feeling adventurous? “We also have ones that are super esoteric and aren’t for your novice Southie drinker—it’s no Fireball,” Mabry jokes. Go for Luxardo Amaro Abano, one he got to taste right out of the barrel during his trip to Italy. “It’s very drying on the palate and has very bitter qualities to it because of the quinine, cassis and all the other barks infused into it.”
-As for Mabry’s personal favorite: “I’m a big fan of Averna,” he says. “It has this beautiful bitter orange quality to it; it’s great in drinks and it’s great by itself neat.” He also points to Ramazzotti as another option with kola-nut notes, adding, “If you like Coca-Cola, that’s a realm you can feel pretty confident in.”
Capo 443 W. Broadway, Boston (617-993-8080) caposouthboston.com
By Sarah Hagman | Photo Credit: Holly Rike
Loyal Nine’s Coffee Cart
As Colonial-inspired restaurant Loyal Nine and its adjoining cafe were preparing to open in the spring of 2015, ideas for ways to round out guests’ experience started percolating. “Typically, you need electricity to do any form of coffee,” says cafe manager Lena Johnson. “But with siphon, because it uses the Bunsen burner, it’s electricity free.” Then came the light bulb moment: “Why not do it tableside?” Before wheeling over the after-dinner treat, servers grind beans and gather a thermometer, a timer and other tools for the five-minute process that has them fielding questions from excited onlookers. Says Johnson, “It’s like a science experiment at your table.”
-Dating back to the 19th century, the siphon combines two methods—immersion, as in a French press, and filter brewing, as with a V60—which lends a unique flavor profile. “You get those deep, rich flavors from that long-term contact with the coffee, as well as that clean, crisp feeling.”
-When a server appears, diners get a lesson in vacuum pressure. “As you boil the water, it rises to the top of the chamber,” Johnson explains. When the water reaches about 93 degrees Celsius, an exact amount of ground beans—here, 34 grams—is mixed in with the liquid and stirred twice. “When you cut the heat after a minute or so, the coffee then filters through.” Because there’s little transfer of heat, it’s piping hot, Johnson says.
-Loyal Nine’s guest roast program highlights a new purveyor, like Denver’s Huckleberry Roasters or Montreal’s Dispatch Coffee, every two months. “The philosophy is offering one coffee multiple ways, so you can decipher how the different methods bring out different flavors within the coffee,” Johnson says. Colorado’s Sweet Bloom Coffee Roasters is on tap through November.
-Alongside their siphoned cup of joe, Johnson suggests diners order the four-days-in-the-making sourdough chocolate brewis. “It’s this super rich, chocolate-y bread pudding dish with all these textures and flavors. It’s kind of a show in and of itself because the server will come over and explain each topping as they pour it on.” Its many garnishes, sauces and housemade candies might include pumpkin seed brittle with smoked cayenne and toasted yeast streusel.
Loyal Nine 660 Cambridge St., Cambridge (617-945-2576) loyalninecambridge.com
By Sarah Hagman | Photo Credit: Holly Rike
No. 9 Park’s Cheese Cart
No. 9 Park has been rolling out its cheese cart since opening its doors in 1998, but the lineup is always changing, as server and cheese buyer Kevyn Ashton brings in a rotation of nearly 20 daily options, most sourced from Formaggio Kitchen. “There’s a lot of cheeses that we’ve seen time and time again,” says Ashton, like staff favorite Brebirousse d’Argental. “But it’s fun to introduce ones that I’ve not seen, because that means our guests probably haven’t.” Some diners are visiting weekly to check out what’s new, whether that’s at the bar, as an appetizer or as a dessert course (assistant general manager Ashley Waugh’s top recommendation). However guests dig in, wheeling the cart over gives servers the opportunity to answer questions. “The contrast in texture is really what grabs people,” Ashton says, adding, “If you’re like me—I’m a visual cheese chooser.”
-“I like cheeses that have that semi-firm sort of paste to them, so they’re not too oozy and they’re not too hard,” Ashton says, pointing to the Grayson, made of cow’s milk, and the Casatica, a bloomy-rind cheese made of buffalo’s milk. “As it tempers, it definitely has a saltiness to it—it’s an explosion of flavors.”
-As for “funkier” options, look to washed-rind cheeses, doused in everything from beer to spirits and salt brines. No. 9 Park often serves Époisses de Bourgogne, a brandy-washed cheese from Burgundy that brings earthy, meaty notes. Ashton also suggests Ouleout, named for a creek that runs through Walton, New York. “It’s made by a gentleman who started in cheese illegally in Brooklyn—in his basement apartment,” Ashton says. “He decided to go legit, and he’s now with his wife on a dairy farm.”
No. 9 Park 9 Park St., Boston (617-742-9991) no9park.com
By Sarah Hagman | Photo Credit: Holly Rike
Porto’s Cocktail Cart
Before Porto’s cocktail cart was zipping through the Mediterranean restaurant, beverage director Neil Quigley wheeled it up the block from the nearby Crate and Barrel. Originally, the team just wanted to offer a Champagne service at brunch, but they soon started highlighting a specialty off-menu cocktail, having bartenders drop by to explain the concept, preparation and ingredients. “It’s basically like having a bar right at your table,” Quigley says. And the monthly rotating specialties have gotten more elaborate in the short time the restaurant has been open. “It usually starts a chain reaction. Once one person orders it, everybody’s snapping their necks, trying to see what’s going on.”
-Through November, Quigley is mixing up Mid-winter’s Breakfast, a cocktail with Drambuie, Great King Street blended scotch, Laphroaig, lemon and lapsang souchong tea. “It’s sort of a mix between a hot toddy and a Rusty Nail, but it’s got this cool smoky element.” Next, as we head deeper into winter, he’ll play with notes of spruce, fir and pine.
-Past theatrics include smoking the glass with white sage or cherry wood and throwing the cocktail, “a hybrid between stirring and shaking.” Quigley explains, “You pour the liquid from a very long height between two shaker tins back and forth a few times.” The current cocktail lends itself to some drama too. “We pour boiling hot water out of the kettle through a strainer full of tea into the cup. Very slowly, you get this nice aroma and steam.”
-Quigley has some other ideas for impressing guests at home. “I love magnums of wine, especially when you get into the 3 liter and above sizes,” he says. He also suggests prepping a punch before guests arrive to cut down on hosting duties. “My trick of the trade is to get one massive cube of ice so it doesn’t get over diluted,” he says, also noting that you can balance garnishes on top of it.
Porto Ring Road, Boston (617-536-1234) porto-boston.com
By Sarah Hagman | Photo Credit: Holly Rike
Bondir’s Wine Cart
Recalling a night out in Paris, Bondir chef/owner Jason Bond especially remembers one restaurant’s Champagne cart that lent an extra special touch. Back in Cambridge, Bond reached out to North Bennet Street School grad and furniture maker Richard Oedel, who measured the height and space between tables so the cart could fit seamlessly in Bondir’s intimate space. The cart has served various duties, displaying everything from bread to haggis, but it also sports a copper bucket that drains melting ice, so it most often showcases Bond’s carefully curated wine list. “There’s nothing too aggressive, no hammers here,” he says of the bottles chosen to pair with his ever-changing menu. Bond says he’s also on the lookout for stories, adding, “Just like the old reserve beers that we have, I like to find things made by individuals that have their own sort of ideas they want to convey.”
-When entertaining at home, Bond says, “I always like a good mix—a couple Champagnes, a rosé, a rich white, a beautiful red. You might offer different wine for the different courses; you might just have one big serving.”
-“I love finding good reds that have good age on them,” Bond says. “It’s something hard to find.” One standout discovery: a Barolo from Alessandro Ceretto boasting notes of tar, tobacco, rose and dark fruits, meant to age for up to 20 years. “I’d be happy to drink that Barolo for most of the night.”
Bondir 279A Broadway, Cambridge (617-661-0009) bondircambridge.com
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