Art and Craft

Photo Credit: Emily Knudsen

By B.N. Lee

In a Union Square alley between the Independent and Ronnarong Thai Tapas Bar—a passage that hardly deserves a street name—resides one of the most inventive and theatrical restaurants in greater Boston. Theatrical not in the sense of showboating chefs and fiery, open kitchens, but in that of a thoroughly controlled experience, which asks diners to walk the line between active engagement and surrender.

The show starts with the menu. Your choices are limited to either three ($39), five ($65) or seven courses ($85). The three- and five-course meals have vegetarian options, and all of them can be supplemented with beverage pairings ($25–$65). Changing weekly, the menu is stingily worded, a deliberate contrast to both the bewildering number of ingredients in every dish and the staff’s eagerness to talk about them. What’s listed as “salad” arrived as carrot paper, onion “soil,” cubes of watermelon radish and golden beet, arugula pudding and spinach poached in tea butter, among so many other colorful elements that the waitress had trouble naming them all—a recurring problem. Arranged piecemeal with giant tweezers by co-owner Diana Kudajarova, half of the husband-wife cooking team, the salad’s preciousness was offset by its beauty and taste.

Journeyman works hard to make what could be a potentially alienating experience into an approachable one. The 36-seat modern loft, painted light blue, contains a floor-to-ceiling wall of herbs in wooden wine cases. A shelf opposite the open kitchen is stacked neatly with dozens of cookbooks; another, with colorful teapots and a red baseball cap. There’s no music, and the chefs whisper to each other in a serious tone, but the sounds of friendly chatter bounce off the walls and the servers go out of their way to be helpful.

The restaurant certainly knows how to respond to criticism. So many early reviews complained of small portions that I made sure to eat before my first of two visits. It was an unnecessary precaution. If you’re ordering three courses, though, I suggest supplementing with one of the specials—in particular, the charcuterie ($15), which included the creamiest foie gras imaginable, cured duck, headcheese, lardo, pickles, two kinds of mustard and an amazing, spicy yuzu-chili sauce. We were even asked our thoughts on the portion size of the pork belly dish—a new addition that week (it was a generous amount).

One of the best items I had was the beet soup topped with beef marmalade, yogurt mousse, sprouts and a caraway caramel crisp. I wished I could’ve asked for second helpings of two other dishes: Spanish mackerel and razor clams. The mackerel filet came sandwiched between blinis with a smear of Chinese hunter sausage and bergamot marmalade on one side of the plate and pistachio pesto on the other. The puree didn’t add much, but the oily fish, complemented by the spicy marmalade, was both hearty and refined. Razor clams arrived chopped and mixed with pickled coxcombs over greens in a light, wine-enriched clam broth. The coxcombs’ texture was indistinguishable from the clams’, yet they imparted a rich flavor to the broth that lent the dish a welcome, unexpected dimension. On both visits, house-made fruit sorbets served as the focal points for desserts. Preserved during the peak of summer, the peach and honey-apple flavors called up memories of warmer months.

With so much experimentation, though, there are bound to be miscues. The biggest was the foie-gras terrine with olive ganache. Even paired with a greengage plum (which the waitress unnecessarily apologized for exporting from Australia)—half brûléed and half sliced—there was nothing chocolatey, fruity or sweet about it. Only an accompanying glass of fortified wine kept the dish from tasting like a salt lick.

The pairings yielded some interesting finds like the Éric Bordelet pear cider from Normandy ($25), but overall they’re not worth the supplement prices. Instead, indulge in the cocktails, comparable to those from the best mixology-obsessed bars. Try the Union Square Manhattan ($14), a glass of pure bliss in the form of Berkshire Mountain Distillers’ New England corn whiskey, Cocchi Americano, Vergano Americano, Bittermens’ Boston Bittahs and orange peel.

On their website, Journeyman’s owners play up their amateur culinary backgrounds by emphasizing their academic ones, but make no mistake: They know what they’re doing. Open-minded diners are in for a captivating experience.

B.N.’s Picks

Charcuterie

Beet soup

Mackerel

Fruit sorbet

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Journeyman
9 Sanborn Court, Somerville | 617-718-2333 | journeymanrestaurant.com