TBD Foods, Somerville MA

There is nothing more comforting, more relaxing, than being invited into someones home for a meal.  Sitting down at their dining room table, with friends and strangers alike, and sharing a meal is one of life's greatest intimacies.  Terrence Rogers, owner of TBD Foods, has been extending this incredible hospitality to his diners for the past few months and treating them to his take on haute cuisine.

The night we joined the Chef Rogers and his tight knit followers, he was collaborating with Chef John Suh a classically trained chef who has had several high end sushi spots during his career.  Their partnership for this meal resulted in some truly creative, out of the box dishes.  

We started with arancini stuffed with pickled mushrooms, and resting on a parsnip miso puree.  I loved the pop of flavors that burst through with this dish.  Where arancini are normally heavy and decadent, these were elevated with the vinegar and bright flavors making them the perfect way to kick off a meal.  

They further awakened our senses with our second course- a Sopa de Ajo.

 Spicy tomato based soup, enhanced with roasted garlic, Spanish ham, and, the piece du resistance- a poached egg.  I was urged by my friend who had accompanied me to break the yolk early as its creamy goodness provided the perfect contrast to the spice of the soup.  The soup itself though had tremendous depth of flavor - a perfect soup to warm up with.

Up next was gorgeous raw Kabachi Tuna paired with a wakami salad and a sake and soy reduction.  After the spice and the richness of the soup, this was a wonderful way to refresh the palate.  Fresh and clean with accoutrement's of pickled ginger and wasabi, the dish felt as light as sushi, and was a wonderful precursor to the remainder of the courses.

What I loved about the meal was the chances that Terrence was happy to take.

 His next course was a grilled kale salad with lightly pickled golden beets, candied pistachios and fennel pollen.   The mix of textures was spot on, but more exciting was the way in which the kale was prepared.  Grilling kale brought out sweet notes, and infiltrated it with robust smokey flavor. It was something Id never considered before and I really enjoyed it!

Keeping with the smokey notes, our final savory course offered smoked lamb shoulder paired with popcorn grits, anchovy salsa verde and fried potatoes.  Let's pause for a moment- popcorn grits.  Buttery, a touch salty, like sitting down with a giant bowl of popcorn, but mashed into submission.  I literally could have eaten a vat of these- a vat.  Totally fantastic.  The lamb paired so nicely with it, light flavors of smoke just created a feeling of nostalgia for outside BBQs and lighthearted summertime fun.  These comforting notes were contrasted beautifully with the bright and acidic salsa verde which held everything together and made the dish.

They finished our meal on the sweet side with gorgeous slice of Chocolate Decadence Cake paired with a fresh raspberry sauce and salted whipped cream.  The cake alone, deep, rich, bittersweet and fabulous would have been enough, but when paired with that classic raspberry sauce it sang.  I loved the idea of incorporating salt into the whipped cream instead of what has become a standard sprinkle on top of chocolate desserts.  It was a creative and well executed twist.  

Chefs Terrence and John did an incredible job with this meal.  Their concept is fabulous, their execution fantastic and generally know how to make a Saturday night delicious.  Terrence is currently moving his operation into a bigger space so he's able to host more of these, so I definitely urge you to go, dine at TBD Foods table.  Relish the conversation among new friends who become old friends by the last sip of wine, and savor every bite.  This is what food is all about.