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Before jumping on a plane back to London, I had my last lunch at L'Espalier, a renown fine dining restaurant on Boylston Street in Boston's Back Bay, adjacent to the Mandarin Oriental. The chef and owner, Frank McClelland (a James Beard Foundation Award winner) describes the food as modern New England with French influences using only local ingredients. In fact, even the menu lists the farms and purveyors from New Hampshire, Maine, Massachusetts and Vermont from which he sources all of his food items.
Warm brioche buns and focaccia bread:
Amuse bouche:
A first course of seared George Bank scallops and Maine mussels with West Coast morels and seaweed broth:
Apple Street Farm lettuces with heirloom melon; fresh and sorbet, confit orange, raspberry and Great Hill Blue cheese:
Main courses:
East Coast halibut with Apple Street Farm summer squash, oyster-spinach emulsion, compressed fennel and plankton fumet:
Beef tenderloin with chanterelles, ravioli, parmesan water and olive oil poached tomatoes:
For dessert we started with the formidable cheese cart ...
The cheeses we selected from left to right:
Great Hill Blue Cheese from Marion, Massachusetts.
Five year aged Gouda from Holland with a sweet caramel flavor.
Dorset from Consider Bardwell Farm, Vermont (Vermon't first cheese-making cooperative).
Challerhocker from Canton St. Gallen, Switzerland (washed with wine and herbs and kept for ten months 'sitting in a cellar' - the translation of its name.
Manchego from La Mancha, Spain (Spain's most popular cheese).
Lake's Edge goat cheese bisected with a thin line of ash from Blue Ledge Farm, Salisbury, Vermont.
And finally for the real dessert (I don't go a day without eating chocolate):
"Black Forest": chocolate souffle with bing cherry clafouti, and vanilla black cherry ice cream:
L'Espalier serves lunch and dinner daily, as well as afternoon tea on Saturday and Sunday. Its quite a famous spot in which to celebrate a special birthday, a marriage proposal, or even glimpse a celebrity diner. The service is impeccable and, upon your departure, they present you with a little sweet from the pastry chef as a parting gift to be enjoyed later.
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The quaint New England town of Essex, which was historically known for its shipbuilding and the invention of the fried clam, also boasts the title of 'America's Antique Capital.' In fact, Essex has the greatest number of antique shops per square mile in the United States. For those who love the hunt, you can spend an entire day strolling the length of Main Street and hit over 30 antique stores, which is exactly what I did last weekend.
Here's a recap of my favorites:
Andrew Spindler Antiques
Not only is Andrew a great conversationalist (we chatted about his world travels to find new pieces, my new luxury cushion collection and our mutual love of London), but his shop is impeccably curated and well thought out. He has also created quite an international following for himself on 1stDibs. This is one of the best shops on the entire street.
Ellen and Peter Neily opened the store in 1970 and focus on quality with an emphasis on period American formal and country furniture, paintings, silver, chinese export porcelain, folk art and 20th century design. Most of the antiques for sale are purchased and hand picked from local New England estates.
What I would have bought:
19th century turquoise glazed miniature foo dogs
Essex Antiquarians
Essex Antiquarians offers 18th and 19th century antiques across a full range of prices, categories and countries of origin - including furniture, art, silver, porcelain, rugs, metalware, sculpture, garden and architectural objects. This store covers over 4,000 square feet, so you can spend awhile in here.
What I would have bought:
Emerald malachite obelisks (it is the pantone of the year!):
And of course this Louis Vuitton vintage Damier trunk for a mere $13,000:
APH Waller & Sons
APH Waller & Sons is one of the oldest and most diverse single owner shops north of Boston. Offering a vast collection of Period American and European Furniture, Paintings, Decorative Accessories, Marine Art and Artifacts from the 17th through the early 20th centuries. Specializing in American Art with emphasis on artists of Boston and Cape Ann.
The White Elephant Shop
The White Elephant Shop is so full of treasures that its contents literally spill out onto the porch. They even have a half price annex nearby. One of the most unique antique and collectible shops on the North Shore, they buy and sell paintings, pottery, jewelry, books, furniture, musical instruments, old tools, toys, and architectural pieces at down to earth affordable prices.
What I would have bought:
Two matching vintage monogram trunks from a high-society Beacon Hill world traveler, complete with first class cabin tags and letters inside dated 1956 and written in French from a posh hotel in Cannes:
Alexander Westerhoff Antiques
Offering the area's finest selection of Period European, English and American antiques, lighting and accessories showcased in a beautifully restored 4,500 square foot Essex landmark that used to be a former Methodist church. This shop is certainly not to be missed, but sadly, was closed on the day I was there.
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