Wiltshire on Market

It's my spot. You can't have it. Went last night and sat at the bar w/ a good friend and ate a fabulous watercress salad w/ house made duck prosciutto and locally sourced Athena cantaloupe. We had perfectly temped cheeses, and charcuterie, and and and......LAMB BOLOGNESE W/ HOMEMADE TAGLIETELLE dude, don't go. Just go hit the Hall's steam tables and forget how fantastic my braised pork shoulder over summer veg and cauliflower puree might have been.
I tried to forbid the owner to even put a sign on the window, but she shot me down for some reason. Colby was torching miniature s'mores cupcakes and tossing daisies around 'n stuff. You don't wanna be exposed to her tomfoolery!

Okay, Nora- you've convinced me... to go! Sorry I'll be taking your seat. but that sounds too good to miss.

Deb

Deb, no means no. Why does no-one take me seriously?

I went there when it opened a few months ago and it was delicous. The menu may have changed but the we ordered some great cheese and go olives in fennel that I will remember. It had the ambience of a portland wine bar. I really liked the place.

Robin did you hear the former NY Times food critic Frank Burni on NPR today? He had some interesting things to say about the profession. I believe his new book Born Round: The Secret Life of a Full Time Eater is out. CD

[Robin Garr]

Robin did you hear the former NY Times food critic Frank Burni on NPR today? He had some interesting things to say about the profession. I believe his new book Born Round: The Secret Life of a Full Time Eater is out. CD

Wish I had heard it, Catherine. Frank Bruni was definitely one of the good reviewers: Accurate, fair, down-to-earth, even considering the lofty perch he filled. I'd like to see his book at some point ... I believe it's more of a life autobiography than a story specifically of his fairly brief tenure as The Times' critic, but I'd like to read it all the same.

About a month ago, the NY TImes magazine published an excerpt of the book. He's funny! I think the book is mainly about his obsession with the act of eating itself and the enormous amounts of food he ate as a child which of course he blames in part on his Mom being an excellent cook and her use of food as a means of expressing herself. But at his age, who doesn't blame her Mom for the same thing!

On NPR though, he did dip into what he thought of some of the new food critics and others who write reviews on line. His position is that someone who writes a review say after three visits to a restaurant, whose profession it is to write regularly for an identifiable organization with no business ties to that restaurant, who declares that he has paid for the meal itself, has more of the public's trust than someone writing without that clarity on those elements. But he also acknowledges that knowing the person your reading does tend to trump everything in terms of trust. Which to me could work two ways as in you might dismiss someone's comments on a restaurant because you don't like that person. CD

Back to the original topic...
i had a terrific meal at Wiltshire on Thursday evening. we started with an appetizer sized flatbread pizza, featuring a perfectly spicy chipotle barbecue chicken, and a summer cobb salad which included fresh arugula, sweeet corn, blue cheese, violet beans and diced beets. the style of the salad could be described as 'deconstructed' i suppose. fresh, flavorful and lovely!
our entrees were equally delightful. mine, a lardon wrapped halibut served with fingerling potato and tiny roasted squash, was moist and perfectly cooked. he had the jerk marinated pork tenderloin which, like the pizza, was just spicy enough. we even spotted a tiny pink ring around the outside of the tenderloin... the telltale sign of truly smoked meat!!! the pineapple rice with the tenderloin provided a nice sweetness to foil the smoky.spicy pork.
dessert was a rich fig tart finished with whipped honey greek yogurt. i loved the light and airy texture of the sweet yogurt!
great suggestions and service from Tari made it an even more perfect experience. with an inexpensive bottle of syrah/grenache the total was around $83 before gratuity.
the space is small, yet beautiful and very relaxing... though i heard it got super crazy busy last night for the trolley hop... reservations are probably recommended as word gets out.
i am so glad to have these guys downtown!!!

Just curious if anyone has tried it? I had a remarkable meal there a last week and can't wait to go back!

You any kin to Coby, Colin? Just askin' ...

A good friend went there right after it opened and said it was very good and stood to get better with a little time to shake the kinks out. I'm looking forward to giving it a try.

How did you guess that Colin was related to Coby by his post?

[Robin Garr]

How did you guess that Colin was related to Coby by his post?

Same last name.

Just wanted to bring this back to the forefront. We attended a birthday celebration at Wiltshire on Market on Saturday, and were seated in the upstairs area (available for groups of 12 or more, I think). The food was great, the star being the bison osso bucco. We definitely plan to go back and eat in the main dining room.