September 27, 2016 Parents Night Out at Trade
It’s been a little over a year since I left my job downtown. I don’t get to the financial district/seaport much now that I’m not based there, so I jumped at the invite of a parent’s night out with some friends. My friend Leah organized the evening. She is amazing (in so many ways) so I figured the company would be good (good people attract good people) – got to spend the night chatting with old friends and made a few new ones too! We headed out to Trade, one of my favorite spots, owned by Jody Adams and Eric Papachristos (check out their other restaurants Porto and Saloniki). If you’re lucky you can grab a parking spot on the street, if not, there’s a garage next door – or for a little bit more, you can valet.
To start off any parent’s night out, there must be drinks! We began our night with a round of “Beets by Trade” drinks ($12): Bullyboy vodka, beet + cucumber simple syrup, lime, and pineapple. Check out that amazing color! This is just what I needed in a night out, good drinks, delicious food and adult conversation!
Next up, a large format drink made for two (or just you, I won’t tell!) called the fish tank (no actual fish were harmed during the making of this drink) ($25). They describe it on the menu as “It’s blue. It’s delicious. That’s all you need to know.” You can have your choice of clear liquor, so we had one with vodka and one with rum. This cute drink went down a little too easily! How can you resist a little rubber fish and colorful bendy straws?
We shared a few appetizers and main dishes so that we could taste a little bit of everything. Pictured above, falafel pancakes ($8) with tzatsiki, serrano and scallion. These we a bit salty, but I loved the texture and flavors. Chef de Cuisine Cory Seeker has put together a great menu that has something for everyone. Seeker was part of the opening team at Trade, starting as a prep cook and working his way up the ranks.
The buttermilk fried quail ($15) with harissa aioli and picked root vegetable is a grown up version of fried chicken.
The chicken meatballs ($13) with tomato, garlic cream and pine nuts are a favorite of mine. I’m not usually a chicken meatball kind of gal, but these are flavorful and are so light!
The flatbreads at Trade are delicious – we tried the lamb sausage flatbread ($17) with eggplant, manchego, peppers and garlic yogurt. There was a little kick to the sausage here which I really liked and the crust was perfect – a little crunchy, a little chewy, thin and light!
The seared salmon ($28) with shredded kale, lemon tahini dressing and pistachio was one of the healthier options that we tried – don’t worry, you can’t see the salmon in the picture, but it’s there!
I don’t normally go for the fish at restaurants, but the pan roasted halibut ($29) with arugula pesto and roasted corn succotash was one of my favorite dishes of the night. The fish was light and cooked perfectly. I loved the corn succotash, it made me feel like I was holding on to that last bit of summer!
The oven roasted half chicken ($26) served with fried potatoes, lemon aioli, and charred romaine was such a comfort dish. The potatoes were amazing!
One of my all time favorite dishes is the baked rigatoni ($24) with spicy lamb ragu and provolone. Such a simple, wonderful dish that comes bubbling hot in a cast iron skillet.
To end our evening on a high note, we had the “not a cloud in the sky” cocktail ($12) made with Mt. Gay rum, hibiscus, vanilla and lavender.
How beautiful is this dish of ginger ice cream? It came topped with a chili chocolate sauce and served with a brownie.
This was the best part of the night, the milk and cookies. Chocolate shortbread cookies with buttercream and crema spressa. The crema spressa was so delicious that everyone at the table was looking for that last bite. It was sort of like a vanilla pudding, but richer – I could just go back for a dish of that!
Disclaimer: I was invited to be a guest at Trade for a parent’s night out. My meal and beverages were provided complimentary. All opinions are my own.
Trade
540 Atlantic Ave., Boston, MA
Check out my other friends that were there:
Tags: casual dining, financial district, hosted, outdoor patio
- Leave a comment
- Posted under Restaurants
Leave a Reply