My First Tasting Menu Experience: Tasting Counter

I traveled with a friend of mine, Alex, to Boston and one of his hobbies/passions is fine dining. Yeah, this boy has some expensive taste which is no match for someone like me that still lives like she’s on a college budget. Dining experiences like this were never a desire of mine as I didn’t see it as very practical. I kind of mocked the whole idea of it due to the tiny portions and the huge bill. However, Alex insisted on going and took me along.

Tasting Counter offers a 9-course tasting menu. To dine here, tickets are purchased online. The lunch will cost $85 per person while the dinners are $250 per person. The ticket purchase is inclusive of a tasting menu, beverage pairings, service, and tax. In addition, you get to select what beverage pairing you would like: wines, beers, sakes, or housemade non-alcoholic beverages. The daily menu remains a secret until it is revealed, course by course, over a 2-hour dining experience. Another neat thing is their mission: they strive for zero-carbon footprint, source 50% of ingredients from Massachusetts, and offer 100% all-natural food and beverage.

The space is both a kitchen and a dining room. Guests sit around the U-shaped counter that surrounds the kitchen area. You can see the chefs prepare your dishes right before your eyes. The dining area only sits 20 guests and parties are limited to four people. Due to COVID, ticket availability was even more limited but I think it was a better experience because of it.

When being served, the chef personally explains the dish and beverage pairing individually to each party present. I believe there were a total of four parties and the chef would explain each 9-course dish individually. I thought this was a great addition to the dining experience as it helped you sort of better understand the complex little dish before you. Once you complete your food and wine, they prepare the next for you. One after the other…and honestly I was surprised when I actually did get full and a little tipsy off the wine haha.

See what I had during my first tasting experience below:

Welcoming Bites

Ⅰ. almond, honey nut squash, smoked rhubarb,
Ⅱ. hibiscus green olive, grape, saffron potato, Duxbury sea salt
Ⅲ. yellowtail amberjack belly tart, preserved lemon, sea bean, red dulse
Paired with Cantina Furlani Joannizza Sui Lieviti Vino Spumante 2019

Yellowtail Amberjack

seaweed pickle radish, ginger, red plum, green gooseberry
Paired with Old Westminster Blinded By The Light 2019

Octopus

apple, beet, watermelon radish, ginger, red plum, green gooseberry
Paired with Gvansta’s Wine Aladasturi Rose 2019

Green Pea Miso Soup

sweet potato, foie gras, watercress
Paired with Cantina Marilina Sikelè Terre Siciliane Grecanico 2018

Striped Bass

fennel, jicama, fermented mushrooms, soured cream
Paired with Cellario E’ Bianco

Murray Cod

sea urchin, arrowhead cabbage, corn, chanterelle, black olive
Paired with Baia’s Wine Tsolikouri 2018

Schisandra Berry

pine nut & almond

Squab

burned onion, lemon verbena, miso, grapes
paired with Colterenzio St. Magdalener 2019

Lamb

artichoke, fermented sunchoke, feta, whey caramel, black olive oil
Paired with Frank Cornelissen ‘Susucaru’ Rosato Terre Siciliane IGT 2017

Potato

caviar, honey shallots, fermented honey
Paired with Stefano Menti Riva Arsiglia 2018

Peach & Marscarpone

peach, beach rose, anise hyssop
Paired with Raphael Bartucci Bugey-Cerdon Methode Ancestrale 2019

Parting Morsels

Ⅰ. lime & smoked paprika fruit chew
Ⅱ. fennel pollen madeleine
Ⅲ. yuzu bonbon

In conclusion, the dining experience was completely new to me but I very much enjoyed it. I would describe it as eating art. There were complex and new flavors that my tastebuds processed. I understand there are hours of prep work that go into these tasting experiences, which also makes me appreciate it. Now I won’t make so much fun of the tiny dishes because, by the time we were finished, I was pretty full. My favorite dish was the potato ice cream dessert with caviar because the ice cream was superb. My least favorite dish was the squab – turns out pigeon is not my acquired taste. I believe that the value and experience were worth the price, but only if you can afford it.