On my visit to Lexington Square Café I was with a group of about 8 people celebrating my cousins 30th Birthday. Perfect- I get to see and taste a ton of dishes! We started with five appetizers to share for the table. Chili Salted Calamari was presented in a bamboo basket with a zesty lemon aioli for dipping. Flatbread Margarita Pizza on a wooden bread board, and steamed shrimp dumplings with an orange soy sauce also served in a bamboo basket. The highlight of the appetizer selections would have to be "The Boston Lettuce Wedge." LSC has combined two of my favorite things (the classic wedge salad & Boston Bibb lettuce) to make the most divine knife & fork salad. Topped with crispy bacon, creamy Maytag blue cheese, and cherry tomatoes the rest of the table devoured it leaving me with only one bite. Although not on the menu LSC serves oysters on special daily. Our server informed us that today's market selection was Blue Points from Long Island. Blue Points are great because they are a meatier oyster with a good amount of liquor so they are jam packed with flavor. I have to give kudos to the shucker because these oysters came out ice cold with not an ounce of grittiness. For bread service long homemade bread sticks were nicely seasoned, piping hot, and served in a cute metal bucket with whipped butter in silver ramekins. I do honestly enjoy the fun gimmicky presentation trending right now in the food industry. I remember back in the day when presentation consisted of the Chef adding a spring of parsley to give the dish some color or a sprinkle of paprika along the rim of the plate as an artistic touch. Now I see things such as sauces in mini mason jars, bread baskets lined with waxy newspaper from Europe, and noodles propped up with chopsticks on the plate. Food presentation is 50% where it's at these days the other 50% goes to the importance of ingredient sourcing.
The eclectic menu made it tough to choose my entree (in a good way). There are six hefty sandwiches to choose from including a Burger for those of you who must have a burger. But there is so much more to choose from so please don't order a burger. Interestingly there are two noodle dishes with an Asian flare - Shrimp Pad Thai or Teriyaki Soba Noodles with Skirt Steak. And for more starch options dished up Italian style there is Linguini and white clam sauce or Orchiette pasta with broccoli rabe and sausage. "From the sea" entrees include traditional New England favorites such as a Maine Lobster Roll, Pan Seared Chatham Cod, and Crab Stuffed Filet of Sole. "From the Land" lovers can choose from Braised Bone in Short Rib, Duck Two Ways, or New Zealand Rack of Lamb. I ordered the Steak Frites served with a mini Caesar salad and Pomme Frites. This was just my style because I managed to get a little bit of everything all on the same plate. The most stunning entrée at our table was the Braised Bone in Short Rib. The portion was ginormous, tender meat falling off the bone, red wine jus drizzled on the bottom of the plate, garnished with delicate micro greens.
In order to spend as much time as possible chatting with the big group of people I was dining with I didn't look at the wine list and instead asked the waitress for my easy go to wine an Italian Pinot Grigio. Usually I would check out the wine list at home on the web but unfortunately LSC does not list it on their site so I can't comment on the wine program. For dessert we ordered an assortment of selections that piled sweet upon sweet including a warm chocolate lava cake oozing with a creamy chocolate center, torched crème Brule, and a Tollhouse Chocolate Chip cookie pie. A unique concept LSC has going for them is their specialty cakes which are displayed prominently when you first walk in the door. Triple tier fondant laced cakes sit upon an ornate marble counter worthy of any elaborate wedding or celebration. This is a particularly smart move considering the restaurant is perfect for hosting a large social gathering so I assume they do sell allot of these cakes. From the evidently trained service staff to the consistently good dishes in front of all 8 people at our table I was not surprised to find out LSC is one of six restaurants run by Pearl hospitality group. I can only guess that once you find the key to make the clock tick it's easy to make more clocks. Great job LSC. read more