As I missed last month’s Mystery Meet I was very excited for April’s. I was looking forward to meeting more new people and reconnecting with foodies from past Mysery Meets. This particular Mystery Meet was hosted by the wonderful ladies of “justaddcheese.com.”
Our location was a little restaurant called “Tres Gatos” in Jamaica Plain. I had honesty never heard of this restaurant, but if truth be known, I don’t know anywhere in Jamaica Plain at all so this was quite a treat to try something and somewhere completely new.
Tres Gatos is a tiny Tapas restaurant, bookstore and music/record shop. A little unusual I think but it seems to work. The restaurant is in an old house set back a little on Centre street. As you walk in the front door you feel like you are in someone’s house that has been set up for a party. Dark wood decor, a funky ceiling made up of doors, a tiny bar and about 10 tables of different heights and sizes. It is definitely cozy and feels very neighborly which fits quite nicely in JP.
The Chef, Marcos Sanchez, who created the menu for out get together, was on hand to share with us his inspiration for the four-course tasting menu. We were excited to taste what he had to put together for us.
As you know I can be a very bad blogger, terrible in fact. I eat food before I have taken pictures, I forget my camera altogether, I take blurred, out-of-focus photos, but on this occasion I was ready with camera in hand to take photos of everything from the beginning only to switch it on and for my camera to say “ha ha sorry, battery dead, goodbye” and then it switched off. Damn, I thought, what am I going to do now? Luckily, I was surrounded by expert bloggers who would never be in a situation like mine. Shaina of “happinessonafork.com“ told me she would take photos and share them with me. Thank you Shaina! I also had my very good friend, Rob, taking Blackberry photos so all was not completely lost.
Our first course was a small selection of “Tapas, which comprised of Salsa Negro, Piparras & Manchego, Breakfast Radish, Moses Sleeper Cheese & Pork Stuffed Cerignolas & Boquerones.” Not my favorite of our dishes at all. The cheese was delicious, as cheese always and the Cerignolas were quite nice, but I wasn’t sure of the point of the radish as it lacked taste and really added nothing to the dish at all except a bit of crunch.
Next was the “Gambas A La Plancha.” Bright and colorful with an intense, flavorful, cilantro coulis. The shrimp was easy to peel, superb in flavor and excellently presented. I could have eaten a lot more than what was on my plate. The staff at Tres Gatos are attentive, fun and incredibly accommodating. We were never without a glass of wine or water or a quick check in on how we liked things. I would be interested in trying their regular menu one night.For our final course with had the “Plate Queso – Torta de la Serna, Sheep’s Milk, served with quince paste, Chevrin, Goat’s Milk and Manchego Curado, Sheep’s Milk served with honeycomb. Teeny tiny portions as you can see from the photos. My favorite was the manchego but all of it was good – I never tire of cheese. If I had to say anything negative it would be that the portions were so small the cheese was barely there. Good for a little taster but not for a final course.Our next course was the “Plate Fideos” which included chorizo, chicken liver, and mussels. This dish was amazing, bursting with a fantastic combination of flavors. I loved the large paella rice. It truly was fantastic.
I can’t wait for the next Mystery Meet.
