Though I’ve been a professional chef for over 15 years, I haven’t worked in restaurants for the last 10. Most people don’t understand how I can earn a living as a chef but not in a restaurant. To assuage their desire to define my career, I tell them that if I did have a restaurant, the food I’d serve would be just like Peter McCarthy at EVOO.
Peter cooks clean, simple food with interesting flavor combinations. He focuses on seasonal, local ingredients and draws inspiration from around the globe. He writes his menus with a flair for whimsy: “Fried Green Monsters” a dish that evokes Fenway Park and my summertime favorite soft shell crabs. The monster crabs are green from a basil batter. “Duck Duck Goose” combines duck foie gras, duck confit and sautéed goose breast.
But the dish that keeps me coming back is the Smoked Rabbit Confit, Eva's Organic Wild Greens, Port Soaked Cherries and Toasted Pecan Salad with Shaved Vermont Cheddar and Grain Mustard – Rosemary Vinaigrette. Eva has been selling herbs and greens to Boston area restaurants for as long as I’ve been here. And her salad greens – each leaf has a unique flavor and texture. They taste tart, spicy, sweet and hardy, as they should, unlike the generic “mesclun” lettuces coming out of California.
The salad masterfully combines the full spectrum of flavor: sweet (dried cherries) with tart (balsamic vinegar) tangy and rich (cheddar cheese) earthy salad greens, smoky and rich (rabbit confit) with a well balanced mustard vinaigrette. I’m sure the pecans add a wonderful crunch if you do nuts, I do not.