Word: custards
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From the hot meze, the Karentika ($3.50), a chickpea custard in a pie crust, is uniformly bland. It comes smothered, however, under a wonderfully piquant harissa, a spicy condiment made by pounding chili peppers in a mortar with salt, olive oil, and spices. Harissa is one of the foundations of all North African cooking, and it’s excellent at Baraka Café. You’d be well-advised to order harissa alone as a meze ($3.50), and forgo the Karentika. The Zaatar Coca ($4.50)—a hand-stretched bread, grilled over a fire, then sprinkled...
...spiced with cinnamon, cardamom, ginger, pepper, saffron, nutmeg and star anise, and accompanied by rich Valrhona chocolate sauce and dried fruit compote. The Crème Brulée ($5.50) is less enticing, too eggy, and not as creamy as it should be, with an incorrect proportion of custard to bruleed sugar. A dense thimbleful of Turkish Coffee ($2.00), afloat with whole pods of green cardamom, is a fine end to the meal...
...Spiced Cake ($10) nods slyly to the upcoming holiday season; with peppered pears and eggnog anglaise it’s a highly sophisticated rendering of traditional Christmas fare. Heirloom3 Squash Crème Brulée ($9) is perhaps the best I’ve ever eaten, with a custard so light and creamy it could have been whipped, and a chilled interior contrasting with the sliver-thin caramelized topping. There are few words to describe the perfect crème brulée, but I know it when I eat it. Cheeses come from the inimitable Formaggio Kitchen...
...cried out from the menu as a possible redemption. I ordered the brulée and was once again let down with a resounding “oeuf!” as the burnt sugar crust required just a bit too much push to crack, and the chilled custard beneath (I prefer warm) had a hint of a stale dairy taste, suggesting that it had been in the no doubt adorably quaint Frigidaire for a bit too long. Even a cup of Earl Grey tea tasted like the parsley that was liberally sprinkled over everything else...
...crème brulée ($6.95), however, should win over even the harshest of critics. A delicate custard, with telltale black traces of vanilla bean, emerges after one cracks the hard, caramelized surface and is served with sweet, swollen blueberries. The dish is top-notch—matching up with the best in Paris, let alone Boston—and would further excel when paired with one of the selection of ports that Grafton offers...