Dining Out: Spoke

On Monday night I met two friends to check out the newest addition to Davis Square, Spoke Wine Bar.  Since graduating from college in 2006 I've spent quite a bit of time in this neighborhood as I've always had at least two or three friends living there. Seven years in it's hard to find the same bars and restaurants exciting, so I was thrilled to learn something new was moving in!

Spoke Wine Bar is directly next door to Dave's Fresh Pasta. The store front is very unassuming.

Since hearing about it, I thought Spoke would relate to a spoke of a bicycle wheel (very fitting for bike-friendly Somerville) but when I saw the logo on the door, I realized it's spoke as in - she spoke to me. Hmmm.

Once you step inside, the bar is on right side of the room. That area is illuminated by fixtures that are all the same color, but different shapes.

The left side of the room is all high top tables. We were seated all the way at the end.

Spoke places three menus at every place - wines by the glass, wines by the bottle and a food menu.

We each started with a glass of white - one Chardonnay and two Sauvignon Blancs.

Our waiter told us that the food at Spoke is similar to tapas. Each portion is a small plate and you are meant to order many, not just order one entree.

We started with two of Spoke's spreads the whipped ricotta with tomato jam and the piquillo pepper and almond. This was a beautiful presentation!

The whipped ricotta spread was sinfully creamy and the tomato jam added a dash of savory. The piquillo pepper reminded me of the roasted red pepper dip at Trader Joe's. You all know which one I mean.

When we had gobbled up the bread, but still had plenty of dip left on the plate, our waiter was kind enough to bring us a fresh plate of flatbread.

My two friends decided to share the marinated beets. They came served over whipped chevre and garnished with dill, mint and candied pistachios. One of the girls shared, "This may sound strange, but I took one bite and I felt like I was in France." Food that transports you is the best kind, isn't it?

The friend sharing the beets with her said, "My favorite beet salad of all time was Will Gilson's at Garden at the Cellar and this is the closet I have to come that anywhere."

We then selected two dishes to share between the three of us. The first was one of the day's specials, a panini with kale, taleggio cheese and a fried egg. The sandwich also came with house made pickles.

Look at the grill marks on that bread and the cheese oozing out the side. Perfection! The flavor and texture combination in this sandwich was out of this world.

Next, the cavatelli was served with ramps and topped with a poached egg. We were very into eggs that night. I want to love cavatelli pasta, but it is just so visually unappetizing.

This dish tasted great and was lovely on a cold night.

We were too full for dessert, though Spoke offered both a chocolate pudding and a house made frozen yogurt over rhubarb tart. Our waiter delivered us the check on this picture holder. Cute!

He also brought us a small dish of goat's milk fudge with sea salt. I didn't sample it, but the ladies both said it was divine.

The whole time we were eating I kept thinking that Spoke is the ideal date spot. It's small enough that you have to sit close, it's loud enough that there's stuff going on, but not so loud you can't hear each other and the biggest part of the menu is the wine list! Liquid courage, hello!

Spoke doesn't seem to have a website yet, so follow them on Facebook and Twitter, @SpokeWineBar.

Have you been yet? What did you think?

 

Molly Galler

Welcome to Pop.Bop.Shop. My name is Molly. I’m a foodie, fashionista, pop culture addict and serious travel junkie. I’m a lifelong Bostonian obsessed with frozen confections, outdoor patios, Mindy Kaling, reality television, awards shows, tropical vacations, snail mail and my birthday.

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Address:
Spoke
89 Holland Street
02144 Somerville , MA
United States
Massachusetts US