Happy Friday everyone!
Last Friday I piled into my car with a group of friends to head up to Gibbet Hill Grill in Groton, MA. This road trip was part of a monthly tradition we have called Foodie Friday. Once a month we pick a restaurant we've all been dying to try and dine there together.
This month, the pick was Gibbet Hill Grill. Ironically, I had been there six days before for a coworker's wedding.
When we pulled up at 7:30pm it was pitch black outside.
Inside, the dining room was warm and inviting. I absolutely love the wood beams.
The hostess lead us into the dining room, around the stone fireplace and into a private room. We were in total shock! We hadn't reserved this room specifically, it just worked out that it was free and we had the right amount of people. Here's the crew smiling in our baller digs:
Once we got over our good fortune with the room (which took a full ten minutes) we started looking at the menu.
To celebrate the end of the work week, wine felt like a must. We shared a bottle of Sangiovese.
Whenever I go out with this Foodie Friday crew, I know we are going to feast. We always do drinks, appetizers, entrees and dessert (my idea of heaven).
We started the evening with the farmhouse grilled cheeses. The dish was two kinds of grilled cheese (one cheddar, one goat cheese) and a cup of tomato soup.
I really enjoyed the cheddar cheese sandwich. It was so buttery! The goat cheese one however, had way too much bread. The tomato soup was excellent. It was creamy without being too heavy. Weirdly, the dish doesn't come with a spoon, so when you're done dunking the bread, you can't finish the soup!
We also shared the butternut squash flatbread which was topped with poached pears and fontina cheese. It normally comes with prosciutto, but the waiter was more than willing to make a fresh one without the meat so I could partake.
The flatbread was a huge hit. It had a perfectly thin and crispy crust and the squash and pear created a wonderfully sweet flavor.
For the entree round, we really indulged. Gibbet Hill Grill is known for their steak. To the left of me, a friend ordered the sirloin steak tips with a side of macaroni and cheese and the wild mushroom medley (oyster, portobello, shiitake).
A few bites in she said, "The steak tips are cooked to perfection. The marinade is delicious." When I asked about her side dish choices, she added, "The mac and cheese was just the way I like it - seasoned well and crispy on top. The mushrooms, if you like mushrooms, are awesome. They are simple in preparation, but packed with flavor."
Next to her, a friend ordered two dishes, the first of which was the jumbo crab cake with remoulade and hot pepper puree. Once she made the crab cake disappear, she shared, "This cake had a huge amount of crab. There was a nice balance from the tartar sauce and the spicy red pepper puree. The outside of the crab cake was nice and crispy, while the inside stayed moist."
Her second dish was the autumn greens salad which was a mesclun mix topped with crispy onions, aged cheddar cheese, toasted pumpkin seeds and cider vinaigrette.
She commented, "I loved the pumpkins seeds and the crispy onions. However, I really do wish there had been more dressing. I could barely taste it."
To her left, a friend also ordered the steak tips. She paired her tips with garlic red bliss mashed potatoes and the maple glazed carrots. On the side dishes, she explained, "The mashed potatoes had a great flavor, but they could have been a little more moist. Though I do love skins in my mashed potatoes." On the carrots she said, "They were cooked really nicely. Still firm. The maple glaze is not too sweet."
On my right side, a friend decided on the New York sirloin, also paired with mashed potatoes and carrots.
To say he was obsessed with this steak would be putting it mildly. When I asked what he thought, he wanted to be 100 percent sure I was giving him my undivided attention and was ready to type. He said, "The sirloin is well cooked. It's the perfect color and cooked through end to end. The seasoning is simple - cracked pepper, salt. It's the ideal portion and it's excellent paired with a glass of red wine."
I was pretty conflicted about what to order for my main meal. I was considering soup and salad, the portobello sandwich or a smattering of side dishes (which used to my go-to move at the Capital Grille). But in the end, I went with the cavatelli pasta with fresh veggies, arugula pesto and tomato puree.
For me, the pasta was way too dense and gummy. Despite that, the arugula pesto really shined. It was so fresh and delicious. I wanted it on every single bite.
Now, it might seem like we'd already eaten enough to feed a small country. And maybe we did. But that didn't stop us from ordering dessert. Three desserts, actually.
The first was the special of the evening, a chocolate cake made with a seasonal porter beer. It was garnished with a scoop of vanilla ice cream and a cranberry sauce (so New England).
The chocolate cake was not as moist as I was expecting from the description. It tasted best when I had a bit of cake, a bit of ice cream and a dribble of sauce all in one bite.
The camera (under the mood lighting) couldn't quite capture the glory of the chocolate pots de creme. To me, it tasted like a Fudgsicle in pudding form.
Lastly, the carrot cake with cream cheese frosting. The piece of cake sits atop a drizzle of caramel sauce and is dotted with a single mint leaf.
As I was snapping it, someone said, "It's really less of a slice and more of a slab." It's true! The portion was huge. The cake was yummy, but didn't have any pieces of carrot mixed in. We quickly forgot about that when we licked the silky cream cheese frosting off our forks.
Despite the long drive up in Friday rush hour traffic, our meal at Gibbet Hill Grill was a great one. We majorly scored with the private room. Our waiter was attentive, but not overbearing. Overall, the appetizers, entrees and desserts were excellent.
Have you ever been to Gibbet Hill Grill? Do you have a favorite dish?
