Elements - No Periodic Table Jokes

Every once in while, you have a dinner that's just…right. Elegant dining room, dithering over the exquisite menu in low, excited voices, perfect lighting, your esteemed colleague has two Tiffany boxes sitting on the table, Champagne has been poured. The appetizer arrives and there's only one thing to say:

"Holy shit, this is good!"

Yes, dear reader, that's what I said upon the first bite of the pork belly starter at Elements on a recent Wednesday. And it's true. Not a combination I would have thought of (which is why he's Greg Hardesty and I'm not) as it was pork belly - perfectly both meaty and fatty - with mussels and fingerling potatoes in a saffron mussel broth. Stellar. It was so good, I'm going to skip right over the endive salad that preceded it. I just have a dressing issue and restaurants around here use entirely too much of it. Plus, skipping salad gives me more time on the entrée.

Wow. Again with the ingredients that raise an eyebrow. I'm following along well with Halibut and braised escarole. Applewood smoked bacon, yes. Sweet corn, oh yes, yes. Raisins…excuse me? All bundled in a "spicy sour veal reduction." My philosophy is that if you trust the chef, let him take you wherever, maybe it will be a revelation. And this was. The sauce was unlike anything I've ever had before. Sweet nose, sweet at first blush, then this deep burn that lingered. The next bite it would start all over again. It was fantastic against the corn, the creamy fish and yes, the raisins. The secret, our server revealed, was red chili flakes that you couldn't actually see in the sauce. Dynamite.

The dessert was a lovely blueberry ice cream alongside something called a friandise (like a tiny flourless chocolate cake). So, full of yumminess (and more than a little Chateauneuf-de-Pape) we headed back to the car. Which was parked in front of the toy store on Mass Ave. Where they sell robots and dragons. To people full of yumminess. Like I said, every once in a while, you have a dinner that's just…right.

Visit Elements for menus and pictures.