Scampo
Lydia Shire has been one of the queens of the Boston dining scene, one of the true culinary pioneers for decades, and she runs the show at one of Boston's best restaurants; Scampo at the Liberty hotel in Beacon Hill.
Scampo means escape. And if you just want to get away for great food and perfect service Scampo is a good place to do it. Scampo is derived from Scampare which is to flee. We’re a jail so people want to exit jail so. Scampo means to scoot.
This building used to be one of the worst jails in the country. Somehow it was transformed into one of the most gorgeous hotels I've ever seen. We're in a historical building, but I want people to come into a, very cool spot something that's apropos for today.
Scampo is a beautiful restaurant. 2 different bars to sections for dining, white tablecloth and more casual. It is really one of the most romantic restaurants in the city. Lydia Shire is one of those chefs who's always at her restaurant and always trying to invent and improve the menu.
We take liberties, but that's to keep us as chefs fresh. I have to be able to cook whatever I want. You know, so I'm always up for a challenge.
Scampo has a tandoori oven where the heat goes up to 600 degrees, allowing them to make this delicious naan bread and it comes with an umami butter made with anchovies to be honest with you, I don't even like anchovies, but somehow this …pairs perfectly with the Indian style bread.
The bread itself has kind of a rich flavor, although it's paper thin. We brush it with my umami butter, actually anchovy butter, but everyone loves it in the world. Trust me, everyone loves it.
A long time ago I used to hang out at Lydia's restaurant Biba and I got the lobster pizza like twice a week. So when that restaurant closed, it was like the day the music died, but the food Gods answered my prayers because the lobster pizza is back here at Scampo. There's cheeses. There is a mixture of shallots and garlic and then the lobster. It's just a delicious dish.
The Dutch baby is made right at the mozzarella bar. It's sort of like a pancake with a big hunk of delicious fresh burrata right in the middle and then a sprig of rosemary which they torch right before they serve it to you. You cut it and it oozes out you cut some of the Dutch baby and you eat both of them together. It's a ying and yang. It's something cold with something hot
The roasted millionaire's bacon steak is a must. It is served with these crunchy maple croutons and then a root vegetable salad. And I'm pretty sure dietitians will tell you that as long as you eat a root vegetable salad with this much bacon. It's fine for your health. The greatest fat in the world is pork fat, no question about it. And so bacon is something that should be revered and loved and when you’re feeling naughty you have some.
Scampo has a spaghetti section of their menu which is really pasta appetizers and I absolutely love it. The best choice is the cracklings and hot pepper. Trust me with the amount of textures and flavors in this dish. You don't need a big portion. They’re little crisps of pork rind fat that we cure in salt and then we fry it till they get crisp all the way through. And people love it. We've never been able to take that spaghetti off our menu.
The lobster and shrimp ravioli is a work of art. Maria makes them fresh and she spreads them out super thin into these sheets and then when you add that super fresh pasta to shrimp and lobster it is pasta magic. People love lobster, you're in Boston, why don't you want to eat lobster. So we give people what they want.
You may want to come to this restaurant on Saturday night because that's the only night they serve the short rib. And in terms of beef dishes, this has about as much flavor as you are ever going to find. You know, there's nothing better than a tender, tender braised short rib. You know that you barely you don't even need a knife with. It's very decadent, very decadent.
Two points about this tiramisu number one, it's called Lydia's tiramisu and I find when the chef puts her name on a dish, you should order it. Number two. Lydia says the key is a lot of booze specifically to Maria. I've had many tiramisu with no booze and I say why would you eat tiramisu without booze and if you can eat it with booze? It has lady fingers. Mascarpone. But it’s the Tia Maria that sets it apart.
Lydia Shire is really a pioneer and an artist and a super fun person to be around. You could meet her and try her food at Scampo at the Liberty hotel in Beacon Hill.
