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Terra
The smells are sensational..
"You smell the oak that we have burning. There's no coals or anything like that. So you get the nice clean campfire smell."
The sites are astounding.
"If you're lucky enough to get a seat at our kitchen counter. It's the best seat in the house to watch the chef's raise and lower the grill."
And the dishes are downright tasty.
"We love to put awesome food on the plate and let the food showcase itself"
Terra is truly a feast for the senses.
Located just above Eataly, inside Boston's Prudential Center, Terra is an attractive space with an active open kitchen, abundant greenery throughout, and a big open skylight- something Executive Chef Dan Bazzinotti truly enjoys.
"We love it in the kitchen because I've worked in kitchens for a long time. And we're used to being trapped in a little room with no lights, so to walk into beautiful sunlight every day. So what keeps us happy. It's perfect."
And to go with all of that light is lots and lots of fire: it's the backbone of this kitchen.
"We don't talk about what are we gonna put on the menu? It's more like, how do we use the fire? How can we like use the fire more? We use the grill for everything and it's not overpowering. It's just like a smoke kissed bite that you just get. And it's just so tasty."
Chef always recommends starting with something grilled off the 'spiedini' section of Terra's menu.
"Our spiedini refers to the skewers. So when you get here maybe you haven't decided what you want and you want to just a couple little bites, couple little snacks."
So you can nosh on beautiful wild gulf shrimp in a calabrian chili rub.
Fresh trumpet mushrooms in a roasted garlic marinade.
And housemade pork sausage with a seasonal mostarda that pairs perfectly.
"It provides a little sweetness with the salt. And then you have the flavors of the grill."
Other small bites include Terra's selection of bruschetta, with options including creamy imported burrata with extra virgin olive oil. Delicate squash with pinenuts and red currants and the firey peperonata topped with fire roasted peppers.
"We have all different types of peppers that in the morning are quickly smoked and grilled and we finished with a little bit of vinegar so when you bite into that bruschetta you're getting just that beautiful brightness of the pepper that background smokiness, the tang from the vinegar and we finished a little bit of fresh chive and sea salt."
There are boards of Italian meats and cheeses and outstanding grilled oysters.
"So we get the beautiful large island creek oysters. We just let them steam the natural juices. And we put a little bit of salmoriglio, which is a mixture of olive oil, lemon juice, fresh garlic and lemon zest. SO you're getting like that warm poached oyster right in the shell with all the natural juice and the tanginess It's just perfect."
That wood fired grill is even responsible for Terra's signature salad....one of Chef' Dan's favorites.
"It's the best Steakhouse salad you'll ever get. It's a quickly grilled little gem lettuce, a sweet garlic dressing. There's also some pickled red onion in there. Some grilled vidallia onion. Then we finish it with chives and a little black pepper. People ask me, what's your favorite thing off the grill. And I'm like, that's the salad. And everyone's like mind blown by it."
Since Terra is an Italian restaurant, you can be sure the pastas are always perfect, whether you go for the housemade rabbit agnolotti or the rigatoni Napoleatana.
"We're using pork Shanks. We're using veal Shanks. We braise them all down with red onions and red wine and tomato and make this beautiful, rich Ragu and it just coats the rigatoni pasta that has nice beautiful al dente bite and we top it with a little smoke ricotta and it's just amazing."
Since they have one of the greatest grills in all of Boston, you can imagine the entrees at Terra are outstanding. There's a beautiful grilled local swordfish presented over a bed of napa cabbage and butternut squash. A Chili Ossobucco- wood fired to perfection and served with a garnish of gremolata. And steak lovers haven't lived until they've tried the 7 bone steak.
"You get the wow factor with the seven bone steak. We like to call it the giant steak. It surprises everyone when they get it. We've had complaints. It's too big, which is a great complaint, I think. And we serve the whole blade steak and shoulder blade. And it served simply with grilled lemon, a little sea salt and rosemary. It's definitely an adventure steak because you navigate your way through it. So it's fun for two people to share and kind of navigate their way around and it makes for a really fun evening. And that's what people want to do. They want to have fun and play with their food a little bit."
And the kid in you will want to get something sweet to top off your meal, and that's when you need to order the Chocolate Panna Cotta.
"The chocolate panna cotta, super rich savory chocolate and then we have a nice little smoky gelato that goes over the top that really cuts it. Save room for the chocolate panna cotta. It's delicious."
So the next time you're wandering through Eataly, take a trip up tp Terra. Your nose and stomach will thank you.
"I think some of the best part about us is that we are a little bit separate from downstairs, you can get away from the craziness. We have great wine, great food, beautiful restaurant, awesome wood fire grill.so if you haven't been here, there's something wrong you need to get here."
