Escargot taste like dirt

in a good way!! There is real value in a solid neighborhood restaurant - someplace fairly causal that has tasty and affordable dinners. I believe this falls into the category of affordable luxuries or mini splurges - which most often get spent on food in our household. In Boston, our neighborhood spot was the deep, dark comfort food spot Zon's. I always have the mac and cheese. Even when I go in saying "I think I'll try something different this time..."

The new Zon's or the current contender for the role of neighborhood restaurant is Loie Fuller's on Westminster St. A hop and skip through the park from our new place. The decor is intensely art deco complete with fantastic sconces and woodwork undulating across the walls. The beer and wine list is tremendous, says V who knows these kinds of things, and the prices are entirely reasonable.

Anyhow, we were seated next to some young gents who were enjoying a plate of escargots and we immediately thought "when in Providence..." and ordered up a plate for ourselves. After what seemed like a half hour of coaxing them out of the shell, I got my first taste. Something like mushroom meets calamari - dark and dirty tasting but in a good way. Slightly chewy but definitely not tough. The snails pace was followed by sole and brussel sprouts for me and wild boar and apples for V. We rounded out the evening with a strawberry lambic float. Yes please!