Checklist for a solid first-date restaurant.
Space: strong, contrasting themes.
Food: killer.
Location: hot.
So allow us to suggest a spot with wood and steel. French-ish cuisine. In Kendall Square.
Introducing Catalyst, a new cathedral for first dates, farm-to-table food and roast pigs, opening this Saturday in Cambridge.
Brought to you by William Kovel (the guy behind Aujourd’hui, Radius and 28 Degrees), this is the sort of cavernous-yet-inviting, rustic-meets-industrial space you’ll want to employ for the first date with... well, whoever (it just has that feel).
To start, you’ll want to see if your cocktailing preferences match up. Head to the black marble bar and go with The Undecided, where the bartender will whip you up something based on your flavor profile (if your date suggests oysters and raisins, you may be in for a weird night).
Next, grab a table facing the open kitchen—just beyond the live herb wall—and get down to business. Think: Corn Soup with Summer Truffle, housemade gnocchi and spit-roasted chicken cooked in a rotisserie flown in from France (so, it may have a little attitude).
And should the whole experience leave you thinking “return visit” and “with a big party,” feel free to give the house a call to request a full snout-to-tail pig roast. They’ll source a local pig and do it up proper in the rotisserie, just for you and your people.
Note: you can’t have all your first dates here.
Space: strong, contrasting themes.
Food: killer.
Location: hot.
So allow us to suggest a spot with wood and steel. French-ish cuisine. In Kendall Square.
Introducing Catalyst, a new cathedral for first dates, farm-to-table food and roast pigs, opening this Saturday in Cambridge.
Brought to you by William Kovel (the guy behind Aujourd’hui, Radius and 28 Degrees), this is the sort of cavernous-yet-inviting, rustic-meets-industrial space you’ll want to employ for the first date with... well, whoever (it just has that feel).
To start, you’ll want to see if your cocktailing preferences match up. Head to the black marble bar and go with The Undecided, where the bartender will whip you up something based on your flavor profile (if your date suggests oysters and raisins, you may be in for a weird night).
Next, grab a table facing the open kitchen—just beyond the live herb wall—and get down to business. Think: Corn Soup with Summer Truffle, housemade gnocchi and spit-roasted chicken cooked in a rotisserie flown in from France (so, it may have a little attitude).
And should the whole experience leave you thinking “return visit” and “with a big party,” feel free to give the house a call to request a full snout-to-tail pig roast. They’ll source a local pig and do it up proper in the rotisserie, just for you and your people.
Note: you can’t have all your first dates here.
