The corner of Guerrero and 22nd Street offers a variety of dining and drinking options. One dinner choice, Beast and the Hare, is sure to please your inner carnivore.
I first discovered Beast and the Hare when we walked from our flat to Bi-Rite Market to go grocery shopping. It was closed, neatly set up and waiting for the evening rush. Two months and two cancelled reservations later, cubes and I secured a corner window table for a two hour date.
There were two things I knew walking into the restaurant: arrive hungry and order the rabbit. Previous diners were right on both accounts. We wanted a representative sample of what the kitchen had to offer. A big believer in first impressions, I went to FourSquare for additional recommendations. I'm glad I did or we would have missed the most amazing deviled eggs I've ever eaten. (Up until these, Mooflyfoof's deviled eggs had that honor. )
Do you make a killer deviled egg recipe?
Please share.
Please share.
What did I like about the eggs? The rich smokey flavor. I don't know if there was any meat in the filling, like bacon maybe, but oh I could have eaten an entire dinner just of these eggs.
My second bite was into their day boat scallop crudo with soubise, maicona almond, and prosciutto oil. The flavors were fresh and distinct. The textures paired nicely -- the substance of the scallop with the airiness of the soubise. The soubise was almost the weight of a foam. It's definitely a sauce I'm going to try to master at home.
Our third course was another appetizer, mushroom and bone marrow gratin with grilled toast. This was a dish, save for FourSquare, we might have overlooked. It's incredibly rich and velvety. For favorite dishes, it ties with the deviled eggs.
Our fourth course was from their charcuterie selection: caputura, coffee and toasted cumin-rubbed pork leg. I was super excited when it came out with seasonal pickles. I really need to learn how to make these. Ever since I had Hog and Rocks' seasonal pickles -- baby carrots, cauliflower, and turnip -- I want more. The pickles from Beast and the Hare were just as good, a little more sweet versus a vinegar tang.
For cubes' main entree, he went with the rabbit ragu with herb salsa and soft polenta, and it lived up to expectations. As the polenta was made with dairy, I only sampled the rabbit and salsa. I wish I had snagged a bigger bite!
The only dish that wasn't memorable, was my pasta dish, bucatini al nduja with early girl tomatoes, nduja salami and pecorino. Not because it was poorly executed, it wasn't. But because the flavors were a little less aggressive, more like a wind section compared to percussion. Good. Just different.
Bon Appetit!
Eden