Enzo

By John S. Kelemen

On the eve of the Fourth we headed out on Commercial Street for an early dinner combined with people watching at Enzo. Enzo occupies a large Victorian structure on the corner of Court St. across from its more modest, but always busy, sister restaurant known as Bubala’s by the Bay. There are very comfortable and nicely appointed interior dining rooms away from the maddening crowd, however, nosy parkers that we be, outdoor dining in the dust and wind while sitting on stackable plastic chairs was our choice for the holiday eve. Our primary aim was to sample the cooking of new chef, Jeremiah Reardon. Enzo has been advertising the chef’s classical training. The rotating weekly menus reflect selections and prices with a definite aura of fine dining several steps above ordinary tourist fare.

Despite some mix-up in our reservations we were quickly accommodated on the porch level with a great view of the street and Bubala’s patio. There were five for dinner including Michael the Blogger, Rich, Mark, Bill and myself plus two other guests who stayed just long enough to share a salad and shrimp appetizer before running off to see a show. By all indications the salad and shrimp were excellent. In addition to those opting for salads the rest of us shared two appetizers, Sea Scallops with Seared Foie Gras and Wellfleet Oyster Tartare with American Osetra Caviar, both of which were quite good despite their pretentious names.

My favorite fish was on the menu and I couldn’t resist ordering the ‘Sundried Tomato Crusted Halibut’. This entrée turned out to be beautiful in presentation, big in price, and small in portion, although it was quite tasty. Our meat and potatoes man, Rich, wanted the Kobe Steak but inquired as to whether he could substitute potatoes for the featured asparagus. The wonderfully accommodating waitress reported that Chef Reardon’s reply was an emphatic no and Rich settled for the Guinea Hen with caramelized onion potatoes, thus saving $14 on his entree. Bill ordered the Kobe Beef with Michael and Mark opting for the Grilled Dayboat Scallops. The presentation of all entrees were picture book examples of appetizing nouvelle cuisine art. Food satisfaction level was good but in no way extraordinary.

Dinner was topped off with coffee and two shared desserts, ‘Barnstable Strawberry Shortcake’ and ‘Milk Chocolate Pots de crème with fresh berries and stone fruit’. I found the shortcake somewhat dry but the milk chocolate pots de crème was delicious.

In summation, we found Enzo a somewhat mixed bag as far as rating is concerned. Service was excellent and food presentation wonderful. Food level and atmosphere fall somewhat short of fine dining while prices are, as can be expected, high. Apparently special requests are not appreciated and will not be accommodated by the chef even at an early hour when the restaurant is almost empty. We give Enzo three monuments out of a possible five (III).

Enzo
186 Commercial Street
508 487-7555