An eddy is an aqueous vortex of activity: In fly fishing terms, it's the sweet spot to hook a catch. And the Eddy couldn't be more aptly named. That a tiny, humble little nook of a restaurant can create food this sophisticated, imaginative and compelling is nothing short of astounding. Chef Brendan McHale's food brandishes dazzle that its modest surroundings might belie, and it is fancy enough to offer a tasting menu but so cozy that servers seem like friends.
Most important, eddies of excitement flow from the kitchen with dishes like beef tendons puffed to magical crispness and anchored by dill-inflected creme and smoked trout roe bursting with subtle salinity ($8). Chewy sunflower-rye toast is affixed with cool pillows of delicately oceanic uni, with ricotta whipped to ethereal lightness and brightened with shoyu mignonette ($12). Butter Poached Barnstable Oysters ($14) go down, well, like butter, and a garlic-smacked savory granola spritzed atop adds nutty crunch. And these are just the snacks.
The entrees are no less delightful, with the crisp-edged filet of Atlantic cod ($29) flaking luxuriously into an earthy puree of sunchokes, Japanese turnips and bonito giving a wink from the East. A magnificent Grass Fed Ribeye ($33) heralds unrivaled beefiness, sided simply with crushed fingerlings and a charred bulb of romaine.
If you're not one to pair cocktails with dinner, come for the whimsically named and concocted drinks on a separate occasion—it's worth a trip for them alone. Try the refreshingly extraterrestrial-looking Strange Visitors ($15) or the sweetly bold King Rodney ($15). If you can't decide on dessert ($11 each)—though the Cardamom Panna Cotta is so popular it can't be removed from the menu—go for a Bedrock Fizz ($16), a fruity gin-based tipple, sweet with brandy and cream and topped with real Fruity Pebbles. Because the Eddy isn't above that kind of playfulness, and it can back it up.
BY: TIME OUT COMMUNITY REVIEWER DEBORAH FENKER