Food rating: 85
Journeyman: Small portions of perfectly plated food
I only recently heard about Journeyman in Somerville and then read some reviews, and we were excited to give it a try.
It's located down an alley from the parking lot for Union Square, and despite being reasonably clear on the location, we had a bit of trouble finding it. Once at the door, I had to convince myself it was really the entrance.
The building itself is some kind of converted industrial area. They did a beautiful job. The total square-footage is small, but the tables are reasonably spaced, there is a separate bar looking into the kitchen, there are high ceilings, and the whole space has a nice, warm, relaxed feel to it.
Oddly, the feeling of that space doesn't actually seem to carry over to the restaurant itself, which seems fussy and even cold at times. It is one of those restaurants that is constantly and intrusively changing flatware. They arrive with a wooden box to deliver these, and the process interrupts any conversation that might have been taking place. I'm happy to get fresh forks and knives, but that really can be a background event performed in such a way that I don't know it happened. One of our waitstaff seemed quite friendly, but the others had something of an offstanding cold demeanor that seemed intentionally put on.
The menu is extremely limited: you can order 5 or 7 courses, and herbivore or omnivore. The menu itself was presented in an envelope, apparently so you could both be surprised by what arrived and make it clear to the waitstaff that you were planning to be surprised. We looked at the menu. After consideration (and presumably waitstaff disappointed in our lack of adventurousness), we ordered omnivore, though the menu itself had so few details that it revealed very little.
I started off with a single malt scotch-based cocktail that was very good, if you're willing to do that to a single malt (it was not such a high-end single malt as to make this sacrilegious).
The amuse bouche was a green pea soup covered with a layer of some buttermilk preparation, presented in a tall shot glass but with a spoon. We asked the server whether this should be eaten with a spoon or drunk, and he said the spoon was to get at the remnants. In reality, though, the buttermilk layer prevented anything from being drinkable until the spoon had been used. That said, once we could consume it, it was tasty. Two different types of thinly sliced bread were presented, which were okay but nothing special.
I ordered a glass or Riesling with my meal that was really excellent for the price ($11). The first course was a "spring salad", which involved various individual pieces of vegetables (for instance, a single piece of a leafy green) laid out on a plate with one or two pieces of some type of vegetable pasta. The arrangement was artistic and really beautiful, and the food was good, but it was actually difficult to get onto a fork and amounted to no more than two bites of a normal salad. This foreshadowed things to come.
The next course was a small piece of baked whiting that was delicious. I wanted more. The third course was two small round pieces of chicken in a broth. Neither of us particularly liked this, but again the presentation was flawless. The fourth course was two small pieces of steak that were well prepared but fairly standard. On the plate were various sauces and side preparations that were also tiny, but some were delicious and, again, everything was so beautifully presented that it seemed a shame to disturb the plating and eat.
We were then given a very tasty frozen yogurt and berry palate cleanser, and then offered various dessert options. We went with a chocolate dessert with vanilla ice cream that was delicious and much more substantial than the other courses.
I usually don't eat much during the day when we're going out for a nice dinner, but somewhat randomly we'd had a large breakfast and also eaten lunch. This was fortunate, since I would otherwise have been hungry at the end of the meal.
The price for two five-course meals with a total of three drinks and with tax was $172. I've seen various discussions online as to the expense of Journeyman for the small amount of food, but the ingredients were excellent, everything was clearly prepared exactly as intended, and the effort to plate foods this beautifully must have been substantial. The price seems appropriate given all this. I'd prefer, however, to spend that money on somewhat more and excellent food and less beautiful plating, but I can understand where others would find a meal of this artistry to be just what they are looking for, particularly for a special occasion.
All in all, Journeyman really isn't for us. I had never eaten in Union Square until two weeks ago and now have been there twice. I much prefer the food at Bronwyn (100 feet from Journeyman), and while the ambiance at Journeyman seemed more up our alley than that at Bronwyn, soon into the evening it seemed like a false promise of casual elegance that actually turned out to be masked fussiness. It's clear, though, from online reviews and talking to friends that many people absolutely love Journeyman, and there is much they do incredibly well. Hopefully this review provides enough context that you can judge for yourself whether it's the sort of restaurant you will love.
I ordered a glass or Riesling with my meal that was really excellent for the price ($11). The first course was a "spring salad", which involved various individual pieces of vegetables (for instance, a single piece of a leafy green) laid out on a plate with one or two pieces of some type of vegetable pasta. The arrangement was artistic and really beautiful, and the food was good, but it was actually difficult to get onto a fork and amounted to no more than two bites of a normal salad. This foreshadowed things to come.
The next course was a small piece of baked whiting that was delicious. I wanted more. The third course was two small round pieces of chicken in a broth. Neither of us particularly liked this, but again the presentation was flawless. The fourth course was two small pieces of steak that were well prepared but fairly standard. On the plate were various sauces and side preparations that were also tiny, but some were delicious and, again, everything was so beautifully presented that it seemed a shame to disturb the plating and eat.
We were then given a very tasty frozen yogurt and berry palate cleanser, and then offered various dessert options. We went with a chocolate dessert with vanilla ice cream that was delicious and much more substantial than the other courses.
I usually don't eat much during the day when we're going out for a nice dinner, but somewhat randomly we'd had a large breakfast and also eaten lunch. This was fortunate, since I would otherwise have been hungry at the end of the meal.
The price for two five-course meals with a total of three drinks and with tax was $172. I've seen various discussions online as to the expense of Journeyman for the small amount of food, but the ingredients were excellent, everything was clearly prepared exactly as intended, and the effort to plate foods this beautifully must have been substantial. The price seems appropriate given all this. I'd prefer, however, to spend that money on somewhat more and excellent food and less beautiful plating, but I can understand where others would find a meal of this artistry to be just what they are looking for, particularly for a special occasion.
All in all, Journeyman really isn't for us. I had never eaten in Union Square until two weeks ago and now have been there twice. I much prefer the food at Bronwyn (100 feet from Journeyman), and while the ambiance at Journeyman seemed more up our alley than that at Bronwyn, soon into the evening it seemed like a false promise of casual elegance that actually turned out to be masked fussiness. It's clear, though, from online reviews and talking to friends that many people absolutely love Journeyman, and there is much they do incredibly well. Hopefully this review provides enough context that you can judge for yourself whether it's the sort of restaurant you will love.
