Foodie Asshole

I'd been itching to try Rattlesnake (Back Bay) for a couple years before I finally did. It's got a totally foodie asshole menu, with just about every description sounding like it came out a random foodie phrase generator:

• "tequila cream cheese"
• "wasabi ginger sorbet"
• "habanero saffron slaw"
• "duck fat infused ground antelope"
• etc.

Grilled Avocado - $14.50 - Avocado oil, lobster, black pepper lavender crema This was a really good dish. I could taste everything that was involved, and everything complemented each other well.

Spicy Cubano Tacos -$12.95- Chipotle & Lime Marinated Smoked Pork Loin, Pickles, Swiss, Jalapeno, Pickled Red Onion, Habanero Saffron Slaw, Flour Tortillas The waitress warned us the habanero saffron slaw was really hot and suggested we get it on the side so that we could decide how much we wanted on our tacos. If you're from New England I guess that's what you call hot. It had a been of creeping heat, but nothing like the waitress indicated. Couldn't they have just melted swiss on the tacos instead of giving us little haphazard squares? These tacos were just kind of lame on a lot of levels. We were starting to wonder if there was a chef back there anywhere.

The Poe Burger - $23.95 - Lobster, foie gras, and black truffle stuffed Kobe beef burger with whiskey bacon, avocado, and Irish whiskey cheese I did my foodie duty and tried this monstrosity.

With all the other powerful flavors, the foie gras was only detectable if I smacked my lips after a bite. Foremost was the truffle oil.

Whatever lobster was in there, perhaps ground up into the burger, was completely lost/wasted. I couldn't taste any whiskey on either or the supposedly whiskeyed toppings. The burger itself was good, but there was just too much going on. I want to give Rattlesnake one more chance, and this time I'll get a more reasonable burger.

Skinny Girl Margarita - $11 -  Strawberry & Cilantro Muddled Hotel California Reposado - Citronage Lemon, Lime & Strawberry - The description was the most exciting part. It was tasty enough and nicely light, but there wasn't enough tequila, and I couldn't really taste any cilantro.

I want to like this place because I do love the fun menu.

Update: I've been back once more for their roof deck.

Nachos with pepper jack cheese sauce: awful because the cheese sauce was a curdled mess. It's too bad because the chips were good, the slices of jalapeños we asked for were perfect, and the other flavors were good. It's like a child's first attempt to make a cheese sauce, like when I was making broccoli cheese soup and heated the milk too quickly or didn't stir it constantly. Once again the menu is delicious, the food disappoints.