Northshore magazine showcases the best that the North Shore of Boston, MA has to offer.
Issue link: http://read.uberflip.com/i/1039010
A stuffed dumpling at Ellis Square Social is the buzziest dish on the North Shore this fall. Made from pâte à choux—the same dough used for gougères and eclairs—the single fat dumpling is stuffed with slow- cooked duck ragù and sits atop a mound of deeply colored mushrooms. On the menu at Ellis Square, the new spot that replaced Beverly's Barrel House over the summer, the dumpling is listed in the section titled "Mom Always Told You to Share!" While sharing might be a good idea—the dish is hearty and filling and cer- tainly shouldn't precede a steak unless you are very, very hungry—it's hard to put your fork down once you start tucking in. e playful menu sections and the creative cuisine are indicative of the vibe that Nikita Paras, who owns the space with Anesti Lazarides, is hoping to create at Ellis Square Social. "Barrel House needed an injection of life," says Paras of the restaurant he and his partners opened five years ago to much acclaim, and then shuttered in June. "It had gotten a bit stuffy." With an emphasis on big appetizers, big entrees, and big wine—not to mention bourbon, which took off right around the time Barrel House opened—the restaurant had become more of a place to splash out on the weekend than to hang out on a Tuesday night. Not only that, but Paras wanted to give new chef Jay Murray the chance to make the menu his own—something that was very difficult when Barrel House's offerings were so entrenched in diners' minds. "We had people asking for things we no longer had on the menu and could no longer make," Paras says, though he himself was resistant to the change at first. "I was stubborn," he says, "but the more I thought about it, the more it made sense." e new name, along with the warmer décor and high tops replac- ing the massive communal table, is meant to tie the restaurant more to the neighborhood. Ellis Square itself is a recently refurbished down- town park originally dedicated in 1921, and "Social" is an invitation to drop in anytime. "If you want to enjoy a small plate and a glass of wine, that's great," Paras says. "No pressure to order a big meal." Paras has found a kindred spirit in chef Murray, who is excited to embrace a relaxed ambiance and the small plates trend after 18 years at Grill 23, an award-winning restaurant in Boston with buttoned-down service and a classic steak house menu. Being at Ellis Square is "refreshing and liberating," Murray says, noting that pushing the envelope at his former job wasn't really in the 112 Clockwise from top left, season ingredients are used, owners Nikita Paras and Anesti Lazarides, dining scene, chef Jay Murray, inviting banquette-style seating, well- curated bar cards. While you can still get a mighty fine steak at Ellis Square, the majority of the offer- ings are small plates, pulling from a variety of cuisines, but with a common theme of bright, fresh flavors and interesting textures. Fresh pea falafel, served on tiny pita breads, picture- perfect and delicious, sits next to dishes featuring sake-cured hamachi and crisp, suc- culent pork belly atop fried rice. "I love being in the suburbs," Murray says. "I love bringing an urban cuisine here." While still settling in, Murray is slowing building up a coterie of local providers, like