Northshore magazine showcases the best that the North Shore of Boston, MA has to offer.
Issue link: http://read.uberflip.com/i/514590
118 hostess know I am there to interview the owner, Nick Yabba. He is run- ning a bit late, so I head to the bar and take the last seat. The restaurant and bar are busy with the one TV tuned to the beginning of the Ken- tucky Derby. I order a glass of white wine, and we are off to the races. The bar bursts with the explosion of patrons cheering for their picks. I tuck into an order of lobster tempura—mouthwatering. I then look over the steaks and order the mammoth 22-ounce cowboy rib eye, medium rare with a side of sweet corn and speck. (I have to ask what speck is; it's smoked pork belly.) The rib eye, although large enough to feed a small country, hits the temperature mark with its warm red center, it's also perfectly marbled. I savor my first bite. As I take notes, the couple next to me asks if I am a food reviewer. I say "on occasion—I really love my job and, in the process, have become a steak lover, too." NO RT H S H O R E S T E A K H O U S E S Pellana's filet mignon, its warm interiors, and a craft cocktail Pellana Prime P E A B O D Y pellanarestaurant.com T h e V i b e The Classic. Dark wood, dim lighting. White linens on the table and Sinatra on the speak- ers. This is your classic steak house. T h e M e a t A 16-ounce bone-in filet mignon anchors the menu, which also features a veal chop, a double-cut pork chop, and a 28-ounce porter- house, among other steaks. A Boston–based distributor supplies the restaurant with prime beef sourced from Midwestern cattle. All of Pellana's steaks are wet-aged, a process that operations manager Daniella Mammola, who owns Pellana with her husband Daniel and his business partner Peter Pantazelos, says results in a "cleaner" flavor than dry aging. T h e F o o d Pellana's process—a quick broiling over high heat, followed by at least 20 minutes of rest— resulted in a bone-in filet that was a perfect medium rare, with a tender red center. The swordfish steak was also excellent. (It's all steak at Pellana, even the fish. "When we talk about our fish, it's a salmon steak, a swordfish steak, a tuna steak," says Mammola. "It's the way that it's cut, the thickness of the por- tion.") And the delightfully gooey lobster mac and cheese and other side dishes hit the spot. Crispy apple-smoked bacon complement- ed the buttery, chewy clams in the delicious clams casino, and the beef carpaccio was well seasoned and lightly oiled. The restaurant's decadent desserts—a strawberry shortcake and the seven-layer "colossal" chocolate cake—proved too large to finish. But each time we thought we were done, we went back in for one last bite. And then again. T h e D r i n k s A 400-selection wine list has helped Pel- lana win the Wine Spectator Award for Excellence every year since 2009. The bar also makes specialty martinis and Cham- pagne cocktails, and serves up more than a dozen domestic and imported beers. T h e P h i l o s o p h y Mammola sometimes hears people say that portions at steak houses are too large, but she wouldn't have it any other way. "That's the point of a steak house," she says. "You skip lunch, and you eat all your calories for dinner. Steak houses are synonymous with having large portions. It's meat and potatoes, very simple." "At a steak house, it's expected that two people dine for two and a half hours. You shouldn't ever leave without feeling like you had a memorable experience." FOR MORE PHOTOS, GO TO NSHOREMAG.COM/ STEAKHOUSES/