What to order at Woods Hill Pier 4

Eating places

Proprietor Kristin Canty highlights her high alternatives from the Seaport restaurant’s menu.

No two journeys to Woods Hill Pier 4 are the identical. The elegant farm-to-table restaurant on the Boston Harbor within the Seaport modifications its menu every day, adjusting the dishes to what’s obtainable at their 360-acre Farm at Woods Hill in Tub, N.H. This consists of not simply what’s in season — currants, watermelon, and tomatoes have been fashionable this summer season, with proprietor Kristin Canty seeking to autumn’s upcoming bounty of asparagus, squash, and pumpkin — in addition to minimizing meals waste by making certain each a part of their farm-raised beef, pork, lamb, and duck are served. 

“The entree retains going by each reduce,” Canty stated concerning the protein entree units. So at some point you would possibly stroll in and see lamb loin and the following week, lamb shoulder, lamb leg, and even used as lamb bacon. 

Because of this, Canty suggests beginning each meal by asking what’s in season, and what’s on the menu that received’t be featured once more till subsequent 12 months. 

“Normally it’s one of many fish [brought in daily by a local fisherman] or salads,” she stated, however seasonal elements are additionally featured within the cocktails. From there, she highlights just a few dishes by Chef Charlie Foster which have persistently awed diners — and Canty herself — from the charred broccoli to the grass-fed steak tartare, the latter which she eats nearly every day earlier than service. 

Right here’s what you must order in your subsequent journey to Woods Hill Pier 4.

Starters and Small Plates

New England Uncooked Cheeses

“I’m an enormous uncooked milk advocate,” Canty stated. “We are able to’t have uncooked cream or uncooked milk, however we will serve uncooked cheese from native farms aged over 60 days.” Favorites embrace the Blue Fowl blue cheese from The Gray Barn and Farm on Martha’s Winery, Invierno, a half-sheep, half-cow milk cheese, from Vermont Shepherd in Westminster, Vermont, they usually nearly at all times have Maggie’s Spherical, a softer cheese from Cricket Cream Farm in Wilmington, Mass.. “We aren’t a dairy farm, so it’s our alternative to help native farms and uncooked milk farmers,” Canty stated. “You may decide three or 5 cheeses, and it’s served with Anadama bread from Bread Obsessions, our house-made jam relying on what fruit we’ve got in season and our house-made spicy nuts.”

Grass-Fed Steak Tartare

On the subject of uncooked meals, this typical French dish is served with rosemary and tallow aioli, crispy shallots, and topped with a uncooked quail egg. The dish is so fashionable that Canty stated they bodily can’t increase sufficient beef on their farm to maintain it on the menu every day, in order that they supply it from a farmer who ensures one hundred pc grass-fed, pasteurized, antibiotic-free, and grain-free beef. Now and again, the meat will likely be from the farm, which will likely be indicated subsequent to the dish. “It’s so recent, it’s my favourite and I eat it each single night time,” she stated, reiterating that uncooked meat, like uncooked dairy, is a big well being meals for her.

Charred Broccoli

“Folks have instructed me that they hate broccoli, however they love our broccoli,” Canty stated of the smoked broccoli atop broccoli leaf pistou. Canty described it as a play on a broccoli casserole with its garnishes of crispy leeks and cheddar-garlic aioli. “It has a good looking smoky taste, it’s crispy and flavorful,” Canty stated, including that when you don’t end it, carry it dwelling and reduce it as much as combine along with your eggs within the morning. “It’s so good with scrambled eggs!”

Entrees

Dry Aged Woods Hill Farm Duck Breast

Every year, the farm raises about 2,000 geese. “It’s chef Foster’s favourite protein to work with,” she stated. The duck is dry aged and served with a seasonal set, and lately that included stuffed zucchini blossom, potato rosti, nasturtium, and currant jus. It’s an ideal composition of completely tender inside and expertly crisped pores and skin. 

Butter-Poached Lobster

Woods Hill Pier 4 is the one restaurant in Canty’s portfolio that serves lobster and it’s on the menu year-round. The butter-poached entire lobster is an homage to the Seaport location and what Pier 4 was, Canty stated. It’s presently ready with morel mushrooms, charred snap peas, and crispy sunchokes, all in a sherry sabayon.