I Ate a Duck Egg at POSTO!

There's this fancy pizzeria called POSTO in between Davis Square and Porter Square. It opened in 2010 and despite the rave reviews and convenient location, I didn't make it there until last night. I met a friend for dinner after yoga. We talked shop for a bit, as she's designing the invitations and programs for a fundraiser I'm organizing. Then, we got to work feeding our hungry bellies! POSTO's menu highlighted local ingredients and the cocktail menu was creative. They had a great selection of unique appetizers, tasty (albiet meat-filled) looking pasta dishes, entrees (including a tempting seasonal vegetable lasagna), and wood-fired pizzas.

I started with a blood orange martini that really hit the spot. This has been a stressful couple of weeks. My mind and body really needed yoga. But after yoga, it really wanted vodka. :-) The martini was great, but didn't beat the best blood orange martini ever (that honor is reserved for a great restaurant in Baltimore called Pazo).

I was so torn between pizza, pasta, and the appetizers that I really couldn't decide. The special, though, seemed really intriguing, so I decided to be daring and ask about it. Our *fabulous* waiter said the duck egg with polenta and garlic puree was a hit, but that it was a little on the small side. I don't usually eat big dinners, but this gave me the opportunity to try two things on the menu, since a small entree meant I might be able to make room for an appetizer.

I need to remember to take pictures before I dig in! The missing  arancini was in my mouth by the time I snapped this!

Arancini!  They were yummy and the portion was generous, so I shared with Liz (OK, I made her eat one). If you've never tried arancini, you're missing out. Arancini means "little orange" in Italian, because that's what these crispy fried breaded cheese-stuffed rice balls look like. Ours came in a shallow dish with lots of earthy marinara and were delicious.

Look at how bright that yolk is!

My entree was really different. The duck egg was HUGE and the yolk was cooked perfectly. It was perfectly runny and not slimy at all. It was served with a fluffy polenta cake that was perfectly seasoned and browned. I love polenta with eggs and have actually made over easy eggs served over polenta and topped with marinara sauce for dinner myself. *I should do that again soon.* Back to my special duck egg. The polenta cake was accompanied by some fresh arugula which was plated atop a mild garlic puree. And to top things off? A wood-fired Parmesan crisp. I've been known to make Parmesan crisps to serve with my saucy egg over polenta dinner, so I really loved the way this completed the dish. So what does a duck egg taste like? It's a little gamier than an egg from a chicken. That's all I can really say. It was delicious and I'm glad I tried it because when else are you going to find a duck egg on a menu?!

Do you notice the multi-colored yolk? It gave me some pause as I thought, "baby ducky." 

Because the menu listed many of the original sources of their ingredients (lots of VT cheese and beef, for example), I felt very comfortable asking our fabulous waiter about where my egg came from. He told me that all of their ingredients were sourced as locally as possible and checked with the chef. When he came back to report on the origin of my duck egg, he said, "You're never going to believe this. JERSEY!" We all had a good laugh because honestly, that was the last answer we would have expected. Just typing that made me realize I have absolutely no knowledge of duck egg farming or of duck eggs at all... so I did a little research and in case you're also curious, you can check out duckeggs.com to learn more and actually buy duck eggs online. eHow had some great info, too. Fascinating stuff!

Back to dinner. Liz got a lobster and scallop tortellini dish. POSTO! makes it's own pasta and the tortellini were big and beautiful. They serve their pasta in two sizes and even the larger portion was about half the size of pasta dishes at America's big chain restaurants. Liz cleaned her plate.

We were still talking as we finished our entrees, so we decided to split a cherry-chocolate cake for dessert after consulting with our waiter for his suggestion. I ordered a side of vanilla gelato, which went really well with the rich cake. The cake was like a warm crumbly brownie. I loved the walnuts and the cherries.

I will definitely head back to POSTO soon and will do my best to try their wood-fired pizza next time!


Question: Have you ever eaten an egg from an animal other than a chicken?! Think! There are a lot of different kinds of eggs out there! ;-)