MFM

We decided to stay local for my 1st night back and Emil’s is right in the center of town. We got there early – probably before 6 and within minutes of being seated the place was full. Half bar, half dining area but full of families and groups of friends of all ages. There is a little bit of a sports bar feel – nothing fancy.

Service was quick and friendly. The menu is mostly sandwiches and pizzas but they had a Saturday night prime rib which is what W had and finished so I think it was good.

M and I split the brisket sandwich (very nice – I ate the meat and left the bread) and the Ferg Burger which was a burger topped with bacon and a fried egg served between 2 grilled cheese sandwiches – amazing. So glad I only had half because I would have eaten the whole thing. Actually – I removed the burger but that egg yolk dripping over everything was indecently delicious. And the fries were great.

M had a local beer – Tighthead Scarlet Red – made in Mundelein

The first thing you smell when you enter Tuscan kitchen is the wood fire that will warm your housemade bread that they serve with olive oil laced with vinegar, olives and roasted tomatoes. The decor is classic Tuscany with lots of wood and warm colors. There is a chef’s bar where I would choose to sit next time. The place is huge with an upstairs wine bar and patio with a pergola for nicer weather.

The menu is intriguing – set up with antipasti, primi, secondi and contorni – not to mention salads, pastas and homemade desserts. It is hard not to order 1 of each but easy to do that because most dishes can be ordered in half portions. It is ideal for sharing.

We started with fancy drinks (I had a kir royale)and a salad of butternut squash cappellacci, caramelized apples, spiced walnuts and goat cheese which was huge even split in half and perfectlt dressed with balsamic vinaigrette. Next we shared 2 pasta dishes and licked both plates – could not decide which was better and would have both again. The tortelli brasato is short rib and parmesan cheese stuffed pasta with roasted cippolini onions and a Tuscan sauce. The pappardelle al cinghiale has a boar ragu with wild mushrooms and carrots over wide homemade ribbons of pasta.

That would have been enough but the whole reason we tried this place out is because my mom saw the chef on TV Diner making tuna so we had to share that. It is served just seared and rare with Castelvetrano olive winter vegetable caponata, mascarpone polenta and aged balsamic soy glaze. This was good but it came out along with the pasta so it sat too long so by the time we tried it the polenta was no longer warm so we had it wrapped to go.

I cannot resist duck, pappardelle (obviously) and sformato on a menu so we had to try the acorn squash sformato which was another miss – too sweet and more like a side of mashed squash served in an admittedly adorable tiny pan.

No room for dessert but the portions look enormous. The service was excellent. Our waiter was attentive, explained and recommended several dishes and was very friendly. The service manager also stopped by our table to check in with us – nice touch.

It was a gorgeous day – perfect for a drive to Boston and a late lunch. Despite the fact that Frozen Fenway was happening we actually got a parking space on Boylston. After a short wait we were seated at a table made from reclaimed wood and were able to check out the menu and plan our strategy. We ordered 1 sandwich, 1 tray and a selection of sides in order to best sample. They do just barbeque with simple sides and it is all fantastic. The pulled pork is delicious but we found the brisket WAY too fatty. The mac & cheese was ok but the broccoli casserole was excellent. The salads were the stars of the table – Brussel sprouts, grapes, nuts, goat cheese and a shallot vinaigrette and shredded carrots with raisins, toasted walnuts and blue cheese – so great. They were out of ribs when we were seated so I immediately ordered dessert and good thing I did because they also ran out of the giant nutter butter but we already had 1 waiting for us! This is a massive cookie sandwich filled with creamy sweet peanutty goodness – amazing. I may run back down tomorrow just for that.

The walls are covered with wood from a bowling alley and there is wood stacked up outside the kitchen – plain and simple but it works. There is someone with a Dolly Parton obsession – one of the drinks is the Dollywood (vodka, lemon cordial, lemon juice and sparkling wine) and the women’s bathroom has a Dolly theme and quote: “I tried every diet in the book. I tried some that weren’t in the book. I tried eating the book. It tasted better than most of the diets.”