LIL' GEM (preview)

Still a little rough on the exterior...

My visit to Lil' Gem was for only a soft opening, but while they had only about half the menu up and running, the potential for greatness is maxed out.  This cozy lil' (sic) nook is the brainchild of Lesly Bernard and chef Melissa O'Donnell will feature the Lebanese delicacies of dips, flatbreads and small plates that they're starting off with now, eventually including more substantial offerings like a whole market fish, roasted lamb and various shawarmas.



The restaurant illustrates its name: it will seat but thirty or so at one time, but they will be well fed, and happily so.  Given Bernard's background in clubs and bars, the cocktails are a don't-miss- not-too-sweet concoctions that are not so middle inspired but go well with the food.  A gin-based Purple & Bubbles channels pink lemonade
 in the best possible way, a fresh summer closer, but there are boozy Grandpa-pleasing tipples as well, in addition to beer, wine, and a novel Spanish cider.

Cold and hot mezze open the menu.  Go for any or all of the dips, such as a savory muhammara, which is basically romesco swapping out almonds for walnuts. I wished the miso-fermented hummus would've been even miso-ier, but it's a luscious spread nonetheless.  All these come with chewy, crisp-edged flatbread, but if you're in the mood to totally carb-out, go for the za'atar one (ordered separately),

which arrives warm and is the size of a medium pizza.  True, it risks ruining your appetite if you're not in a largish party, but the zesty spice mix is worth it.  Plus, as I found, these flatbreads keep well,
 so any leftovers of, say, the version smeared with hummus, chunky mushrooms roasted with fragrant spices and sweetly caramelized onions can be successfully toasted right back up again in a warm skillet.  The plums being pickled in another one
 alongside figs and a goaty ricotta allow it to handle the same, as well is its fruity-cheesiness giving it double-duty potential for dessert as well, although the zippy leaves of arugula spritzed with crunchy salt crystals keep it in its place.

Lil' Gem does not negate the end of the harvest bounty currently in farmers' markets, showcasing thick discs of smoked eggplant languishing in a heady puree of black garlic, brightened with vibrant hillocks of minced beet tartare.    Fried cauliflower is done so ever-so-gently, served with juicy lemon wedges encrusted with pulverized sumac, both contributing a crucial acidity: one bracing and familiar, the other slightly musky and exotic.

Dessert will probably be an eventuality, but in the meantime I nursed the remainder of my Purple & Bubbles, not really sweet enough to qualify as dessert, but perfectly refreshing after such a feast.  As good as it was with only half its menu to explore, Lil' Gem's got big potential.










 

29 A Clinton Street
Phone forthcoming