For clearly Euro tapas, consider gnocchi ($12), a modest portion with asparagus tips and stems, the cutting aroma of white-truffle oil, and the chew of homemade pasta. Another temptation we didn't resist was a special on three local sea scallops ($13), seared with all the seasonal flavor.
An expansive drink list will have everyone covered, with cocktails for those who must have it intense, a decent list of sakes for traditionalists, and a promising list of wines for those who are mixing and matching food. From the latter category we tried a glass of 2007 Mirassou pinot noir ($7; $28/bottle). This is a light, fruit-forward, and racy but recognizable pinot noir — unlike the more complex vegetal flavors they go for in Oregon. Our party wanted hot sake on a cool night, the only option being Sho Chiku Bai ($4/cup; $20/half bottle), another old California brand. The bottle works into two and a fraction of the traditional flasks, the first one of which was lukewarm, the second a bit better, and the third just right. I know that cold sake is the more prestigious stuff, but when you list hot sake you have to serve it hot.
The only dessert available during our visit was a pear tart ($4) with a fine crust. I suspect this was an Asian pear, since it was as crunchy as an apple and had enough cinnamon on it to taste like apple pie. The odd touch was apricot foam. (I'm still not right with this foam thing. It looks like bubble bath and kind of tastes like soap — I always end up scraping it off and eating the stuff underneath.) Handsome trimmings of blackberries, raspberries, cranberries, and a few kumquats rounded out the plate.
The restaurant has a political back-story in that the original idea was floated in another location more than two years ago, and ran afoul of a coalition of developers, competing restaurateurs, and Boston officialdom. But we don't do business here; we do food — and I do like the setting.
High Street isn't high any more, but in the 1830s it curved through the fancy "Fort Hill" neighborhood. Immigrants moved in, the wealthy moved out, and most of the hill went off for landfill in an 1870 urban-renewal project. Now, the curve is what's left, along with some dandy industrial buildings like this one.
The outside of Exotic Sushi features cleaned-up brick and brownstone, with some Arts & Crafts windows up top and a wood ceiling inside. A blue carpet keeps down the clank; a techno soundtrack brings up the ambient sound. But until the crowds find this place, I can't describe the atmosphere. During our visit, on an early and empty Sunday night, the competent staff was flipping through the channels, lingering on wrestling. Order up a few more Godzilla rolls.
Robert Nadeau can be reached at robtnadeau@aol.com.
