Zebra's Bistro and Wine Bar (http://www.zebrasbistro.com/) is a great place to eat in Medfield, Mass. While visiting my sister in Massachusetts, she made the suggestion that we try Zebra's in Medfield. We went there on a Saturday night and had a very enjoyable meal.
For starters, the wife and I had the James River oysters. Six fresh oysters were served with a side of cocktail sauce. The oysters were plump and delicious. Since I'm not a fan of cocktail sauce with oysters I ate the oysters sans sauce. I think that it masks their taste too much. I did taste the sauce just to see how it tasted and it was a traditional cocktail sauce... nothing special, but still prepared well.
For dinner, I had a sautéed duck breast accompanied by chestnut ravioli and a Calvados based sauce. The duck breast was served medium rare, well seasoned with crispy skin. The duck didn't taste fatty like a lot of duck. The chestnut ravioli was fantastic. The dinner included two large ravioli stuffed with a chestnut, duck, sage filling. While the duck was great, the ravioli was star of the show.
The wife order coq au vin. The flavor was very good, but the chicken was a bit dry. A good dish but not memorable dish.
My sister’s fiancé ordered the grilled sirloin with a green peppercorn “au poivre” sauce, with garlic mashed potatoes and crispy parmesan asparagus. The 14 oz cut was properly cooked to the doness requested. It was well seasoned and the flavor was complimented, not overwhelmed, by the “au poivre” sauce. The asparagus (about 3 or 4 spears) was wrapped in a parmesan crisp, with a very pleasing result.
I don’t remember what my sister ordered, but I believe that it was the duck. (Cathey, if you read this, please add you comments about the meal.)
The dessert was a little disappointing. I ordered the chocolate lava cake because I used to prepare this dessert when I worked Peter Pratt’s Inn in NY. At Zebra’s it is served with a goat cheese ice cream. A chocolate lava cake is called such because it oozes melted chocolate when it is cut open. At Zebra’s the dessert was clearly overcooked because the chocolate center was dry. I asked the waiter about this and he made an excuse that with Zebra’s chocolate lava, the goat cheese ice cream is the lava. Up until that point, I was completely satisfied with the service at the restaurant. I made no further comments to him about the dessert but felt very disappointed by his comment. By the way, the flavor of the cake was very good, it just wasn’t property prepared. I’ve also had this dessert at Vong’s and other establishments and it has always had a liquid chocolate lava flow when cut.
We ordered a Chateauneuf du Pape (two bottle actually) that went very well with the meal. The producer was Domaine Chante Perdrix, but I didn’t write down the vintage. The price of the wine was $47 per bottle. It was a medium to full bodied wine with cherry, plum, currant and tobacco flavors.
Except for the chocolate lava cake episode, the service was very good. The staff was knowledgeable of the food and wine offerings (except for the lava cake).
Zebra's Bistro and Wine Bar21 North St. Medfield, MA 02052(508) 359 4100
The waiter informed us that the chef graduated from the Culinary Institute of America.
For starters, the wife and I had the James River oysters. Six fresh oysters were served with a side of cocktail sauce. The oysters were plump and delicious. Since I'm not a fan of cocktail sauce with oysters I ate the oysters sans sauce. I think that it masks their taste too much. I did taste the sauce just to see how it tasted and it was a traditional cocktail sauce... nothing special, but still prepared well.
For dinner, I had a sautéed duck breast accompanied by chestnut ravioli and a Calvados based sauce. The duck breast was served medium rare, well seasoned with crispy skin. The duck didn't taste fatty like a lot of duck. The chestnut ravioli was fantastic. The dinner included two large ravioli stuffed with a chestnut, duck, sage filling. While the duck was great, the ravioli was star of the show.
The wife order coq au vin. The flavor was very good, but the chicken was a bit dry. A good dish but not memorable dish.
My sister’s fiancé ordered the grilled sirloin with a green peppercorn “au poivre” sauce, with garlic mashed potatoes and crispy parmesan asparagus. The 14 oz cut was properly cooked to the doness requested. It was well seasoned and the flavor was complimented, not overwhelmed, by the “au poivre” sauce. The asparagus (about 3 or 4 spears) was wrapped in a parmesan crisp, with a very pleasing result.
I don’t remember what my sister ordered, but I believe that it was the duck. (Cathey, if you read this, please add you comments about the meal.)
The dessert was a little disappointing. I ordered the chocolate lava cake because I used to prepare this dessert when I worked Peter Pratt’s Inn in NY. At Zebra’s it is served with a goat cheese ice cream. A chocolate lava cake is called such because it oozes melted chocolate when it is cut open. At Zebra’s the dessert was clearly overcooked because the chocolate center was dry. I asked the waiter about this and he made an excuse that with Zebra’s chocolate lava, the goat cheese ice cream is the lava. Up until that point, I was completely satisfied with the service at the restaurant. I made no further comments to him about the dessert but felt very disappointed by his comment. By the way, the flavor of the cake was very good, it just wasn’t property prepared. I’ve also had this dessert at Vong’s and other establishments and it has always had a liquid chocolate lava flow when cut.
We ordered a Chateauneuf du Pape (two bottle actually) that went very well with the meal. The producer was Domaine Chante Perdrix, but I didn’t write down the vintage. The price of the wine was $47 per bottle. It was a medium to full bodied wine with cherry, plum, currant and tobacco flavors.
Except for the chocolate lava cake episode, the service was very good. The staff was knowledgeable of the food and wine offerings (except for the lava cake).
Zebra's Bistro and Wine Bar21 North St. Medfield, MA 02052(508) 359 4100
The waiter informed us that the chef graduated from the Culinary Institute of America.
posted by Chef Burning Chix at
2:25 PM
2 Comments:
We visited Zebra's last evening for the first time... we were very disappointed... the service was inattentive...it took almost an hour to get an ordered dinner which was well presented but ordinary... our server was very attentive to the tables who desired bottled wine... but for us with just one glass of a special recommended wine...we were essentially ignored... two tables seated well after us were served and gone well before we even got started... we will not return...
By
Anonymous, at 5:51 AM, January 23, 2006
I'm sorry that you had such an unfortunate evening at Zebra's. My sister and her fiance have eaten there a few times and have usually excellent service.
Have you tried contacting the manager to let him know of the problem? You might not believe this but most restaurants like to know when customers are dissatified and why.
By
Chef Burning Chix, at 4:34 PM, January 25, 2006
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