Cuchi Cuchi Cool

Dinner on Wednesday was very interesting. Cuchi cuchi is all super art deco looking inside (stained glass and overwrought light fixtures), and their cocktail menu is separated into pre-prohibition and post-prohibition drinks, and then some newer mixed drinks... a little overwhelming, but I ended up with a perfectly serviceable mojito. The waitstaff is dressed flapper style and it's all very strange, but pretty in a McKenzie Child sort of way. The service was sort of slow but whatever, we weren't in a hurry.

We had five "small plates." Cuchi Cuchi's website states about one million times that they are NOT a tapas bar. But it's tapas style food - small plates for sharing, organized by what's in them with a note about the country of origin. I think we were supposed to get bread and eggplant dip before the food came out, but the service was a little inconsistent and it came out with our first two plates. Here are said plates in the order we got them:

1. Seafood filled avocado - You can't really go wrong with avocado, though the various bits of seafood were a tiny bit overcooked/chewy. I like the concept and I might try it at home.... though I think I liked this one more than Adam did. Good job, Guatemala.

2. An Asian salad - This was mostly just julienned veggies with peanut ginger sesame dressing - neither one of us were blown away by this one, and it was a little too strongly flavored. I drank a lot of water while eating it.

3. The "Cuban Cigar"- A very tasty short rib wrapped in empanada dough and served with really good black beans. The dough was light and flaky, the rib cooked perfectly and the beans savory and delicious. Yum.

4. Duck a l'orange crepes - This one came in second; it was a great mix of sweet and savory. Served with a grain salad of some sort.

5. Fried artichoke hearts- the piece de la resistance from Italy, filled with gorgonzola and basil and served with a buttery sauce of pistachios and olives. Oh. Sweet. Mama. I had to ask Adam to repeat his story because I stopped paying attention as soon as I put the first bite in my mouth. I would go back there just for these.

Since the portions are small (in a good way), we had room for dessert, which rarely happens to me. We ordered the cheesecake, because the menu note was so good - still in the mood for something small, rich, and beautiful? Hee hee... yes. The standout of the tiny little (again, in a good way) cheesecake was the lemon curd around the edges. The cheesecake itself was just ok. The tiramisu was served in a martini glass, was a little heavy on the whipped cream.mascarpone and light on the lady fingers, and had way too much cinnamon on top... we actually scraped a lot off. I don't think I'd order it again.

In general, I get the impression that this place thinks it is really cool. It is, that's for sure, but it's not in any way understated; decor, costumed waitstaff and strong food included. Adam made a comment at one point that it would be a good place for a fancy girl's night outting, and I think that about sums it up.

Cuchi Cuchi
Dinner nightly5:30 - 11
Bar until 12:30
Closed Sunday
795 Main Street
Cambridge, MA 02139
Tel: 617.864.2929