On the Capitol Square near State Street in a surprisingly large space sits Graft, a fairly upscale tapas restaurant with a well-crafted menu and wine list to match.
It’s certainly a hit, given how busy Graft is on any given night. The only knock I have against the menu is the fact that it’s so short, you can conceivably try everything on your first visit if you sat in a group of, say, four. At least there are several items that are worth repeat visits.
One example is the Graft mac & cheese ($7). I thought it was creative to use spaetzle instead of macaroni and gouda for the cheese; actually, this is how I want to eat mac & cheese from now on. Other items from the “vegs & grains” section include Brussels sprouts ($9) and fried chevre ($9), which includes honeycomb.
The next section of the menu is “fish & shellfish,” and the smoked trout rillete ($14) caught my eye. While the trout itself was good, I didn’t like it in pellet form, as it didn’t mesh well with the accompanying brick-hard crostini. Speaking of tough bread, put a generous helping of the sweet, super soft butter on the mini rolls that come with the Graft bread plate ($4 for four), but skip the crostini.
Onto “meats.” Regarding the chicken thigh ($9), the thigh itself wasn’t too fatty, and I could have eaten an entire chicken with that wonderful seasoning. I loved the green couscous, too. Â Meanwhile, the pork belly ($11) was melt-in-your-mouth perfection, but that’s mainly because the pieces I received were mostly fat and very little meat (that’s okay in my book, but maybe not for everyone).
Three items comprise the “large plates.” I had the pheasant ($19), which was relatively timid in flavor compared to the other dishes (e.g. it could have used the seasoning from the chicken thigh). Next time I’ll order the prime ribeye ($34).
As for the desserts, I wasn’t impressed with the oat dessert ($8)–it just didn’t provide the sweetness I was looking for. The pumpkin doughnut balls ($8) were moist and filling, and I wolfed down the accompanying coffee ice cream quickly.
Don’t let me forget to talk about the drinks. In addition to the wine menu, there’s a robust cocktail menu ($11 each) as well. Both the Breakfast of Champions, made with scotch and vermouth, and the American Voodoo No. 2, made with rum and house berry syrup, were strong and tasty concoctions that you expect at any mixology-type bar.
Graft is open for dinner Tuesday-Sunday, and you will need a reservation.
Note: Unfortunately, my camera’s memory card became corrupted, and I lost all the photos of the food I took at Graft.
When I think of boxed wines, I think of Franzia, cheapness and desperation. Although I’m not a wine snob, I’ve never been a fan of table wines. However, there must be a huge market, because if you go in any grocery store’s liquor department, you’ll find a growing selection of boxed wines, especially in the 3L size, ranging in price from $12.99 to $24.99.
The same can’t be said about Big House ($18.99). We rooted for it because of its beautiful box design and funny name (“pinot evil”), but the wine was stale in taste. We unanimously ranked Big House dead last. (This happens all the time in the world of wine, beer and spirits–often times the best-designed container has the worst contents.)
I watch “Shark Tank” from time to time, and I saw the episode in which the founder of 
