Loring Place: Celebrating Locally-Sourced Ingredients
Brought to you by the chef who led the kitchen at Jean-Georges' ABC Kitchen and ABC Cocina, Loring Place is an upscale-casual eatery where vegetables take the stage.
Since late 2016, owner and chef, Dan Kluger continues to showcase interesting vegetable preparations and eclectic flavor combinations. The ambiance is lively and sophisticated. The style of the restaurant has a mix of industrial and rustic characteristics thanks to the light charcoal seats, the white-painted exposed brick, and scattered wood furnishings. This setting is good for any occasion (dates, catching up with friends, etc.)
There's a lot of variety on the menu. As I mentioned earlier, the focus is definitely on the vegetables. The strategy here is to order a bunch of dishes and split with your friends. Each plate is fairly small but can still be shared easily.
I enjoyed the Baked Ricotta with Roasted Kabocha a lot. Who could resist dipping warm sourdough bread in fresh, melted cheese?
The dining area at Loring Place has a great open space. It's a bit darker but it's still nice. The ambiance is lively yet intimate. It's also good for groups and you can reserve a table online fairly easily.
Here is the bar/counter seating at Loring Place. It's near the entrance and reiterates the restaurant's upscale-casual vibe.
Grilled vegetables are actually life-changing when done well. Have you ever tried grilled peaches? You're missing out. Have you ever tried grilled romaine? Maybe try it after the e. coli outbreak.
The first dish was Grilled Acorn Squash. It was a little bit caramelized with a Cider Glaze. Then, it was covered in Quinoa Granola for texture. [$17 USD]
Next, I tried their Albacore Tuna Crudo. It was dressed with Citrus, Chilies, and Radishes. To be honest, the dish didn't look that appetizing. But, it was delicious. What a plot twist. [$17 USD]
Cheese is life. I got some Baked Ricotta and Roasted Kabocha. It was shockingly good, especially with the grilled sourdough. I just dunked the bread in all that sweet, savory, cheesy goodness. Kabocha is much sweeter than butternut squash. It's texture is also more similar to sweet potato than its squash relative.
The bread was a bit too burnt though. I would 100% order this again. [$16 USD]
They didn't have fries but they had Butternut 'Fries'. These were firm and crispy. Then, it was topped with Lemon-Parmesan Dressing. That citrus twist was addicting. [$15 USD]
After the fries, I was curious what else Loring Place could do to transform vegetables into a sinful treat. Here, we have Crispy, Spiced Cauliflower with Chilies. On the bottom of the bowl, there was a lining of Meyer Lemon Jam. [$12 USD]
Finally, I could always go for some good leeks. This boring vegetable can be turned into something interesting if prepared well. In this case, it was prepared really well.
The leeks were paired with pears. Perfect. On the side, it had walnuts, yogurt, and a sherry vinaigrette. [$17 USD]
For the main course, I ordered the Grilled Arctic Char. Oh man. This was cooked Medium - Medium Rare and it was glorious. Arctic Char looks like Salmon but it's more delicate and mild in flavor. This fish has a nice fat content too.
It came with Brussels Sprouts, Avocado, and a tangy Beet Vinaigrette. I love beets... but not as much as Dwight Schrute does. [$32 USD]