Quenching your thirst
If Harry Potter grew up, got hip, and decided to work his wizardry as a bartender, he might seem a lot like Max Toste, who, along with the monster beer list, is a good reason to check out Allston’s new hangout Deep Ellum.
The likeness goes beyond the dark hair and glasses. Moreso, most nights you’ll find Toste behind Ellum’s gleaming wood bar crafting flawless cocktails as carefully as if they were magic potions.
His specialty is resurrecting the classics. Want a Manhattan? Toste makes them four different ways from four different eras. Caught in a cosmo rut? He’ll save you with a Jack Rose with homemade grenadine. The man uses no mixes and no short cuts. ‘‘We’re trying to bring back pride in real barmanship,’’ he said.
But Toste’s retro cocktails are not why Deep Ellum has attracted so much buzz. Rather, it’s the beer. That’s 22 on tap, more than a hundred in bottles, and always one on cask (something only the best pubs have). Whether it’s $2.50 Schlitz or $18 AleSmith Speedway Stout, they have it, and the informed waitstaff is mighty adept at finding what fits your taste.
But with all this liquid goodness to consume, you need something to eat, and this is where Ellum starts to falter. We really wanted to love this menu. All three owners — Toste, general manager Aaron Sanders, and chef Josh Velazquez — are advocates of the ‘‘slow food’’ movement. They get that life is better when you can linger over a good meal.
That’s why they went for a something-for-everyone ‘‘international comfort food’’ menu that runs from ballpark franks to French cassoulet. It’s also why they set the scene for kicking back — dark lighting, wood, exposed brick, and nothing more.
Ordering dinner, however, felt like playing a rigged game show. Some items were good, even great. But too often, we could almost hear the wrong-answer buzzer going off as we took our first taste. Hot damn wings? Buzz! — great heat, but fully off-kilter seasoning. Moroccan lamb? Buzz! — way too much allspice. Caponata-‘‘stuffed’’ artichoke? Buzz! — where do I begin?
Out of 17 menu items, we tried 16, and we’d only seek out seven again. Among them was the plump Hebrew National hot dog ($3) with a crisp heap of fries. It’s a sure bet plain or smothered in the mild house chili ($4), which also comes in a cup or bowl ($3/$6).
Grubbins ($7), tender cod packed between thick potato rounds, battered, and crispy fried, were a fun offshoot of fish and chips. Of the entrees, moist Jamaican roast chicken ($13) with a fruity rub and good cayenne pepper heat stood out.
The ‘‘best wurst plate’’ ($12) lived up to its name with not-too-fatty German sausage, homemade mustard good enough to eat straight, and a tangy hunk of grilled cabbage. The valiant vegan burger ($7) even managed to make seitan (wheat protein) taste pretty good.
But we soon found ourselves bursting with customer comments. The $2 pretzel should be thicker and richer. Seafood lasagnette ($14) needs tangier tomato sauce. Fennel was a nice surprise in the house salad ($6), but the iceberg has to go. The white bean cassoulet ($15) was a salty disappointment to the Frenchman at our table. Vegetarian lentil stew ($10) won over one fan with its creamy coconut base, but too much cardamom made it soapy.
Finally, the real bomb in the bunch, artichoke in a spill of dully seasoned veggies ($14), just needs to quietly disappear. We mean well, Deep Ellum, just like you. And we’ll certainly be back to have a drink and see how much better we’re sure you can do.
