I LOVE Mark Wahlberg. He's had several amazing performances such as in "The Departed", but he is also quite lovely to look at. However, there is more than just Marky Mark in the Wahlberg family, and his siblings are equally talented, albeit in different areas.
This weekend, I went to Hingham, MA to celebrate my sister's 26th birthday. She just recently moved to Brookline, and after hearing great things about Paul Wahlberg's restaurant Alma Nove, we decided to make the trek to try it out.
The restaurant is upscale Italian food, with decor to match. Situated right on the Hingham harbor, large stone fire pits surround the exterior of the restaurant so patrons can keep warm while drinking wine and watching the sunset. The inside is extremely sleek, with high windows and dimly lit modern light fixtures. But of course this is the South Shore, so the Celtics game was still being played behind the bar and top 40 hits "oonced" through the speakers. Leave it to a Wahlberg to mix classy sophistication with hometown pride.
Chef Wahlberg is decidedly not as good looking as his brother, but his food is incredibly sexy and delicious. Wood-grilled calamari with arugula, oven-dried tomato, and a lemon-caper vinaigrette looked like an abstract work of art and had an ocean of flavors. The salumi platter included all different types of cured Italian meats, accompanied with handmade compotes, biting cheeses, and addicting homemade crackers.
As for entrees, my mom and I both had a real winner, a wood-grilled veal tenderloin, sliced and layered with truffle raviolis, a bitter green known as erbette, pine nuts, and foie gras butter, just in case it wasn't decadent enough. My sister chose a pasta for her entree, and was not disappointed. Homemade basil linguini was tossed with an obscene amount of sautéed lobster, Tuscan kale, and a creamy carbonara sauce. With great Vesper martinis and a bottle of Sancerre to share, indulgence was the word of the evening.
The funny thing is, for what you get the food is extremely well-priced. All entrees fell in the $20 range while appetizers mostly ran below $12. It felt as though we were having the ultimate blow out dinner in a place like Manhattan, complete with amazing ambiance, service, food and drinks, but paying less than half of what the total would be in the Big Apple. This is not a place of celebrity snobbery, in fact, it is the exact opposite. It is a place where anyone, even on a budget, could go to splurge and have a great time in a beautiful, but laid by atmosphere. It was one of the best meals out I have had in a long time, and I might have a new favorite Wahlberg.
As long as he keeps feeding me.
which wahlberg is your favorite? :P
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