On the Lamb

A few weeks back I got an invitation to a restaurant tasting event at a place on route 1 in Saugus called ZaZa. I confess that I hadn't heard of it before, and I thought it was interesting that I was invited to the event because, while I do sometimes write about food and eating at places in the area, I'm not a food blogger per se. But free food is free food, and guests were permitted, so the Mrs. and I went.

We were given generous samples of several appetizers, like coconut-crusted shrimp, baby lamb chops, and my favorite, a big spear of artichoke heart with a dollop of goat cheese, wrapped in prosciutto. I love all three of these things, but it had never occurred to me to combine them; it was a delicious mix. (Waitstaff also brought around samples of some of the restaurant's martini offerings, but martinis are not my sort of drink at all, so I don't feel I can offer a valid opinion on them.)

Our friend Sandi, who is very much a foodie and food blogger (see her Boston Restaurant Examiner page) was also supposed to attend, but could not. She was on a different mission anyway: to talk to the restaurant's chef about one of ZaZa's special dishes, lamb osso buco. She made arrangements to have an early dinner there that Saturday, and it turned out that we made plans to see a movie with her later that night, so we ended up accompanying her.

Unfortunately, the chef was out of town, but the manager, Chris, took excellent care of us. We shared a tapas appetizer platter containing the shrimp and artichoke items mentioned above, plus crab cakes, gnocchi, and Italian sausage with broccoli rabe. We also tried the arancini, a favorite of mine (I talked about the ones from our neighborhood place just about a month ago). ZaZa makes theirs with peas and asiago cheese, an interesting variation that works nicely.

We were also able to sample the lamb osso buco, which was pretty amazing, but time ran short and we had to leave (Sandi got to take it home). I don't believe it is a regular menu item, but rather an occasional special; if that's what you're interested in, I suggest calling for more information. Chris is an affable and gregarious host, and the staff were highly attentive. This is by no means an impartial review, because that's not what I do, but consider it a recommendation.