A trip to the Fenway neighborhood to do some errands was the perfect excuse to have lunch at Tiger Mama. We've been neglecting our list of new restaurants to try, and this one was high on that roster.
Lunch for two gave us the opportunity to try the Crispy Braised Pork & Pate Banh Mi that Penny had spotted on the online lunch menu. The description reads, "Garlicky pork spread, banh mi veggies, scallion vinaigrette."
We say, "Yes but you should have mentioned the roll that was a perfect match for this traditional Vietnamese offering." Often Banh Mi sandwiches are made with bread that is too substantial to allow the flavors of the fillings to shine.
We added the Chilled Salmon Chopped Salad. The menu describes it as, "Ginger garlic poached and chilled salmon, spicy greens, avocado, little potatoes, spicy peanut ginger dressing."
The lunch portions are large, as the excellent bartender warned another set of diners at the bar. They had ordered a lot of food to try. We heard and, even with two dishes, took some of the salad home for later snacking.
In this photo from the Tiger Mama website, you see the tables for six with a Lazy Susan to facilitate sharing. We can't wait to come back with four friends to fill that turntable with shareable items from the dinner menu.
Like Sweet Cheeks Q, another favorite of ours from the same team, this place is full of interesting details from a wall of greens …
To a fabulous piece of word art that contains proverbs in three languages. (Ask your server for a translation.)
Tin ceiling panels and wire lamps just seem right in this setting.
We follow the lead of our favorite food scout, MC Slim JB, so Tiger Mama went on our list as soon as this review appeared. Our first visit took far too long but our next one will be soon.
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Words: Penny & Ed Cherubino
Photos: ©2016 Penny & Ed Cherubino