Fox and The Knife~ Go Hungry Because You Will Want to Eat Everything

 A while back this pasta dish started popping up on my Instagram feed.  It was a ravioli carbonara at this restaurant in Boston called Fox and The Knife.  You could just tell from the picture that this dish was going to be delicious and beautifully crafted.  Like the love and care was coming through in a picture and that's not an exaggeration.  This was back in February so we weren't really booking reservations but this pasta dish kept showing up in my feed enough that I started following the restaurant.  Back in April I hit a wall where a dizzying combination of stress and angst for my old city life crashed into each other.  I opened a tab, set about getting a reservation (which isn't easy but isn't Contessa hard), and patiently waited until the end of May.  (Again, the weather was cool and I found myself having to wear not cute spring clothes, but I digress.)

First, let's start with the fact that this restaurant is just so cozy and cute.  There are lots of blue velvet, cognac leather chairs, a neon sign stating simply "Stay Foxy," funky tile floors at the bar that melt into perfectly worn wooden floors in the dining area.  There's a bar seating area and a cozy dining room space. The large, front features windows that open that I imagine would be great on a normal, warm spring night.  We were seated in the bar area which I enjoyed.  I could watch the bartender make drinks and since I also had a view of the open kitchen prep space I could watch the goings on there too.  

Our waitress asked us if this was our first time and I said yes and mentioned the carbonara ravioli dish.  She basically all but said she quit her regular job to become a waitress here because of that dish.  And after trying it myself, I think she was right to take the leap of faith.  We started with some drinks and I had to get the Aperol Spritz because it seemed to fit nicely with the Italian style of the restaurant.  JO got their version of a French 75 and it was delicious too!

Our waitress suggested ordering a bread item, a few apps, and then some pasta dishes.  We, of course, took her advice.  We started with the fried dough with mortadella (this was a miss for me but more because I don't like mortadella...JO wanted this one and I didn't want to be a dining dictator) and the burrata.  The burrata was topped with a warm walnut vinaigrette and crispy shallots and it was a whole vibe that was out of this world.  

We also got to try the sunchoke pasta dish by accident because of a mixup and it was out of this world.  It may have even been better than the carbonara ravioli.  

Then it was time for the the main courses.  JO got the bolognese, as he always does, and I got the life changing ravioli carbonara.  It's everything that is perfect about carbonara pasta neatly packaged in the most fluffy, light ravioli I have ever had.  They even put the egg inside so when you cut into the ravioli the egg runs through the sauce.  Like seriously, this is Iron Chef level stuff.

The meal was such a great experience that it didn't take me too long to book another table for later this week.  I was visiting with a friend the other day and she asked me if I had heard of this restaurant, "Some animal with a fork" and I basically went into a monologue about how amazing my experience had been.