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With nary a drum roll or trumpet call, Burlington's newest restaurant opened for dinner on March 25. Three Tomatoes Trattoria of Burlington had closed for renovations a month earlier but now it's open - a new chef, a new menu, a new look and a new name. No longer Three Tomatoes, it's called Nika, after one of co-owner Robert Meyers' lovely twin daughters. I visited the restaurant recently and sat down with Chef Dennis Vieira to discuss the changes.
For twenty years Three Tomatoes was a pizza and pasta restaurant. With Nika we want to bring bold new flavors to Burlington," said Chef Dennis. "We are introducing flavors from Portugal, Turkey, Sicily, Morocco and Greece. Nika will showcase all kinds of Mediterranean food, not just Italian."
I met with Chef Dennis at lunchtime and sat down at the all new and expanded horseshoe-shaped bar to look at the menu and taste a few of the new flavors, even though Nika was not open for lunch then (call or check the Web site www.nikavt.com to see when it will open again for lunch). Dennis prepared for me a "board" of spreads, meats, olives of all colors, and various snacks. Even though I've spent much time in the Mediterranean, I sampled new - and delicious - taste treats.
I started with a few mushroom arancini. These are mushroom-flavored risotto balls with a truffle aioli that are breaded and fried, and served with a flavorful dip. My board had two nice dollops of dip to go with slices of Red Hen bread: one was a puree of white beans and spices, the other was called taramousalata. Taramousalata, I learned, was made from bread crumbs, carp or cod roe, lemon juice and fennel seeds - and probably a secret ingredient or two.
Another new-to-me treat was Provencal tuna tartare. This delight is made with raw tuna, olive, tomato, parsley and caperberries. Caperberries are an unusual flavor, one I had only encountered once before. They are from the same bush as capers, which are actually the flower buds of the bush; caperberries are the fruit of that same bush and (like capers) are pickled before being used. They have a gentler, more complex flavor than capers.
If I had returned for dinner with a few friends we could have tasted an array of small plates, everything from North African spiced almonds or stuffed dates with almond stuffing wrapped in prosciutto to arugula salad with halloumi cheese spiced with French Espelette pepper.
The Espelette is a French hot pepper that is an "appellation controlee" - it is a name (like champagne) that is only allowed to be used for a product from a specific region of France. These amazingly flavorful peppers are only allowed to be grown in 11 villages in southwest France (though I admit to have grown them in New Hampshire).
I asked Chef Dennis how he knew the Espelette and so many other interesting Mediterranean flavors. He explained that he was raised in a first generation Portuguese family in Massachusetts - his father came from the Azores - and everyone in the family cooked. After graduating from the Culinary Institute of America he went to work at a high-end chateau in Tuscany, and then on to work in a Paris restaurant. When he returned to America 8 years ago, Chef Dennis worked in Boston, the Cape and a couple of fine Vermont restaurants before taking on the head chef position at Nika's.
 Nika should be a bit quieter than the old Three Tomatoes - the renovation included adding cork panels on sections of the ceiling and walls. It still has the brick look of an old European café and unique touches such as a highly polished slice of a 3-foot diameter tree hanging on the wall. (t was cut on co-owner Jim Reiman's property)
The wood fired oven is still an important part of the restaurant, though it was re-bricked and, like the rest of the kitchen, is now in view from the dining area. The oven will still be used to prepare pizza and grilled meats including chicken, branzino ( a type of sea bass), quail, duck, steak, Moroccan spice-rubbed lamb and more.
The evening after I visited Nika at lunch I sat down to dinner in Lebanon for one of Three Tomatoes' wine pairing dinners. I always try to attend these, and they are often the culinary high points of my winters. Served family style, these dinners are fixed price events (from $50-60, all inclusive including tax and tip). They always feature four different wines, one for each course, and a short lesson about each from a knowledgeable authority (a representative from a wine distributor or winery).
This most recent dinner was prepared by Chef Bill Howard and staff and started with a Southern specialty: a small plate of braised pork belly served on a homemade biscuit with a little tomato jam. The pork belly was lightly smoked and reminded me of bacon, but more subtle. It was paired with a Sauvignon Blanc from New Zealand, Brancott. Totally made without oak, it is aged in stainless steel, giving it a very light, clean taste.
The appetizer course, also a small plate, consisted of an unusual flavor combination: grilled scallops with braised veal. It was served with a smidgen of potato and vegetables with a truffled-balsamic demi-glace. This course was served with a Tempernillo wine, Campo Viejo Reserva from Spain. Very nice.
The entrée was lamb chops from the wood-fired grill served with spinach risotto and a splash of pomegranate molasses on the plate to combine with the lamb. Delicious! The wine was a fine Malbec, Graffigna from Argentina.
To finish out the evening we had a fabulous dessert: ginger panna cotta with slices of navel orange and served with a flute of sparkling rose, Mumm Napa Brut from California. In case you don't know panna cotta, it is a very rich and creamy pudding-like dessert, but more firm than a pudding. It originates in the Piedmont region of Italy and its name means "cooked cream". Not too sweet, its flavor - and texture - were the perfect complement to a day of eating!
There will be one more wine-pairing dinner in Lebanon this year in May. Check this web site or call the restaurant for the time and date. Bring a few friends and have a real slow-food dinner -these generally start at 6pm and finish up well after 8pm. It's European style eating here, near home (no air tickets required). And if you're in the Burlington area stop into Nika and try out their new menu.
Henry Homeyer is the author of 5 books including his newest, Wobar and the Quest for the Magic Calumet. This high-adventure is for children in grade school and features a boy, Wobar, who was born with a magical mustache who can speak to animals.He goes on a quest for a peace pipe with his best friend, Roxie, a cougar. Learn more at www.henryhomeyer.com
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