City Landing to Bring Duck Meatballs to Long Wharf

Renovations are almost complete at 255 State Street, the former space of the Long Wharf location of Sel de la Terre, where City Landing will open the week after next. The browns and beiges of Sel de la Terre have given way to varying shades of sea foam green tiles and light quartz columns, and the restaurant is flooded with sunlight from large windows all around, no longer blocked by drapes and high banquettes. (The designer, Stephen Sousa, has worked on a number of Boston restaurants, including Storyville, Temazcal, and Jerry Remy’s.) The existing patio on the State St. side will remain open, and by next year, chef and owner Bill Brodsky hopes to expand outdoor dining to the Atlantic Ave. side as well.

Brodsky comes from a fine dining past; most recently, he ran the restaurants at the Wequassett Resort and Golf Club in Harwich. At City Landing, though, he aims to present accessible, playful food that will draw customers back for more than just special occasions. However, the theatre of fine dining is not entirely absent. A dramatically lit expediting table will be visible in the front of the kitchen, and vast amounts of new china have been purchased, tailored specifically to individual menu items. In the private room, an abstract wall mural from Sel de la Terre’s days will be removed to make way for a three-dimensional wood sculpture coming out of the wall, inspired by an aerial view of buildings.

While the main menu will change seasonally, a special “bar crumbs” menu, available only in the bar, will change daily, featuring small plates such as yakitori duck meatballs with hoisin-ginger-chili glaze, a riff on chicken and waffles, and foie gras BLTs.

Brodsky is intent on building local sourcing relationships where possible, noting that, for example, the polenta for his “Bostonian shrimp and grits” will come from Four Star Farms in Northfield. He has also been roaming the piers with different seafood companies to find his preferred fish, and the bar will feature some local beers as well as liquors from area distilleries.

· All coverage of City Landing on Eater [~EBOS~]