As anyone who has eaten in the Greater Boston area knows, restaurants come and restaurants go.
That is why a place like La Morra in Brookline is such a wonder. After all, how many husband-and-wife teams can run an authentic Italian urban eatery for almost 15 years, survive a fire and come back to win regional and national awards, and still take the time to take their devoted fans on wine and food tours of Italy?
The answer is Jen and Josh Ziskin.
And while their many devoted fans in the Boston area love them dearly and consider the Ziskins family (as the Ziskins do their guests), they were thrilled to hear that the Ziskins had bought an historic inn in rural Sherborn with the idea of doubling their family-friendly family empire.
The result is the warm and welcoming Heritage of Sherborn (www.heritageofsherborn.com), a combination pub/dining room/event space/inn that also offers its own provision shop and other attractive amenities that make it a worthy destination for repeated visits from near or far.
Whether you enjoy the casual pub with its warm woods, warmer fireplace, and quiet bustle, the fireside lounge with its combination of exposed beam open airiness, soft velvet seats and sofas and cozy wainscoted warmth, the lush game-filled gardens surrounding the outdoor patio, or any of the 18th century inn’s many secludable rooms (which are also available for private events), Chef (Josh) Ziskin’s food and sommelier (Jen) Ziskin’s pairings are always perfect and satisfying and the place itself is always as comfortable and impressive as their edible offerings.
When Chef Josh is not out greeting his guests and sharing stories of great meals and great adventures, he is in the kitchen producing some of the freshest and most satisfying food around. On the pub side and also in the fireside lounge, specialties include kale and chicken nachos, coffee-rubbed ribs, refreshing gazpacho, corned beef sandwiches with fresh cabbage slaw on marble rye, a quinoa mushroom burger which is every bit as great as Chef’s juicy cheeseburger, roasted herb chicken, grilled pub steak with roasted veggies, and Stormalong cider-battered fish and chips. In the other rooms, there is a sharable bacon board, chopped liver with crostini, fried mussels, a grilled three-cheese sandwich and grilled herbed goat cheese soup, as well as pizzas, grilled tuna, flat-iron steak, braised beef, roasted monkfish, and, for those who need a little help making the delicious adjustment from the Ziskins’ old place to the new, Chef’s famed La Morra meatballs with mushroom and fontina cheese. While these are the most enduring menu items, Chef Josh reserves his right to add new ideas and new ingredients (Matzo-encrusted fried chicken, anyone? YES!), as befit a chef who is so in tune to his community and the desires of his guests.
Once you decide on what to eat, Jen and her talented team are always happy to help find the perfect wine from their bursting cellars.
As they have been travelling the world for decades, picking up recipes, bottles, and stories wherever they go, the folks at the Heritage are familiar not only with what wine pairs with what meal, but also with which member of the vintner’s family got married most recently and what their grandchildren’s names are! So even if Italy is not in your travel plans in the near future, you can still escape to wine country with the Heritage’s regular set of wine dinners that feature vintners from allover the world, many of whom come to visit their dear friends and to make more at the Heritage tables.
Even if you do not enjoy them with their creator, all of Heritage’s hand-selected wines (and many more) are available on the property’s own provisions shop, which also offers Chef Josh’s favorite condiments, hand-crafted sandwiches and fresh baked goodies to slather them upon, and Fazenda coffee with which to wash them down. Tastings are also a regular offering and daily and weekly specials abound as well. There are so many Heritage-approved items in the barn store that you can almost call ahead, pick up your provisions, and replicate your meal at home. However, there is still nothing like the family feeling of a meal or event with the Ziskins!
While many return regularly for the food, The Heritage also offers weekly and special events that are enticing on their own. On Wednesday nights from 6-9, come enjoy your meal as you relax near the grand piano enjoying live music from such local legends as The Wolverine Jazz Band and Jerry Bergonzi. Thursdays add the fun of trivia from 8-10 PM and also the opportunity to stump the staff and win gift certificates. From 11:30-2:30 weekdays, The Heritage opens for a lunch that includes salads and sharable apps (including amazing Mexican street corn and nachos with kale and smoked salsa), as well as sausage or zucchini pizza, baked mac n’ cheese, and all their sandwich faves as well.
Weekend brunches add such tasty treats as fresh-baked donuts, whipped ricotta and fresh berries, biscuits and gravy, steak and ages, grits, hash, omelets, pancakes, and other easygoing favorites, including Chef Josh’s whim-sical 19 Wheeler, which changes weekly. The Heritage’s regular schedule of wine and beer dinners offers unique menus that Chef Josh prepares to complement the creations of brewers like Jack’s Abbey and vintners that range from Australia’s Hugh Hamilton to Washington State’s Charles Smith. In the summers, Chef Josh organizes special Thursday Night Farm Dinners, during which he and Jen hand-pair locally-sourced three-course meals with appropriate beverages and plenty of fun.
If you do not want to leave after an enjoyable repast with family and friends or if you need a place to put on that special white dress (and take it off later), the Heritage offers a suite of suites, including a bridal set up worthy of a chic rural princess.
So whether you are a devoted fan of La Morra or have never been to Sherborn, The Heritage offers a wonderful spot to dine, shop, celebrate and stay, all of which is wrapped up in a fun and tasteful package that is filled with familial care and delicious delights.