I’ve attended every Readercon since it began in 1987 (well, except for the one I was regrettably forced to miss, about which the less said the better), and have tended not to wander out on my usual foodie jaunts during that con. That’s because Readercon’s programming has always been so dense and intense that I’ve never been able to make time for much more than con suite food (or durian and jackfruit) between rushing from panel to reading to kaffeeklatsch to panel.

But David Shaw was tired of that excuse, seeing it as an insult to the culinary arts of his beloved city, and insisted we finally pay a visit to his favorite local restaurant, Journeyman. So we snuck away the Saturday night of the convention (along with Diane Martin, Cecilia Tan, and Corwin) to Union Square in Somerville, where I had what ended up being one of the best meals of my life.

Before starting our seven-course meal, I began with a delicious melon thyme mocktail …

… which was a wonderful preview for the six non-alcoholic beverage pairings which would accompany my meal. As impressed as I was by the food, I was even more impressed by the pairings. It’s no exaggeration to say that when considered in their totality, Journeyman’s non-alcoholic beverage pairings exceeded in imagination and execution those I’ve experienced at any other restaurant.

As we sipped those initial beverages, we were given a choice—did we want to look at the descriptions of the tasting menus, or did we want what arrived to be a surprise?

We were shown an envelope with the possibilities on the outside—five vs. seven courses, omnivore vs. vegetarian—and the specifics on the inside. We could open the envelope or not before ordering depending on our moods.

We agreed that we wanted what arrived at our table to be a surprise, so all each of us knew about what was to come was what we saw on the outside of the envelope above.

And what came was amazing.

First up, a summer salad. Loved the gooseberries!

Then a cucumber, lemon, and caraway nonalcoholic beverage pairing.

Followed by a rye waffle with brown butter ice cream and two kinds of beets.

Accompanied by a cacao nib and mushroom egg cream nonalcoholic beverage pairing, which I like much better than the egg cream I had at Eleven Madison Park.

Then one my favorite dishes—corn custard with chanterelle mushrooms.

This came with the only nonalcoholic beverage pairing that was a bit too daring for me—caramelized onion soda with black pepper and rosemary. I enjoyed the first few sips, but after that, the drink just didn’t resonate with me. Perhaps because the oniony flavor reminded me too much of durian, and it therefore felt like too strong an accompaniment? I’m still not sure, but whatever the reason, I wasn’t really bothered. I don’t expect to love everything, and if chefs don’t push the envelope, where will those new experiences come from?

Next up—crab, tomato, and pollock.

This was one of my favorite nonalcoholic beverage pairings—tomato water and saffron. (Can you ever go wrong with saffron?)

Another groan-inducing dish—Foie gras custard!

Fennel juice with chamomile and lavender-infused honey nonalcoholic beverage pairing.

Another winner: Pork rillette and head cheese with pistachio.

Sour cherry and orange blossoms nonalcoholic beverage pairing.

At this point, we were asked whether we wanted to do a cheese course. Why, of course!

Now it was time to make the switch over to the dessert courses, starting with raspberry sorbet, yuzu curd, and strawberry rice crisp.

Next—cornbread pudding, lemon verbena sorbet, caramel popcorn and blueberries.

Then the final dessert course, which befuddled me, as it might befuddle you.

Why, yes, those are watermelon Oreos mixed in with marshmallows, caramels, and more.

It turned out to be a joint prank played by David and the restaurant as a result of a Twitter comment I’d made when I’d first seen them popping up in stores. David had snuck over a bag so the chef could mingle some in with whatever was prepared for our dessert. Not at all what I expected to see on the plate at such a restaurant, but believe me, those commercially produced disks didn’t detract from Journeyman’s artisan treats.

Bottom line: I was very impressed by my first outing to Journeyman. The only thing I’d have wished for, in retrospect, would have been a comfier chair to sit in during our 4-1/2 hour meal. But as for the food? I can’t think of a single way I’d have improved it.

Bravo!