top tens

i’ve been going through the rest of my posts, editing here and there for consistency, and i came across a top ten list of yore:

ten favorite restaurants in the boston/cambridge area, 2006

1. craigie street bistrot
2. pigalle
3. caffe umbra
4. sel de la terre
5. upstairs on the square
6. central kitchen
7. aujourd’hui
8. picco
9. rangzen
10. addis red sea

and given a chance to update that list, i would say this is what it is now, with some reasons:

1. craigie street bistrot (interesting updating of classical french food; impeccable technique)
2. pomodoro (best italian food i’ve ever had; best, and friendliest, service)
3. pigalle (really excellent french country food, excellent service)
4. restaurant pava (most interesting and successful flavor combinations; best bread)
5. sel de la terre (excellent french food)
6. rendezvous (more adventurous new american that occasionally misses its mark)
7. upstairs on the square (slightly overpriced, but really excellent new american)
8. central kitchen (close-to-home, unpretentious new american)
9. aujourd’hui (excellent, sophisticated upscale french)
10. miracle of science (best burger)

i would also venture to say that this list is more about what is excellent and what is memorable, so it changes over time according to what i’ve had recently, with some attention to meals past. another thread (alas, slightly inconsistent) is the likelihood that i would go there – so that takes into account cost, in a way. that doesn’t mean that i would always go to aujourd’hui over miracle of science, but it does mean that i would go to pomodoro over pigalle, with respect to cost (i guess the cost issue is more important higher up on the list).