it’s that time again: time for a random updating of my top ten favorite restaurants in boston/cambridge. these lists are always a little suspect because, well, what do i mean by top ten? i think that in this case, it’s a best-hits type of thing, […]
banq / 1375 washington street, boston / 617-451-0077 / m-sat 5:30pm-1am, sun 5:30pm-11pm / appetizers $8-12, entrees $19-26 did that title sound a little snide? too snide? yeah, it’s a little snide. this is a review of banq, the new-ish restaurant on washington street, next […]
o ya / 9 east street, boston / 617-654-9900 / tu-th 5-10pm, f-sat 5-11pm / $100-150 tasting menu, a la carte small plates range from $8-$45
i can identify significant points in the development of my palate: the fresh ricotta from chez panisse, the moment at which i began to like cilantro, the year in which i began to like lobster permanently, the one when i started to like mussels (ok, that hasn’t quite happened yet but i’m getting there). there is the moment when you realize that as a child, you were this petulant being with picky eating habits. the greatest error of my childhood may have been the ketchup i used to douse things with: rice, pancakes, dumplings, you name it – my motto was “everything is better with ketchup.” yeah, folks, that’s right: pancakes. it’s actually still kind of good, although now i realize that there are many better things to do with rice than mix it with ketchup. ok, now i’m kind of grossed out. yeah.
i look back upon significant meals that i’ve had, and my knowledge of different flavors has changed so much between them that i often wonder what it would be like to have a long-past meal in the present. would it taste different? better, worse? would i be able to recognize more flavors, more complexity? (more…)
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 craigie street bistrot pigalle caffe umbra sel de la terre upstairs on […]
i’ve heard great things about hamersley’s bistro, and i’ve always wanted to have dinner there. i got my wish when i suggested it as our january cutcat dinner destination. i had high hopes when we entered and i saw that it was a restaurant fitted […]
i’ve been remiss in updating my beloved blog (which is two years old!!!), and have a few restaurant reviews to offer you: caffe umbra and om for restaurant week, plus pomodoro.
om: 8/18, 1p.m.
92 winthrop street / cambridge ma / 617-576-2800 / m-sat 5pm-1am, sun 10:30-2:30 + 5pm-1am / reservations accepted / entrees expensive ($25-35)
appetizer: borscht with smoked potatoes and sour cream
main: duck breast with mustard greens and duck confit bisteeya
dessert: lime cheesecake with mango and saffron
there is something luxurious about having a 3-course lunch that is absolutely more decadent than a nice dinner, even a 24-course dinner – because who has that much time in the middle of the day? it’s just so…sinful. and in fact, we were a little rushed because i had to go back to work. thus i do not recommend 3-course lunches unless you are retired, have flexible hours and a boss who doesn’t care if you leave for 3 hours, or are a student. ah, the ever-flexible life of the student. (more…)
carrien and i love food, but we’re also poor students. accordingly, we wanted to partake in the newly christened winter restaurant week (i guess business is slow), without breaking the bank. we settled upon lunch ($20.06 as opposed to $30.06) – which, when you consider […]
marco / 253 hanover street / boston ma / 617-742-1276 / tue-thu 5-10:30pm, fri-sat 5pm-11pm, sun 4pm-9:30pm / reservations accepted / entrees moderately expensive ($15-25) i heard about marco from being on pigalle’s mailing list. after it got a bunch of good reviews, i thought […]
pigalle / 75 charles street south (in the theater district, not in beacon hill) / 617-423-4944 /tue-thu 5:30-10pm, fri-sat 5:30-10:30pm, sun 5-9:30pm /reservations accepted (and recommended) / entrees expensive ($22-30)
for some reason, i had never noticed before that pigalle is a small restaurant. luis, nina, v and i got to the restaurant late, but they didn’t blink an eye and seated us fairly quickly, given that the place was packed (on a wednesday!). the room is designed carefully with an eye to space – the columns divide the room into three spaces and somehow make it seem bigger, rather than cluttered; there’s a mirror on one side of the room that makes the room seem bigger, but is set above eye level so that you don’t have to stare at yourself all night if you’re facing it.
we were seated on the side of the restaurant on the night i went with luis, nina, and v – it was an 8:30pm reservation on a wednesday, we got there twenty minutes late, and were seated about fifteen to twenty minutes after that. while ordering, i asked for a glass of wine, and was really kind of offended that i got carded. i mean, i guess i can understand the concern, but it’s not like you can do anything stupid after you’ve had just one glass of wine. and, if you’re ordering wine in the first place, you must know something about it. anyway, i actually didn’t have my drivers license, but i did have my passport. i felt kind of stupid using my passport to prove my age – it seems like it’s overdoing it. (more…)
petit robert bistro, 468 comm ave, visited : 30 april (6pm), 1 may (6:30pm) saturday. the buzz on the restaurant was good. i had really just sent the review from the globe to french house because the restaurant’s manager is loic le garrec – the name […]