I have conquered week one of RW with success! I am happy to say that Mistral was delicious. A beautiful restaurant with a sleek look that somehow still feels warm and inviting. The lounge style seating offers plush benches with pillows in the corners. Soft candle light fills the room, leaving a warm glow. The bar is separated from the main dining area by large, oversized dual view frames, suspended by ghost wire from the ceiling. A unique touch to separate the spaces without actually dividing the room, although it was not optimal for cutting down the noise from the bar. I often found myself having to lean in closer to my dinner guests or repeat myself because we failed to hear each other. Overall, the restaurant is beautiful and the wine room is not to be missed.
Now, down to what really matters: the food. Walking into the bustling restaurant at 7:20 for my 7:30 reservations, I was sure my party of four would have to wait, possibly have a cocktail although the bar looked just as busy and crowded as the restaurant itself. To my surprise and delight we were seated immediately. The menu, while slightly limited and uninventive in types of dishes – the entrees were the typical chicken, beef, salmon – was accentuated by unique glazes and sides. For my first course I began with the Beef Carpaccio, which was fantastic paper thin sliced beef with cracked black pepper, micro arugula, an herb cream drizzle and shaved parmesan. Other firsts I sampled were the truffled white bean soup which was rich and creamy, while the Caesar salad was uninspired. For my entrée I enjoyed the Salmon with a soft mustard glaze, but the real excitement of the dish was the black lentils with pieces of thick-cut bacon. The sirloin was equally as delicious with a port wine reduction and a subtle gorgonzola butter. Dessert was the only piece of the meal that I probably could have forgone. The menu online featured a carrot cake that I had my heart set on, however, the menu itself had a lemon chiffon which had a wonderful lemon curd base but the lemon cake was dry. The profiteroles were average, while the mousse was rich and creamy with a hint of espresso.
Overall, a wonderful meal and a nice added touch was the RW wine menu, offering affordable bottles without cutting back on taste.
Tuesday, March 23, 2010
Tuesday, March 16, 2010
Let the Foodie Fest Begin!
This week begins Restaurant Week in Boston! Which has really become two work weeks, with no fun to be had for the working class with lunch specials because who can take off in the middle of the day for a three-course sit down meal? Therefore, the only people who can partake in the cheaper happenings of Restaurant Week are women who do not work and stay home all day, basically making them already rich and inevitably too good/cool/wealthy to be seen at a restaurant during these prix fixed weeks.
Moving on, Restaurant Week enters my life with mixed feelings and slight apprehension. I am obviously a major foodie, but have had the displeasure of horrible service and poor, cold, preplated food during RW. I know that the caliber of clientele during RW is notoriously lower then on the average night at most of the restaurants, but shouldn’t this be the time to showcase your talents? Bring in new clients? Become a person’s favorite special occasion spot? Well, for some restaurants this is exactly the case. Henrietta’s Table is phenomenal during RW. They keep most of their regular menu; offer a huge array of selections. Nothing is ever preplated, everything is made-to-order and if the chef is in the kitchen he will come out and sign your cookbook. The service is fantastic whether you are there for lunch or dinner and the light, airy space give the feeling of eating in someone’s home, rather than a busy restaurant. I have nothing but wonderful things to say about Henrietta’s Table.
And for others, they fail miserably. One little North End restaurant, Bacco, which I have heard very good reviews for when it is not RW, is one of those failures. The food was cold, bland and mostly inedible. To top it off, that dinner happen to be a special occasion and I had called ahead to specifically ask that a candle come in the dessert. Well, dessert came and went and surprise, surprise, no candle. I had even gone to the hostess before the dessert course to ensure that they knew we were the table. Nothing. They tried to make up for it with a dessert drink, but at that point, too little too late.
With all this being said, here we are another year and another RW and I am throwing myself out there yet again, in the hopes I will be impressed! This year I am venturing to Mistral and Sorellina. Interestingly enough after I made the reservations, I realized they were owned by the same people, who also own Mooo. I am excited, apprehensive and hungry. All this over a couple of restaurants? Sounds about right.
Delectably yours,
alc
Moving on, Restaurant Week enters my life with mixed feelings and slight apprehension. I am obviously a major foodie, but have had the displeasure of horrible service and poor, cold, preplated food during RW. I know that the caliber of clientele during RW is notoriously lower then on the average night at most of the restaurants, but shouldn’t this be the time to showcase your talents? Bring in new clients? Become a person’s favorite special occasion spot? Well, for some restaurants this is exactly the case. Henrietta’s Table is phenomenal during RW. They keep most of their regular menu; offer a huge array of selections. Nothing is ever preplated, everything is made-to-order and if the chef is in the kitchen he will come out and sign your cookbook. The service is fantastic whether you are there for lunch or dinner and the light, airy space give the feeling of eating in someone’s home, rather than a busy restaurant. I have nothing but wonderful things to say about Henrietta’s Table.
And for others, they fail miserably. One little North End restaurant, Bacco, which I have heard very good reviews for when it is not RW, is one of those failures. The food was cold, bland and mostly inedible. To top it off, that dinner happen to be a special occasion and I had called ahead to specifically ask that a candle come in the dessert. Well, dessert came and went and surprise, surprise, no candle. I had even gone to the hostess before the dessert course to ensure that they knew we were the table. Nothing. They tried to make up for it with a dessert drink, but at that point, too little too late.
With all this being said, here we are another year and another RW and I am throwing myself out there yet again, in the hopes I will be impressed! This year I am venturing to Mistral and Sorellina. Interestingly enough after I made the reservations, I realized they were owned by the same people, who also own Mooo. I am excited, apprehensive and hungry. All this over a couple of restaurants? Sounds about right.
Delectably yours,
alc
Monday, March 15, 2010
A rainy Saturday with a Touch of Rigotoni
On days when it seems the sun just will not shine, like it has for the past 2 days, I always feel the need to brighten the day and the soul with a little comfort food. And what better comfort food, than pasta?
This being said, I am also in the middle of lent and while I am not Catholic, my boyfriend and I did decide to participate. I mean it is only six weeks, we can definitely give up something we love for six weeks, right? Wrong. We did last four. Good effort, try again next year? Basically a major fail. My life without pasta was miserable. I wound up getting sick about midway through the third week and I honestly believe that it was because I had a lack of pasta in my diet. I love pasta. Without pasta there is no Italian, no Chicken Pad Thai, no Chicken Noodle Soup, no Wontons! What is a girl to do? So, Saturday at approximately 6:49pm I reinstated pasta into my diet and it was wonderful. A warm filling meat sauce served over tender rigatoni with crispy, crunchy, garlic filled bread. It was a meal to savor and delight. It completely brightened my day and my spirits. A simple meal of pasta and meat sauce can do wonders for a person. I am a true believer that food impacts life.
Well I guess before I go much farther I should explain a little bit about myself. I graduated from college in December and find myself somewhere stuck between childhood and adulthood. I am not struggling by any means, I actually wound up with a great job in event planning. Not too shabby for a girl who loves food, since a major part of my job is menu selection and food tastings. Yet still I often find I question my choices, my decisions and my future. Does anyone ever feel truly certain they are doing the right thing with their life? I know I don’t, but there is one thing that I am always sure about and that is food.
I love food. I love to make food, I love to talk about food and most of all I love to eat food. It’s a passion. I am an adventurous eater, but still hold the classics dear. There is nothing better than Mom’s Mac and Cheese and I don’t think I could have gotten through college without a giant plate of nachos. But my tastes have always been bordered on adventurous and I love spicy food. The hotter, the better. I enjoy experimenting but have certainly seen my fair share of failures: Gazpacho – people just do not understand cold soup, or that dessert where I misread the recipe and put in two cups instead of two tablespoons of Chambord liquor? It was eating a crepe filled with sticky alcoholic strawberry shots. Not so appetizing.
At the end of the day food is what brings people together; it is what helps heal any heartache; and most of all it is what keeps me going from day to day. So, here is my life: a little luck, a lot of faith, and really great food. Oh and I'll through in my recipes to keep you full and happy.
Simply Warming Meat Sauce:
1 Jar of Traditional Pasta Sauce
1/2 Med Yellow Onion Quartered
4 Cloves Garlic Finely Chopped
1lb Ground Beef
Good Olive Oil
Salt and Pepper
Red Pepper Flakes
Parmesan Cheese
1lb Rigatoni
1. Saute onion and 2tbs EVOO in a fry pan over med-high heat until onion browns, about 5 mins. Add ground beef and cook until browned. Drain fat, remove onion and set aside.
2. In a pot saute garlic, S&P, and red pepper flakes with 1tbs of EVOO for 45 seconds. Add jarred sauce and let simmer 5 minutes.
3. Add the meat and simmer, covered for 15-20 minutes (approximately the same time it takes for the pasta to cook).
4. Serve over rigatoni with a sprinkle of Parmesan. Enjoy.
Delectably yours,
alc
This being said, I am also in the middle of lent and while I am not Catholic, my boyfriend and I did decide to participate. I mean it is only six weeks, we can definitely give up something we love for six weeks, right? Wrong. We did last four. Good effort, try again next year? Basically a major fail. My life without pasta was miserable. I wound up getting sick about midway through the third week and I honestly believe that it was because I had a lack of pasta in my diet. I love pasta. Without pasta there is no Italian, no Chicken Pad Thai, no Chicken Noodle Soup, no Wontons! What is a girl to do? So, Saturday at approximately 6:49pm I reinstated pasta into my diet and it was wonderful. A warm filling meat sauce served over tender rigatoni with crispy, crunchy, garlic filled bread. It was a meal to savor and delight. It completely brightened my day and my spirits. A simple meal of pasta and meat sauce can do wonders for a person. I am a true believer that food impacts life.
Well I guess before I go much farther I should explain a little bit about myself. I graduated from college in December and find myself somewhere stuck between childhood and adulthood. I am not struggling by any means, I actually wound up with a great job in event planning. Not too shabby for a girl who loves food, since a major part of my job is menu selection and food tastings. Yet still I often find I question my choices, my decisions and my future. Does anyone ever feel truly certain they are doing the right thing with their life? I know I don’t, but there is one thing that I am always sure about and that is food.
I love food. I love to make food, I love to talk about food and most of all I love to eat food. It’s a passion. I am an adventurous eater, but still hold the classics dear. There is nothing better than Mom’s Mac and Cheese and I don’t think I could have gotten through college without a giant plate of nachos. But my tastes have always been bordered on adventurous and I love spicy food. The hotter, the better. I enjoy experimenting but have certainly seen my fair share of failures: Gazpacho – people just do not understand cold soup, or that dessert where I misread the recipe and put in two cups instead of two tablespoons of Chambord liquor? It was eating a crepe filled with sticky alcoholic strawberry shots. Not so appetizing.
At the end of the day food is what brings people together; it is what helps heal any heartache; and most of all it is what keeps me going from day to day. So, here is my life: a little luck, a lot of faith, and really great food. Oh and I'll through in my recipes to keep you full and happy.
Simply Warming Meat Sauce:
1 Jar of Traditional Pasta Sauce
1/2 Med Yellow Onion Quartered
4 Cloves Garlic Finely Chopped
1lb Ground Beef
Good Olive Oil
Salt and Pepper
Red Pepper Flakes
Parmesan Cheese
1lb Rigatoni
1. Saute onion and 2tbs EVOO in a fry pan over med-high heat until onion browns, about 5 mins. Add ground beef and cook until browned. Drain fat, remove onion and set aside.
2. In a pot saute garlic, S&P, and red pepper flakes with 1tbs of EVOO for 45 seconds. Add jarred sauce and let simmer 5 minutes.
3. Add the meat and simmer, covered for 15-20 minutes (approximately the same time it takes for the pasta to cook).
4. Serve over rigatoni with a sprinkle of Parmesan. Enjoy.
Delectably yours,
alc
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