Restaurants
Beer summit at Stoddard's?
When a press release went out announcing the impending opening of Stoddard's Fine Food & Ale, it created a bit of an outcry. It read, in part: "Finally, the gentlemen-only Friday Club at STODDARD’S, on the lower level with a private entry reminiscent of a speakeasy, may quite likely become the city’s most sought-after membership (by invitation only)." Some folks didn't like that gentlemen-only idea much. You know, people like the ACLU and NOW.
It turns out Stoddard's may never have intended the Friday Club to be men-only. The owners say the press release misrepresented their intentions. To clarify things, they've invited the ACLU and NOW over for a beer summit. Stay tuned to find out whether the offer is accepted.
The Regal Beagle opens Nov. 3
And the food sounds more serious than I expected. In a good way. The chef at the new Coolidge Corner spot is Laura Henry-Zoubir, who went to the Culinary Institute of America and has worked at Biba, Hamersley's Bistro, Prezza, Taranta, and the Lanam Club in Andover.
The Beagle will offer "creative but approachable food that 'makes you feel all warm inside.'" Aww! That description makes me feel all warm inside.
Sample dishes are seared scallops with pistachio brittle crust, butternut squash risotto, and dried cherry glaze; pan-roasted halibut with sherry beurre blanc, braised lentils, and roasted carrots; mac 'n' cheese with buttery Ritz cracker and sea salt crust; and slow-roasted chicken with soft polenta, Swiss chard, and braised mushrooms. (That last sounds fall-night perfect.)
At the bar, all wines will be available by the glass, alongside "inventive" cocktails.
And, yes, there will be brunch.
Change of policy at Stoddard's
The original press release read: "Finally, the gentlemen-only Friday Club at STODDARD’S, on the lower level with a private entry reminiscent of a speakeasy, may quite likely become the city’s most sought-after membership (by invitation only)."
Seemed fairly clear. Today this "Important Correction from STODDARDS in Boston" arrives. "MEMBERS ONLY – NOT MALES ONLY.
"In response to inquiries about the membership policy of a subterranean private club below this new downtown gastropub, managing partner William Ashmore today issued a statement that lays to rest any hints of chauvinism or non-inclusiveness:
“Our goal at STODDARD’S FINE FOOD & ALE is to provide an authentic dining and drinking atmosphere that recalls a by-gone era. In the 1800's, the term 'gentlemans club' was used to identify many types of private clubs, smoking lounges and eating establishments. Our research unearthed one in particular -- The University Boston Club (circa 1855) -- that met on Fridays at a Tremont Street location around the corner from STODDARD’S. Its self-stated mission was '… to delight in the art of dining, and to take freely in after-dinner discussion without malice or irritation.'
"In homage to our convivial neighbors of 1855, there will be a members-only component to The Friday Club at STODDARD'S. The club’s founding members are free to choose additional members as they see fit. Naturally, women are free to join, and to visit as guests. All members sign a code of conduct promising to 'maintain an environment of respect and consideration for others'."
So there you have it. The original press release could have flubbed it, or else the original intent could have been to have a men-only club and questions (see here, here, here, and here, for instance) about the desirability/legality of such an enterprise prompted the Stoddard's folks to change their minds.
At any rate, girls are now allowed in the treehouse.
Bon Savor: the back story
This week I reviewed Bon Savor, a charming little Jamaica Plain restaurant with a new chef: Marco Suarez, formerly of Eastern Standard.
His presence made Bon Savor worthy of re-review. But there was another reason I wanted to revisit this restaurant (which is also known for its brunch, by the way, something I didn't write about).
Shortly after they brought Suarez on this past summer, owners Ibonne Zabala and Oleg Konovalov and their 10-month-old went to Zabala's native Colombia for a visit. They got stuck there due to visa issues. And they have not been able to return home.
The problem is their E-2 visa, according to Zabala. This type of visa allows people from certain countries to live in the US "to carry on substantial trade, including trade in services or technology, principally between the United States and the treaty country, or to develop and direct the operations of an enterprise in which the national has invested, or is in the process of investing a substantial amount of capital," according to the US Department of State.
The problem may lie in the word "substantial." Zabala says they were told they were not producing enough income, and their E-2 visa was revoked. "At the same time, we have been supporting more than 10 jobs in the community and growing in sales, and improving everyday," she wrote in an e-mail (that ended, rather heartbreakingly, with the words "Pray for us").
This is a difficult situation for restaurateurs. "Substantial" profits may mean a very different thing in the restaurant business than in other industries. It's also a difficult situation for parents. Their baby is a US citizen.
Zabala says the community of Jamaica Plain has rallied around them, offering support. Congressman Capuano's office confirms it is working on their behalf. As of Sunday, Zabala sounded positive. "We have passed through difficult times trying to get back home, but we're still thinking it's possible," she wrote. "Our lawyer is trying to solve everything, hopefully to have us at home in the next two weeks."
It's a sad irony that people who are contributing to the fabric of their neighborhood are having such a hard time returning to it.
Jean-Georges's Market coming Oct. 29, City Table open now
Jean-Georges Vongerichten came to Boston in the mid-'80s to run the Lafayette kitchen. Since then he's gone on to do one or two other things. Next week, his rapidly expanding Culinary Concepts company opens Market in the new W hotel. The menu is inspired by France, Italy, and Asia, with dishes made from local ingredients. Chef de cuisine Christopher Lee Damskey hails from the Twin Cities, where he worked at Jean-Georges’s Chambers Kitchen, among others.
Meanwhile, Azure at the Lenox is no more. It's been replaced by City Table, though chef Dennis Wilson remains. The menu offers creative twists on American classics, with plates designed for sharing. (This approach seems to be where it's at for Boston restaurants right now.) Yummy-sounding things on the menu include Really Good Lobster Soup (props for not calling it "best ever" or "world famous"); white cheddar fondue with roasted potatoes, apples, brioche, and crispy pork belly; hanger steak tacos; house-made pappardelle with braised short rib; and a Cubano.
OK, poll. Here are the disclaimers at the end of the menu:
Raw Food Thing *These items may contain raw ingredients. Consuming raw or undercooked meat, poultry, seafood, shellfish or eggs may increase your risk of foodborne illness. We Might Change Our Minds Menu items subject to change. You Might Change Your Mind Just ask! Large Parties Of six or more subject to 18% gratuity. Good Food Thing Whenever and wherever possible we use organic, sustainable, or local products. We do this in careful consideration of the environment and our effect on it. Thank you and please enjoy your visit with us.
Funny or cutesy? Did you laugh, roll your eyes, or a little of both?
An opening date for Stoddard's
Pushed back several times, the gastropub is now slated to open Nov. 17. Stoddard's Fine Food and Ale is on Temple Place in Downtown Crossing. The menu, developed by Mark Cina of Ivy, is meant to be booze-friendly. Dishes such as house-made charcuterie, oysters, burgers, chicken pot pie, and hanger steak complement an impressive list of beer (140 different brews!) and historic cocktails. Bartenders will mix the drinks with house-made block ice, a la Drink. (And with Sasha Petraske's role in the upcoming W Hotel bar, Boston's cocktail scene just keeps looking better.)
Stoddard's interior is historic, too. The building, which survived the fire of 1872, is decorated with original wooden clapboards and hammered tin, tricked out with a mahogany bar, an old safe, a shoe shine stand, and more.
Dinner is served Tues-Sun until 1 a.m., and there's a Sunday cask ale brunch for $24.
There's also an invitation-only gentlemen's club on Fridays on the lower level. Girls keep out! No ovaries allowed! Gents: Does this seem appealing, or juvenile? I'm under the impression that men sallying out for beverages on a Friday evening often prefer to have the company of women, but maybe I'm wrong about that.
At any rate, for those who expected the long-awaited Lord Hobo to be the area's next beer bar, think again. It looks like the long-awaited Stoddard's could qualify instead. It's a race to the finish.
More on Bonfire replacement Pairings
As promised, a definition of "food and drink with personality."
Apparently, Pairings offers small plates of contemporary American cuisine for sharing, in a relaxed atmosphere. (I'm not really sure why it's called Pairings, exactly -- the name seemed to promise drink pairings, or flavor pairings, or a mad hookup scene. As it's not the first two, perhaps it's the last?)
If that description sounds like half the other restaurants in town right now, the food at least sounds creative. Sample dishes: duck with figs, chestnuts, and arugula; lobster corn dogs; grilled prawns with shishito peppers; and smoked gnocchi with oxtail, oregano, and ricotta. Of course, you'll find the requisite hanger steak and local grass-fed burger, as well. Lunch will focus on soups, salads, and sandwiches. Lobster grilled cheese, anyone?
More restaurant musical chairs
With Banq now Ginger Park, and Patricia Yeo in the kitchen, what happened to former Banq chef Ranveer Brar?
He's become corporate chef for One World Cuisine, the group behind Mantra, Diva, Mela, and more, including the new Dosa Factory inside Shalimar in Central Square. He'll be overseeing recipe development for the properties, among other things.
Also new(ish): a naan bar at Mantra (rings a bell) and a new executive chef, Jerry Pabla.
Bonfire's replacement
It will be called Pairings. Tagline: "Food and drink with personality." Chef is Bobby Bean, who remains from Bonfire.
Sounds like the restaurant could be a) dishes paired with drinks, b) dishes with two elements that pair together, c) a speed-dating themed establishment. (Refraining from making Todd English jokes.)
More details on what it actually is to come Friday.
Sage: open or closed?
What could be going on with Sage in the South End? First chef Anthony Susi announced he would be opening a new restaurant at an undisclosed location, featuring Italian small plates. [EDIT: Looking back, it appears I remembered wrong and the concept was "rustic trattoria," so perhaps the South End is still safe for big plates.] Then rumors began to swirl that Sage was closing. A staffer mentioned to a diner last week that it would shut down after the weekend. And now, the official statement...
"Sage restaurant is currently undergoing renovations as Chef / Owner Anthony Susi explores new restaurant concepts for the space."
Safe to say: Sage is closed for the time being while Susi rethinks things.
Could the Italian small plates restaurant be coming to the current Sage space? Or, at least, was that the plan until Ken Oringer and Jamie Bissonnette's Coppa was announced? And, with Myers + Chang and the new Ginger Park in the old Banq space, will the South End soon be a small-plates-only zone? Stay tuned.
A larger question here is: How does relocation affect restaurants?
Sage seemed to do very well in its North End space, while perhaps it never really found its footing in the South End. (Which is too bad: It was my favorite Italian food in that neighborhood.)
Others -- say, Pho Republique, a few doors down from Sage and a relocation from Cambridge -- do just fine.
We'll have to see how the Bombay Club, moving from Harvard Square to the current Pho Republique space, fares. But it just goes to show what a delicate equation it is matching restaurant concepts with locations.
Like a baby Clio
According to the Lincoln Journal, by way of Grub Street Boston, a French bistro-sashimi bar hybrid called AKA Bistro will open in Lincoln this spring. It's from Uni Sashimi Bar chef Chris Chung and Clio GM Christian Touche.
Touche is from France, and the restaurant will feature some of his grandmother's recipes, according to the Lincoln Journal. Though Clio features riffs on French food and Uni features sashimi, Chung and Touche say AKA will be much more casual than current employer Ken Oringer's pair of restaurants, at a lower price point.
Poppa B's: moving, not gone
Take a break to let your arteries clear. Soul food restaurant Poppa B's, which looked as though it might be closed, is simply in the process of relocating.
The new spot will be on Washington Street near Codman Square, reports owner Boyce Slayman. It's a smaller restaurant, and it will now be takeout and catering only. The original Poppa B's was a great gathering spot, and that will be missed. But at least we'll still be able to get our fried chicken fix. The new restaurant should be open in early to mid-November after renovations.
Momofuku-esque
Look for a new restaurant to open in Inman Square toward the end of the year. Currently called East by Northeast, the project is coming to the space that used to be Benatti. Chef Phillip Tang, who has cooked at Lumiere, T.W. Food, and Hungry Mother, hopes to be in business come early December.
The food will be local, sustainable, Chinese-inspired cuisine, according to Tang: small dishes, dumplings, all manner of porky items (Tang will be getting whole pigs from Vermont), and -- la! I think I just heard the angels sing -- house-made noodles. (I continue to mourn Benatti's excellent house-made noodles of the Italian variety, but a good Chinese-style bowl would help ease the pain.)
Possible dishes include pickled vegetables, soy-marinated bluefish with carrot salad, scallion pancake sandwich with braised beef shank and radish, and roasted pork loin with garlic-chive pesto. Noodles will come in vegetarian and meat versions: say, seasonal vegetables, vegetable broth, and poached egg for the former, a summer dish of cold noodles with cucumbers, house-made bacon, scallion, and sesame dressing for the latter.
This should appeal to anyone smitten with New York's Momofukus. Though it sounds different in many ways, it's probably the closest that Boston has come to David Chang's culinary stylings.
Post 390: a preview
Post 390, a restaurant from Himmel Hospitality Group, is set to open in early October in the Clarendon building (corner of Clarendon and Stuart). The space will be quite big, with two floors, three fireplaces, and more than 300 seats. "It will be very high energy, very high volume," says Kenneth Himmel, founder of the restaurant group. "It's a restaurant really geared for people who want to think young." You'll be able to eat for $35 or for $85, depending on what you're in the mood for, he says. He adds that wine will be a good value, particularly at the higher end.
In the kitchen, you'll find chef Eric Brennan, formerly of Harvest and Excelsior. The restaurant's concept is "urban tavern." What does this mean? "It definitely has the comfort of a tavern, but it's a lot sleeker, more modern," Brennan says.
The food sounds more tasty than groundbreaking. Just about everything will be made in house, including the root beer that will go into the barbecue sauce and floats. Tentative menu items include Peking duck potstickers, grilled flatbreads, a fried haddock po'boy, a carved roast beef sandwich, a Kobe beef hot dog, turkey pot pie, ribs, grilled liver, beer and bacon macaroni and cheese (all the major food groups in one dish!), a lobster clambake, meatloaf stuffed with ham and fontina (a tweak on Brennan's mother's recipe), and for dessert, house-made pies, an ice cream sundae, and chocolate cake. (You'll be able to get a whole slice, or just a sliver, an option I've long dreamed of at restaurants.) There will be daily specials such as pot roast, fried chicken, and leg of lamb.
Brennan says his aim is not to surprise people, but to turn out very good versions of standard dishes, using high-quality ingredients. "It's food people that like to eat," he says.
Banq becomes Ginger Park
Banq, the South End restaurant outfitted with ribs of blond wood and a menu influenced by India and Asia, is morphing. It is slated to reopen as Ginger Park at the end of the month. The new chef will be Patricia Yeo, who moved to Boston from New York for the project. Yeo was previously at Monkey Bar, Sapa, Pazo, and AZ, among others.
The food will be "modern Asian," according to Chris Haynes of PR firm CBH Communications. Prices will top out around the $20 mark, and the owners aim to make it a lively, casual, and affordable neighborhood place. The menu is still in the works, but there will be shared plates and a strong Chinese influence. Ginger Park won't serve sushi, and sadly it will not be the noodle bar Boston still lacks.
It does sound familiar, though. Myers + Chang -- lively and casual, with plates for sharing and a strong Chinese influence -- is at 1145 Washington St. Ginger Park is at 1375. Haynes insists the two will not compete. "The busier the neighborhood, the better for everybody," he says.
Where will visiting pols dine?
Word is trickling in on where politicians, friends, and relatives will -- or might -- eat while in town to bid farewell to Senator Ted Kennedy.
Secret Service was spotted at Boston Harbor Hotel's Rowes Wharf Sea Grille. They're also stationed all around the property.
Sources expect some of the incoming senators to eat at L’Espalier or Sel de la Terre.
Joe Biden reportedly loves Prezza.
Legal Sea Foods is said to be a likely stop for pols in general.
A large party of Kennedys visited the Union Oyster House this afternoon.
President Obama may be considering restaurants in the South End.
Which South End spot do you think he would/should choose?
If you notice anyone eating around town, let us know.
First visit to Sonic
New England's first Sonic: It's open, in Peabody. Now all those ads will make sense.
It was the grand opening yesterday, and people wanted in. There were long lines. Loooong lines. All day, lines of cars idled. The environment whimpered. Route 1 commuters cried; the traffic on approach was execrable.
Questions about human nature: Why are people willing to spend hours of their lives waiting to be the first people to eat at a fast food chain? And why will people idling in a queue of cars always -- always -- pull up to block an intersection even though this gets them no closer to their end goal?
Just when it seemed nothing would ever happen and our quest was futile, like an angel she soared into sight: an angel on skates!
She handed out menus. This helped with our impatience, but looking at them made us hungrier. Sonic is right next to a Wendy's. My companion finally gave in and ran over to get a pre-fast food snack of chicken nuggets. What I learned on my trip to Sonic: Wendy's chicken nuggets are pretty tasty!
Watching other people wait...
Finally in. Ain't that America. Eating fast food in our cars, parked in a line. This is Sonic's shtick. This and staff on roller skates. (Or roller blades.) You park, push a button, and place your order as you would at the window of a drive-through.
The kids on skates are pretty adorable. And that orange Mustang very covetable. What decade are we in?
A more contemporary view.
The condiment guy.
Where did all these kids learn to skate? They're really good at it.
Sonic on the inside: employees only. (Yes, there's a bathroom, off to the side.)
De rigueur footwear.
Every order comes with mints.
Jalapeno cheeseburger, vanilla Dr. Pepper, vanilla shake. Plain vanilla isn't plain when it's in your Dr. Pepper. At Sonic, you can add all kinds of flavorings to your soda. Plain vanilla is plain, however, when it's in a shake: Other options include pineapple, banana, peanut butter, and malts. But the heart wants what it wants.
Sonic tots. We got them unadorned, but you can add cheese or chili and cheese. Greasy!
The reason we went toppingless on the tots: Sonic's Frito chili cheese pie.
This could have been awesome, but texturally and temperature-wise, it seemed as though it had been nuked too long, then left to get cold.
A bacon cheeseburger on Texas toast! Sounds like a good idea. Looks so much better on the menu than in real life.
Note how thin the patty is.
Was this dry, tan sphere ever a cow? Poor cow.
Ahh, vanilla Dr. Pepper. As promised by every Sonic veteran I asked, the drive-in's best offering is its ice: tiny little chunks perfect for crunching.
Total caloric impact of meal: youdon'twannaknow. (See here.) What is the culpability of fast food emporia when it comes to the obesity epidemic? It can be hard not to wince watching the crowds gobble. It can be hard not to wince watching yourself. Text from companion many hours later: "I still have no interest in touching food." Likewise. I ate watermelon for dinner.
Conclusion: If I were near a Sonic, I might get a drink or a shake. I might take kids for the fun of eating in (or on) the car and being served by people on roller skates. But it's not worth a special trip, never mind a 3 1/2 hour expedition. Now, when New England gets its first In-N-Out Burger, that will be a different story.
It's official: Zon's is closed
JP's loss is Malden's gain.
According to chef Clifton Clark, "between some unforeseen financial discrepancies and a greedy landlord, it had to be done."
The good news: He's been made executive chef at Exchange Street Bistro in Malden. His late summer/fall menu will be up around mid-September, after he settles in.
It's sad for JP, which has some bright spots on its dining scene but isn't the restaurant mecca it seems it should be. It could be great for Malden, though -- particularly if Clark brings along his burgers and mac 'n' cheese.
On the upside for JP, chef Marco Suarez is in at Bon Savor. I liked the food there before, but it will be interesting to see what the former Eastern Standard chef does. For one thing, he's instituting a raw bar, which JP lacked. Also on the menu: the likes of empanadas, ceviche, steak with chimichurri, and veggie crepes.
You've seen the commercials ...
Now you can actually eat at Sonic. Tomorrow is the grand opening of the drive-in in Peabody, with Sonic starting regular hours (until 2 a.m.) on Thursday, Aug. 27. It's the first branch in New England.
What to have? An extra-long chili cheese Coney? Tots? Ocean Water (blue coconut syrup in Sprite -- sounds terrible)? Some crazy-flavor slush? Sonic claims to have more than 168,000 drink combinations, but this blog entry says the number is actually much greater.
I've never been. What are your favorite things to order?
After the Bonfire...
What's in store for the restaurant formerly known as Todd English's steakhouse? Good question.
When it closes its doors Aug. 31, English's name will no longer be linked with it. Not only that, it won't open its doors again Sept. 1 with a new identity. It will apparently be closed for the month for renovations, reopening Oct. 1. No word yet on what it will be called or what kind of food it will serve.
Perhaps it's for the best. "Todd English’s Bonfire may be the worst expensive restaurant I’ve reviewed in more than 25 years," wrote the Phoenix's Robert Nadeau in his 2002 review.
Let's hope the folks in charge are simply carefully guarding their concept. Restaurants that spring from a carefully reasoned and deeply felt raison d'etre are often very good. When the raison is filling an available property, things don't always go as well.
Dorado Tacos opens, El Pelon to rise again
One of the best things at JP's now-closed Cafe D was the fish tacos. So when chef Douglas Organ announced he would be opening Dorado Tacos & Cemitas, with fish tacos a cornerstone of the menu, people's excitement was understandable.
The time has come: Dorado opens tomorrow, July 29, at 11 a.m.
Though there are many taco/burrito places around -- particularly in Brookline, where Dorado is located -- fish tacos are under-represented. At Dorado, there will be four versions, plus non-fish tacos, rotisserie chicken, and cemitas, or Mexican sandwiches.
In other taco/burrito news, the Brookline Tab reports El Pelon Taqueria (home of another great fish taco) has filled for permits to open a new location in Washington Square, and Grub Street Boston says El Pelon's Fenway location will reopen in approximately a year.
Toasting Julia (and Madonna?)
On Julia Child's birthday, Aug. 15, the Aquitaine Group is offering guests a free glass of Champagne in her honor. It's also Restaurant Week, which means three courses and bubbly for $33.09 at Aquitaine, Metropolis Cafe, Union Bar and Grille, or Gaslight.
Madonna's birthday is the next night, but the Aquitaine folks aren't doing squat to honor her. You'll have to make Julia's glass count for both.
Red, white, and Port
In the July 4 spirit, T.W. Food's wine series salutes the good old US of A tonight. $49 gets you the likes of local fish soup, Vermont veal and beef meatloaf, and local strawberry shortcake, plus the following American wines:
Chardonnay, Sharpe Hill, 2007, Pomfret, Connecticut
Cabernet Sauvignon, Kamiak, 2005, Columbia Valley, Washington
Petite Syrah, Fleur de California, 2006, North Coast, California
Port, Sakonnet Winery, Little Compton, Rhode Island
Anyone tried the chardonnay or the Port? I'm curious what they're like.
Free burrito alert!
Tomorrow, June 24, the Natick branch of Boloco celebrates its second anniversary by giving away burritos from 11 a.m.-8 p.m.
The Boys & Girls Club will be there taking donations, so you can give back while getting full.
New chef at Grafton Street
Formerly of now-shuttered Z Square, Scott Robertson is moving over to Grafton Street.
He's also worked at the Franklin Cafe, the Linwood, Publick House, the Fireplace, and more.
At Grafton Street, his offerings will include raw bar platters, country pork terrine with fig jam, hanger steak frites with roasted shallots and Great Hill blue cheese butter, and a toasted chickpea burger with yogurt and cucumber sauce.
Tory Row: the rebuttal
This week I reviewed Tory Row, the new place in Harvard Square from Matthew Curtis and Chris Lutes. They're the pair behind Audubon Circle, Cambridge 1, Middlesex Lounge, and Miracle of Science, all places I like fairly well, some quite a lot. But I didn't much like Tory Row.
When writing less-than-kindly about a new business, something I take no joy in, the least I can do is offer a forum for rebuttal. Here's the e-mail I received from their publicist, Elizabeth Lascaze of marlo marketing/communications:
"Saw your review of Tory Row in today's paper. We were disappointed to hear about your lackluster experiences but as the owners continue to fine-tune their newest project, we hope you'll consider another visit in the future once it's more established.
"I also wanted to take an opportunity to respond to some of the questions outlined in the review - really more of an fyi. Hope it helps.
"Raison d'etre - Tory Row is meant to serve as a continuous (breakfast, lunch, dinner) community meeting place at one of the most interesting intersections in the county - particularly as people watching goes. The concept behind the entire storefront being glass is for everything to be as transparent as possible, creating an open dialogue between the restaurant's dining room and the vibe of Harvard Square.
"Menu - the menu's theme is Pan-Atlantic. The owners chose to showcase simple American and European dishes, i.e. the Austrian raclette, Spanish black bean soup, etc. All of their seafood (lobster, cod, clams) is locally sourced and brought in fresh daily.
"Dessert - Chris and Matthew keep desserts minimal as they feel there are a lot of great dessert options in the Square (Finale, Upstairs on the Square and L.A. Burdick) and they want to encourage exploration of the neighborhood.
"Hummus - Would like to clarify that the hummus is house-made."
We all scream
Particularly when the ice cream comes in exciting flavors.
Da Vinci is incorporating savory gelati and sorbetti in some of its antipasti and entrees. Examples: beef carpaccio with celery sorbetto and shaved Parmesan, or creamy gorgonzola gelato served on a poached pear. Other flavors include arugula and basil. (I've always wanted to make horseradish ice cream to serve with thin slices of rare roast beef. Someday.)
Starting June 21, Asana and M Bar & Lounge introduce their Summer Ice Cream Delight. Ice cream flavors include lavender honey, green tea, toasted almond, and tiramisu. Sorbet flavors include mandarin orange, kiwi, rhubarb strawberry, banana mango, and green apple. Toppings include candied citrus peel, praline almonds, crunchy meringue, butter crunch toffee, and dark chocolate shavings, plus raspberry, hot fudge, and orange passion fruit sauces.
Who makes your favorite ice cream flavor, and what is it?
Serving 24/7
The South Street Diner doesn't just stay up late anymore. It never sleeps. The wee-hours fixture is now serving breakfast, lunch, dinner, and beyond.
Has anyone been there for lunch? My late-night visits are a blur, but it's hard to imagine eating there at any other time.
Fun book for the right bride
Skip the spinach dip (fat-free sour cream, Knorr's soup mix, frozen spinach, and mayo) and the broccoli souffle (frozen veg, mayo, and mushroom soup).
The book is divided into holidays, with traditions, oddments, and what look like some decent recipes, including apple-raisin noodle kugel, sour cream coffee cake, and challah French toast casserole. The casserole. which sits in the fridge overnight, has a crumb topping added just before baking. (The pub date on the book is August.)
Challah French toast casserole
Serves 8
BREAD
Butter (for the dish)
1 loaf challah, sliced
7 eggs, beaten
2 1/2 cups milk
3 tablespoons sugar
1 teaspooon vanilla extract
1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1. Butter a 9-by-13-inch baking dish.
2. Add the bread to the dish in overlapping layers.
3. In a bowl, combine the eggs, milk, sugar, vanilla, and cinnamon. Pour the mixture over the bread. Cover with plastic wrap and refrigerate overnight.
TOPPING
1/2 cup flour
6 tablespoons brown sugar
1/4 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/4 cup butter, at room temperature
1. Let the casserole sit at room temperature for 30 minutes.
2. Set the oven at 375 degrees.
3. In a bowl with a fork, combine the flour, brown sugar, cinnamon, and butter. Work until the mixture is crumbly. Sprinkle the mixture on the casserole.
4. Bake for 40 to 50 minutes or until the custard is set and the mixture is browned. Adapted from "Jewish Cooking Boot Camp"
Dorado Tacos and Cemitas update
Word comes from chef Doug Organ (Cafe D, Arbor) that the restaurant is almost finished. Everything is painted and the equipment has arrived. They hope to open before the end of June.
Pictures of the work in progress here. More info on Dorado here.
Hopefully it will last longer than the sadly short-lived T-Rex Taqueria a mile down the road. (I never even got a chance to try it.) That's being replaced by another Olecito. Are tacos becoming the new sushi in Brookline?
Kowloon's lobster fest
Lobster and tiki drinks go together like, um, well -- why not, right? Kowloon in Saugus is currently having a lobster fest, with twin lobsters for $25.95. You can choose from among 12 different preparations.
They are:
Boiled
Steamed in ginger and garlic
Sweet chili
Chinese style
Shanghai stir-fry
Spicy tomato sauce
Spicy garlic sauce
Sichuan style
Sesame garlic
Black bean sauce
Thai style
"Eddie Andelman style," with black bean sauce, onions, and pea pods
If you're wondering what "Chinese style" is, as opposed to all the other seemingly Chinese-style preparations on the list, you're thinking too hard. Perhaps you need a Mai Tai.
Ken Oringer's new restaurant
Chef Ken Oringer is taking over the former Dish space on Shawmut in the South End.
The new restaurant, which he hopes to open in August with partner Jamie Bissonnette, will be called Coppa.
It will be a neighborhood enoteca, or wine bar, with house-made charcuterie, bar snacks, Italian small plates, wood-oven pizza, and homemade pasta.
The place will be sustainable and market-driven, with ingredients coming from local farmers as much as possible -- "everything from the pigs to the chickens to the eggs in the pasta," Oringer says.
Coppa has a beer and wine license; Courtney Bissonnette, who will be managing the front of the house, is putting together a reasonably priced and eclectic Italian wine list, and artisanal Italian beers will be on offer. There will also be creative cocktails, minus the hard stuff.
Bar snacks will be about $5, with small plates $11-$12 and pizza $12. Jamie Bissonnette will be overseeing Coppa, running back and forth between the new place and Toro, Oringer's tapas bar a few blocks away.
"It's tiny," says Oringer. "It's very intimate -- 40 seats, with 24 seats outside. It's basically a neighborhood enoteca. It's very simple."
A sad day for gnocchi
Chef Brian Konefal, the talent behind the amazing gnocchi, carbonara, and other fine dishes at Bina Osteria, has left the kitchen. The restaurant is lowering its price point and he is moving on. Co-owner Azita Bina-Seibel is now executive chef.
It's too bad, because Konefal's dishes were really great. Bina-Seibel, of course, is no slouch! I look forward to eating her food. But it's also too bad that Boston couldn't support Bina in its original incarnation. It was expensive, but not that expensive -- many other restaurants charge equal prices for lesser food. It's been clear that they were struggling. The dining room was often emptier than it should be, and e-mails with enticing special offers arrived regularly. Hopefully the lower price point will help Bina weather the economy.
In the meantime, a moment of silence for those gnocchi, please.
Michael Scelfo in at Temple Bar
Chef Tom Berry left Temple Bar to cook at Nantucket's Great Harbor Yacht Club. (It seems to me that one of the great things about being a Boston chef is the ability to slip over to a Nantucket restaurant when you need a break from the city.)
He'll be missed, but Temple Bar has a great replacement in Michael Scelfo (left), who won lots of fans at North Street Grill. He's also cooked locally at Dedo, Tea Tray in the Sky, and Good Life.
Dishes he's currently planning for the menu include cider-braised pork belly, pan-seared Gulf snapper with roasted baby artichokes and their puree, house-made sausage and roasted fennel pizza (my stomach growled as I typed that), and wild ramp and morel risotto with Hudson Valley foie gras.
They love New York
The James Beard Foundation Award judges, that is. Last night they gave every national award to New Yorkers, except for Rising Star Chef, which went to Nate Appleman of A16 in San Francisco. The others were:
Outstanding Restaurateur: Drew Nieporent, Myriad Restaurant Group, New York
Outstanding Chef: Dan Barber, Blue Hill, New York
Outstanding Restaurant: Jean Georges, Jean-Georges Vongerichten and Phil Suarez, New York (Fore Street in Portland, Maine, was a fellow nominee)
Outstanding New Restaurant: Momofuku Ko, David Chang and Peter Serpico, New York
Outstanding Pastry Chef: Gina DePalma, Babbo, New York
Outstanding Wine Service: Le Bernardin, Wine Director: Aldo Sohm, New York
Outstanding Wine and Spirits Professional: Dale DeGroff, Dale DeGroff Co., New York
Outstanding Service: Daniel, Daniel Boulud, New York
Best Chef: Northeast, one award a New Yorker never had a shot at, went to Rob Evans of Hugo's in Portland, Maine (left, in a photo by Heath Robbins for Yankee Magazine). He beat out Clark Frasier and Mark Gaier of Arrows, Michael Leviton of Lumiere, Tony Maws of Craigie on Main, and Marc Orfaly of Pigalle. Congratulations to Evans and the folks at Hugo's.
And congratulations to Joe Yonan, food editor of the Washington Post, which won the award for newspaper food section. He was previously food writer for the Globe, and we're hugely proud of him.
But will they serve Cuban sandwiches?
Chez Henri chef Paul O'Connell opens the Chilmark Tavern on May 22. The 99-seat restaurant on the Vineyard is a BYOB, described in a press release as "a rough cross between Summer Shack and Harvest." That could mean a lot of different things, but it sounds intriguing. The tavern's at 9 State Road in Chilmark; I'll add phone and website when they come in.
In other opening news, the opening date for Stoddard's Fine Food & Ale is now late June/early July. On Temple Place in Downtown Crossing, this will be an old-school gentleman's bar with beer in casks and a shoeshine stand. ECG's Chris Schlesinger consulted on the menu. I'm assuming chicks can dig it, too.
What will open in the Excelsior space?
The Himmel Hospitality Group, which ran Excelsior and continues to operate Grill 23 and Harvest, will join forces with the London-based MARC, Ltd., to create a replacement in the former Excelsior space. MARC stands for Marlon Arbela Restaurant Corporation; these are the folks behind A Voce in New York, Morello Bistro in Connecticut, and Umu and The Greenhouse in London.
I had a great meal at A Voce a few years back (though they've since switched chefs), and Umu and The Greenhouse look intriguing. Morello might be the example that gives us the best idea what MARC/Himmel will do with the Excelsior space. Gaia, the restaurant that preceded Morello, was formal; its followup is much less so.
"While my heart is still with Gaia, I have to admit that Morello Bistro is probably more in tune with current economic times and is a very likeable replacement," wrote Patricia Brooks in the Times. That seems about what we might expect from Excelsior's replacement.
Note to the folks planning things, however: For inspiration, maybe you ought to look to Umu rather than Morello Bistro. It's a Michelin-starred kaiseki restaurant, and one of the most well-received restaurants in Boston in recent times has been o ya. It's hard to feel too excited about another reasonably priced Italian restaurant opening in the city -- there are probably 10 within 3 miles of the Excelsior site (on Boylston, overlooking the Public Garden), not even counting the North End. A place featuring exquisite multicourse Kyoto cuisine? Now that I could get excited about.
I think they could pull it off, too, if the restaurant aimed at people who love food instead of primarily the business set. It could have a cool, urban feel rather than a more restrained, upscale aura, and there could be a less-expensive bar area specializing in artisanal sake and izakaya-style plates. Also, Boston has yet to capitalize on the handmade noodle trend, and we need a serious soba fix. (Granted, none of this has been Himmel's style.)
What kind of restaurant would you like to see open in the Excelsior spot?
Attention Cafe D fans: Dorado Tacos & Cemitas is coming
Did you miss Cafe D's fish tacos? You'll be able to get your fix at Dorado Tacos & Cemitas, a new place from chef Douglas Organ, scheduled to open in June. It's currently under construction at 401 Harvard St., Brookline, near Coolidge Corner.
Cemitas are Mexican sandwiches, similar to tortas but with different rolls. Dorado will be serving several versions: mushroom, carne asada, house-made chorizo, and more, topped with black beans, chipotles, avocado, and cheese.
The taco menu includes not one but four -- yes, four! -- fish tacos. Three come with crispy fried pollock: the Dorado (cabbage, pico de gallo, radish, cilantro, spicy chipotle crema, and lime), the Ensenada (cabbage, pico de gallo, pickled onions, crema, and lime), and an Asian-y version with ginger, daikon, and cabbage. There's also a grilled mahi mahi taco with avocado and tomatillo salsa.
There are four other tacos -- mushroom, carne asada, chorizo, and chicken -- as well as rotisserie chickens, salads, and all kinds of tasty sides (including a Toro-esque corn-and-cheese concoction).
For those mourning Cafe D -- or for that matter El Pelon -- perhaps Dorado will help fill the void.
Fuchsia Dunlop's London restaurant
If you've ever tried to cook Sichuan food, chances are you've used one of Fuchsia Dunlop's cookbooks. She was the first foreign student enrolled at the Sichuan Institute of Higher Cuisine in Chengdu, and books like "Land of Plenty" are troves of classic recipes such as dan dan noodles, ma po dou fu, and fish-fragrant eggplants.
Now Dunlop has opened a restaurant in London called Ba Shan with partner Shao Wei, who also owns Bar Shu across the street. Richard Vines recently reviewed it for Bloomberg, and it sounds excellent. Vines writes about Shaanxi Flatbread, "like mini buns, neatly served in a triangular paper envelope, filled with tender stewed pork, cumin-spiced beef or pressed bean curd and vegetable slivers"; Xi’an-style pot stickers, where "the casing melts away, the filling hits you and then you find yourself picking up another"; and more. Also, he notes, Ba Shan isn't very expensive -- kind of what you'd expect from the down-to-earth Dunlop.
It's worth reading for the vicarious pleasure, but particularly if you're heading to London any time soon.
Like Kogi, only closer
Kogi is an LA food truck with fare that merges the total yumminess of Korean barbecue and Mexican tacos. By now you've probably heard about it -- it's achieved fame for its long lines, rabid fan devotion, and method of spreading the word about its current location: Twitter, of course.
And once you've heard about it, how can you not crave, say, a Korean short rib taco, described like so: "This is our signature taco. We get the best trimmings of short ribs we can find, let it swim in our own special marinade, and chop it nice and small so the flavors just dance on your taste buds. Once on the grill, the fat melts away to create that soft and tender texture everyone loves and the sugars just caramelize to give the meat that deep and savory flavor. This is the Kogi crowd favorite. All our tacos are topped with: sesame-chili salsa roja, julienne romaine lettuce and cabbage tossed in Korean chili-soy vinaigrette, cilantro-green onion-lime relish, crushed sesame seeds, sea salt, garnished with lime wedge, orange wedge and red radish wedge." Other options include spicy BBQ chicken, spicy pork, and tofu.
The trouble is, LA is kind of far away to travel for a taco, even a superdelicious Korean taco (though there's a rumor that Kogi's coming to New York).
But Myers + Chang is not, and the South End restaurant is offering a similar creation Sunday through Tuesday. It's inspired by Kogi, says chef-owner Joanne Chang -- though, having never eaten Kogi tacos, she and executive chef Matthew Barros are "doing what tastes good to us."
They'll fill steamed corn tortillas with Asian pear, cabbage, and radish pickle, then top that with short rib braised in soy and ginger, plus a cilantro-lime-scallion-sesame salsa.
Though you don't need to keep tabs on where Myers + Chang is -- it tends to stay put at 1145 Washington St., having no wheels -- you can follow the restaurant's brand new Twitter stream anyway.
Restaurants offer tax relief
Today, several restaurants are offering a buffer to the April 15 blues.
At Grafton Street and Temple Bar, all items on the late-night bar menus will be priced at $9.90 and under, after IRS Form 990, filed by nonprofits. ($10.40 might have had more universal resonance, but I'm guessing they were looking to go under $10.) Dishes include calamari and sliders at Grafton Street and five-spice pork riblets and fish tacos at Temple Bar.
McCormick and Schmick's is on the $10.40 thing, however, serving $10.40 entrees and giving out gift certificates for that amount for future use. (No link because the website is currently down.)
P.F. Chang's is offering a 15 percent discount on your bill.
The Daily Grill has themed cocktails and specially priced happy hour bites, ranging from $2.95 to $3.95. These include spinach-artichoke dip and chicken pot pie. You can sip a Taxpayer's Revolt (sambuca, Chambord, and soda water) or an Itemized Deduction (a pomegranate spin on a Long Island iced tea) while you eat.
From 5-8 p.m., Cinnabon is giving out free Tax Day Bites, which appear to be bite-size cinnamon rolls.
Coming to Hynes: Patrick Lyons and Jasper White
The two are joining forces for a seafood and steak restaurant inside the convention center. No name yet. It's scheduled to open later this year.
More info here.
Per Se, a la carte
Thomas Keller's New York restaurant just instituted an a la carte menu in the lounge, which means a lot more people should be able to eat there. Previously, the only option for dinner at Per Se was a $275 nine-course prix fixe. (There's also a five-course lunch menu for $175.)
The a la carte menu includes $40 foie gras, but also some less expensive options. And then some more expensive options. View a version of it here.
The Wall Street Journal previewed the a la carte meal. According to reporter Juliet Chung, the offerings are upsized (don't get to type that word very often these days) from the nine-course tasting menu, they got amuses-bouches (though the menu makes it seem one would usually get mignardises), and it was sort of annoying to eat at the low lounge tables. Most important fact: The tab was $175 for two, including a glass of wine and two desserts. No tip necessary; service is included at Per Se.
That's a lot less than the fairly prohibitive $275. But would I rather spend $80 to eat white polenta agnolotti, Pekin duck breast, and bombe au pamplemousse -- a meal that sounds lovely, to be sure -- or save my pennies like Charlie hoarding for a chocolate bar, anticipating the eventual Experience awaiting me, exquisite little taste after exquisite little taste?
Well, I guess it's kind of obvious which I'd prefer. And it's not because I'm the restaurant critic and think nothing of spending $275 on a meal -- I'm a pretty conservative spender. (Also, the same sum right now will practically buy you a round-trip ticket to Mexico City, where infinite reasonably priced gastronomic pleasures await.) I guess I believe in having places that are special, that you can't really afford but maybe one day you just go for it, and it's worth it, a night and a meal you'll always remember.
There's not much room for that kind of romance in today's business plans, however, and the financial sector folks who booked Per Se for private events aren't doing so as much anymore.
So, until the economy picks up, let them eat grapefruit bombe. It's only $14, and I bet it really is the bomb.
Saveur's 12 restaurants that matter
In April's issue of the magazine, I was surprised to find Sportello listed among a dozen influential US restaurants. (Corby Kummer of the Atlantic and Boston mag wrote the entry.)
I like Sportello a lot. I could see it included in any number of stories about great restaurants around the country. But I'm not sure I'd call it influential, or -- among all the restaurants in all the cities in the land -- single it out as being of great significance on the national restaurant scene.
To give some perspective, the restaurants included are:
1. Joel Robuchon
2. Sportello
3. Commander's Palace
4. Topolobampo
5. Canlis
6. Gramercy Tavern
7. Manresa
8. Watershed
9. Marlow & Sons
10. Musso and Frank
11. Blue Hill at Stone Barns
12. Slanted Door
The mention is great for Sportello, and I'm happy for Barbara Lynch and crew; it should bring people in the door who otherwise wouldn't have found it, and they'll enjoy themselves.
But for a list of Restaurants That Matter -- and this isn't necessarily the same thing as Restaurants That Rock our Worlds, though there's overlap -- I could just as easily see the inclusion of Craigie on Main, Hamersley's Bistro, Hungry Mother, Locke-Ober, Oleana, O Ya, or Ten Tables. Or even B&G Oysters and the Butcher Shop, two other Barbara Lynch restaurants.
What do you think? Is Sportello's mention dead on? If you were going to put a local spot on a list of restaurants that matter nationally, what would it be?
Vegas comes to Kneeland Street?
Frank De Pasquale (Bricco, Mare, etc.) plans to open a new venue on Memorial Day, in the old News space. It will be called Splash, and it's inspired by a Vegas nightclub called AquaKnox.
Think: roof deck, fountains, cabanas, house music, and dining till 5 a.m. on weekends. Planned for the menu are gourmet burgers (e.g. Kobe, lobster, and pulled pork) and Mediterranean tapas, as well as the requisite "creative cocktails." After 2 a.m. on weekends, there will be a breakfast buffet with a $20 cover. Wednesday nights will feature fashion shows.
What happens on Kneeland stays on Kneeland.
Opening day approaches
Baseball season arrives with a noticeable gap in the Fenway food scene, left by the Peterborough Street restaurants destroyed in a January fire. Ball fans will miss their pre- and post-game stops at Thornton's Fenway Grille, Rod Dee Thai Cuisine, El Pelon Taqueria, Greek Isles, Sorento's Italian Gourmet, and Umi Japanese Restaurant.
What to eat until they're rebuilt? (It might be a while.)
Audubon Circle, Eastern Standard, and La Verdad are always good bets.
Cambridge 1 recently expanded beyond pizza. They're now also offering antipasto plates, sausage and white bean soup, and a few pasta dishes. (According to the Wall Street Journal, pizza's popularity is waning.)
Also, if a bit out of the way, M Bar & Lounge in the Mandarin Oriental hotel is offering opening day bento boxes on April 6. These include items such as Kobe sliders, lobster wontons, and, of course, hot dogs and chowder. You choose up to six, with each item $5-$7.
What do you eat when you go to Fenway? For me, it's all about the franks.
Dinner with Jacques Pepin
When Jacques Pepin comes to town to teach at Boston University's food and wine program, program director Rebecca Alssid always has a dinner afterwards. Alssid runs a salon in true Gertrude Stein fashion. You never know who will be there. You only know everyone will be interesting.
This is restaurateur Michael Leviton of Lumiere and Persephone with his wife, Karyn Cohen. Below is Leviton with Barbara Lynch.
Valerie and Ihsan Gurdal of Formaggio Kitchen and South End Formaggio were there (below), as was Garrett Harker of Eastern Standard, 51 Lincoln's Jeff Fournier and his wife, and Jeremy Sewell of Lineage, who is now running his restaurant and working on Eastern Standard's menu.
On of the hits on the table was Jacques's ballotine. He and his students boned and rolled several chickens and filled them with various things. This has mushrooms.
Caviar was everywhere. Jacques has his own label now, a pressed caviar called payusnaya. It's an inky, salty, and quite delectable caviar he served on toasts with creme fraiche and on little boiled potato slices. He's an illustrator and designed the tin's cap as well.
The highlight of the table was a smoked salmon mousse covered with capers, finely chopped red onion, and chives. Here is Jacques' recipe.
Smoked salmon mousse
Serves 4
1 cup smoked salmon bits, ends, or trimmings
1/2 cup ricotta or farmer cheese
1 teaspoon lemon juice
Salt and pepper, to taste
2 tablespoons finely chopped red onion
2 teaspoons drained capers
1 teaspoon chopped fresh chives
2 teaspoons olive oil
1. In a food processor, combine the smoked salmon, ricotta or farmer cheese, lemon juice, salt, and pepper. Work until smooth. Transfer to a gratin dish or deep platter. Using plastic wrap, press the mousse into the dish to create a smooth layer between 1/2 and 1 inch deep.
2. Scatter the red onion, capers, chives on top. Sprinkle with olive oil. Adapted from "More Fast Food My Way"
L'Espalier does Restaurant Week ... for dinner
L'Espalier has participated in Restaurant Week for lunch before, but this is the first time they've offered dinner. (I'm not even going to blather on about the state of the economy here; you've heard it all before.)
The menu is priced at $40.09, a bit higher than the standard Restaurant Week price of $33.09, but much less than dinner at L'Espalier would usually run. It includes a first course, main course, and dessert. The deal will be offered through March 27, with the exception of Saturday, March 21. It's a bit on the down low, as L'Espalier is officially listed in Restaurant Week materials as offering lunch only.
As for lunch, they're extending the Restaurant Week offer ($20.09 for three courses) an extra week, to March 31.
The dinner menu for Restaurant Week includes ... chicken and salmon. You can also substitute items from the regular menu for an extra cost, which changes from dish to dish but is about $12 for the first course and $18 for the main. Two substitutions, therefore, raise your Restaurant Week price to about $70.
The details of the menu might change from day to day, depending on what's freshest, but the basics are:
First course:
Endive and frisee salad with poached apple and Three Sisters Serena cheese
Vidalia onion soup with sherry flan, toasted almonds, and licorice sugar
Second course:
Seared salmon with golden raisins and saffron couscous
Grilled, air-dried Canadian chicken with pommes puree
Dessert:
Bittersweet chocolate gateau
There will also be sides such as macaroni and cheese ($9) and asparagus ($11).
I don't know about you, but mac and cheese is not what I go to L'Espalier for.
Trina's Starlite Lounge
That's what the former Abbey Lounge will become. In the summer, owners Josh Childs and Trina and Beau Sturm will open a space inspired by the '40s and '50s, serving affordable, Southern-influenced food and cocktails.
The Inman Square lounge comes with an affordable-bar pedigree: Childs is co-owner of Silvertone, and Trina and Beau Sturm are involved with City Bar and Highland Kitchen, respectively.
The A-Roid cocktail
It was, perhaps, inevitable that someone would create an A-Roid cocktail.
That someone is Bonfire. It's offering the drink along with its seasonal Red Sox menu -- Francona's franks, truffled Papel-corn, Guinness "Big Frapi," etc.
What is an A-Roid cocktail, you ask? A shot of El Mejor tequila, straight up, with a "Performance-Enhancing Boost of Spicy Tomato 'Juice'" (smoked tomatoes, tomato juice, lemon juice, Tabasco, and jalapenos). It comes in a syringe without a needle; you can inject it into the shot or use it as a chaser.
Am I the only one who's actually starting to feel a little sorry for A-Rod?
High-end steakhouse, low-end economy
KO Prime is rolling out the deals.
1. All-you-can-eat prime rib on Retro Mondays and Tuesdays (a continuation of the restaurant's Retro Sundays). Starting March 28 (right after Restaurant Week), KO Prime offers all-you-can-eat USDA choice beef, cooked and sliced to order, for just $25. If you don't go crazy on the sides, this is a real bargain.
2. Steak frites for $20: a 5-ounce steak with fries and onion marmalade. Available every night.
3. Half-price bottles of wine on Wednesdays. (What does that say about the markup on other days?)
4. $5 chili at the bar on weekdays. The recipe changes -- it could be chicken chili or boar chili -- but it's a bottomless bowl Mon-Fri from 5-7 p.m.
KO Prime, 90 Tremont St., Boston. 617-772-0202.
Menu preview: Il Casale in Belmont
Chef Dante de Magistris and brothers are planning an early spring opening for their new restaurant, in a renovated firehouse. (They're the folks behind Dante in Cambridge.) Il Casale's menu will feature old Italian family recipes, which makes sense as Belmont is the de Magistris family's stamping grounds. (Pater familias Leon styles hair here.)
The menu begins with a section of small plates, or sfizi. These include salads, salumi, bruschetta, and polpette -- in fact, there will be a whole selection devoted to polpette, or meatballs.
Primi include Barolo-braised wild boar, rigatoni with tomato sugo and house-made ricotta, and a minestra of braised dandelion greens and escarole cooked with pig’s feet and poured over "my family’s very special cornmeal 'pizza,'" Dante de Magistris writes in an e-mail. I'm not totally sure what that is, but I know I want to eat it.
De Magistris says he follows his grandmother's rules for the secondi: 1) use the best and freshest meat and seafood available, 2) season it with care, 3) cook it with respect, and 4) serve it with a simple sauce. That means the likes of wood-grilled seafood (shrimp, red mullet, calamari, and sardines), lamb chops, and veal ossobuco.
Sorry, you'll have to wait till spring. I hear that's coming soon, though.
More affordable sushi
After yesterday's story on good sushi that won't break the bank, many have written in to share their favorite places.
Some names keep cropping up in your recommendations. They are:
Bamboo in Westford
Fuji in Quincy
Gari in Brookline
Kagawa in Quincy
Ma Soba in Boston
Sushi Corner in Melrose
Takara in Canton
Zen in Boston
Have you been to these places? Are they indeed a good value? Further suggestions always welcome.
The Friendly Toast comes to Cambridge
The folks at Chowhound report that a second branch of the Portsmouth, N.H., institution is scheduled to open in April at 1 Kendall Square.
This is great news, because boy could we use more good breakfast places in these parts. Think of it: a rainy Sunday, head to the Friendly Toast for almond joy pancakes; spicy mashed potatoes topped with chorizo and fried eggs, served with toasted homemade bread; the Vegan Valhalla wrap (tortilla stuffed with sesame tofu, portobellos, brown rice, spinach, and tahini dressing) or the Mission Burrito; and maybe a chaser of sweet potato fries with brown sugar, Tabasco, and sour cream. Slurp mojito milkshake, various flavors of cocoa, or an alcoholic beverage. (Seacoast Online reports there will be a full bar.) Then roll out of the restaurant -- decorated with retro dinette sets, mannequins, '50s lamps, tacky wall art, and rubber cow heads -- and into a matinee.
As far as I'm concerned, that's a Sunday that can't happen soon enough.
Here's their menu.
Excelsior is closed
It will reopen as a more casual restaurant in the fall, according to a statement on the restaurant's website.
"Several dining options will be offered; from casual supper and drink at the bar to a full dinner menu on both the first and second floors," the statement says.
Alison Arnett gave the restaurant 3 stars in her 2003 review.
It was clear from the many deals they'd instituted of late that they were struggling. I recently spoke with Paul Dias, senior vice president of operations for American Food Management, which operates Excelsior, Harvest, and Grill 23. He didn't indicate a closing was imminent, but he did say "the recession is having a pretty significant impact. It's a little different across the three restaurants."
Harvest held up best, he said, due to strong neighborhood support. Excelsior and Grill 23, more dependent on business customers, weren't faring as well.
"The Boston restaurants, which carry a little higher check averages, feel the effect more. Particularly December saw a slowdown in private dining events."
What does this mean for Grill 23? For high-end dining in Boston in general? The joy of cities is in part their diversity, on every level. I hope we continue to see the increased culinary adventurousness of recent years.
See a bit more on this subject in my upcoming review of Bina Osteria, which should be up on Boston.com later today.
P.S. They say Grill 23 is doing fine.
That's money
BOND just opened in the Federal Reserve Bank at the Langham. They like to spell its name in all capital letters, and I am humoring them (for now). According to a press release, "BOND's mission is to resurrect glamorous cocktailing from years past." As you can see, the design is opulent, reflecting banks of the past rather than the present. Big Money dominates the room, literally -- look at the artwork on the walls. It's giant, blown-up representations of bills.
The place might be fun for an evening of escapism. What troubled economy? It doesn't feel like it particularly has its finger on the pulse of the now, but maybe people could use a little of that. What do you think? Outmoded, or a welcome avoidance of reality?
In light of Locke-Ober's closing for lunch, today Globe staffer Andrew Ryan wrote this musing on whether the power lunch is dead. It's a nice read. It also mentions Bond (and does not humor their love of all caps).
"The target audience is business people in search of a quick, upscale lunch -- hand-cut, crisp fried fingerling russet potato chips; dim sum, and Asian lobster rolls," Ryan writes.
Sounds about right.
Seems they're also going for the nightlife crowd: At night "guests will bask in the different levels of lighting reflecting off the expansive chandeliers and mirrors, while listening to music ranging from cutting edge electro-lounge to smooth eclectic beats. DJ Mario will offer live music-styling Thursday through Saturday evenings from 10 p.m. to 2 a.m."
I don't know whether the three-martini lunch is dead, but the three-saketini night out is alive and well.
Stars align for Rialto
How many four-star restaurants are there in Cambridge? One, according to the 2009 Mobil Travel Guide: Rialto. The guide's new ratings came out today.
What does four stars mean? According to the guide, these are "exceptional restaurants featuring food that's creative and complex, and emphasizes seasonality and culinary technique. A highly-trained dining room staff provides refined personal service and attention. Mobil Four-Star restaurants that provide this style of refined dining include Michel Richard Citronelle in Washington DC, Daniel in New York, as well as several of the Ritz-Carlton and Four Seasons dining rooms."
According to the guide's online search engine, the four-star restaurants in Boston are Aujourd'hui, Clio, L'Espalier, Meritage, and No. 9 Park. I'm not sure if this reflects the new ratings, as it still lists Craigie Street Bistrot instead of Craigie on Main. (It gets a mere two stars, less than Salts, Harvest, and Oleana at three, and tied with Elephant Walk and Baraka Cafe -- discuss.)
Neither Boston nor Cambridge has a single five-star restaurant -- nothing, that is to say, in the company of the French Laundry, Jean-Georges, and Charlie Trotter's.
Could Sensing be a contender next year?
Restaurant deals for the recession
Many restaurants are offering dining deals to combat the bad economy. (See story here.) This is an incomplete list, which we'll be updating as new deals come in. Please call before you go, as deals are subject to change.
28 Degrees, $1 Island Creek oysters nightly, 5-7 p.m.
33 Restaurant & Lounge, three courses for $33 daily. There's also a $10 coupon available online.
51 Lincoln, $33 for three courses Tues-Thurs.
All Seasons Table, buy one appetizer and get one free, Mondays-Wed 5-7 p.m.
Aquitaine, $9.95 prix fixe brunch all day Saturdays and 10-11 a.m. Sundays.
Ashmont Grill, Monday Night Wine Club, four courses for $30, 6:30 p.m.
Aujourd'hui, $55 for three-course Sunday supper.
Aura, order an entree from the "specialties" section and get your choice of a soup or salad at no additional cost.
B&G Oysters, oyster small plates (Sunday evenings) and lobster small plates (Monday evenings) January-March. $3-$12 for oyster dishes, $6-$12 for lobster dishes.
banQ offers the "banQ bailout" -- three courses for $29 -- Sun-Thurs 5:30-6:30 p.m. throughout the winter.
Beacon Hill Bistro, fondue with accompaniments $26 per pot on Sunday nights.
Bella Luna, $5 appetizers every night.
Black Trumpet (Portsmouth, N.H., but a good deal nonetheless), three courses (soup, snazzy sandwich, and dessert) for $19 Sun-Thurs.
Catch, three course Sunday supper $38.
Clio, $49 for three courses on weeknights.
Craigie on Main, Neighborhood Menu, three courses for $38 Tuesday-Friday, Sun, and after 9 p.m. Sat; Chef's Whim, $39.99 for four courses or $54.99 for six courses Sundays after 9 p.m.
Da Vinci, $29 for three courses Mon-Tues.
Estragon, $1 tapas Mon-Thurs, 5:30 p.m. "till they're gone."
EVOO, three courses for $35 daily ($50 paired with wine), choice of 6 starters, 6 mains, 6 desserts.
Fleming's Steakhouse & Wine Bar: three-course pre-theater menu. $39.95. 4-6 p.m.
Gargoyles on the Square, Tokyo Tuesdays, bento boxes $15 and sake flights $10 at the bar.
Grafton Street, nothing over $12 on bar menu.
Great Bay, three courses for $35 Mon-Sat. Sand Dollar Menu offers $1, $5, and $10 appetizers on weeknights.
Hamersley's Bistro, $40 for three courses daily.
KO Prime, Retro Sundays, includes all-you-can-eat prime rib roast for $24.95.
La Verdad, $1 Taco Tuesdays.
Legal Sea Foods, six oysters for $6 Mon-Thurs 3-6 p.m. at the Kendall, Charles Square, Copley, Long Wharf, Framingham, and Warwick locations.
L'Espalier, $24 for three courses at lunch daily; Wine Mondays, four courses with wine, $60; Cheese Tuesdays, four cheesy courses with wine, $68.
Lineage, $1 oysters daily at the bar, 5-7 p.m.
Locke Ober, $25 lunch Mon-Fri 11:30 a.m.-2:30 p.m. Note: Restaurant not serving lunch in January.
Masa, 50 cent tapas Mon-Fri 5-7 p.m. Brunch $7.95 all day on Saturdays and 10:30-11:30 a.m. on Sundays, includes coffee or tea and a basket of cornbread. $5 pitchers of sangria every night in the bar.
Metropolis, nothing over $20 on the menu.
The Metropolitan Club, Monday Night Burger Night, choice among three burgers, $4.99 each.
Milky Way, $7 all-you-can-eat pizza buffet on Monday nights.
Myers + Chang, Cheap Date Night, $40 per couple for a variety of menu options, Sun-Tues.
Navy Yard Bistro, $12 for meatloaf with mashed potatoes, green beans, and red wine mushroom gravy or shrimp scampi Sun-Mon nights.
Olives, $35 for three courses Sun-Thurs.
Persephone, $40 for three courses at Tuesday Night Supper Club. Add $20 for wine pairings. Seatings at 6 and 8:30 p.m.
Pigalle, $40 for three courses Tues-Sun.
Prezza, Snow Emergency Deal: Any time it snows in the city, buy a glass of Barolo ($15) and get a complimentary half-order of handmade potato gnocchi Bolognese.
Radius, three courses for $45 Mon-Fri.
Red Rock Bistro, $1 bar snacks on Mondays.
Red Sky, daily half-price appetizers 4-6 p.m., soup, salad, and sandwich for $6.
Regatta of Cotuit, Wine & Food Flight Menu, Wednesday nights, four courses and three wines $45.
Rendezvous in Central Square, $38 for three courses on Sundays.
Restaurant dante, "Menu da Favola," three courses for $35 daily, through Feb. 29. (Dinner only, excluding holidays.)
Rialto, $1 oyster Mondays, $20 Sunday roasts.
Rocca, three-course Sunday Supper for $22.
Sage, $35 for three courses Tues-Fri 5-7 p.m., $22 for three-course Sunday Supper.
Sandrine's Bistro, three courses for $35 nightly, $25 daily Alsatian special throughout the winter, $2 amuse bouche of moules marinieres throughout the winter.
Sel de la Terre, Sunday dinners $45 for four courses (Boylston St.); Wine Tuesdays, $45 for four courses and wine (Natick); Cheese and Wine Wednesdays, three courses with cheese and wine $38 (Natick); Wine Wednesdays, $48 for four courses and wine (Long Wharf); Thursday Chef's Table, four courses for $38 (Natick).
Sibling Rivalry, Monday Night Fight Night, chefs battle to make two different three-course menus, $35 each.
Small Plates, Happy Tappy Hour features a selection of tapas, wine, and wine cocktails for $5. Sun-Mon 5-6 p.m., Tues-Thurs 4-6 p.m.
Summer Winter, $35 for three-course Friday Date Night menu.
Tapeo, $5 tapas at the bar; Mon-Fri happy hour 5-7 p.m., Sat-Sun 12-7 p.m.
Tasca, appetite stimulus package, three courses for $15 Mon-Wed, plus three pinot noirs for $6.50, through January.
Tastings Wine Bar & Bistro, Tuesday Tastings, $10 for four tastes of wine paired with four snacks; Wednesday Food & Wine Flight Night, four courses with wine pairings $35.
Temple Bar, nothing over $12 on bar menu.
Townsend's, Economic Relief Fund Program Mon-Fri 5-7 p.m. (last order 6:45). $15 per person; choose an appetizer and an entree. Add a bottle of the red or white wine selection of the week for $15 per bottle.
Tremont 647, $2 Taco Tuesdays, three-course vegan dinners for $22.50 on Sunday nights.
T.W. Food, $39 for three courses Sun-Mon and Wed-Thurs.
Uni, Maki Mondays, all-you-can eat maki for $32.
Union Bar and Grille, free bar bites weekdays 5:30-7 p.m. $9.95 prix fixe brunch all day Saturdays and 10-11 a.m. Sundays.
