MenuPorn's Profile
Lunch Near Wrentham outlets?
Go to 3. They have good cocktails, a nice menu and are not a chain. They do a nice brunch if you're going on a weekend.
http://216.25.73.135/three/
Need quick help--client friendly restaurant with $15 entrees
Thanks! That is absolutely fine--the $15 is the guideline I have to work with so we get the right level of restaurant.
Need quick help--client friendly restaurant with $15 entrees
Hi Hounds,
I have a client in town on Monday and an entree budget of about $15 a person. Her fiance and my boss will also be joining us. Any thoughts on good food and atmosphere at that price? She likes the North End but would be up for anything in Boston or Cambridge.
I'm on the hook to make the reservation this afternoon.
Thanks in advance!
Weston Bummer
I went to school in Weston. It's a buzzkill...dry and nothing new gets through lest it disrupt all that high end living. I'm not surprised that a restaurant wasn't approved.
The best and worst of Brookline?
I have to disagree about Village Smokehouse. I'm from Texas, and a real barbecue snob, and have found this to be as close to authentic as you can get up this way.
Fans of Prince Pizza in Saugus UNITE !!!
I'm not from around here and don't get the devotion to Prince Pizza. But I'm originally from Texas, where Pizza Hut is the standard, so have no pizza palate to speak of.
Prince isn't great and it isn't terrible. But there seems to be a nostalgia about it that never goes away, which I think is a very nice thing.
Favorite dish in Boston area - under $15
Calamari Fritti at Antico Forno...crispy and delicios and whatever they drizzle it with is super tasty
Best Restaurant Missed by Heavy Posters
I always like Assagio in the North End. Prices are good and so is the food. But I've never seen it mentioned here.
Best Pot Pie in Boston?
Actually I hate to say it, but Joe's American Bar & Grill has an AWESOME pot pie
Flying in the face of "Chow Wisdom"
My confessions...I hate Tremont 647 despite the raves, and I LOVE RW!
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Tremont 647
647 Tremont Street, Boston, MA 02118
Tremont Cafe
418 Tremont St, Boston, MA 02116
Damiano, LTK, KO Prime, Bristol Lounge and Prezza
The past 4 days have been a dining whirlwind!!! THANK YOU Hounds for great recommendations of places to take my parents. Below are our experiences.
Damiano:
AMAZING.
Got last-minute reservations here for 7 people on Wednesday night. We were seated promptly and started off with a tomato beet soup, which was great if you like beets (i don't).
We put ourself in our waiter's hands, and he walked us through how to order (1 app per person, 1 pasta/risotto for 2 people, 1 entree per person) which was really helpful. We told him to decide our meal for us and he asked about allergies and preferences and went to town. From there it was a parade of deliciousness from start to finish.
Standouts were the wine (Slingshot Cabernet), calamari, butternut squash ravioli, pan-fried Chilean sea bass and the Black Garlic filet mignon.
Service was consistent and excellent--constant refills of water and wine, plates were served and cleared inconspicuously. I would go back in a heartbeat.
It was about $75/person including wine but well worth it.
LTK:
The parents stayed at the Renaissance and wanted to try it, so we went on Thursday night. I have a shellfish allergy and they were very accommodating (pan fried some chicken to go with my salad) and concerned about the allergy, there really wasn't anything I could eat on the menu because both the grill and the fryer are used for everything and not cleaned between. So while it was nice that they accommodated me with a special order, I was disappointed it wasn't more allergy friendly. I would have liked some fish and it's a pretty common allergy.
Also they serve wine in 2, 4 or 6 ounce portions which I found odd. My mom got a DELICIOUS Riesling to go with her fish and chips, and my dad had a fish special that was a whole fish grilled with sauce. He said it was tender, flaky and moist but the sauce was too sweet.
But the service was great so I can recommend this for the area, which doesn't have a ton of dining options.
KO Prime:
Definitely a fan of this place. Have been reading about it on Chowhound for awhile and decided to take my parents when they were in town on Friday night.
I will say that it lived up to the raves. What a great space, and it was an excellent experience.
First course: my dad got a Caesar salad. It was fine.
I got sweetbreads and they were awful. I've had them before and expected them to be crispy and juicy. These were mushy and slimy and I gagged a little bit. Revolting.
Entree:
I got the hangar steak with orange marmalade, done medium. It was EXCELLENT. Very tender and flavorful. I got the creamed spinach but for some reason flavor wise it tasted just like the sweetbreads so that put me off.
Dad and hubby shared the porterhouse for two. They said it was delicious and cooked perfectly, and was more than enough for two people. Dad got asparagus which was fine, and hubby got the potato gratin which I loved and he hated. My mom got the steak frites which was a 5oz portion of the same hangar steak that I had, and she loved it.
We also had a nice wine. All in all, dinner was about $100/person, but we felt we got the bang for the buck.
The real standout here was the service. Quiet, friendly and efficient.
Will definitely be back for a special occasion.
Bristol Lounge Dessert Buffet:
Hard to go wrong at the Bristol Lounge. We went Friday night at 10:30.
The buffet itself is fun--it looks great and it's fun to try different things, plus they have a station where they can make dessert to order. Oddly, the bread pudding was a standout .
The buffet is a nice late night option and the lounge itself is super cozy and a great place to people watch.
However, the service was abysmal for such a swanky place. Our waiter barely paid any attention to us once he learned we wanted to buffet. My champagne and my mother's Irish coffee took 10 minutes to arrive. My dad never got a refill on his coffee. Once we had our drinks we never heard from him again. Also he corrected my pronunciation on my champagne which was obnoxious. Just not warm or friendly--more cold, condescending and annoyed. So that rained on our enjoyment.
Also, total side note--there was a woman walking around in a see through lace bustier with a denim jacket, spandex hot pants that barely covered her asscheeks, and sneakers. I was suprised she wasn't asked to leave.
We'll be back, and just hope for better service next time. It was truly atrocious for the price point.
Prezza:
We went Saturday night. It was my third time going, and I've always found the food and service excellent.
Last night was an exception. The food was still great--I had the Bibb lettuce salad with paper thin apple slices and bleu cheese--and the Gnocchi Bolognese. Both were fantastic.
However, the service was spotty. It was 8pm on a Saturday night so of course it would be busy. We were seated next to 2 big "girls' night out" tables and the noise was deafening. Our waitress was clearly focused on those tables and not on the tables of 2 or 4. Had to ask for water and then had to flag the waitress down again (not easy) because a water glass was missing. She didin't come back to take our order for a really long time during which we drank all our water--no refills. However, she noticed quickly when we were out of alcohol.
Anyway, it was disappointing, but the food was great. I'm a little disillusioned but will probably go back.
And that is the summary of the week! Thank you again for all the recommendations.
DaVinci or Ivy?
How is the food at DaVinci? It gets good Yelp reviews.
I like Ivy and was planning to go there tonight, but we were just at Damiano on Wednesday so think that's too much of the Italian small plates.
Curious as to whether DaVinci is really good or just eh.
Thanks!
Masa --my favorite new spot for brunch
ha ha MenuPorn didn't catch that, but is very amused by your question.
My DC had the bloody mary and said it was nice and spicy.
Masa --my favorite new spot for brunch
I have been to brunch at the Woburn location and it was fantastic. We went early one Saturday morning and found the $8 2 course and coffee value to be excellent. I had the eggs benedict which was good, nice spicy twist on the original, and the granola, which was...granola. Also had the latin Bellini which was great.
I'll definitely go back. The only downside was that there were lots of families with small kids so it was a little bit of a zoo. I wouldn't walk in there thinking it was a family restaurant given the menu, decor and vibe, but I guess that's what you get on Saturday morning in the burbs.
Cure my North End Boredom
We went to Damiano and it was amazing. Separate review coming shortly!!! Thank you for the recommendations!
Biscuits and gravy for breakfast
I wish Chowhound had a "like" button. This is dead on. I'm from Texas and 2 things I never order in New England are Mexican food and biscuits and gravy. After growing up my friends' mothers' Mexican cooking, and my own MeMaw's biscuits and gravy, everything up here is disappointing. Similarly, I don't order clam chowder in Texas. People just don't "get" it without spending some time in the region.
Best Sandwiches in Boston
The Schlesinger at the Parish Cafe...come on, it's made with banana bread...heaven. I just went looking for it and it's only on as a summer special :(
Cure my North End Boredom
Yes...my dad humps the North End. I try to get him into other neighborhoods but he is pretty steadfast :)
Cure my North End Boredom
I knew you guys would have some great suggestions! The parents are here for 4 days and we're doing Damiano, Marco, Ivy and Prezza. Great stuff and I'll let you know how it all shakes out!!
Any citywide faves for a casual weekend lunch with nice atmosphere? No restrictions this time. I just don't want to stop somewhere mediocre just because we're really hungry, which is what usually happens.
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Prezza Restaurant
24 Fleet St Ste 1, Boston, MA 02113
Cure my North End Boredom
Thanks! I agree that it's fabulous and different but the parents have been there a bunch of times already. That's part of my problem...we've hit up the great places a lot of times each.
Cure my North End Boredom
There are so many great restaurants in the North End. The problem is, I feel like we've been to all the good ones. My parents are coming into town and my dad loves the NE...he hugs the people at Modern.
Anyway, I want to take them somewhere amazing but new, but I feel like we've tried all of the best restaurants in the North End; probably 80% of the whole list at this point. We have reservations at Prezza but I'm torn on where else to go. Lucca? Carmen? Tresca? Massimino's? I would go back to Terramia but last time we ate there it was $700 for 4 people.
We need to avoid a seafood-focused venue due to a shellfish allergy, but that's the only restriction. Would love any advice!
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North End Cafe
124 Broadway Ste B, Saugus, MA 01906
Lucca Restaurant
226 Hanover St., Boston, MA 02113
Massimino's
207 Endicott St, Boston, MA
Terramia
98 Salem St., North End, Boston, MA 02113
Tresca
233 Hanover St., Boston, MA 02113
Prezza Restaurant
24 Fleet St Ste 1, Boston, MA 02113
Lunch Spot in Downtowm Boston
I took a client to Sonsie recently--they do a nice but casual lunch.
Looking for venue near Reading, MA
Agree...Focaccia is terrible. Cafe Escadrille has pretty good function food (substandard to its regular food) but it could be a budget buster.
Rocca 5 @ 5
Thanks guys! We chose to skip it based on these reviews of the service. Did the happy hour menu at Masa and both food and service were great.
Rocca 5 @ 5
Came across this link talking about Rocca's 5 @ 5 deal: http://www.calamityshazaaminthekitchen.com/2009/07/rocca-55.html
It's from the summer. I called the restaurant to see if this is still going on and the hostess said she thinks so. I asked where to find more info (menu etc) since it's not on their website and she put me on hold and never came back.
Does anyone know if this is still going on, and how the $5 food is?
60th Birthday Help - Group of 11
I will second the L'Andana recommendation--I've never been with a large group but the food is phenomenal and it's a good "special occasion" place
60th Birthday Help - Group of 11
I actually think it's a narrow request--you're not going to find a ton of nicer restaurants that can accommodate that many people in the given area. If you broaden your search to Boston you will have many, many more options.
What's your desired price point?
Mooo...Worth It?
The menu at Mooo keeps pulling me back in. I'm dying to try it, but it's pricey. Is the soup to nuts experience worth the Mooo-la?
