bostongallovesfood's Profile
Lunch at Felidia or JoJo or other? Suggestions welcome.
We had a great time; since I've never gone there before, I have nothing to compare it to in terms of it's past menus and service. For the first, I got the Cacio e Pere, my fiance got the tagliatelle (which has a veal, beef and pork ragu; he's a sucker for ragus) and his mother got the whole-wheat orecchiette with fagiolini and pesto. My ravoili were light and luscious pillows of love; just a hint of sweetness from the pear, the saltiness of the pecorino, the silky sauce, the bite of the pepper and the perfectly executed pasta. The tagliatelle was cooked perfectly and there was a nice balance of meat and sauce and pasta in that dish. I got a bite of the pesto and found the sauce to be nice and light. We also had to try the burratta at ttoommyy's suggestion and it was outstanding; silky and fresh cheese, the farm-fresh egg was poached perfectly and when we broke the yolk it oozed out in perfection, well-cooked asparagus and crispy bacon.
For my main, I had the grigliata di pesce. I found all the fish to be fresh and nicely grilled; very simple and fresh. The scallops had a perfect sear and were not dry at all, as well as all the fish. My fiance got the bacon-wrapped quail (Quaglie Saltimbocca) and it was divine, while his mother got the tuna which had a great balance of flavors. We chose the Limoncello Tiramisu, the blueberry frangipane tart (Crostata di mirtilli) and the gelati (pistachio and vanilla; I'm a sucker for pistachio). The tart was the most interesting because it came with a chamomile ice cream, which is something I would not usually opt for (and I didn't because his mother ordered it ;-) but the combination worked extremely well.
Extensive wine list, with a knowledgeable sommelier, who made great suggestions, even for wines by the glass in a variety of price ranges; I also am a sucker for brandied cherries so I had to start with a Manhattan. And I love Grappa so it was great to see the variety there as well.
Service was spot on; you are well-taken care of, but I found it very comfortable and able to joke around with the wait-staff and our waitress was very charming and knowledgeable; if there was something she was unsure of, she checked with someone and got right back to us. The busboy smiled when he asked if we were done with the burrata, to which we said know as we used our bread as scarpetta.
We outlasted quite a few people in the dining room, especially for a lunch crowd; reminded me of being in Italy, where you can take your time and the staff understands that. This worked out well for us as it was located exactly where we needed to be, and we were extremely happy and satisfied.
Lunch at Felidia or JoJo or other? Suggestions welcome.
Awesome! Thanks for the suggestion! And some of the items you mentioned are also on the lunch menu, so that's great to know. To me, good food is good food. Didn't really know my options in that area as I'm usually a West side/downtown person, not entirely sure how adventurous my future mother-in-law will be and we have to be close by. Will let you guys know how it goes!
Lunch at Felidia or JoJo or other? Suggestions welcome.
Heading down to Manhattan on Wednesday. Will be going to St. Peter's Church (it's on Lexington at 54th) for a memorial. Trying to figure out our best options for lunch. Bringing my future mother-in-law who has not really experienced a lot of NYC cuisine and would be nice to take her some place where we can get a nice prix fixe lunch with some creativity or just solid flavors. Been to Perry Street and enjoyed it a lot, but can't seem to find more recent opinions on JoJo. Need some place affordable ($30-$35 prix fixe is ideal) and probably along the lines of Italian, French, American and maybe some fusion. Also probably need to be walking distance (about 2/3 of a mile or so is ideal; 10 blocks). Picked Felidia and JoJo mainly for distance. Thanks in advance for your thoughts!
Aquitane still good?
I went there in November last time and had a pretty solid time; good service, good food. I also love going to Petit Robert Bistro that is located on Columbus Ave (they also have one in Kenmore Square, but never been). It has really reasonable prices, some unusual items on the menu, creative cocktails and reasonably-priced wines.
http://www.petitrobertbistro.com/
I frequent the SE quite often and my favs are Stella, Union, Franklin, Aquitaine and Petit Robert. I also like getting the 1/2 antipasti plate at the Butcher Block along with a nice glass of wine. Brasserie Jo I find seems to attract a lot of tourists because of its proximity to the Pru.
HELP! Dessert/Coffee Back Bay/Newbury area suggestions needed for Wed 11/25
So I'm meeting my boyfriend's mother for the first time tomorrow and would like to find an early afternoon dessert place; they would have just had lunch and will probably be close to Hynes Convention Center/Prudential Center.
Trying to avoid the Cheesecake factory; looking for somewhere we can sit down and that's somewhat nice (avoiding the metal chair thing; cushy chairs and booths are a plus :-). Good desserts are helpful. Perhaps areas in lobbies in hotels and what not. So I guess atmosphere is more important, and of course excellent desserts/coffee would be a huge plus.
So places on Boylston, Newbury, or Huntington are great; they would have probably parked near Symphony Hall so we can wander down there as well.
buying sushi grade tuna - Plymouth area?
Hi Everyone
I'm going to be in Plymouth this weekend and am looking for a place where I can buy sushi grade tuna; I'm going to be making a carpaccio, so it really should be a high quality place. I'm not familiar with the fish markets in the area. Surrounding towns are fine like Duxbury, Kingston, Hanover, Marshfield, etc. I also need to get oysters (serve raw) and scallops; I'd imagine that since I am in that area that there should at least be a place.
I live in Boston and am used to going to New Deal Fish Market, so that gives you an idea of what I'm looking for. The only thread I found on this topic talked about places North and in Boston.
Thanks!
Hazelnut oil substitute needed
I'm making a butternut squash soup and it calls for Hazelnut oil in the cream topping that I will put on top of it; the recipe also has pecans. The only place I can get it has it going for $20 a bottle and I don't want to spend it on something so small. I've heard about using walnut or almond oil, but am unsure which would be closer to taste. Suggestions? Thanks!
Upscale Dining in Back Bay?
I agree with Abe & Louie's as more mainstream, along with Grill 23 and Oak Room for steak places. Also maybe the Capital Grille. You can also add Atlantic Fish, Turner Fisheries to the list if you want to explore nice dining for seafood places that also offer other stuff on the menu, and not too adventurous. If you want to splurge, go for No. 9 Park. Excelsior is pretty good too. Below are the links to the websites. Most are bookable through opentable.com. Also mention it is your anniversary in your reservation (some restaurants are nice enough to take that into account).
Here are their websites:
http://www.grill23.com/#Main1
http://www.excelsiorrestaurant.com/home/
http://www.no9park.com/
http://www.atlanticfishco.com/
http://www.turnersboston.com/
http://theoakroom.com/
http://www.thecapitalgrille.com/about/main.asp
Chinatown Question
Penang has beer. Not sure if you are looking for amazing beer, but I know they have beer, wine and some cocktails. They are on Washington Street. http://www.penangusa.com/location_boston.html
It is more Malaysian/South-east Asian, but may have some Chinese aspects to it.
Best place to buy shellfish in boston
Believe it or not, the Shaw's at the Prudential Center actually has a great seafood department (www.shaws.com). The store is open at 6 am (they usually get the shellfish out by about 7 am, but there is usually the fish guy there who will get you whatever you want); they have a live lobster tank as well. This is a block from Copley Square (2-5 minute walk). I do love Captain Marden's and that is a great place to go; they are open on Sunday mornings so you could make a detour to them and catch 128 to the game. Also New Deal Fish Market (http://newdealfishmarket.com/) in Cambridge (I love them); they aren't open on Sundays, but Saturdays I believe they are open if you have a place to store your fish. There's a Whole Foods near Symphony Hall with a decent seafood department (opens at 8 am) which would be about a 10-15 minute walk; there is a bus from Copley Square (39) that you can take to the corner of Huntington and Mass Ave and if you have a car, they validate parking for up to an hour and $5 purchase; and a much bigger one on Western Ave in Cambridge (not sure of their hours, but you can look it up at wholefoods.com; I've never been to that one).
Tasting Menu Dinner
No. 9 Park is supposed to be amazing. I went to Excelsior last February and had an amazing experience there; it was during a week night so not sure how the weekends are. I had their tasting menu w/wine pairings and was so happy. http://www.excelsiorrestaurant.com/home/
Where to eat near Symphony Hall
Betty's Wok and Noodle is sort of fun (http://bettyswokandnoodle.com/); you can pick your own sauce, noodle or rice and your own vegetables and extremely close to Symphony Hall (across the street). PF Chang's as others who have mentioned is pretty safe for Chinese at the Pru as is Cheesecake for "normal" chow. Much further up on Boylston is the Pour House and that is very basic bar food (a good 10-15 minute walk from Symphony). If you are into Mexican Qdoba (www.qdoba.com) is a little further Huntington (I've never been). Uno's as someone else has mentioned (near the YMCA).
Tip on parking: If you get in before 6 pm, say around 5 or 5:30 pm, try to find a meter. There are a bunch of meters on St. Botolph Street (paralell to Huntington), some on Westland Ave, Mass Ave, etc; the meters on Botolph and Westland expire at 6 pm, so you would just need at the most $1 of quarters; I think the ones on Mass Ave expire at 8 pm, so you could feed it when you first get there, and then before the Symphony; that's still only about $3 in quarters. Also look out for 2-hour parking spots that expire at 6 pm and you are home free.
Redd or Martini House? Or other places for December?
Thanks! It does seem that there is quite a lot of good feed back on Redd, so perhaps we might check that out. And since I come back to the Bay Area often enough to visit family, I will have to give Ad Hoc and Ubuntu a chance as well!
Redd or Martini House? Or other places for December?
Hard to go wrong with lobster in Boston :-) And seasonal beer...
Redd or Martini House? Or other places for December?
I've been scurrying over various posts to try to decide where to go for my trip out to the Bay Area in December. Plan on going wine tasting mainly in St. Helena; but we will be staying in Napa at the Marriott (near Hwy 29 and Union) because it is cheap! We would rather spend the money on wine (will be bringing it home; brought back 24 bottles last time! Massachusetts has extremely limited shipping from wineries) and a good meal.
So after a day of tasting, we would like to go some place decent to eat; I've been leaning towards Redd or Martini House; they seem to get mixed reviews; other suggestions are welcomed. I think I might be more partial to Redd because of their menu and pricing; but is it as noisy as some posts make it out to be? Anyway, I'll be dining on a Monday night (Dec 29, 2008) so all suggestions are welcomed! Thanks!
