cabriac's Profile
The Salty Pig?
I went with a group of three not too long ago and was not impressed at all. We ordered a fair amount, mortadellini (ok but not great), fried pig tails,(good but devoid of meaty, savory flavor), house pate (dry, dull, not good); all served with stale crostini. Had mixed greens which arrived without croutons and cheese but dressed nicely - this was best thing we had. Meatballs which were oddly sweet and a bit tough and two pizzas. I can't remember either but we did get the egg addition which was shockingly poor in execution. Instead of being baked on it was fried separately and just tossed on, I love egg on pizza but this was annoying. Service was choppy, decent beer and wine list. Biggest dissapoinment was the pizza. More New York style than neopolitian, suffered from a too thin center and overly doughy crust. We asked for pizzas to be well done, were assured all pizzas are crispy but these were stretched too thin to be cooked properly. Won't be back which is too bad. This could be a fantastic place but suffers from poor execution.
Boston Licensing Board - Whoops!
I believe they are free to purchase any alcohol distributed in the state for cooking purposes; it's only violation of their license if they sell said alcohol for consumption - by creating cordials they are free to serve them. I wish more people in Boston had this type of entrepreneurship.
Looking for a Lolita update.
I tried Lolita twice and have to say was very underwhelmed both times. I did not have a problem with the lack of authenticity; but rather a lack of execution. Some of the dishes I tried could have been good but suffered from either a lack of salt or were served tepid. The drinks were ok, a great and expansive tequila list but a less than educated staff. The place was busy which leads me to believe the owners are happy and won't address some serious food and service issues. I last ate there about a month ago and can honestly remember nothing of what I ate. My overall impression? This is a bad restaurant.
Chefs using other chefs' recipes [moved from Boston board]
Done,
If you dine at Hamersley's often you will notice Gordon often puts items such as "Wolfgang's mushroom soup" as both an homage to his mentor and to give credit where credit is due. As far as nixing a recipe from another chef, not changing or not giving credit? This is always frowned upon. We certainly take inspiration from other chefs and like anyone else often times ideas that seem our own are the brainchild of another; but to pass off recipes and techniques from others as your own... well that's never acceptable.
Marco Pierre white had this to say on the subject - about 1:30 into video
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=59wk8G9QVaE&feature=related
Recommend Some Loud, Interesting Kitchens
I'm going to say Post 390. This is a big, busy kitchen with a large staff. I assume they have staff in the restaurant from 6 or 7 in the morning until well after midnight. I think a restaurant like this vs some of the smaller options would give you the most flexibility while filming and broadest range of activities to film. From early morning receiving to late night clean - up. While a smaller kitchen will be more romantic the "smallness" of them might actually make it impossible to set up and film. While I never recommend Mistral for anything, in this instance it might make a good choice.
January 2010 Openings and Closings
He closes every year at this time for a few weeks. I don't know if it's for maintenance or renovations but he always closes in early Jan for a bit. Considering Boston is a ghost town that time of year seems like good business.
Winter 2009-2010 Openings and Closings
It's not a big space at all and I would much rather have a local burger joint (i.e. shake shack type deal) in that location filling a niche than Friendly's take on it.
Winter 2009-2010 Openings and Closings
the qdoba space on harvard. Just what coolidge corner needs - another chain.
Fall 2009 Openings and Closings
Actually just one of the original investors. The team that is behind Mistral, Teatro, etc. are not involved with this project although the chef was a long time sous chef at Mistral.
Birthday Dinner in the South End
28 degrees has a drag show night every Sunday - no waitresses in drag. It, like just about all the restaurants in the south end, is very gay friendly with a very mixed crowd; Sundays are no different.
Sage is an other option to consider. The Sunday night dinner is a great, smart alternative to the usual.
Mistral.
Amen. I have always found the menu to be best categorized as "hotelish". Meaning very safe and about ten years behind the times. When I compare what I would pay at Mistral to, say, troquet there is very little doubt that the better value is with the latter. It seems Mistral makes no attempt to better itself. No showcasing of local ingreadiants, no breath of fresh air on the menu and no attempt to really showcase all that is in season - risotto and dried cherries in the summer? While I don't feel the need to be challenged with every bite; I do like to feel I am paying top dollar for thoughtful, local food at it's prime. I have never felt that at Mistral. I have heard the same complaints about Hamersley's Bistro over the years but atleast there you are paying for great produce, etc. I haven't chosen to eat at Mistral in years and don't plan on doing so anytime soon. Out of his mini empire I honestly prefere Teatro to all others. The food is not much differant and quality is every bit the same while the price is much lower.
Mistral.
I have always found Mistral to be painfully over priced. While the food is good (at best) I am always amazed at the following it retains. One of life's great mysteries I suppose.
Best working chef in boston.
I am going to take issue with this; as someone who has worked in the restaurant industry in San Francisco, New York and now Boston I can say that without a doubt Boston is known for being extremely friendly to female chefs. When you compare our top tier chefs to other cities, New York and San Fran as you mentioned, we are much more diverse. Look at the number of French, male chefs in New York. And as far as San Fran goes you'd be lucky to name 5 female chefs to put on the list. Boston is WAY ahead of the country in regards to female chefs.
