Boston Restaurant Recommendations

[Julietly]

I'm off to Boston for a dinner to introduce my boyfriend to some old friends- Any ideas? I'm thinking about Radius or Lumiere, yes/no/ which one? Thanks!

[WHS]

Radius is fab, but if you want to rip into some lobsters, go to Summer Shack!

[cigalechanta]

A wonderful, fairly new small resto on Boyslston Street across from the Boston Common, is the best new restaurant. "Troquet

[kitwilliams]

I've heard lots of good things about Perdix -- Tim Partridge is the friend of a friend. They've just reopened on Tremont Street.

Perdix review

[WHS]

Has anybody been to Lydia Shire's new place: Excelsior?

[Julietly]

hey- thanks for all the tips, unfortunately due to relationship trouble my plans are null and void.. friends are taking my reservation at Radius and I'll probably stay home feelingl sorry for myself and practicing the fine art of drinking (too much) wine alone- Re. Perdix and Troquet I've not been to either but hear they're both great... Is Jasper's Summer Shack really worth going to? I just assumed it would be touristy and overpriced... I love his food but for some reason haven't given this latest venture a chance.

[Geepsie]

Troquet is excellent. The wine list is extensive, full of unique and hard-to-find bottles with excellent pricing (comparing with similar restaurants). The chef worked at Veritas in NYC before Troquet. The food is excellent. I've been there numerous times with never an off dish. It's probably THE wine friendliest restaurant in town, with dishes and wines matched with forethought. The owner is knowledgeable, honest and accessible. He offers a great cheese course, cheeses sourced from

Formaggio's, and serves them at their ripe best.

My husband and I coincidently were at Excelsior Friday night. He had the foie gras "steak" appetizer. $25, small piece of liver, not particularly creative, just okay per his experienced foie gras palate. I had the butternut squash soup - smooth, creamy, with creme fraiche garnish, nicely done except for a sweetness that wasn't the squash, and wasn't perfect for me.

(I tend to not mix sweet with my savouries.) Husband had duck for main course, and he said it was excellent. Perfectly cooked, well spiced. Lydia Shire is putting a large number of elements on the plate, which tend to confuse rather than enhance the main dish. I had a PEFECTLY cooked pigeon, charred crust on the outside, meltingly rare on the inside. Polenta

side was good (I ignored the vegetable garnishes). The reduction sauce was too salty.

We shared dessert: lemon mousseline. Forgettable texture, lemon not intense enough, crust under the lemon was puzzling....was it really graham based? Why was it there?

Wine service was excellent. They did not have the bottle I ordered. The wine guy (actually the Gen Manager) suggested a less expensive wine that fit exactly what I was looking for. Minus points for trying to double charge us for the bottle

when the check came. I think Troquet does it better at this point.

Summer Shack: good old New England food, nicely done, simple, informal, somewhat expensive. I can justify the expense based on good ingredients, treated well. The place is convenient. You can stop by for beer and raw bar, or take the kids there, or meet friends, and not worry that they show up 15 minutes late (no rezzies for small parties, not sure about larger parties). I'm sure it is becoming entouristed, but not to the detriment of the experience.

Laurie

Edited September 1, 2003 by Geepsie (log)

[Schneier]

I'm off to Boston for a dinner to introduce my boyfriend to some old friends- Any ideas? I'm  thinking about Radius or Lumiere, yes/no/ which one? Thanks!

Both would be excellent choices. I'm going to Radius tomorrow night, and will post a review.

Bruce

[Nick]

Got to head for Boston by train tomorrow for an overnight and will be staying in the North Station/Fleet area. Any recommendations for good places to eat? If places need reservations will need replies ASAP. Sorry to do this at the last moment. No choice, it just came up this morning.

Thanks, Nick

[bigwino]

Hi Nick,

Right around North Station are lots of bars and pizza joints, but that's about it. If you want Hooter's, that's your area.

A short distance away is the North End, for Italian food. I like Monica's and The Daily Catch. A note on Daily Catch - it's SMALL and cash only. Killer Fra Diavolo and Puttanesca.

[Nick]

Thanks, bigwino. The Daily Catch and Fra Diavolo sounds good (I had to look it up to see what it was.) I'll have to pass on the Puttanesca if it's got anchovies. I've always tried to like the little suckers but haven't made it yet. Yeah, the Daily Catch and Fra Diavolo sounds good. Hope I can find the place and it's not too crowded.

Thanks again.

[VivreManger]

Sage's is a very good small innovative chef-driven restaurant in the North End, definitely worth a visit. Chowhound has had a number of reviews of it over the last year or so.

[Nick]

Bigwino, I've held off reporting on this cuz it's hard to find some good words for the Daily Catch. Everyone else in the family wanted to go to a different joint but Susie knew I had my heart set on the Daily Catch because of your recommendation - so we went there.

Got to tell you, it was disappointing. Maybe you haven't been there in awhile. Maybe we should have gotten the fra diavolo, but they were out of shrimp. So, after looking at the reviews on the net, it seemed like they had the best calamari in Boston and I got the calamari plate. Mistake - big mistake. If this is the best calamari Boston can offer......

And it was supposed to be this family Italian place. The only Italian in there was washing dishes. The cooks were from SA, probably Ecuador.

Sorry to be so down on this, but that's what happened.

[bigwino]

Nick,

Sorry to hear you had a bad experience there. I haven't been in several months, but it hasn't been several years. I've had very good luck with many dishes there, including calamari dishes.

The cook that is always there when I went was Asian, not from South America. Maybe they lost him and the quality has gone out the door? That would be a tragic loss.

Geez, I feel really terrible that your whole family was involved. Well, hopefully you enjoyed some other parts of your Boston trip.

[agnolottigirl]

Too late for this trip, I guess, but Al Dente in the North End is also very good--family place, not real formal--but I like Al Dente's better Monica's, which was more upscale but the food wasn't as good, imo.

My four can't miss North End places are Purity Cheese, Modern Pastry (best cannoli in the universe), Cafe Vittoria for capuccino, and a butcher shop . . . its name escapes me at the moment, but you can find it by looking for a little storefront with a line of Italian grandmas and Boston yuppies that stretches out onto the sidewalk.

[Nick]

Thanks for the replies. Bigwino I should have made it a little more clear about the family thing. I was there with Susie and her three daughters. The three daughters decided they didn't want to go but Susie stuck with me and we went to the Daily Catch. After your first reply, I'd done a search and found all kinds of mainly good words for the DC. Everyone had raved about the calamari and since they were out of shrimp for the diavolo, I went for the Calamari platter and Susie went for some fish.

We started by splitting a salad which was pretty good - the dressing was very good. I also got an ap of the stuffed clams which I thought were quite good. (The stuffed clams are almost raw and when Susie tried one she thought it tasted "off" so I ate that one as well as the rest. Maybe that's why I got the shits after getting back to the hotel - but they tasted good on the way down.)

The calamari platter had calamari salad, a calamari meatball, deep-fried calamari rings, and french fries. The salad was basically raw calamari with a dressing. The dressing was very good and the calamari good. (They have their dressing down.) I ate about half the meatball. I would have rather had a good Italian meatball. The deep-fried was nothing to write home about. It wasn't all that tender and had little to no flavor. I ate about half that too as I don't like leaving such a full plate, but I sure as hell wasn't going to take any back to the hotel. It just wasn't that good and cold it wouldn't have been any better. The french fries were great, but the dressing from the calamari salad ran into them and made them all soggy if they weren't eaten immediatey.

Maybe another disappointment was after Bw's rec reading a review that said in part, "...As is par for the course with many Italian restaurants in Boston's North End, The Daily Catch is family owned (and uses family held Sicilian recipes) which greatly adds to its character..." (I lived in Boston from '63-'68 and knew and liked a few people from the North End - a couple of them were driven around in big, black Cadillacs) so I was looking forward to a real family place. So, walking in and seeing two guys running the place that sure weren't Italian and one Italian guy who was washing dishes wasn't what I was expecting. Plus, they sure as hell weren't all that friendly. Pretty much, "What do you want to eat, sit down." Maybe they were Asians. Whatever they were, they need a good kick in the ass for a place that has gotten some good reviews for being friendly.

Italian people are friendly - these guys were assholes. We didn't go in there with an attitude.

Oh, Susie's fish wasn't all that good either. Maybe we're just spoiled coming from Maine when it comes to seafood. Bigwino, you've gotta go back there. Maybe it's just me.

Edited October 29, 2003 by Nick (log)

[Nick]

I figured after putting down the DC so much in my last post that we were there on a Tuesday about 7:30 in case that makes a difference. When we walked in there was only one other couple there - so it wasn't like the help was rushed. By the time we left awhile later the place was was filled.

agnolottigirl, I almost tried Monica's after Bw's rec. But, I was after funky and got it. On the train down from Maine Susie and I were talking about the DC and Monica's and a guy in the seat behind us said they were both good - and said the Cafe Vittoria was great for coffee. (I actually went over there since the DC didn't have any restrooms and I had to take a piss and the guy at DC said to go there since they, Cafe Vittoria, owned the space DC is in.

Maybe if we go to Boston again we'll try Al Dentes. I did notice after leaving the DC that the Florentina(?) was filled to capacity. The kitchen door was open to the sidewalk and they were humping in that kitchen. Slicing, dicing, and cooking. Must have been four at least on the line.

Who knows? Susie and I don't travel much, but the roundtrip train from Maine is only $40 apiece, hotel's another buck fifty for two, then eating and walking around. Maybe we'll try it again as a real vacation. (This time we were town so Susie and her daughters could testify at the federal IRS court so it wasn't exactly a sightseeing trip.)

Nick

[Stephen Jackson]

Morning all,

OK, here's the pitch. My wife and I are visiting Boston next Easter, with my parents, who both love seafood, and were very impressed with Craft and Blue Hill in New York last February, to give you an idea. We'd like to try the best and most interesting foodie things Boston and its environs have to offer, from lobster rolls and beer to the better Modern American restaurants. So, a list for you might be easier. Thanks very much in advance, but you guys here cut through the nonsense and tell it like it is, and I refuse to pay Zagat for reading a four-paragraph review.

My Boston Trip...

1. The supposed best Modern American restaurants

2. Seafood. Buckets of crabs, lobsters, clams and scallops. Somewhere full of life and flying shells.

3. The famed lobster roll. I've heard lots about them, but never tried one.

4. Any beers/breweries I should look out for?

5. Any quirky little places I might otherwise never find?

6. The best markets/stores for food and related things.

Now that's not much to ask you is it?

Cheerio,

Stephen

[Verjuice]

When I visitied, I picked up a copy of Boston Magazine at the airport- the Best of issue, and there was A LOT of info in there; very helpful. The website is www.bostonmagazine.com and they have everything posted there under "Best Of".

I recommend any of Lydia Shire's ventures for dinner. Barbara Lynch of No. 9 Park (excellent) has a new raw bar (i.e. oysters, and certainly lobster rolls). The fried clams at J.T. Farnham's are superb. Ken Oringer at Clio is getting a great deal of attention- all very good, but I haven't eaten there yet. My new favorite is Craigie St Bistrot in Cambridge. I also like Hi-Rise Bakery for bread and pastry.

[Holly Moore]

I can help with lobster roll and especially quirky. Fried Clam's too.

For lobster roll - Kelly's Roast Beef. Be sure to go to the original on Revere Beach

Quirky: Boston Speed's. An 80 some year old Boston tradition/hot dog vendor who grills up his own style, very unique, half pound hot dog.

Fried Clams: Drive the Ipswich area on Boston's North Shore. My favorite, though most everyone seems to disagree with me is Woodman's of Essex which invented the fried clam. Also very good is the Clam Box. I have yet to visit, but have heard great things about Farnham's just down the road from Woodman's. The above mentioned Kelly's also fries a decent clam.

[TrishCT]

I used to take my seafood loving buddies to the No Name restaurant...is it still there... and is it still a terrific spot for seafood?

Also, is Durgin Park in Faneuil Hall still Durgin Park (surly waitresses, very Bostonian grub)? If it's like it was 15 years ago, it's a cool Boston experience.

[WHS]

For modern American, try Radius or Excelsior, which is Lydia Shire's (ex-Biba) new place. $$$$

If you're don't venture out of Boston, go to Jasper White's Summer Shack in Cambridge. He used to have a very swank place in the North End, and now offers fish and shellfish at a cavernous place with huge lobster tanks and long communal tables. You can get everything from corn dogs, kumamoto oysters and his signature pan-roasted lobster (and lobster rolls). It's alot of fun. $$

Another great seafood place is the East Coast Grill--comprehensive oyster selection, and lots of seafood (and meat) done on the grill. Owned by Chris Schlesinger of "Thrill of the Grill" fame. $$$

2 quirky places: Lala Rokh on Beacon Hill for Persian cusine--a beautiful room on one of the quaintest streets in Boston. Also St. Petersbourg in Brookline for chilled Youri Doulgaref vodka, blinis, a wacky pianist and occasional drunken dancing. $$

For food shopping, Boston has a Movenpick in the Pru Center, Chinatown for live, crawly things in straw baskets, and Savenour's at the end of Charles St. It's where Julia Child used to shop.

[Christopher]

Pigalle @ 75 Charles Street South is my one destination restaurant in Boston proper.

For truly bizzare Golden Temple in Brookline for Chinese with a wine list deep in Angelo Gaja verticals and high end single malts. Even weirder is that nothing is rounded so that a bottle of wine will price out at $73.26 -It makes no sense but it's a curious read.

[newsbabe]

Ming Tsai's place in Wellesley is wonderful -- Blue Ginger.

[liamdc]

1. The supposed best Modern American restaurants

4. Any beers/breweries I should look out for?

As a native Bostonian, but one who's been away several years, I don't profess enough current knowledge to suggest all you're looking for. But recent trips to town make me confident in the below 2 recommendations:

No. 9 Park - Boston Magazine has called this place the "best restaurant overall" in the city. I ate at the bar the last time I was in town and enjoyed the truffled gnocchi. It was phenomenal! Terrific service at the bar and a splendid wine list as well. Plus, its location puts you at the foot of one of the most beautiful state capitol buildings in the U.S. No. 9 Park

Samuel Adams Brewery - Located in the Jamaica Plain neighborhood of Boston, this is the best brewery tour I've ever been on, and that includes Guinness in Dublin and Spaten in Munich! Samuel Adams Brewery Tour