Boston100 Blog
Saturday, March 24, 2007
Report from the Fort
Boston100 just returned from Fort Myers, Florida (or "Boston South"), and we were pleasantly surprised with our dining experiences. We tried to pick a cross section of the best reviewed restaurants in town, and for the most part we came up happy. Here is a list of the spots we tried, in order of overall satisfaction:Thistle Lodge - Phenomenal dining on Sanibel Island - this place would be in the top ten in Boston. The atmosphere is polished yet comfortable - there aren't many places where one can find this caliber of food while enjoying it in shorts and sandals.
Harold's on the Bay - Upscale establishment in downtown Fort Myers offered some great plates and an intimate atmosphere. The dishes tend to fall on the creative side.
Cru - The current hot spot for the young and hip crowd; the inventive fare was really good, the price was a little high for Fort Myers.
Anthony's on the Gulf - Italian cuisine with great sunset views, and a no frills decor. Anthony also owns a restaurant on the Cape. The food and service were great, and the menu offers up options for everyone.
Lighthouse Cafe - In-and-out diner on Sanibel claims to have the best breakfast in the world, and we gotta tell you we can't remember a better one in recent memory.
Tarpon House - Offering great views and an interesting menu, we only made it out for the buffet breakfast, which was excellent.
Bistro 41 - The food was okay, but nothing memorable; the nice decor was set off by a bad Jimmy Buffet cover band
Sanibel Harbour Princess - The Sanibel Harbour Resort & Spa is a fantastic resort that offers a sunset cruise making for some great pictures, but the food and the service on the cruise just weren't up to par with the hotel in general.
All in all, we'll definitely return for the sun and the fun (including the Red Sox games), and we'll be satisfied that there are some great dining options awaiting us upon our return.
- posted by Mike Andrews @ 8:53 AM 0 comments
Sunday, March 11, 2007
OM Restaurant & Lounge
We don't like to trash restaurants, but we've been having a particularly rough string of luck lately finding new places for the Top 100. Our latest disappointment was OM Restaurant & Lounge, a new “upscale” spot in Harvard Square. To start, the atmosphere was cool – but almost too cool – as if the proprietors were trying way too hard to impress. The design coupled with the uppity crowd and snooty service created the most undeservedly pretentious ambiance we have ever experienced. We say undeservedly because the food was average at best. We started with an Apple & Celery Soup Shooter, which none of us could take more than a sip of. For appetizers we tried the Surf & Turf and the Roasted Beet Salad. The Surf & Turf, comprised of short rib dumplings and big eye tuna, was actually a very enjoyable array of four selections. However, the Roasted Beet Salad was simply unpalatable. For entrees, we tried the Venison and the Steak & Eggs (Fillet Mignon with fried truffle egg). The Venison was actually quite delicious, but the portion size was embarrassingly small, especially for $34. The Steak & Eggs were good – no complaints there, but also not quite memorable. To top it off, the wine list only offered one bottle of Cabernet for under $90, which they were out of. We passed on dessert. As we said, the service was a bit snooty and pretentious for our tastes, and the prices were extremely steep compared to other area restaurants of similar quality. As one of our fellow diners put it, “Some places are expensive because they are good, but this places was trying to prove it was good by being expensive.” Overall, this just wasn’t our cup of tea - OM may cut it as an ultra-hip lounge, but in our opinion it doesn't make the grade as an upscale restaurant.- posted by Mike Andrews @ 2:51 PM 0 comments
Sunday, March 04, 2007
Casablanca
Our bad luck with Restaurant Week continued this year with our recent disappointing visit to Casablanca, a Mediterranean eatery in Harvard Square. The atmosphere was nice, providing a homey feel with themed decor from its namesake film. However, the volume of the fellow diners was abnormally loud, but we probably shouldn't fault the establishment for that. The menu offers up a number of interesting options, ranging from some Italian and Greek style dishes to Middle Eastern and Northern African cuisine. We started with the Turnip Soup and the Fried Calamari - both were bland and unimpressive. For our entrees, we tried the Hangar Steak and the Cod with Bacon and Kale. Again, at best the entrees were bland (and the steak was somewhat undercooked). For dessert, we tried the Creme Brulee and the Fruit Crisp, both were mediocre. Service was well paced, and the price was preset (entrees usually run about $25 - $30). Overall, we were just really disappointed, especially after we heard that Casablanca was a favorite for locals.- posted by Mike Andrews @ 7:49 PM 0 comments
