Boston100 Blog
Wednesday, August 08, 2007
Toro
Toro is one of Chef Ken Oringer's new trendy hot spots in Boston, this one specializing in Spanish tapas and doing it well out of the South End. The dining room is on the smaller side, and you'll most likely end up sitting right on top of your fellow diners, but the unpretentious yet hip crowd and the music somehow overcomes the cramped corners. Otherwise, the room is highlighted by the full bar and some high community tables in the center. The menu focuses on tapas, but also offers a select few shared entree options. The tapas options are nice and varied, and both the traditional eaters and the daring should find items they can enjoy. We went with a good cross section of six plates: (1) the Eggplant & Peppers, which was served cold and didn't really impress; (2) the Garlicky Shrimp, an ample selection of shrimp with a great kick; (3) the Grilled Corn, Toro's signature dish, which was absolutely phenomenal and not to be missed (think about ordering two servings); (4) the BBQ Chicken - decent, but nothing to write home about; (5) the Kobe beef burgers, which were really tasty; and (6) the Skirt Steak, prepared perfectly to a medium rare and also not to be missed. I also enjoyed my Mojito, but we hear the Sangria isn't upto par with most other top notch tapas joints. The service was excellent and attentive, but we attended at an early hour - word is that the wait can be over an hour during busy times. The price was in line with other tapas spots, not too over the top like some of Oringer's other establishments. Overall, we were very please and we'll be sure to return if we're in the neighborhood and the wait is reasonable.- posted by Mike Andrews @ 6:08 PM 0 comments
Monday, August 06, 2007
Grappa
We recently visited Grappa, a tiny Italian restaurant off the beaten path in Watertown (actually, its on a side street - 71 Elm Street - across the street from Target). Grappa's cozy-yet-rambunctious dining room has twelve tables and a small bar, along with two tables of outdoor seating. It was quite busy for a Thursday night, as all the tables were full and it seemed like some customers even had to be turned away. However, we were seated immediately after making reservations that morning. The menu is strictly no-frills Italian, with a good selection of the traditional dishes. We were impressed by a few and some others fell flat. The Fried Mozzarella was very good, just keep in mind the portion is for two or three to share. The Caprese Salad was average, we've had better even in Watertown. For our entrees, the Spaghetti and Meatballs were run-of-the-mill, while the Shrimp Fra Diavlo was and excellent fusion of plentiful jumbo shrimp and spicy red sauce. The service was actually really frantic, as our server would check on us three times in a two minute span and than at one point disappeared for almost a half hour when we needed to replace some utensils. The wine list is limited, but overall the price tag is a good value. We'll probably head back for convenience sake, we just hope that its a little less crazy during our next visit.
- posted by Mike Andrews @ 4:16 PM 0 comments
