Boston100 Blog
Wednesday, September 12, 2007
Smith & Wollensky
We returned to Smith & Wollensky this past weekend, and it was kind of hit-or-miss. Initially, we were greeted pleasantly and brought to a nice table in one of the side "Americana" -themed rooms. The Maitre' De even went out of her wait to leave us a nice hand-written note welcoming us to the restaurant - a very nice touch. We ordered our appetizers and entrees, and the food ranged from okay to superb. The Garden Salad was run-of-the-mill, while the Baby Lobster appetizer was a hearty portion of broiled lobster (maybe a 1 lb serving), certainly a good size for an app. For our entrees, we went with the Bone-In Rib-Eye Oscar Style, which was phenomenally tasty and complemented well by crab meat and Bearnaise sauce . However, the Fillet Mignon was actually really fatty and was far too "peppery." For desserts, the Creme Brule and the Carrot Cake were both hits and enough to bring home. The price was expensive as advertised, but the service wasn't up to typical quality, as we weren't checked on once during our meal, our waiter failed to bring a glass of wine we ordered, and he also misplaced the leftover rib eye when he went to wrap it up (which he actually politely apologized for and made up for by giving us a 10 oz Fillet to take home, which the next day was outstanding - much better than the earlier Fillet from that night). Overall, we'll still head back as S&W is one of the top steakhouses in the city.- posted by Mike Andrews @ 7:59 PM 0 comments
Sunday, September 09, 2007
New Asia
One place that we will never order from again is New Asia in Belmont. Could be absolutely the worst service we've every received. About a month ago, we ordered a few plates for delivery on a Friday night, including the Pad Thai, General Gau's Chciken, and Lo Mein. The Pad Thai came void of any sauce, which was surprising as it was advertised to come with peanut sauce. They also forgot one of the side dishes we had ordered. After the delivery guy took off, we called to see if they would return to complete our order, which we had paid for in full. "No, we're too busy!" was the response, and they hung up. Quite the rude response, but otherwise the Lo Mien was decent and the chicken was sub par.
Cut to a month later, and for some reason I am compelled to give them another try. This time, we make it a point to ask for the Chicken Pad Thai with extra peanut sauce. Made sure to mention the extra peanut sauce three times. We also made sure to triple-check the delivery before the delivery guy took off. Guess what? We got Shrimp Pad Thai with no peanut sauce. It was almost as if they were trying to spite us. He tried to make us pay for the wrong order,but we sent it back and I kept my Sesame Chicken. It was terrible to the point of being inedible, so I tossed it after three bites.
I suppose we should have learned our lesson the first time. There are plenty of other options in Belmot and Watertown, we'll stick with them.
- posted by Mike Andrews @ 4:11 PM 0 comments
Wednesday, September 05, 2007
La Verdad
La Verdad is another of Ken Oringer's new spots, this one being a Mexican taqueria located on Landsdowne street. La Verdad has both a take-out window and a sit down option. We made it out before Tuesday's Red Sox game, and we were lucky enough to get a seat outside to watch the early birds pile into Fenway. The menu offers several different taco options and a few burrito selections. Between the four of us, we tried three different kinds of tacos and two different burritos. Each went down easy and impressed, as did the grilled corn. The service was friendly, but a little on the slower side, which was exemplified by our appetizers being delivered after our entrees. We also tried the Sangria, which just kind of missed the mark. However, the price was right, so overall we'll surely head back the next time we can make it out to a Sox game early. - posted by Mike Andrews @ 5:52 PM 0 comments
Monday, September 03, 2007
Chez Henri
We visited Chez Henri this past Sunday around 6:30 pm, and we were surprisingly seated immediately. The dining room is traditional but pleasant, with an attractive mix of dark wood tones set off by red and yellow highlights. Its fairly spacious, and wasn't to loud, even after the space started to fill up around 7:00. The French-Latin menu is prepared by Chef Paul O'Connell, who after graduating from Johnson & Wales has worked with the best chefs Boston has to offer, and his offerings are solid proof of his experience and culinary talent. The selection is seasonal, and during this end-of-summer weekend it offered an interesting mix of meats, seafood, poultry, and vegetables, all or most prepared organically with a dash of spicy flare. We started with the Mixed Green Summer Salad, which was a tasteful mix of fresh lettuce, strawberries, and apricots. Also impressive was the Ceviche, a medley of swordfish, baby octopus, and shrimp served over crunchy plantains. For our entrees, we went with the Steak Frites and the Seared Sea Scallops. Both were excellent by all standards. While we passed on the wine list on this occasion, there did seem to be a standard but not overwhelming selection of vino. We ended our meal with the Boca Negra, a stupendous mix of caramel ice cream, peanut brittle, and chocolate cake, as well as the Ice Cream selection, which was very good despite melting a little too quickly. Overall, we were very pleased with our visit, and the rave reviews we were hearing seem well earned. One thing to keep in mind though - parking is super tough in this area, and the side roads aren't that great to walk on. Save the aggravation and stick with one of the local pay lots. - posted by Mike Andrews @ 6:24 PM 0 comments
