Light My Fire

I knew that this list thing was a good idea. After a few failed attempts to find a night that we were all free, my two girlfriends and I finally settled on last Thursday night for a dinner of catching up, gossip, and, hopefully, some tasty food. Having been featured in an early blog entry in which I mercilessly mocked suburban chain restaurants, the girls very kindly offered to let me pick a place in the city! Using my list as a guide, I chose Gaslight - a fair bit of variety on the menu, mid-priced, and an up-and-coming location. And, above all, it had free parking. You did not read that wrong. A restaurant in the South End with free parking. How many times have you gone to dinner in the South End and nearly quit before you got to the restaurant because you were on your fifteenth trip around the block, looking for a place to stick your car? For us three ladies, all of whom would be driving to the restaurant, this perk sealed the deal.

Gaslight is partially subterranean and huge; much bigger and less intimate than I expected. On a Thursday night, it was packed to the gills with a noise level to match the two hundred or so diners in the restaurant. Happily, we had a reservation and were seated right away. The decor was all that is was promised to be - burnished mirrors, brass accents, black & white tile floor, antique Ricard bottles lined up on the molding. It would have felt authentic, if it wasn't so perfect. I'd give Gaslight a few more years of operation, allowing some dust and grime to build up, to really emulate a Parisian brasserie.

Our waitress greeted us soon after we sat and I immediately noticed how pretty she was. Not in an over the top sort of way, but more of a girl next door sort of way. As the night went on, it became painfully clear how much she needed her looks. Things were bad from nearly the first moment. She took our drink orders and returned with them fairly quickly. Great right? It would have been if one of them hadn't been dumped all over the table from a tray tipped so precariously, I actually saw the drink slide right off. Like any good girl next door, she was mortified and truly apologetic. These things happen and we were fully willing to move on without complaint. Well, everyone expect my girlfriend who's drink had been sacrificed to the table gods. We had to remind the waitress that she needed to replace the beer.

Things didn't improve from there. I am reasonably sure that she brought us the wrong dish, though we ordered one of two very similar dishes on the menu, so I can't be certain. We were asked twice if we were done with our half-eaten appetizers, though our plates were full and it was pretty evident that we were still eating. We needed to ask for refills on the coffee, even though we lingered at the table chatting long enough that it was clear that we were looking for an excuse to draw the night out a bit (I know what you're thinking, maybe they were trying to turn the table over... they weren't, the restaurant had substantially cleared by then). Sadly, despite all this, the worst infraction came in our very last interaction with her. Two of us put in cash for our portion of the bill and my second friend asked to put her portion on a card, clearly indicating the amount to the waitress. The credit card slip came back with the full amount of the bill, with the cash already pocketed. We had to have her correct the error and left the restaurant laughing about how my friend would need to check her statement to be sure she wasn't charged twice.

Ok, here I am more than halfway through this post and I haven't mentioned a word about the food. Does that tell you something? Maybe not what you think... the food was good, some of it was even excellent. The service was so bad it colored the whole experience. Unfortunately, just another reminder of how restaurants really need to have all wheels on the track, or the train is never getting out of the station, no matter how shiny the engine.

And Gaslight's engine was awfully shiny. We shared two appetizers, including the Gaslight Salade, which featured haricots verts, roasted pearl onions, and lardons, on a bed of frisee with a light lemony vinaigrette. Overall, the combination of flavors worked nicely, though the haricots verts and the lardons both could have been a little crisper. We also ordered (I thought) the fondue piemontaise, but were served the fromage blanc. Luckily, this dish was subperb! It was essentially a flat crock of melty cheese, dotted with thyme and coarse salt, served with big hunks of toasted baguette. Bread and cheese. What more could you want?

For my entree, I ordered the duck confit - hey, when you're going to go French, go French. The confit was spectacular - it practically came to the table still crackling from it's bath of boiling fat. Oh yeah... confit is not for the light of heart - literally or figuratively. The rich duck meat was served of a bed of shredded chard and orange sections, both of which (the spicy bite of the chard and the tang of the citrus) made for a great balance. The course was also served with roasted new potatoes which were unremarkable, but were a requisite starch, I suppose. The dish's only failing was a heavy hand with the berry sauce served with the confit. While a classic pairing for duck, it was cloyingly sweet and competed too much with the citrus.

We finished the meal with an order of the chocolate beignets to share. The little fritters were almost more like mini molten chocolate cakes and were served with a thimble of creme anglaise to cut the intensity of the chocolate. While the flavor of the dessert was relatively standard, the presentation was creative and it was a tasty enough way to close out the night.

I'd give Gaslight, at 560 Harrison Avenue in the South End, a B+. If you want a city dining experience without a city parking experience, it's a great choice. One word of warning? If your waitress looks like a girl that you wished your brother married, ask for a new table.

Making A List, Checking It Twice

I am a classic type-A personality. Competitive, impatient, organized. Like any good type-A, I have a strong adoration of lists. I make lists for everything. Lists of things I need to do, lists of places I'd like to visit, lists of songs I want to download from iTunes, lists of wines I want to buy again, lists of artists that I am keeping an eye on, and, oh yes, list of restaurants I want to try. I love lists.

Happily, I am not alone in this passion. It seems like every media outlet on the planet is compelled to do their own restaurant lists. The Boston Globe Magazine, Boston Magazine, and the Phoenix (to name a few) have all recently published their lists of the "must trys" for the year. I figure that, in order to keep my blog's status amongst these fine publications, I probably need to produce my own list. So, here goes...

The Foodie's Guide to Places She is Dying to Try in the Hub in 2008 (You think these list titles should have some kind of word limit? I hope not. Oh yeah, and you know how they say, "in no particular order..."? Typical type-Bs. This list is in order.)

10) Beehive - The Globe called Beehive "the place to be (over 30)." Sigh. I guess at this point that pretty much describes the perfect destination for me. Beehive is probably better known as the South End's newest nightspot to hear a little music and, more importantly, see & be seen. But Boston Magazine promises "tasty, wallet-friendly" fare in addition to the entertainment. Sounds good to me.

9) Petit Robert Bistro - A friend of mine at work brought me a business card from Petit Robert Bistro more than a year ago. She implored me, "you have to check this place out." I never did and I have been sorry ever since. Every time you turn around some other reviewer is writing about this restaurant - and it's always favorable. The owners, who include a member of the venerable Maison Robert family, as well as a cutie-patootie young Frenchman, recently opened a second location in response to a booming business. Apparently, if you want to be mentally transported to the little Parisian bistro you discovered in your semester abroad, this is the place. Oh, and it's also affordable - what's not to like?

8) O Ya - This is the kind of place that makes me want to shut this blog down all together and simply post the following closing message: "I give up. Cool, fabulous, foodie-friendly places are opening in this city faster than Nancy Pelosi blinks. I can not possibly eat at them all, much less blog about them. Thank you for your patronage over these past five months." Ok, I know, O Ya was so June of 2007. I still haven't been! The Asian cuisine is supposed to be so good, the Globe quipped, "who needs Nobu?" Holy crap.

7) La Voile - I walked by the place destined to be La Voile on Newbury Street at least a dozen times while it was under construction. Each time, you could see a little more of this Mediterranean bistro take shape - like a tantalizing present being slowly unwrapped. Finally it's here and it's getting a lot of good buzz. Daily Candy called it "authentic" southern French fare. Having living in Aix-en-Provence, I can't wait to decide for myself.

6) Myers+Chang - I'll keep this simple. One of the owners, Christopher Myers, is also behind Radius, Via Matta, and Great Bay. If this place is even a fraction as good as Radius or Great Bay, I am there+there+there.

5) Orinoco - One of my best friends spent several years living in Bolivia, so when she told me that a restaurant offering South American cuisine is one of her new favorites in the city, I paid attention. Not long after that exchange, Boston Magazine recognized Orinoco's chicken arepa one of the 52 best things to eat in Boston. Two recommendations from sources I trust, how can I go wrong?

4) T. W. Food - Oh god... maybe I have worked in Cambridge too long (about ten years, if you add up the different stints). Here's where the list starts getting all, "eat local, love your Mother." I can't help myself... if the menu sources most of its food from within 100 miles of the restaurant, I am like a bee drawn to organic honey. Daily Candy oozed that T.W. Food "emphasiz[es] biodynamic wines, house-made charcuterie, and sustainably raised meats, every meal is kind to both planet and palate." I don't even know what some of those words mean. That makes me want to go even more.

3) Gaslight, Brassarie du Coin - Unlike O Ya, Gaslight is just starting to get noticed and still needs to prove itself a bit. But the early press is promising... Gaslight offers a true French menu that will give Eastern Standard a run for its money. Both the Globe and Boston Magazine promise an atmosphere and decor that is straight from the Latin Quarter.

2) Summer Winter - Ok, now this place better be good. Because if I drive to Burlington and it's a bust, someone is going to hear about it. You gotta figure it's a pretty safe bet - the restaurateurs behind Summer Winter also own Arrows Restaurant in Ogunquit, considered one of the best dining establishments in the country. And forget about food sourced from a hundred mile radius, Summer Winter grows all its own produce in a greenhouse that is less than a hundred feet from the kitchen.

1) Ten Tables - Yeah, it's all local. Oh, and mostly organic. It's a small business in a grassroots community. I might as well pull out the Birkenstocks and stop shaving my legs. Listen, I like to do my part for the earth, and I like that Ten Tables does its part too, but that's not what makes it my top destination for the year. I love the idea of it... only ten tables in the dining room, making for a cozy, family-style atmosphere, where the staff encourages you to linger all night. And the chefs? Heck, they're only making food for you and nineteen of your newest pals. They can pour all the love and dedication in the world into each beautiful dish (check out the photos on the website). It doesn't hurt that Ten Tables made every list this year. I'll be lucky to get one of those ten precious tables before 2009, but I tell you what - I'm going to do my best. And I will be sure to report back.

Boy, I've got my work cut out for me this year. This is a heady list, but I know I can do it. Type-As are nothing if not committed.