Round Up...

Recession? What recession? I've been eating out my fair share lately - you know, helping the economy and all. During my adventures in Boston's culinary landscape, I've had the opportunity to try a number of new restaurants (new to me, anyway). So many, in fact, that the prospect of writing a full review about each individual experience was simply too overwhelming. So... a round up was in order.

OM - I'd been looking forward to eating at OM for a good long while. It's been in Harvard Square for about three years and I've walking past it a number of times - always peeking in the windows and admiring the cool, zen interior. Plus, the Asian-inspired menu looked very promising. You know what they say about not judging a book by it's cover? Oh boy. It went badly right out of the gate. At OM they don't serve you bread or crackers to start, they serve you popcorn. Now, don't get me wrong, I like popcorn and this was particularly good, sprinkled with parmesan and thyme, but this is an upscale restaurant with an Asian vibe. It was just wrong - and that was just the beginning. The appetizers - a beet salad and mussels in a spicy tomato broth - were both tasty, but unremarkable. The entrees went from mediocre to terrible, including rare tuna served over bland, dry udon noodles and vegetables usually found in airline food, an underdone double-cut pork chop, and a stuffed trout that - while the best of the dishes - seemed oddly New England-y. Having been totally underwhelmed by the food, we opted out of dessert and headed to the Hong Kong for a scorpion bowl. This was undoubtedly the right choice.

I'd give OM, at 92 Winthrop Street in Cambridge, a C. Unless you are looking for more UM than OM, I'd skip it.


Estragon - I love tapas. Love, love, love. And I pretty much make it my mission to try any new tapas restaurant in Boston, so it was a no brainer that I had to get over to Estragon. Since I am fascinated with restaurant gossip, here's a little for you - Estragon is owned by Julio de Haro, the ex-husband of Deborah Hansen, the proprietor of Taberna de Haro in Brookline, which they founded together. Deborah and I are both graduates of Bates College in Maine. Wasn't that fun? Our own little six degrees of Kevin Bacon. Oh, you want to know about the food? Fine then... it was good, very good. Not the best (still Dali, in my opinion), but definitely flavorful, adventurous, and authentic. I went with a friend for Restaurant Week, during which they served each diner about five tapas - in reasonably small portions - so we were able to try quite a few things. Some of the highlights included the smokey, crunchy fried garbanzo beans seasoned with paprika, a salad of sauteed spinach sprinkled with toasted pine nuts and golden raisins (great sweet/savory balance!), crispy fried chunks of artichoke hearts served with garlicky aioli, and salt cod croquettes served with a smokey pureed tomato sauce. Some of the less impressive dishes included the cod cheeks which were too dry - though served with this mysterious amber sauce that was vaguely sweet and tangy and excellent - and the beef cheeks which were tough and chewy and served in an overly-salty beef gravy. We opted for a cheese course to end our meal and, sadly, I don't remember the particulars of what we were served. All of the cheeses were a nicely quality, but the portions were minuscule - an unfortunate side-effect of Restaurant Week, I fear.

I'd give Estragon, at 700 Harrison Avenue in the South End, a B. Definitely worth exploring, especially if you share my passion for tapas! Authentic Spanish nibbles served in a lovely Art Deco-inspired setting.


L'Andana - I did it! I made it to L'Andana! Now, this is where this blog comes in handy... after mentioning my seeming inability to actually drive to Burlington for a meal in an earlier posting, I had several suburban-dwelling friends contact me and assure me that, if I ever did get out there, they'd be happy to meet up. Apparently, that was just the inspiration I needed. The first thing I noticed about L'Andana was the size. I guess when you live in the city for too long, you just get used to things being small - real small. L'Andana has it's own huge parking lot, and the restaurant itself is roughly the size of a mall. Yikes! Luckily for L'Andana, it's beautifully appointed with dark, wood paneled walls, soft candlelight and low-lit candelabras, chic white tables and modern chairs. All of which keeps it visually in the same family as it sister restaurants in the city - and some of my favorites! - Mistral, Teatro, Sorellina, and Mooo. The menu at L'Andana focuses on Italian dishes, with predominantly grilled entrees. We chose classic Italian appetizers, including a rigatoni with a Bolognese-style sauce and an insalata caprese with fresh mozzarella, tomatoes, basil, and several thin slices of prosciutto. The insalata used exceptionally fresh ingredients and came together deliciously; however, the rigatoni was sublime. The meat sauce was thick and rich and the fresh pasta was dense and chewy. It would have been more than satisfactory as a meal on it's own. Our entrees, a grilled salmon with a sweet glaze and a 12 ounce ribeye served on a bed of arugula and parmesan, were both cooked to well and tasty, but a bit of a let down after the wonderful starters. Dessert, a cinnamon-apple crostada and a chocolate crema, are a nice sweet finish, but fairly predictable.

I'd give L'Andana, at 86 Cambridge Street in Burlington, a B+. For tried and true city-lovers, you get all the urban flair and high-quality eats that you need at L'Andana.


Wagamama - Last Friday evening, Paul and I found ourselves in the Prudential Center mall and starving. Being almost allergic to shopping in malls or big department stores, it had been ages since I'd been in the Pru. I had no idea what our food options were beyond the small food court, which was definitively not an option. Eventually we stumbled upon Wagamama. I heard all about Wagamama when the inaugural Boston outpost opened in Faneuil Hall, but I didn't realize that there were two others - one in Harvard Square and the one at the Pru. If you, like I did, read about Wagamama when it hit the scene a few years ago, you know it's a London noodle house and sort of a hipster scene. The Wagamama at the Pru keeps fairly true to these roots - it's a wide-open room with long tables, where everyone eats sort of cafeteria style. The multicultural, universally tattooed staff was attentive and friendly. Our waiter did a great job explaining the menu and pointing out some things coming out of the kitchen, so we got a sense for what to expect. After a reasonable amount of deliberation, we ordered edamame with chili-garlic salt (fairly standard, but with a nice kick from flavored seasoning), ebi gyoza (tasty dumplings stuffed with shrimp with a nice seared coating, but overall the wrappers were too chewy), the chili beef ramen (great flavorful broth and fresh veggies, but the beef was bland), and finally the teriyaki chicken (great, tender pieces of chicken in a sweet sauce served over soba noodles). I was sorely tempted by dessert at the end of the meal - especially the baked ginger cheesecake - but, ultimately, we were just too full.

I'd give Wagamama, at 800 Boylston Street in Boston (in the Shops at the Prudential Center), a B-. While the food isn't outstanding, the restaurant has a relaxed, metropolitan vibe and makes for a quick, fun lunch or dinner.


Union Bar and Grille - Just this past weekend, one of my favorite Boston artists - Chris Speakman - was having an opening in the South End. Since we were going to be in the area, we decided to grab a bite for dinner at the Union Bar and Grille. I have a friend who really likes Union for drinks, but to be truthful, I really hadn't heard much about the food. Turns out, there was a reason for that. First of all, it seems that we were not the only ones out there supporting the economy during these tough times - despite having an 8:15 p.m. reservation, we weren't seated until close to 8:45 p.m. We sat down with drinks that we were still half full from the bar and didn't intend to buy a bottle of wine, but our waiter easily convinced us when he let us know that we could take whatever we didn't drink home. I will give Union this - that's a great service and a terrific way to upsell. Reminiscent of "popcorn-gate" at OM, we were served cornbread in a small skillet as a starter. While cornbread is bread - sort of - it's a completely non-sensical compliment at a restaurant that isn't serving BBQ. So, another questionable start - and it didn't get a lot better. Paul ordered an appetizer of pulled short ribs over a bed of spicy coleslaw and topped with fried onions. The dense, saucy meat was nicely cut by the crisp slaw, but the onions were chewy and inedible. I ordered the gnocchi with duck confit and orange sections, which turned out to be overly salty with overcooked dumplings. For an entree, Paul ordered the hanger steak with buttermilk mashed potatoes. The meat was well-portioned and nicely cooked, but the potatoes were largely tasteless. I ate the prosciutto-wrapped cod with a side of white bean salad. The fish was dry and absorbed too much salt from the ham. Sadly, having finished an entirely passable meal, we opted to skip dessert and enjoy the remains of our wine at home.

I'd give Union Bar and Grille, at 1357 Washington Street in the South End, a C. That area is packed with great options for dinner. Union Bar and Grille is not one of them.

Phew... until next time! Though, with the current state of my bank account, the next review may feature the cuisine of Chez Scott-Howard. Not to worry, it'll get all As.

Ok, so I get it about the corn.

Have you ever had that experience where some movie comes out and everyone talks to you about it and how fabulous it is? Then you go and the movie is good, but let's face it, it's not the second coming. Then you're bummed because, if no one had ever talked about it, you would have thought the movie was great... it was just burdened by all that build up.

I had that fear when going to Toro tonight. There'd been a lot of build up: Best of Boston, Spanish for two years running, Top 25 Dishes in the City (Grilled Corn), multiple glowing kudos from friends... how could it possibly live up? In short, it does.

I love TAPAS. Love it, love it, love it. It's like a cuisine custom made for me. I want to try a hundred different things, even if it only means one bite of each. If I go to a party with good apps, it's all over for me - I eat so many, I rarely care about the main meal. So, tapas is a perfect way to eat, in my opinion. I think I have eaten at all the major tapas spots in the city - Tapeo, Dali, Cuchi Cuchi, Taberna de Haro, Tasca (which was right across the street from my first apartment in Boston - it was fated!). If there are others, please let me know about them! Dali is my absolute favorite restaurant in the city - the food is great and the atmosphere is like no where else on earth. Each of these places offers very traditional tapas, except Cuchi Cuchi. I love traditional, but I am also always up for something new. That is definitely what Toro offers.

This shouldn't come as any major surprise, right? Toro is the second? third? outpost of Ken Oringer's growing list of restaurants - all featuring cuisine from a different part of the world. Oringer's skill with food is beyond genius; so much so that we'll forgive him his giant ego (so they say, and, really, don't all the great chefs?). And Toro keeps true to his reputation of creativity and exquisite execution.

First, let's get this business about the corn out of the way. EVERYONE that has ever been to Toro talks about the corn on the cob. I couldn't believe this... it's corn. You can buy ten pounds of it at a road side stand for, what?, thirty-five cents? Foolish girl. It's_really_that_good. I swear. It is grilled to smoky, sweet perfection and then covered in garlicky sauce and cheese (queso fresco? I'm not quite sure.) and then doused with lime. Holy crap. It's unreal. Just go. Eat the corn. Don't be the cynic I was.

So, you can't survive on corn alone, I know... the tortilla was egg-y perfection with a dollop of sour cream, raw tuna dressed with soy and scallions and teensy oyster mushrooms, tart chicken thighs with sticky, honey-like farro, tender grilled bistec with balsamic-y carmelized onions. Wow! All exceptional and unusual.

Less impressive were the portions. While tapas is supposed to just be a small taste, some plates came out with barely enough for the four of us sharing the meal to each get a bite. The sangria and dessert - doughy, bland churros with a spicy chocolate dipping sauce - were both ok, but no match for the meal.

I'd give Toro at 1704 Washington St, Boston, MA an A-. Stick with the main tapas and skip dessert. The service was also outstanding and knowledgeable.