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An update is an update right? Last week was Winter Restaurant Week, and of course I went out multiple times (because I live for Restaurant Week). Here’s the lowdown….
Monday night I went to Taranta with Corinne, Ron, Jen (one of my coworkers), Mark and Sara. We ordered a bottle of Cusumano Syrah, which might have been the 2005 Benuara, but I don’t remember. They had a special Restaurant Week wine list, which I thought was cool – dinner was $33.07, so all of the wines were $33.07, $43.07 or $53.07. The wine was quite smooth (not spicy like Shiraz is), and we all liked it (Corinne, Ron and myself, that is). For dinner I had Calabaza Squash Soup, which was great both because it was so cold outside, and because it was prepared the way I like squash soup – slightly sweet (with amaretto cookies and browned butter crisp sage). My main course was “Salmone in Crosta di Macadamia.” The salmon was really good – served pretty rare – and the asparagus was perfectly cooked, with a yummy accompanying sauce (blood orange sauce). The herbed risotta was all right – not my favorite. And for dessert I had Hazelnut Mousse, which was also tasty. I got to try the mussel appetizer, which was delicious, and also a bite of the other dessert – “Limoncello Flute.” That so far has been the most innovative dessert – it was like a lemon cream with whipped cream – really refreshing and lots of lemon flavor. This was a pretty good meal with good value, I think. I’d go to Taranta again.
On Tuesday I went out to lunch at The Oak Room in the Fairmont Copley Plaza Hotel. The weather was ATROCIOUS – the restaurant is just a few blocks away from our office but the winds were strong and blowing against us, so we suffered quite a bit! The people in The Oak Room were really nice, though – the Maitre’D thanked us for coming and invited us to come in a little further to stay warm. Our waiter was also quite charming and funny, which made for a nice lunch. We all had the same thing – New England Clam Chowder, Aged New York Sirloin Steak, and Boston Cream Pie (that was the only dessert). The clam chowder was really good and buttery, and it warmed us right up! The steak was served with yummy mashed potatoes and asparagus (Taranta had better asparagus, but that’s a minor point – this was just a little mushier). I was SLIGHTLY disappointed with my steak – I asked for it to be cooked medium rare, and it was served more what I would consider medium (mine did not look much different than Corinne’s medium-cooked steak). The meat was good, though, and was served with a yummy merlot reduction sauce on the side. The Boston Cream Pie was more of a cake, but had all the right ingredients, and was quite tasty. This was a great value, because we all had steak and chowder for $20.07 ($25 with tax and tip). Choices were a bit limited, though, with only two appetizers and two entrees.
Thursday was lunch, again with my coworkers, at Ivy Restaurant. (Side note: whenever I pass this restaurant and see their sign, I always think it’s some Ivy League Club or something, it didn’t register that it was a restaurant until I made the reservation). Again, choices were limited – two appetizers, two entrees and one dessert. For my appetizer, I had arancini (fried risotto balls) with fondina and black truffles. This was quite tasty. My entrée was a tomato, fresh mozzarella and basil panini (the other choice was also a panini), served with “greens.” I thought the salad was really good – it had some sort of vinaigrette on it, and the panini was okay, maybe a little watery. Dessert was Ivy’s signature gelato, which turned out to be two small scoops of chocolate gelato, and one scoop of vanilla gelato, with a mini sugar cone inverted on top of the scoops. The vanilla gelato was delicious, the chocolate was all right. This meal was decent and our service was good, plus the restaurant has some nice décor, but I did not think it was a great value. We could have gotten the appetizer and the entrée for less than the Restaurant Week price, so I was a little disappointed. However, this place does do wine tastings, where they pick five wines and pair them with their own entrée, and that might be worth checking out.
Friday night was Icarus, with Herb, Jeff, Kristen, Cheryl and John. I went to Icarus last year for Summer Restaurant Week and I really enjoyed it, so I was expecting this to be a treat, which is most certainly was. We all decided to do the half-glass wine pairing (which I think is what Kathy and I did over the summer). My appetizer was a Winter Green Salad, with toasted almonds, grapefruit and manchego (one of my favorite cheeses), served with Honig Sauvignon Blanc (Napa). The salad and the wine were delicious together. My entrée was Roasted Niman Ranch Pork Loin, with bourbon sweet potatoes, black mission figs and spinach, served with Au Bon Climat Pinot Noir (Santa Barbara, CA). I really enjoyed it all, because I love figs and the pork was cooked perfectly. The wine was also lovely. And for dessert, I had Caramel Pot de Crème, which was served with a Sauternes, which I know nothing about. Again, this was really good – a caramel pudding of sorts, that came with ladyfinger-like cookies, a small dollop of whipped cream and a raspberry (all of us who got this dessert agreed that the bite with the raspberry was the best one). Icarus did not disappoint.
I can’t wait for Summer Restaurant Week (in August, of course), though my wallet is happy for the wait in between. :-)
- Lizzardie, at 7:06 PM
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