locanda verde / 377 greenwich st / nyc / (212) 925-3797 / dinner mon-sun, 5:30-11p; breakfast mon-fri, 8-11a, sat-sun, 8-10a; lunch 11:30a-3p / reservations recommended / dinner ~$50-60 per person (no wine) / 2 1/2 stars out of 4 it’s not often that hyped restaurants […]
this year, upstairs on the square must have a new chef, because the food is a lot more exciting and adventurous than it usually is. it also appears to be suffering a bit business-wise, even though the food is better than it has ever been; […]
for a few weeks, carrie and i have been trying to partake of either the bpl’s courtyard tea, or the special lobster-and-corn-themed menu at upstairs on the square. as luck would have it, the menu got extended a few days past its stated last day, so we took it as a sign and made a reservation.
i will say, just in passing, that it was much easier than i had expected to get a reservation – we called the night before and were able to get a table for four. then, the following day, when we couldn’t find another deuce, we were able to change the reservation from four to two.
in all honesty, for years i’ve been pretty ambivalent about upstairs on the square – usually the menu is seasonal classics done well with respect to technique. it’s one of those places where you would take a look at the menu, and be satisfied, but not particularly excited – a feeling that’s a bit strange when considering the whimsical decor. that said, i haven’t stayed away just for that reason – you won’t find a better butterscotch pudding anywhere, nor can you find a more perfect burger with the right balance of euro (mayo with your fries) and american (…beef, and perfectly crisp bacon). (more…)
it’s completely unremarakable that upon returning from taipei and also from palermo, i had dinner with my family. what is rather odd is the dinner itself – chinese takeout after taipei, and as it happens, italian after palermo. sadly for palermo, i rather think that […]
restaurant openings in my neighborhood always cause me some pain along with the joy. i very much like craigie street bistrot, and am quite happy that now it’s around the corner on main street. at the same time, i really am not that happy that […]
i’ve just returned from a lovely, languorous lunch at per se. initially i had doubts that i even wanted to try to go to per se; after all, i’ve been to the french laundry, and it seems that the two are not particularly different (especially given thomas keller’s extreme attention to detail). to me it has always seemed that per se is just the east coast outpost of the original. if i had to choose a place to go where it’s hard to get reservations, it would probably be momofuku ko. (a note on reservations: did i just luck out when i called babbo to make a reservation? i mean, i guess it’s a wednesday, but it’s at a convenient time and everything. i suppose it was three weeks later than i had been thinking to make the reservation.)
as fate would have it, one of jessica’s friends managed to get a lunch reservation. then they had someone drop out of their party of four, and voila, suddenly i was going to go to lunch at per se. why the sudden change of heart? well, at the end of the day, i really was curious to see if per se is different from the french laundry. and i also wanted to hang out with jessica, since i hadn’t seen her in a while. for those who are wondering how i can justify that much on one dinner, well, i really do enjoy eating food that is interesting and prepared with impeccable technique. much as i like to believe i’m a good cook, i’m really just a good home cook – i’ve got nothing on these four-star restaurants. and i know enough about food to know when the kitchen is doing something really spectacular, and with every posh dinner i’ve had (about once a year), it has been worth it. i think that what i’m getting out of the dinner is more than just food; it’s the opportunity to see what someone else is thinking about food: what it is, what it should be, and how you should eat it. i love high-concept food when it delivers, when a chef is thinking about a certain problem and that a particular dish is the solution to that problem. (more…)
it’s that time again: time for a random updating of my top ten favorite restaurants in boston/cambridge. these lists are always a little suspect because, well, what do i mean by top ten? i think that in this case, it’s a best-hits type of thing, […]
annisa / 13 barrow street, new york / 212-741-6699 / m-sat 5:30-10:30, sun 5:30-9:30 / appetizers $9-18, entrees $27-33 when i was in chicago, i always felt awkward having dinner by myself – i always have that problem, when not in cambridge, where i can’t […]
banq / 1375 washington street, boston / 617-451-0077 / m-sat 5:30pm-1am, sun 5:30pm-11pm / appetizers $8-12, entrees $19-26
did that title sound a little snide? too snide? yeah, it’s a little snide. this is a review of banq, the new-ish restaurant on washington street, next to union bar & grille. it’s located in a newly renovated building, with an interior by nader tehrani.
a few words about the interior: it’s pretty cool, but here’s me not really understanding the relationship of the booths, which are walled in an exotic-looking wood veneer, to the interior ceiling/landscape, which is created by cnc-routed sections of plywood that are spaced evenly to create a 3d reverse landscape. my beef with the booths: they detract from the plywood dealio, rather than enhancing your experience of it. i have to wonder if nader did just the plywood, or also the booths. i have to say that i prefer ltl’s tides restaurant to banq, which seems a little too hip to me. also, these restaurant interiors always bring up the issue of how they’re supposed to age. in the case of stuff like this, which is very showy and trendy, and sometimes very cool, i can’t imagine that it will still be as showy and cool in ten years. (more…)
o ya / 9 east street, boston / 617-654-9900 / tu-th 5-10pm, f-sat 5-11pm / $100-150 tasting menu, a la carte small plates range from $8-$45 i can identify significant points in the development of my palate: the fresh ricotta from chez panisse, the moment […]