Boston Restaurant Deals, part II

The good news: there are LOTS of restaurant deals in Boston. The bad news: there are so many, it's kind of hard to keep track, and I often end up at the right restaurant at the wrong time.

To simplify things, here are Dish Gal's picks for one delicious week! I picked my faves based on creativity of the offer, bang-for-your-buck, and quality of the food/atmosphere. In addition, these deals give you a nice little tour of our fine city along the way, including many different neighborhoods. ;)

Monday

Combat the Monday blues with Magical Mondays at Sel de la Terre, Back Bay. $1 oysters, $1 charcuterie, and $5 cocktail specials. That sounds pretty magical to me...

Sel de la Terre

774 Boylston Street, Boston

Tuesday

Tuesday seems to be the hot "special" day-- every restaurant seems to offer something!-- but for me, the $2 tacos at Tremont 647 are tops. (Click on that link to read the Serious Eats coverage of it.)Runner-up: $1 mini-burgers at Match.

Tremont 647

647 Tremont Street, Boston

Match

94 Mass. Ave. (around the corner from Urban Outfitters on Newbury Street)

Wednesday

For hump day, head over the river to the chic-and-sexy Noir Bar at the Charles Hotel for their 5-4-3-2-1-0 deal. With a drink purchase, choose from items ranging from $5 flatbreads, to $2 salads, to $0 nuts.

Noir Bar

One Bennett Street, Cambridge

Thursday

Meander down to the Seaport District for this amazing deal from Aura chef Rachel Klein. Flight Nights at Tamo, the bar in the Seaport Hotel, include a flight of beer (Thrillist lists Anchor Steam, Buzzards Bay, and Peak Nut Brown Ale) plus three sliders for just $9! Plus, you'll be automatically entered to win a flight night party for you and 25 of your dearest friends.

Tamo Bar

One Seaport Lane, Boston

Friday

Celebrate the weekend by heading over directly after work for Rocca's 5@5 deal-- 5 appetizers to choose from for just $5 from 5-6:30 p.m.

Rocca
500 Harrison Avenue, Boston

Saturday

Restaurants have figured out that most of us will eat out on Saturday nights whether there's a deal or not. You could take advantage of the many round-the-clock prix-fixe options, like the $35 three courses at dante in Cambridge, but for Dish Gal, $35 is still a lot of money to part with these days.

Instead, explore the North End on a budget: Grab a pizza at Ernesto’s (approximately $15) and a bottle of Barefoot Wine ($7) purchased across the street at the Wild Duck. Enjoy it all al fresco on the beautiful fountain-filled greenway (not that I condone public intoxication, but one might suggest... throw that white wine in a solo cup, and you are good to go). Split between four people, that’s a mere $5.50 each.

dante

5 Cambridge Parkway, Cambridge (in the Royal Sonesta)

Ernesto's

69 Salem Street, Boston

Wild Duck

96 Salem Street, Boston

Sunday

Ah, Sunday. For you early-risers, you can save on brunch by heading early (10- 11 a.m.) to Gaslight for their great prix-fixe brunch (click here for menu).

For dinner, head to Cheap Date Night at Myers + Chang (runs Sunday- Tuesday) for a spin on the typical Asian-take-out routine. Only $40 per couple.

Gaslight

560 Harrison Avenue, Boston

Myers + Chang

1145 Washington Street, Boston

Photo credits, top to bottom...

1) Serious Eats

2) Dish Gal

3) New York Times

Concert at Tommy Doyle's

Dish Gal has already talked about one time when cooking and music come together; now I'm going to write about another.

One of Dish Gal's favorites is Christa Gniadek, a super talented, up and coming singer/songwriter who will be performing TONIGHT (May 12) at Tommy Doyle's in Cambridge (in Harvard Square). She goes on at 10 p.m., and there's no cover. Come early for some pre-music libations. Here's the link to the event facebook page.

Suggested pre-concert dinner spots in the area:

- For those as broke as me: visit the chic Noir Bar in the Charles Hotel for their "5-4-3-2-1-0" deal ($5 Flatbreads, $4 Sandwiches, $3 Snacks, $2 Salads, $1 Sweets, $0 Nuts) (offered Monday-Thursday, 5 p.m. - 9 p.m.)
- For meat lovers: grab a burger at Charlie's Kitchen
- For those with sophisticated taste on a budget: Garden at the Cellar
- For those lucky enough to have $$ to spend: Upstairs on the Square (try the hot dates)

Restaurant-Hopping in Harvard Square

Z and I spent the day on Saturday hanging out in Harvard Square. After a few hours of shopping and walking in the freezing cold, we decided to stop in to the warmest and coziest place I could think of: Upstairs on the Square. With two roaring fireplaces, and after two glasses of red wine , we warmed up fast.

With it being our anniversary and all, we couldn't help but choose the appropriately named "hot dates" to start-- Marcona almond stuffed date wrapped with bacon ($2 each). We also went with a light salad, the Boston Bibb with grapefruit and pistachios ($11).
While the dates look small, they taste large. I loved the contrast of the sweet and salt, and the way they positively melted in your mouth. The salad was a bit of a disappointment. For $11, it was a little sad and not all that tasty.

However, how can you argue with sitting at a great bar in this incredibly cozy room?

After Upstairs on the Square, we headed over to one of my favorite bars, Noir. Since it was fairly early, we got to snag one of those awesome round booth tables, made of plush leather that you just sink into. Here we decided to go with the incredibly rich and amazingly delicious spinach, bacon, and gruyere cheese dip with toasted pita chips ($7).
We also shared the toasted mixed nuts with wasabi peas ($3). What a huge bowl of nuts! And that's my crazy drink, the Chartreuse Basil ($12) with green chartreuse, basil, fresh lime and simple syrup. That packed an unexpected punch!

Finally, a trip to Harvard Square wouldn't be complete with a stop at Casablanca. Celebrating its 30th anniversary, I'm sure over the years this place has given a lot of memories for many people. It was our first official "date." I love grabbing a glass of wine in their bar and putting money in their eclectic jukebox, filled with everyone from Frank Sinatra to the Red Hot Chili Peppers (we chose both). Here's its famous mural:

This time, we weren't planning on eating, since we were so stuffed already. But we bumped into someone we know who works there, who sent over a complimentary Turkish meze plate, with toasted pita, Muhammara, carrot salad, and fava bean puree. YUMMY. We wrapped this bad boy up to go, and I enjoyed it for lunch the next day.

All in all, a terrific day in Harvard Square.

Dinner at Garden at the Cellar

Last night, Z and I headed back to Garden at the Cellar, one of my favorite restaurants in Boston/Cambridge. I've already written a review of it (check it out, here) but I just wanted to report on some new things I tried last night... like a beautiful (and quite large) beet salad, with pistachios and goat cheese...

...And oh, a scrumptious truffled potato leek soup, with fingerling potato chips for garnish...

And one can't forget the pan-roasted duck breast with roasted squash and spiced grapes:

And with the check comes a little sweetness, with chocolates from local Somerville Taza chocolates- Yum!

With great tunes (while there we heard the Beach Boys, Bob Marley, and the Beatles among other artists) and a warm and inviting scene, I couldn't help but order a glass of red wine to warm up from the horrendous cold....Oops, guess I lasted a week booze-free-- that's kind of good, right? =)

Free ice cream this weekend!

Ciao Bella (the gelato and sorbet company, not the Newbury St restaurant) is giving away free gelato and sorbet this weekend in Harvard Square, part of their “Discover-Savor-Share” summer tour. Check out the fun bus that they'll be serving it up in:You know how Dish Gal feels about free food (everything tastes better when it's free...see sidebar at right), so if you're in the area, definitely stop by and give it a try:

September 19 (from 5-8pm); September 20 (from 12-5pm); and September 21 (3-7pm).

Grafton St

Once in a while I'll have a dish that is so good, it makes me close my eyes just so I can appreciate every single morsel, every taste. I had one of those recently, out of the blue. You expect it when you're getting gussied up on a Friday night, or when you're trying a fancy new restaurant, or when you're on vacation. But on a random Tuesday night? Never.

That Tuesday, Skylar, Sebastian and I were meeting for dinner just to spice up the week a little. We decided on Grafton St in Harvard Square, since it's kind of equidistant between The Hill and The 'Ville (our respective 'hoods). After sipping on some chardonnay, we started with the strawberry and frisee salad with goat cheese and an orange vinagrette ($9). It was pretty good, although frisee is kind of a turnoff for me-- too prickly. Our waitress had raved about it, so I was a little wary that she had also raved about my entree...

Luckily, she was right on with this recommendation. I ordered the artichoke and fontina ravioli ($15), which were large, thick ravioli, wet and slippery from the silky lemon butter sauce. Accompanying the sweet and cheesy pasta was a mound of bitter, fragrant, bright green arugula.

It was simple, and yet it just...worked. The potent cheese with the delicate artichoke, the sweet sauce with the bitter greens...

Deeeeelish! Brave the crumbling Longfellow Bridge and the firey red line and get to Harvard Square pronto for this one.

Rialto for Restaurant Week

The SO (let's call him Z) and I went out to celebrate my birthday early by dining at Rialto for Restaurant Week.

I went in with a slightly-soured outlook on the whole thing after continually reading on chowhound.com people berating RW, saying that its not good for the restaurants, not good for the servers, and not good for the customers (they lose money from food costs; they have lower check averages and lose money; the food isn't as good as a normal week because the restaurants skimp - it's a vicious cycle). Dish Gal felt a little down in the dumps because of it.

But I got all dressed up and pushed those thoughts to the back of my mind. The hostesses greeted us at the entrance and were very friendly and not in the least bit pretentious- a nice start. We were a bit early so we grabbed a seat at the bar and ordered some wine. Very pricey ($8-12 range) but our selections were very nice. The bartender was a little chilly in demeanor but was helpful in narrowing the choices.

Our table was ready shortly after we ordered, so we followed the hostess through the dining room and ended up at a great table overlooking Harvard Square right next to the windows at a small, intimate table. Did they find out I was Dish Gal ? (ha...)The restaurant was very elegant and refined, yet cozy-similar to Harvest but on a grander scale.

Our waitress was similarly chilly like the bartender, but did help us select our choices when I was overwhelmed by all the options. I chose the carrot and fennel soup with mint to start, and Z got the potato gnocchi with meat sauce.

The bread arrived in a bread basket that looked oddly like the ones from Not Your Average Joe's (you know those big spiral holders?) and was accompanied with fresh olive oil with a sprig of rosemary, and a little teaspoon of sea salt. Very tasty.

The carrot soup was delightful; the flavors were subtle yet so fragrant and well balanced. It was light yet sumptious. Definitely turned out to be my favorite portion of the meal. Z's gnocchi was tiny but packed a punch, and I was glad they didn't splurge on the serving size-that was just enough. The meat sauce was delicate and not overwhelming and the gnocchi were creamy and melted in your mouth.

Z's entrée was pork loin accompanied by cheesy polenta, green beans, and mustard sauce. Like at Harvest, the polenta i.e. the starch was a miniscule amount, more like a garnish. But a very tasty garnish! I don't even really like pork but it was very nicely prepared. I chose the seared char with a citrus salad. The pieces of orange danced around in my mouth and complemented the char.

We finished with a cinammon panna cotta and chocolate torta. We joked that the waiter put the plates in front of the wrong people when he gave me the panna cotta and Z the chocolate. We each took one bite, looked at each other, and passed the dishes across the table. Other than that gaffe, a bit - above- average dessert. Very rich.

All in all I enjoyed Rialto, but I couldn't get those voices criticizing restaurant week out of my head. I couldn't help but imagine the chef choosing the cheapest ingredients, the easiest dishes. I don't feel like I really got the "Rialto" experience. It was yummy, but not anything over the top as it laudes itself.

Harvest for Restaurant Week

Restaurant Week has finally arrived! The girls and I headed to Harvest in Harvard Square on Sunday to kick off the festivities. The restaurant was located on "the walkway" right by Crate & Barrel, a bit hidden and out of the way, but easy enough to find.

The layout of the restaurant has a sort of windy way about it, as we were led to our table through a small area that resembled the kitchen. The dining room was quite lovely, very traditional and elegant, yet homey and comfortable. We were seated pretty close to a roaring fireplace too-lots of fireplaces these days apparently!

For the first time I was actually put together enough to bring a camera, so I can include photos of what I sampled-hooray! I started with a salad of mixed greens, walnuts, and a sort of ranch-type dressing. As you can see from the photo, it was beautifully arranged on the plate, with a swirl of the dressing on the right, and a pile of crisp greens on the left. The greens were quite bitter, but tasted very fresh, like they had just been, dare I say, harvest-ed? (That was bad... I apologize...) Skylar was the only one to try the garlic and watercress soup, which as you can see in the picture, was a vibrant shade of green, offset by a large crostini topped with smoked cod tartine. It was a unique soup, which I appreciated, and was light yet creamy.

For the next course I opted the salmon with beets and whipped Yukon potatoes. The beets turned the mashed potatoes a pepto-bismol pink, which I could have done without... and it was more of a dollop than a serving of them. The beets themselves though were great, as was the salmon, with a nice seared and crusted top and flaky and moist inside. Very delicate flavors, nothing overwhelming (or mind-blowing). Michelle was the only one to try the pork loin, which I took a bite of and was thoroughly impressed with-had an Asian flavor that was unique and very tasty.

Finally, I finished with the chocolate cake with espresso ice cream, which was nicely arranged (sorry no photo for this one, was too excited to eat it) and beautifully prepared. A tiny warm little cake with smooth ice cream with that kick of coffee flavor.

All in all, Harvest was a great first restaurant week choice-a place I would probably never go to on my own, but was delicious nonetheless. One of Harvest's claims to fame is its fresh and local ingredients, and this was definitely apparent in the food. Although it wasn't the most inventive or stunning cuisine, it definitely was food you did not feel guilty about consuming.

Lunch at Upstairs on the Square

Special occasion dining can be tricky, and I take the responsibility of picking a restaurant for these instances very seriously. For my mom's birthday, I spent many hours trying to pick the perfect place-- fun yet upscale, upscale yet unpretentious, unpretentious yet with haute cuisine... You catch my drift.

I finally settled on Upstairs on the Square, a place I had heard about but never tried, as I had always pictured a stuffy dining room filled with turned-up noses and arrogance. However, I could not be more wrong. When I saw the pictures of the dining room online I was shocked-- splashes of hot pink and zebra and gold chairs assaulted my senses-- and this was through a computer screen! I could not imagine what it would look like close up.

It was a bitter cold and rainy day, but when we walked into the restaurant it was as if we had entered another world-- part Alice in Wonderland, part fun house. We were dining in the Monday Club Bar (the upstairs dining room is reserved for dinners, called the Soiree Room), which was a hunter green room with splashes of pinks and purples and animal prints, with gold chairs and roaring fireplaces. Above the bar was written "Go Red Sox!" in large letters.

We were early for our reservation, so we grabbed a seat at the bar and ordered some drinks. I got my all-time fave, a bloody mary. It was decent, although not my favorite...it was loaded with horseradish, which I usually like in moderation, but this one had so much it overpowered any other flavors in the drink. I'm still partial to the one at Johnny D's in Somerville...

We were seated next to one of the fireplaces, which made the dining experience at once glamorous and cozy. Of course, it also partially roasted one half of my body, but can one really complain about one of the best tables in the place? The menu was a typical lunch menu with upscale touches. For example-- I chose the ham and gruyere on a croissant (ham and cheese sandwich anyone?). My mom got a cheeseburger, and my dad, salmon atop mixed greens. Everything was quite tasty, but nothing to fawn over.

The decor on the other hand was a different story-- the intricate details like the pink faux-snakeskin menus and the ornate chandeliers were all mesmerizing. Some could say it is seizure-inducing busyness, but I applaud anything that is different from the minimalist trend going on right now in restaurants with the white walls and the white chairs and the off-white linens... (Sorellina, I'm talking to you).

We finished with the butterscotch pudding, which was absolutely scrumptious. The sweetness perfectly complemented the sweetness of the decor-- and rounded out a great birthday lunch for one sweet lady.

Not a garden, not a cellar, but definitely delicious

There are two types of great restaurants: the type that serves extravagant, expensive, and mind-blowing meals that you have once every two years; and the type that serves great food on a regular basis, and you could go to every two days.

Garden at the Cellar right outside Harvard Square belongs to this latter group. While relatively not too far from where I live, I would kill to have it be one of those places that is a stone's throw away, where you can stumble over late on a Tuesday night for a glass of wine and some casual nibbles at the bar. It has that great neighborhood feel, from the casually dressed wait staff to the convivial atmosphere of a place filled with locals.

The restaurant doesn’t have much décor going on, or any sort of “designed” atmosphere, but instead the energy comes from the food and from the people. It was crowded when we stopped in last Thursday at around 8:15 pm, and we grabbed a glass of wine from the tattooed bartender and stood waiting for a table. We finally sat around 20 minutes later, and as soon as my eyes met that menu, I was hooked. So many things to choose from! We decided to, per usual, split a few things.

First came the sea scallops on a sweet potato puree (around $10? I can’t recall). They were light and very tasty; however, as always, I wondered why I ordered them since I’m not even a fan of scallops…I don’t know why I always forget! Then the waiter brought our salad, which was a special that night: a warm spinach salad with duck confit and goat cheese… it was delicious, the type of meal that you’d want to be able to make yourself. Then we waited for our next course…and waited…and waited. At this point, I was already realizing I was quite full! (Apparently that old dieting adage of waiting 20 minutes to realize you are full is true…damnit.)

Finally, our last part of the meal arrived: a flatbread pizza with mushrooms and herbed ricotta cheese ($11), and the restaurant’s “famous” tater tots ($5)! The pizza was delicious, and again was the sort of yummy, everyday-yet- interesting meal that I know I’ll be craving soon. The tater tots were sumptuous and very rich. They had that familiar crunch on the outside, but the inside was dense and creamy. We couldn’t bear to even think about dessert, but with the check came pieces of dark chocolate lined up on a square white plate; these sorts of small gestures in my book really elevate a restaurant from good to great. The total bill was just $36 for the two of us—a bargain considering I took most of the pizza and tater tots home with me and had them for lunch the next day.

Mostly I loved Garden at the Cellar because it’s exactly what I look for in a restaurant—somewhere that is atmospheric but unpretentious, filled with delicious food at reasonable prices, and somewhere the minute you leave you are plotting your return.

Z-Square in Harvard Square

Skylar and I found ourselves in a foodie predicament this past Saturday night: 7:00 p.m. and we had no reservation for dinner. We wanted to try somewhere new, but knew all the usual hot spots would definitely have a looong wait.

So Skylar and (let's call her) Michelle and I finally decided on Z Square in Harvard Square, as they had availability for 3 people at 8 o'clock. Conveniently located just steps from the T, we passed through its "cafe" upstairs and descended to its subterranean restaurant and bar.

The restaurant had a small bar area, with large rectangular high-top tables with groups sitting around nursing bottled beers and havin' a laugh ("are you havin' a laugh??" gotta love Extras). The main dining room was very open, and reminded me of a really nice dining hall or cafeteria.

So was I back in high school? Not with these prices. Maybe I’ve become spoiled by the influx of moderately priced restaurants in Boston, but whenever entrees start migrating towards the $30 mark, the joy I feel from dining out starts to get a little overshadowed by the guilt I feel at taking away money I could be using for other necessities (like a silly thing called “shelter”).

Dish Gal’s tummy wasn’t feeling up to its normal happy self, so I decided to stick to some nice, light fish. As I scanned the menu I saw this wouldn’t be a problem—Z Square actually featured quite a few fish dishes, ranging from sea scallops and swordfish to tilapia and cod. I selected the coconut fried tilapia with sugar snap peas and a cucumber-mango relish ($22). However, neither coconut nor fried seemed to appeal to me, so I simply requested that the waitress ask the chef to make it just grilled or poached tilapia.

Now, Dish Gal usually doesn’t like to alter her food at restaurants—she knows that the chef created it the way it comes for a reason—but in extreme circumstances like this one, she has to stray a bit from the menu. Having waitressed before, I’ve heard some very strange requests before, but changing the way a fish was prepared was not one of them. However, our waitress awkwardly said that I couldn’t change the way the tilapia was, but that I could sub-in another fish instead. (Does this mean that the chef pre-makes the coconut fried tilapia? I was confused.) I sub-ed in the swordfish kebabs ($24) and called it a day.

In the end, the swordfish was very nice, light and flaky, and mixed in with the rice and the cucumber-mango relish, I patted myself on the back (in my head only, of course) for actually creating a nice little meal for myself! And my stomach thanked me afterwards.

My dining companions, on the other hand, tried quite a lot—they seemed happy with everything, although no “oh my god this is awesome” remarks. I took a bite of their roasted pear and prosciutto salad ($9), as that combo is one of my favorites, and it was quite tasty.

The verdict? Z-Square kind of reminds of The Cheesecake Factory for urban folks: If I’m in the mood for a fantastic meal out, I’m not going to head there. But friends are in town and no one can agree on a place and food is not the priority but rather good conversation and an overall nice time? Just might end up there.