Legal Sea Foods

Every time we visit Boston, we make a pilgrimage to Legal Sea Foods. This is where I discovered that Blue fish is not to my liking, as it is too oily for my taste. This is also where I discovered a delightful salad of blackened shrimp over mixed greens that is no longer on the menu, but inspires me to try and recreate it one day. Although it is a chain restaurant, the menu is creative, ever changing, and the seafood always fresh and delicious.

Lobster bisque is a great way to start any meal and we find ourselves (credit goes exclusively to my husband here) making it as a first course for holiday dinners at home. It is delightful to have someone else do the work while we reap the benefit. The crab cake is less time consuming to make, but equally rewarding on the plate and beautifully paired with a spicy mustard sauce and a seasonal salad. the one photographed is the appetizer.

Once again, our appetites got the better of us and these photos were taken just minutes before finishing the lightly fried New England full belly clams with cornbread, an appetizer worthy of any entree, and a special that evening, a seafood ravioli in tomato sauce.

A trio of house made ice creams was a nice ending to the meal. You may select from a group and this was Kona coffee with macadamia nuts, Belgian chocolate and vanilla bean.

http://www.legalseafoods.com/index.cfm?cd=LOCATION&pid=11279&cdid=11833

255 State Street

Boston MA 02109

Phone: 617.742.5300

Fax: 617.523.0512
Sun-Thurs: 11:00am - 10:00pm
Fri-Sat: 11:00am - 11:00pm

75 Chestnut Street

Asking a native where they would take an out-of-towner to eat for a classic regional meal has worked well over the years. Our source for finding 75 Chestnut was our hotel desk clerk, who explained that it was a neighborhood restaurant that she would like to go to more often herself. We crossed Boston Gardens to Charles St., walking north until we found Chestnut, a few blocks from Beacon St , then turned left. This was a neighborhood bistro packed with patrons from the surrounding Beacon Hill neighborhood. Luckily we had prebooked our reservation, because we still had a long wait.

The menu is filled with classic American fare; steaks, chops, chicken, salads, soups, desserts, and New England standards like chowder and fish. We had been to Martha's Vineyard, so passed on the clam chowder and selected the daily special of tomato bisque ($7), which was lighter than most bisques yet still rich in flavor. The salad ($9) was composed of Boston Bibb lettuce, goat cheese, dried cranberries and toasted pecans. I thought the dressing could be improved with a bit of honey. The menu indicated apples in the salad, but I don't recall any, nor do I see any in the photo. Roast chicken breast ($18) was served with a salad and fingerling, roasted potatoes, nicely moist, perfectly cooked.

The grilled Porterhouse pork chop ($20) was also moist and nicely cooked, drizzled with pan juices, and came with steamed green beans and potatoes. It walked away with "best selection of the evening" honors. The shallot mashed potatoes are worth a mention on their own, so creamy and light. I may try duplicating them at home. All in all, this was as comfortable as comfort food gets. But I do need to mention that the overcrowding caused service delays, as well as reservation delays. Still It was a good experience to feel like a local in a neighborhood establishment off the beaten path.

http://www.75chestnut.com/directions.htm

617) 227-2175

75 Chestnut St

Boston MA

Locke-Ober

If you didn't know Locke-Ober was steeped in Boston history when making your reservation, it would be apparent once you stepped through the doors. After walking up the pedestrian only alley on which it resides, we felt this was going to be a special dining experience the minute we ventured inside. The decor was old world with richly carved, dark wood and the room was very dimly lit. Yes, this was a romantic restaurant, even though it had a history of political intrigue. JFK, and many politicians before him, would hold private meetings in the small upstairs dining rooms.

As tradition dictated, my dining companion ordered the Lobster stew (if it was good enough for JFK, it was good enough for him). Flavorful and much like oyster stew, thin and without what most of of think of as a stew essentials, thick pieces of potatoes and other vegetables. The crab cakes and scallops were the perfect first course for me; texturally satisfying, light on the palate and refreshing.

We shared a very sweet and luscious butternut squash risotto. I especially liked the plating with thin slices of the squash added. The 14 oz New York Strip was accompanied by a marrow bone and piled high with shredded and fried root vegetables. It was perfectly cooked and exquisite in taste; so said my dining companion.

The Filet Mignon Rossini with foie gras was for me the highlight of the evening. I love sculptural presentations that astound the diner visually before wowing him with the flavor combinations. These flavor combinations were spectacular starting with the 10 oz steak, then the foie gras, fried parsnip strips and finally the cognac fig sauce. We did not even think of dessert after such a spectacular meal.

http://www.lockeober.com/
(617) 542-1340
3 Winter Pl
Boston, MA

Fig's

Diminutive may perfectly describe the size of this restaurant as the lot size is narrow and long. With the space taken for the entry, the dining area may only be 10' wide as the tables didn't appear any longer than 3'. The seating is so limited, the bread pudding dessert is only offered as a "take out"! Unfortunately, it was raining the day we visited, so dessert on a park bench in Boston Gardens, only 1 1/2 blocks away, was not an option. Although Fig's may be the smallest of Todd English's restaurants, where size matters it was big. Big on flavor, big on originality.

A warm, rich tasting bread arrived at the table accompanied by a small bowl of a grassy flavored olive oil, decorated with a few perfect green and black olives. We split an order of deep fried calamari ($10) lightly drizzled with garlic aioli and sprinkled with parsley. I liked the visual appeal of the plate. Parsley perked up the bland looking calamari, a small detail that often is missed. They were perfectly tender and perfectly seasoned.

We were about to order one pizza each, until the waiter cautioned us that they were 16" and 8 slices. We selected the Balsamic fig, Gorgonzola, prosciutto pizza seen in the photos, because we loved it the last time we visited Boston, and had been looking forward to eating it again. Still, the Portobello, wild mushroom puree pizza with Fontina will be on my plate the next time we stop by.
Our pizza had a very thin crust, crisp on the bottom, fresh from the brick pizza oven. It was rich and sweet from the balsamic infused dried figs, and salty from the Gorgonzola and prosciutto; a perfectly balanced combination of flavors. As you can see, fresh slivers of scallion were added, and again, that small touch enhanced the look, maybe more so than the flavor.


http://www.toddenglish.com/

42 Charles St
Boston MA 02108
(617 742-3447)