Showing posts with label back bay. Show all posts
Showing posts with label back bay. Show all posts

Tuesday, May 14, 2019

Where to Drink Cocktails in Boston: Back Bay

Back Bay is a bit of a touristy area of Boston with Prudential Center, Copley Square, and more, but that doesn't mean there aren't bars worthy of your visit. Here are some of my favorite places to grab a cocktail in Back Bay.

OAK Long Bar + Kitchen
gourmetpigs.com
Oak Long Bar is the bar at the Fairmont Copley Square. Since it's a swanky hotel, so is the bar. The drink prices reflect that as well, but it's home to one of my favorite drinks in Boston: the Smoked Chai Manhattan. You can read more about the bar here.

Nahita
Nahita drinks
Nahita is worth a visit for the gorgeous interior alone, but fortunately the cocktails match the interior. The cocktail menu changes seasonally and there's usually a clarified milk punch on the menu (which is one of my favorite things!)

Friday, November 2, 2018

Rebel's Guild in Revere Hotel (Boston, MA)

Earlier this spring, Rebel's Guild opened in the Revere Hotel with an American revolution theme to the decor. There's the cannon in the center of the dining room and Paul Revere and history-themed murals.
Rebels Guild

If you only get one drink here, make sure to get the Maple Old Fashioned (Whistlepig 10 year rye, Whistlepig maple syrup, orange bitters - $21)
Rebels Guild
It's a bit pricy but it's easily the best drink on the menu. We tried other drinks, as well, which tended to be lighter and fruitier like the Midnight Ride (Ghost tequila, lemonade, blueberry syrup, $14)
Rebels Guild

Wednesday, July 11, 2018

Michael Schlow's New L'Ancora Pop-Up at Eataly Boston

Chef Michael Schlow just started a new pop-up restaurant inside Eataly Boston. The latest pop-up is called L'Ancora and will feature cuisines from Italy's coastal cities. I recently attended a media preview tasting for the new pop-up. We started our lunch with some arancini.
L'Ancora

Bruschetta con 'Nduja (La Quercia, 'nduja, provolone, parsley). 'nduja came from the village of Spilinga in Calabria.
L'Ancora
If you've never had 'nduja, it is a spicy pork salumi spread. The combo on the toasted bread helps temper the spiciness and enhanced the flavors.

Insalata di Zucchine (raw farm zucchini, capers, lemon, arugula, Parmigiano Reggiano)
L'Ancora
This was a simple, yet extremely fresh salad. Isn't that what Italian food is all about?

Tuesday, April 24, 2018

Spring Cocktails, Crab Toast, and More at OAK Long Bar + Kitchen at The Fairmont Copley Plaza (Boston, MA)

A month or so ago, I finally visited OAK Long Bar + Kitchen for a proper cocktail tasting. I often neglect hotel bars, but I've heard good things about this particular one so I decided to try it.
I was given a special sneak peek of their spring cocktails, which at the time didn't even have names yet! I was waiting until "spring" to post about them, and I think it's finally here, right?

I started with one that really invokes spring, a cocktail that's now been named Home Grown. It's made with Gunpowder Irish gin, English pea syrup, lemon, honey.

DSC02405
The vegetal notes of the pea worked really well with the botanicals in the gin. But don't worry, this refreshing drink is not overly vegetal, it was tempered nicely with the honey.

The restaurant manager Will Caines did a great job pairing up the cocktails with some bites from Oak's food menu. Will was previously a bartender at Doretta Taverna.
The first drink was served alongside Avocado and crab toast (peekytoe crab, burrata, pickled jalapeno, cilantro, $18)
gourmetpigs.com

Tuesday, December 26, 2017

U.S. vs France Pinot Noir Wine Dinner at Bistro du Midi (Boston, MA)

Bistro du Midi is an old-school French restaurant in Boston's Back Bay and about once a month they hold a special wine dinner for a small group in their private room, curated by head sommelier Ray Osborne. I attended their last wine dinner on November 29, which was a U.S. vs France Pinot Noir dinner. Ray explained each wine and pairing, as well as other tidbits about wines and pinot noirs. He told us that dark, less opaque colored wine is the mark of cooler climate wines.

We started the dinner with Beet-cured salmon, caper, creme fraiche
Bistro du Midi
This was paired with a 2014 WillaKenzie "Giselle" from Willamette Valley, Oregon.
Bistro du Midi
WillaKenzie Estate is a big name in Willamette Valley, started by Burgundian Bernard Lacroute. The name WillaKenzie refers to the soil, which is near Willamette River and MacKenzie River.
This was a great pairing, the wine tasted much smoother with the fatty salmon and sweet, earthy beet puree.

Spanish octopus, sunchoke, golden delicious, smoked almonds
Bistro du Midi
Paired with 2016 Louis Latour from Gevrey-Chambertin
Burgundy is particularly sensitive to vintages, and 2016 is a classic vintage. Louis Latour is an 11th generation winemaker since 18th century. Wines from Gevrey-Chambertin is known to be irony, earthy, mineral.

Friday, November 24, 2017

Visit the Chef's Playground with Leo's Lab at Tico (Boston, MA)

The best meals are created when chefs get to play around and innovate with their ingredients. Chef Leo Asaro at Tico Restaurant in Boston's Back Bay gets to do every once in a while with a special dinner called Leo's Lab, which happen every 2-3 weeks.

Leo's Lab
For Leo's Lab, guests are seated at the lab kitchen counter, so you can see all the action of Chef Leo Asaro preparing everything. There are only eight seats and only one seating for the night, so it's quite an exclusive experience.

Each Leo's Lab dinner comes with five savory courses, a dessert, and a chef's special cocktail - plus a welcome glass of prosecco for $75. Instead of a server, chef Asaro serves and explains each dish to the guests.

I attended the last dinner, which started with some Bay scallops with autumn berry, pine, and smoked oil
Leo's Lab
It was near the end of the season for Nantucket bay scallops, and we savored it paired with tart autumn berry sauce.

"Wrapper's Delight" - vegetables wrapped with jamon serrano and mole
Leo's Lab
The mole took chef Asaro 2-3 days to make and was very rich in flavors. The wrap filling was also accentuated with some rau ram (culantro).


Hearts of Palm "Carbonara", uni and oyster crema, pancetta, pink peppercorn
Leo's Lab

Friday, October 13, 2017

Farm-to-Post Foraged and Wild Dinner at Post 390 (Back Bay, Boston, MA)

Farm to Post is the dinner series at Back Bay's Post 390 that showcases the local farmers and New England producers the restaurant works with. I attended a pork dinner last year featuring Dogpatch Farm and I had another opportunity to attend a special dinner recently. In September, Post 390 held a "Foraged and Wild" dinner featuring (you guessed it) foraged ingredients.

Each Farm to Post dinner always starts with a cocktail reception with passed hors d'oeuvres. This year's most popular appetizer was probably the fried Damariscotta oyster (from Maine) with creamed wild spinach and bacon.
Post 390 Foraging
The first cocktail is a sparkling Cocchi Americano drink with wild peppermint and sweet fern tea
Post 390 Foraging

First course: "Secret spot" mushroom vol-au-vent
Marsh greens, spiced black walnuts, blackberries, wild flower petals, Solomon's plume vinaigrette.
This was paired with Oxbow Brewing Farmhouse Pale Ale from Newcastle, ME.
Post 390 Foraging
The pastry for the vol-au-vent was perfectly flaky. The mushrooms, and other foraged items in the dinner were foraged by Nicholas Deutmeyer. The mushrooms came from his secret spot (hence the name). We had black trumpet mushrooms, lobster mushrooms, and chanterelles. The greens also featured foraged sea beans and sea arugula. Perfect start to a foraging dinner!

Thursday, September 28, 2017

Earl's Kitchen + Bar Heats Up the Prudential Center

Earls Kitchen + Bar is a Canadian-based restaurant chain that has made its way to a number of US cities. I haven't had the chance to check any of them out before, but I was recently invited to the opening party of the new location at The Prudential Location.

What I was surprised to see, and one of the coolest part of Earls at The Pru is the Cocktail Lab downstairs, where they will feature guest bartenders from all around the city.
Earls Prudential
The Goddess Manhattan, created by one of the restaurant's regular bartenders, was one of the bloggers' favorites of the night.
Earls Prudential
Other rotating bartenders who was also behind the bar that night were Will Isaza and Melinda Johnson-Maddox. I'm definitely excited about coming back to check out the Cocktail Lab and see who's behind the bar!                                                                                                                               
Earls Prudential
We also tried some bites off the menu during the party, including the Spicy Tuna Sushi Press (spicy soy marinated tuna, chives, nori, avocado, pickled ginger pressed on sushi rice, topped with sriracha mayo)
Earls Prudential
The tuna was served aburi-style, a.k.a. seared.

Friday, August 12, 2016

Devouring the Bar Menu at Grill 23 and Bar (Boston, MA)

Grill 23 and Bar may be celebrating 30 years of being one of the best steakhouses in Boston, but don't forget about the "Bar" part of the restaurant! Grill 23's bar menu features some great cocktails and satisfying bites like these Foie gras slider on cider doughnut with jalapeno jelly.
Untitled
No, really. Seared foie gras on a donut! I went to the bar menu launch party there and I think I ate 3 of these babies, and still wanted more. I would definitely come back for these - Foie gras lovers have to try them!

Grill 23 and Bar also has some nice cocktails - I love Death & Taxes in particular, with the smokiness of the cigar infused bourbon and the sweetness of the peach.
Grill 23
Grill 23

Friday, February 12, 2016

Healthy Dining at Freshii (Boston, MA)

When you eat out as much as I do, and eat as much unhealthy stuff as I do, a dinner filled with salads and healthy options is a welcomed change. A couple weeks ago that change came in the form of a blogger dinner at Freshii in Back Bay.
Freshii
Freshii is a fast food franchise out of Canada that focuses on fresh, healthy items like salads, wraps, juices and such. They have multiple locations in Boston including one on Dartmouth St in Back Bay.

We tasted samples of quite a few things during dinner including the popular Metaboost Salad (field greens, spinach, kale, mangos, carrots, edamame, almonds, goat cheese, balsamic vinaigrette)
Freshii

Sunday, November 8, 2015

A Tasting at Clio (Boston, MA)

I read recently that Clio, one of Ken Oringer's restaurants in the Eliot Hotel in Back Bay will be closing while Uni (also his restaurant) will be expanding into its space. I was a bit bummed by it since I recently tried Clio and enjoyed it. So, I thought I would blog about my experience there before they close, in case you guys would be enticed to go try it out! Plus, it's one of the only photos I took with my new Sony a6000 before it was stolen when my house got broken into the second time ... sigh.

Anyway, I had grabbed a Gilt City deal for a tasting menu at Clio, which was a pretty good deal for this restaurant. Clio has had a number of great bartenders behind the bar and albeit some have moved on to new restaurants, they still had a nice cocktail menu when I went. Being a root beer lover (don't give me that Dr. Pepper nonsense), I obviously went with the Sarsaparilla Flip (sarsaparilla spice rum, root beer reduction, egg white, nutmeg brulee, $14)

Clio

Dinner starts with an amuse bouche of nori with white umami cream cheese, lemon cream cheese - a rich umami bomb.
Clio

The first course was a Chilled Courgette (zucchini, basically) Soup, marinated mussels, rose geranium, truffle vinaigrette
Clio

The soup is a local marrow squash with smoked salt foam.

Thursday, September 10, 2015

Michael Serpa's Select Oyster Bar (Boston, MA)

When Michael Serpa, the chef who headed the kitchen at wildly popular Neptune Oyster, left to start a new restaurant, all seafood lovers should follow.

Select Oyster Bar
Chef Michael Serpa
Michael Serpa recently opened Select Oyster Bar in Back Bay. This restaurant is slightly bigger than Neptune, but still intimate. Less casual, yet still serving great seafood - both raw and cooked, with a nice list of cocktails, beer, and wine.
Select Oyster Bar
We started with some Dayboat scallop (from New Bedford, MA) ceviche. So fresh and I love the crunchy texture that the peppers added!
Select Oyster Bar
Of course, there are plenty of local oysters. We went with a couple each of the Island Creek, Wellfleet, and Pemaquid
Select Oyster Bar

Sunday, April 26, 2015

Preview: Tacos and Cocktails at UnderFire in Back Bay (Boston, MA)

UnderFire
The aptly named Under Fire is now open below Fire+Ice in their Boston Back Bay location. While Fire+Ice is a family friendly buffet, UnderFire is more of a bar/restaurant serving food a la carte featuring burgers and tacos.

I was invited to the opening celebration so I didn't get to try the full menu but I did try some tacos and sandwiches. Between the two, the tacos are the way to go. They're not all traditional Mexican taco recipes, but instead modernized - Americanized perhaps, but the flavors are good - incorporating ingredients like pesto in the Pollo al Pesto (fire-grilled chicken, sunflower pesto, queso fresco, diced tomato, fresh basil, EVOO, flour tortilla, $11 for 3)

UnderFire

My favorite (of the two tacos) was The Club (Peruvian-style grilled chicken, braised pork belly, cheddar cheese, pico, guacamole, jalapeno garlic aioli, flour tortilla, $12 for 3)
UnderFire

Some of the other tacos like the carnitas use a corn-wheat tortilla instead of white flour tortilla, and I'd be curious to try them!

The cocktails here are fruity and easy to go down, but they start at $8. It's nice not to have to spend $14 on a single drink. Also, for the most part, they're using fresh fruits.

Thursday, April 16, 2015

Provence Rosé Luncheon at Bar Boulud in Boston

Rosé. What comes to your mind when you hear about this particular type of wine? Summer? Lawn party? This wine is more than that.

Provence is the largest wine producing region specializing in dry rosé and they rosé very seriously and had even established The Center for Rosé Research in 1999, analyzing more than 1000 wines each year. The center is open to the public for anyone interested in learning more about this wine.
Provence Wine Bar Boulud
Provence extends from Marseille (the birthplace of rosé) to Nice and contains 3 main appellations: Côtes de Provence, Coteaux d'Aix en Provence, and Coteaux Varoix en Provence. It is believed that the earliest wines were originally rosé since the Greeks did not macerate wine with the skin for a long time to give the red color.

US is the largest export market for Provence rosé (even though France still has the highest consumption), yet rosé still has the reputation of being just a summer wine and Provence aims to change that. I recently attended a luncheon at Bar Boulud and tasted many different kind of rosé. The luncheon really showcased the diversity of this pink wine.

We were greeted with a glass of Hecht & Bannier Cotes de Provence Rosé 2014 ($18.99). This is perhaps the "typical" rosé: bright, crisp, fruity, with citrus notes and a clean short finish. Good to drink on its own yet versatile.

It was followed by Chateau Leoube, Rosé de Leoube 2014 and the first course was served:
Vivaneau Marine aux Agrumes (citrus cured red snapper, heirloom carrots, tapioca, lime, cilantro)

Bar boulud

Tuesday, March 31, 2015

Gelato, Gelato-Filled Macarons at Amarino (Boston, MA)

A new gelato shop has landed in Back Bay. Amorino is a chain started by two Italians - but first launched in Paris - that's making its way around the US. They use a special spatula to scoop your ice cream and promises to let you choose as many flavors as you like, no matter what size you buy. Even all 16 if you want.

Amorino
The gelato itself was very good. I tried a bunch and really liked the chocolate (rich and dark, just the way I like it), salted caramel, and the mango sorbet. You can definitely taste that they use real mangoes.

They also have macarons, but not your run-off-the-mill maracons. They're filled with gelato!
Amorino Boston

Monday, July 14, 2014

Ostra (Boston)

One of Boston's top restaurant groups is the Columbus Hospitality Group, which runs a number of high end restaurants in town helmed by Executive Chef Jamie Mammano. Their latest is Ostra, a seafood-oriented Mediterranean restaurant in Back Bay.

IMG_3202
Considering the restaurant's name, I obviously had to order some oysters. The fun part about moving to Boston is trying all the East Coast oysters we rarely get in LA. I've tried and loved Cotuit in LA, but this was my first time having Duxbury oysters.
Oysters
There was a special appetizer of hamachi beautifully wrapped in avocado
IMG_3204

Wednesday, February 16, 2011

Boston Restaurant Reviews (Boston, MA)

#
75 on Courthouse Square (Seaport)

A
Abby Park (Milton, MA)
Alden and Harlow (Cambridge)
Ames Street Deli (Cambridge)
Amorino (Back Bay)
Amsterdam Falafel Shop (Davis Square, Somerville)
Anna's Taqueria (multiple locations)
Area Four (Cambridge)
Artu (North End)

B
B & G Oysters (South End)
Backbar (Somerville)
The Baldwin Bar (Woburn)
Bar Boulud (Back Bay)
Barking Crab (Fort Point)
Beat Brasserie (Cambridge)
Bel Ari (Leather District)
Belle Isle Seafood (Winthrop)
Beta Burger (Roxbury)
BISq (Inman Square, Cambridge)
Blue Dragon (Fort Point)
Boston Chops (SoWa)
Bostonia Public House
Brelundi (Waltham)
Brick and Mortar (Cambridge)
The Brook Kitchen and Tap (Holbrook, South Shore)
BurgerFi (West Roxbury)
by CHLOE (Seaport)

C
Cafe Sushi (Cambridge)
Cambridge Brewing Company (Cambridge)
Clio (Back Bay)
Club Passim (Cambridge)
Coppa (South End)
Craigie on Main (Cambridge)

Del Frisco's Grille (Burlington)
Drink (Fort Point)

E
Earl's Kitchen + Bar at Prudential Center (Back Bay)
East by Northeast (Cambridge) - CLOSED
Ebi Sushi (Somerville)
The Elephant Walk (Cambridge)
Estragon (South End) - $1 tapas

F
Fiorella's (Newton)
Fleming's Steakhouse (Back Bay) - late night happy hour
Freshii (Back Bay)
Gene's Chinese Flatbread Cafe (Chinatown)
Gourmet Dumpling House (Chinatown)

H
Hojoko (Fenway Kenmore)
The Hourly (Harvard Square)
Island Creek Oyster Bar (Fenway Kenmore)
Izakaya Ittoku (Allston)

K
Kareem's (Watertown)
The Kinsale (downtown / Government Center)
Kirkland Tap and Trotter (Somerville)
KO Catering and Pies (South Boston)

L
LA Burdick (Cambridge)
Lansdowne Pub (Fenway)
Les Zygomates (Leather District)
Loretta's Last Call Tavern (Fenway)
Lucky's Lounge (Fort Point)
Lulu's (Allston)

M
Max and Leo's (Fenway)
Mission on the Bay (North Shore / Swampscott)
Muqueca (Cambridge)
Myers and Chang (South End)
Nebo (Waterfront)
Neptune Oyster (North End)

O
OAK Long Bar + Kitchen (Back Bay)
Odyssey Cruise: champagne brunch cruise
Ogawa Coffee (Downtown)
Ostra (Back Bay)
O Ya (Leather District)

P
Pabu (Downtown)
Post 390 (Back Bay)

R
Ribelle (Brookline)
Rino's Place (East Boston)
Russell House Tavern (Cambridge)

S
Santarpio's Pizza (East Boston)
Sarma (Somerville)
Select Oyster Bar (Back Bay)
Shake Shack (Cambridge)
Shojo (Chinatown)
Sichuan Garden II (Woburn)
State Park (Cambridge / Kendall Square)
Sumiao Hunan Kitchen (Cambridge / Kendall Square)
Summer Shack (Back Bay)
Sweet Cheeks Q (Fenway/Kenmore)

T
The Reserve at The Langham - afternoon tea (Financial District)
The Tasting Room at 51 Lincoln (Newton)
Tavern Road (Fort Point)
Ten Tables (Cambridge)
Teranga (South End)
Toro (South End)

U
Union Square Donuts (Somerville)

V
VERTS Mediterranean Grill (Downtown)

W
Wagamama (Seaport)
Waxy's Modern Bar + Kitchen (Brookline)
Waypoint (Harvard Square)
WHISK at Fazenda Cafe (Jamaica Plain)
Wink and Nod (South End)
Wu Er by Wow Barbecue (Brookline)
Yume wo Katare (Porter Square, Cambridge)

Gourmet Pigs   © 2008. Template Recipes by Emporium Digital

TOP