Believe it or not, good things DO come to an end, so as everything else, this is my last Boston post (for now!). We visited these restaurants on our last night there, jumping from one place to the other and ending up looking down at the best view in Boston from the 52nd flour of the Prudential Building. It was the perfect ending to almost a month of traveling, eating, and exploring with M.
Teranga: A Senegalese Restaurant
Where? 1746 Washington Street, Boston, MA 02118-1828
Why? There was a 30 minute wait for Toro, so we walked down the street and found this tucked-in restaurant to grab a small bite. It was interesting to see a Senegalese restaurant, the first in Boston. Fun Fact: Teranga means Hospitality in Wolof, a Senegalese language.
What? Nems, Spring rolls stuffed with finely chopped chicken, ground beef, rice vermicelli, grated carrots, scallions, and dried mushrooms served with nuoc mam dressing. A crispy egg roll, but with rice paper. Some parts of it were too much paper stuck together (trimming the paper would’ve easily solved it), but the stuffing was pleasant and I love Nước mắm pha. M. tried a Haitian beer for the first time, but it tasted too much of Malt, the drink not the grain. The menu looked inviting, but we were set on eating at Toro.
Tapas at: Toro
Where? 1704 Washington Street, Boston, MA 02118
Why? Recommended by Ben, our concierge and Brian, over from My Food Thoughts. Tapas is definitely one of our favorite foods and at Toro, they did have small plates. Maybe the the big flavor was forgotten? We were ready to love and rave about this place, but the food just wasn’t there. Being that it was recommended by a fellow foodie and knowing the food service industry is volatile, I’m going to assume we visited on a bad night for the kitchen.
What?
- Pimientos del Padron: Hot green peppers with sea salt. M. is a huge fan of hot peppers, and a simple dish like this is an easy way to rate a restaurant. If you can’t achieve simplicity, what’s left? The peppers were limp and extremely salty, even to us that have a high tolerance to salt.
- Maíz Asado con Aioli y Queso Cotija: La Especialidad de la Casa. Grilled corn with aioli, lime, espelette pepper and aged cotija cheese. The house specialty, 2 whole cobs, sliced in half and presented on a small plate. I loved the combination of the cotija cheese and aioli, but “less is more”. I could feel my arteries clogging up because of the huge amount of aioli on the cobs! Flavor was there, but so much fat just coated your tongue and didn’t let you enjoy the texture of the cheese or the spiciness of the espelette pepper.
- Pate de Cerdo: Berkshire Pork Pate with Apple Butter and Hazelnuts. My biggest pet peeve is a menu that says one thing and a waiter that brings the dish with something missing or substituted. If there are going to be substitutions by the kitchen on my order, I appreciate being informed about it. Berkshire pork is one of my favorite breeds (after Magnalitsa pork!) so I ordered this with high expectations. Thin slices of dry pate, served over the Apple Butter. Hazelnuts you ask? Not one in sight. Instead, a squeeze of stone ground mustard as if I was ordering a hot dog. The mustard overpowered the delicate flavor of the pork, the one flavor that should be highlighted.
Service at Toro was inattentive and a little rude! He wasn’t in the mood to serve us, understandable only to the fact of the huge amounts of customers around us, which in the restaurant business, is NOT an excuse.
Prudential Building: Top of the Hub Restaurant
Where? 800 Boylston Street, Boston, MA 02199-8142
Why? Our last dinner in Boston and for a long time ahead, since I was leaving the next day. Plus, we’d heard the view was the best in Boston and there was so much truth in that statement. We shared a pre-fixe menu because this was the 3rd restaurant of the night (Teranga and Toro were previous to Top of the Hub). Service was impeccable!
What?
- Baby Back Pork Ribs, Mongolian Style, Spicy Cabbage, Kimchee: nicely fermented Kimchee, fall of the bone ribs and a delicious black bean based honey sauce.
- Grilled Hanger Steak with Garlic Herb Pomme Frites: Classic and perfectly cooked, comfort food!
- Creme Brulee : another classic, executed to develop the most creamy Creme Brulee served with a small waffle.
- Drink: Cucumber Vodka Tonic
Love the loaded corn on the cob!! Pork pate` looks like the cat kacked it up!!..lol…sorry =)