Restaurant Week in Boston - Henrietta's Table

Henrietta's Table - Fresh, Local Food

It's Restaurant Week in Boston. I ate at Henrietta's Table with some friends last night, and it was good. The restaurant is located in the Charles Hotel in Harvard Square, Cambridge.

A Fresh Berry Mojito started the night off right. They improved the classic by muddling fresh blackberries, blueberries and raspberries with the sugar and mint - delicious.

My meal started off with a local heirloom tomato salad, a special on the last nights menu. A mix of red, green and yellow heirloom tomatoes with fresh basil, olive oil and balsamic vinegar was excellent.

My second course was another one of last night's specials. I had a steamed black grouper filet served on a bed of fresh young greens with a fresh heirloom tomato relish. I also had some roasted carrots and turnips. Course two was again, excellent.

Black Grouper on fresh baby greens with fresh heirloom tomato relish

The finale, however, left something to be desired. I figured I couldn't go wrong with their signature dessert, Henrietta's Chocolate Bread Pudding Sundae. Chocolate bread pudding with caramelized bananas, vanilla bean ice cream, chocolate sauce, whipped cream, and nuts served in a parfait glass. I was wrong. The whipped cream tasted like nothing. Seriously, like nothing. The bread pudding and bananas were good, but the whole dessert experience wasn't that good. A friend tried the pie of the day, a peach, ginger and apricot pie. It wasn't very good either.

So, for cocktails and dinner I'd recommend Henrietta's table, the food really is good and fresh. Stay away from the desserts though, they aren't worth it.

Other highlights from the menu include the braised lamb shank served in a sherry mushroom sauce with white beans and roasted vegetables. Rumor has it they have a great brunch too.

Next up, Le Soir in Newton. Review to come.

New York State of Mind

Time for some restaurant reviews. I spent six months living and working in Manhattan and when I wasn't chained to my desk, I was eating my way through the city. Five of my favorites restaurants follow, starting with my number one, Hell's Kitchen (the restaurant, not the neighborhood!)

1. Hell's Kitchen 679 Ninth Ave (Between W46th & W47th Streets) 212.977.1588
Nouvelle Mexican cuisine. Chef Jorge Pareja has succeeded in making everything on the menu excellent. During my six months in New York I ate here every week, the food is that good! Not to mention the staff is awesome. Try the Mango BBQ Ribs app and the Pan-Seared Halibut entree served with grilled chayote and sweet plantain puree. The sangria is one of the best I've had and is sneaky strong. Be careful! Owner John Dempsey has a small empire in the Hell's Kitchen Neighborhood, so be sure to check out Vynl, El Centro and Therapy as well.

2. Babbo 110 Waverly Place (Between Sixth Avenue & MacDougal Street) 212.777.0303
I've been disappointed by celebrity chefs in the past, but Mario Batali is not one of them! Pound for pound the few meals I had at Babbo were the best. Period. Try the Beef Cheek Ravioli or the Fennel Dusted Sweetbreads. The Grilled Lamb Chops “Scottadita” and the Warm Lamb’s Tongue Vinaigrette with Chanterelles and a 3-Minute Egg are also really good. It's hard to get a reservation here unless calling a month in advance. Try your luck at the bar or be prepared to wait.

3. TAO 42 East 58th Street (Between Park & Madison Avenues) 212.888.2288
TAO is a hot spot for celebrities. According to my bartender, Harrison Ford was in the night before. The restaurant is designed well, but the food is on stage here. The Crispy Tuna Sashimi Roll and the Satay of Chilean Sea Bass are two of my favorites. I'd suggest going with friends and ordering a lot of small plates. Stear clear of the Lobster Wontons with Shitake Ginger Broth though, they didn't taste like much.

4. Sushi Samba
245 Park Avenue South (Between E19th & E20th Streets)
87 Seventh Avenue South (Corner of Barrow Street)
Japanese, Brazilian and Peruvian fusion. Awesome sushi and ceviche. Great mojitos. Fun with a group or at the sushi bar. The Park Ave location is more intimate than the 7th Ave location which has second floor outdoor seating. I recommend trying the Ceviche Sampler, it's fantastic. Another fun choise is the Sawagani Crabs. This is a small plate of flash-fried japanese river crabs, they are crispy and delicious! The sushi is great, be adventurous in ordering or let your server do the work for you. You're guaranteed to have a great time!

5. Les Halles
411 Park Ave South (Between E28th & E29th Streets)
15 John Street (Between Broadway & Nassau Street)
The place to go for great, affordable steak frites. Celebrity Chef Anthony Bourdain put this place on the map although he is no longer affiliated with the restaurant. The Filet au Poivre Frites is superb at only $19! Two locations in Manhattan, I ate at the Park Avenue location.

Other noteworthy restaurants I enjoyed and will likely review later include Blue Water Grille, Trattoria del Arte, The Eatery, Craft, Knife & Fork, Victor's Cafe, and Rosa Mexicano.

Great cheap eats I ate at include Blockheads Burritos, John's Pizzeria, Lombardi's Pizzeria

How to grill a steak well, not well done.

For the last few months I've been craving for beef. When I find myself in a restaurant or at the market, I want meat. My favorite New York restaurant, Hell's Kitchen, serves up great steak, Mexican style: Grilled Sirloin with Sweet Potato Fries & Endive-Pasilla Sauce. Delicious.

Right now I'm grilling bone-in rib eyes. I find that leaving the bone in lends more flavor and juiciness to the steak. It also allows you to get a little prehistoric, chomping on the bone when your knife is no longer of any use. I season the steaks generously with a spicy Montreal steak rub and let them them come to room temperature before throwing them on the grill. Allowing the steaks, or any meat for that matter, to come up to room temperature allows for more even cooking. When my grill is ready, I place the steaks on the hot side of a two-level charcoal fire, grilling them for a few minutes on each side before moving them to the lower heat side of the fire. I now cover the grill and let them finish cooking for a few more minutes. Moving them to the lower level of the fire will prevent them from burning or drying out. This is the reason for the two-level fire. You can accomplish the same two-level fire on a gas grill by turning one burner off and finishing the steaks with the indirect heat. As far as knowing when the steaks are ready, that will come with practice. You need to feel the meat, pressing lightly with your finger. Never, ever stick a steak with a fork, or one of those fork thermometers, while the steak is cooking, turn your steaks with tongs. Piercing the outer surface of the steak with anything will cause all the delicious juices to drain out before the steak is ready and you'll be left with a dried out piece of shoe leather.

I hope you learned something.

A Sublime Beginning...

Good food, clean air, and water. Three things I can't live without. Cooking with fresh, local ingredients and preparing something that not only looks good but tastes good too is what spending time in the kitchen is all about.

I live in Boston, love the Red Sox, and recently spent six months in New York eating my way through Manhattan. I plan on recapping my New York dining experiences and reviewing my favorite restaurants here in Greater Boston. I'm also going to try to convince myself in writing that my career should be in the kitchen, not in a suburban office. We'll see how successful I am.