Monthly Archives: January 2011

Antico Forno

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I had dinner plans with my friends, 2 of which live in the North End, so we decided it was time we dine there! We wanted to try a restaurant that was new to all of us and we landed on Antico Forno on Salem Street. I hadn’t heard much about it, but the menu looked reasonable and it’s brick oven pizzas won me over.

brick oven (background)

brick oven (background)

Bread: Thick, soft and doughy. We were a party of 4 and were given at least 8 pieces in a metal basket. Accompanied by a small dish of EVOO with crushed red pepper and olives.

bread and EVOO

bread and EVOO

Menu: Antipasti consisting of salads and 1 soup, a variety of Pizzas, Primi Pastas, Secondi, and Contorni (sides). The website boasts they have “the most traditional Italian pizza” – I wasn’t going to argue, so I went with the Margherita with artichokes.

Food/Presentation: The pizzas are generous in size with 8 slices that could have easily fed 2 people. The artichokes were plentiful which is a major plus. The pizza was good, with a crust between a thin and thick Sicilian (I prefer thin crust). Nothing extraordinary or over the top fantastic.

artichoke pizza

artichoke pizza

Bathroom: Standard one room/stall restroom. I did like the Xelertor hand dryer. The door had the most character.

bathroom door

bathroom door

Wait Staff: I sat alone at our table for about 25 minutes waiting for the rest of my party (I was early), and a waitress and another lady (manager? owner?) each greeted me to see if I wanted a beverage. Our waitress I could barely hear or understand, not because it was loud, but because she was soft-spoken and kind of unfriendly. She wasn’t rude but she certainly wasn’t overly helpful or welcoming.

Overall: For the North End, the prices were moderate. For the quality of the food, the prices were a bit high. The atmosphere and décor had a lot of character – exposed brick ovens, brick walls throughout, with small fires burning within the brick columns. The food was not bad by any means – everyone pretty much finished their meals – but there are much better places to visit in the North End.

brick columns / fire decor

brick columns / fire decor

The Perfect Bite: This may be the first time I’ve ever said this… but I’m going with the BREAD! The pizza wasn’t bad, but I don’t think it’s deserving of the perfect bite.

www.anticofornoboston.com

Giacomo’s

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This was my second time visiting Giacomo’s on Columbus Ave in the South End and yet again it did not disappoint. I feel I should have given their North End location a shot instead of trying the South End spot for a second time, but they don’t take reservations. There have been many times (mainly in the warmer months) where I’ve seen a line out the door spilling onto Hanover Street of people waiting to get a table. Luckily the South End restaurant does take reservations (I get cranky if I’m waiting too long for my food!)

Bread: A ¼ piece of a fresh Italian loaf was left for us to tear apart with our hands (which I always have trouble with). No butter, but small EVOO bottles were on the table which was all I needed.

Italian bread

Italian bread

Menu: Appetizers, Salads, Pasta, Vegetarian, Entrees, Sides … their House Seafood Specialty section offered linguini with your choice of sauce and type of seafood. Too many options to choose from! I’ve previously ordered their Butternut Squash Ravioli which was amazing; this evening I tried to be different and chose the Pumpkin Tortellini. These dishes can basically be considered cousins, but I want what I want!

Food/Presentation: My tortellini was spread across an oblong dish, covered with a fresh sage mascarpone cream sauce. Flagrant in flavor with a creamy rich sauce. I certainly wasn’t watching my calories this evening. I couldn’t not finish this dish – each bite was unbelievable!

pumpkin tortellini

pumpkin tortellini

Bathroom: The restaurant is small so I expected the bathroom to be the same. Spacious enough, with dark red walls, a large framed mirror, and a few old photographs of the neighborhood/Columbus Street back in the day.

bathroom

bathroom

Wait Staff: The first time I ate at Giacomo’s was during restaurant week a year or two ago and the waiter was quick with his words, barely made eye contact, and service was speedy. This is not the type of restaurant where the wait staff coddles you. The menu is pretty much self explanatory and they are not there to entertain you. Usually I enjoy a waiter who chats you up, but in this type of environment there’s no need for small talk. This visit we had a nice waiter who refilled our water glasses when necessary and attentively poured my wine when my glass was running low. He was pleasant, and we didn’t feel like we were being rushed out.

Overall: A small, casual Italian restaurant without the bells & whistles city restaurants usually flaunt. The tables are back to back with each other, and the noise can be overwhelming if there’s a large/loud party. Very reasonable prices, with entrée and pasta dishes $20 and under! This is a MUST-eat-at. I doubt you can go wrong with any dish you order.

The Perfect Bite: The pumpkin tortellini was honestly to die for.

http://giacomosblog-boston.blogspot.com/

Umami

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Located at 1704 Beacon Street in Brookline, Umami serves “Asian inspired global cuisine with a creative twist”. A smaller restaurant, the dining room can sit maybe 35 people not including seats at the bar. The atmosphere is relaxed and casual, perfect for a week night meal. Thank you to BuyWithMe.com for providing us with the 4 coupons (pay $20, receive $40) – and thank you to Umami for allowing us to use all 4 in one sitting!

Bread: Instead of bread we were served crudités of red peppers, carrots, and zucchini with a dipping sauce. Not so much “Asian inspired”, but I’ll take it!

Menu: There are 2 sections: Starters and Entrées. The in-house menu varied slightly from the online version with a couple exciting additions, including a “1,000 year old egg” fettuccini dish. The couple we were with had been before and recommended a few starters that I couldn’t choose from, so we all split 4 apps. Each entrée has its own America base with a splash of Asian cuisine, whether it be edamame, soba noodles, bok choy, or sake etc. The list isn’t too extensive but I found a couple of items to ponder over and eventually went with the Seabass for my main course.

Food/Presentation:
Honey, Ginger Glazed Chicken Wings, lyche / pineapple / chili puree: On the bone, so not my favorite, but the puree added a nice kick.
Hand cut Sweet Potato Fries, house made spicy ketchup: Standard sweet pot fries, could have had a bit more crisp/crunch to them.

honey chicken, sweet pot fries

honey chicken, sweet pot fries

Asian Black Tiger Shrimp, garlic butter / smoked cayenne / lemon thyme: Not a huge shrimp fan but I tried one and was pleasantly surprised. I mostly ate the veggies out of this dish – the sauce was delicious!

black tiger shrimp

black tiger shrimp

Pan Roasted Mussels, sauce of pomodoro / sake / fresh bay leaves / grilled crostini: I do like mussels but their texture can be creepy and I truly think I just like the sauces they come in. This dish is no exception – the mussels/sauce tasted of a light tomato sauce. A couple tasted like the ocean but that tends to happen with mussels.

mussels

mussels

Chilean Sea Bass, simmered with sake / shiro miso / sweet potato “pomme puree” / Asian greens: The sea bass, topped with crunchy noodles, was placed on top of the sweet potato puree and bok choy. I usually have problems with bones in sea bass but that was not the case with this dish. Really excellent meal – I liked having the smooth texture of the puree with the crunchy noodles!

chilean seabass

chilean seabass

Bathroom: One room/stall. Besides the wall ornaments, nothing special. But clean and polished, so no complaints.

bathroom decor

bathroom decor

Wait Staff: Our waitress was really cute/nice and patient as we studied the menu. She was also able to answer all of our questions about the dishes with odd ingredients.

Overall: You can’t beat the prices, with entrées topping out at $21! The menu is a bit limited, but I thoroughly enjoyed everything I ate. A nice quiet spot outside the city.

The Perfect Bite: Sea bass with sweet potato puree. I cleaned the plate!

www.umamiboston.com