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May-June 2000
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The Tastes of Cambridge and Boston |
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| The comforting confines of Julien |
At the summit of that list must be L'Espalier (262-3023), presenting superb New French food graciously served in a beautiful Back Bay townhouse for a ton of money--appropriately enough for a world-class restaurant. Also among the exalted in Boston is Aujourd'hui (351-2071), where for fifteen-sixteenths of a ton one may obtain rave New American nourishment, served perfectly in a regal setting at the Four Seasons Hotel overlooking the Public Garden.
If you can't get in to either of these Boston treasures, or can't afford to get out of them, try Julien (451-1900) in Le Meridien Hotel. It is almost as expensive and admirably good, in a New French mode. In an elegant, quiet, formal room, one sits in sybaritic state in a wing chair while attended by a captain and team schooled in these matters by Europeans. A piano tinkles in the distance. Your evening is supremely soothing.
If you wish to keep your restaurant patronage in the Harvard family, think of Maison Robert (227-3370). Opened in 1972 by Lucien Robert and his wife, Ann, A.M. '56, this classic offers formality in the handsome main dining room on the first floor of the Old City Hall building, a lively café below, and an agreeable terrace outdoors. Chef Jacky Robert recently introduced an indulgent, eight-course tasting menu, available nightly except Saturday for a $95 fixed price, to go along with the usual à la carte items on the dining room menu. This version of the good life begins with ossetra caviar on a blini with onion mousse. Midway one has a choice of three entrées, among them John Dory poached in lobster broth; a John Dory, not often seen in these waters, is a bizarre-looking flat fish with a large, spiny head, but very delicate on the tongue.
If all of this is too much, and what you'd prefer is a friendly neighborhood bistro with first-class food and perhaps visible ductwork, we can suggest three in Cambridge. Salts (876-8444), near Central Square, features New American food with an eastern European spin; thus, pierogi--Slavic dumplings--stuffed with sage, farmer's cheese, caramelized onions, and cabbage in a sauce combining creamed butternut squash and reduced cider. Chez Henri (354-8980), just north of the Law School, has a French bias and a Latin accent; thus, relleno of crab and plantain with cilantro and spinach vinaigrette. Aspasia (864-4745), about a mile from the Square off Concord Avenue and just round the corner from the estimable Jeana's Dirty Dog Salon, is new, tiny, and worthy of close attention. Chef Christos Tsardounis makes a marvelous beef Wellington and a fine rack of lamb with pistachio moussaka and pomegranates. Aspasia, you recall, was the mistress of Pericles, known for her political influence, beauty, and brains.
