After a long week of work and meeting…there is nothing I love more now then getting to the weekend and knowing that I have reservations for both Saturday and Sunday nights! So on the second weekend in March, I was delighted to have eaten at 2 pretty great places on the top 50.

3/11/2023: #3:

I slept most of Saturday since I worked the night before. I am sure that there are many couples out there that do unusual things together…so on Saturday afternoon, my husband an I made our every 6 week journey to Cambridge to have our haircut together. You read that right…I have a fabulous hair stylist and in an effort to make my husband a little more stylish, I now take him with me to see my guy and we have our hair done together. So romantic I know. A good haircut is always better when you take it out dinner right afterwards. So off to #3: Uni we went.

In case you did not know, Uni is a restaurant, attached to the Eliot Hotel. My husband would be the first to tell you that he never eats in the hotel restaurant…but this is no ordinary hotel restaurant and we can certainly see why this is in the top 10.

Uni was exceptional. We sat at the sushi bar; I would chose a table next time since there were no backs on the chairs and after spending 3+ hrs tasting and drinking, a chair back would have been more relaxing. We worked our way through the menu with the help of our awesome waiter who went simply by “V”. We started with Spanish Octopus, probably the best I have ever had with the exception of our trip to Iceland. We also each had a Kurobuta spare rib bathed in a hatcho miso bbg and topped with a cranberry-pecan salsa that was sprinkled with match and a fried chicken Bao bun which had shredded carrot topped sambral aioli. I washed this down with a cocktail called the “Fair Trade Agreement”, the recommendation from V which had a bunch of liquor I have never heard of with the exception of sherry, which turned out to be amazing.

We moved onto Sashimi. We shared the Hamachi Yellowtail prepared with kumquat and serrano kosho and the Spicy tuna & Foie Gras Tataki which was hands down the highlight of dinner. Our third course was Nigiri. We feasted on more Hamachi yellowtail (because you can never eat enough yellowtail), this time prepared with chipotle pepper, orange and dusted with chocolate kabayaki and Sakura Masu, salmon finished with cherry sake. We finished the night with a chocolate mousse that was complemented by meyer lemon and creme fraiche that was seriously so good, we almost licked the plate.

All in all, an amazing restaurant that we will be sure to visit again. In learning that the owner and Chef, Ken Oringer, a James Beard award winner, has 6 restaurants to his name, I am looking forward to doing some traveling to follow this gifted chef.

3/12/2023: #27

I would not ever have had any reason to venture to south Boston until now. As we drove over to #27: Fox & The Knife, I really had no idea where we were going. Delighted to find free street parking in Boston, we trotted up W. Broadway from A street taking in what appeared to be a very new, hip place to live if you are in your late 20s to early 30s, sans children…which for a moment, I wished I was.

I had pre-ordered a cocktail when I made reservations, something that I had never seen offered…a Negroni, a new favorite drink that I now delight in thanks to a new friend we vacationed with recently. Have to say, I felt pretty special when it arrived to the table minutes after I did. 3 sips in, I was pretty tipsy….which did not stop me from also ordering a bottle of wine. Delighted to find a wine list that did not require a second mortgage on my home…we settled on a Sangiovese from Montepulciano, a hilltop town outside Tuscany; a place I have fond memories of traveling to in our early marriage where my husband and I drank a lot of wine!

Chef Karen provides an inspirational Italian menu. We started with a Gnocco Fritto, a fried dough that was topped with my favorite Italian meat, mortadella. I couldn’t decide between that or the Taleggio stuffed focaccia…so when it arrived to the table next to us, I immediately ordered that too. If you travel to Fox & The Knife, do not hesitate to order this focaccia. We then shared the broccoli alla griglia, which is basically chopped grilled broccoli but prepared as a Caesar salad. A unique twist on broccoli…and Caesar salad that was so pretty darn good.

My husband had Lamb Osso Buco, served with a carrot polenta. I opted for pasta and ordered spaghetti con vongale; a pasta dish topped with a tomato butter sauce and clams. I could not have been more pleased with my choice. I loved having clam sauce on spaghetti growing up. I have traveled to Italy several times and this menu brought me back there with every bite. Since we always leave room for desert, we had an orange granita that tasted like a creamsicle. All in all, a lovely restaurant with a great and easy going atmosphere that you can share as a couple or with a group.

3/23/2023: #21

I did not even see the irony that we ate at Grill 23 & Bar…on the 23rd! Nothing better in my book then date night on a week night. I was really looking forward to a good steak dinner, something I rarely order out. I am not really sure why; probably because it just always seems so crazy to spend over 50 bucks for meat…or 65 bucks…or even 140 bucks, which you can easily do at this place. I was hoping for a quiet dinner for 2…not here. This place was hopping…large parties all around, it was packed…and loud. My husband wears hearing aids now…I almost borrowed them.

Like all great steak houses…with their white linen table clothes and dark wood paneling…I was beyond thrilled when a bread basket arrived to the table without asking! Score! I opted for a cocktail, as I was too tired to read through the endless binder of wine choices that started with an index…choosing the “Toki Sour” since you can never go wrong drinking whiskey with your meat.

Since we can’t seem to go out to dinner anymore without ordering at least 3 courses, we started with the mussels, which were prepared in an allagash white sauce with some creme fraiche and garlic aioli which wa lopped up with the crispy foccacia that came on top of the mussels. Devine! We both had filet Mignon which was melt in your mouth superb. Our waitress suggested the carrots…so yes, absolutely, if you eat here, have the carrots! They are prepared with a bourbon maple glaze and everything spice and they were amazing. As we feel a good steak needed a starch next to the vege, we chose the tater tots, which they make from scratch…we should have had the crispy hash brown or mashed potatoes.

Finally, because we were not stuffed enough…we shared the Affogato which was topped with a Spanish Sherry and candied almonds…and the black forest cake, which was just a ridiculous indulgence. While dinner was amazing and the service was fantastic, the crowd was a little to lively for me. That being said, I would not hesitate to go back because the steak was totally worth it.

3/29/2023: #9

I wondered out loud the other day if I am becoming a “foodie”. I never really thought of myself that way. I love food and usually eat out of hunger and necessity. Since starting this journey, I now find myself eating carefully on days that I have reservations. This is probably a good thing as my expanding waistline is becoming evident. That being said, I have never enjoyed going out and dining as much as I have over these last few months. So much so, that I was really excited to see that Chef Rachel Miller, from Nightshade Noodle Bar made the 2023 James beard Finalist for Outstanding Chef. Nightshade is one of my favorites and so if you are food-adventurous, please put this restaurant on your list. Rachel is so talented and you will not be disappointed!

One of my new favorite mid-week hobbies is heading out to dinner. It gives me something to look forward to! So last Wednesday, we ventured to Cambridge to eat at #9: Pammy’s. All I can say is….wow. Everything about this meal was superb. For a fixed price, you can choose 3 items from the menu. I love my adventurous husband because we can go to a restaurant like this and not order the same thing which allows us to expand our palate. We also splurged for the wine pairing…because why not. Pammy’s was hopping for a Wednesday. We sat at the large communal table in the center of the restaurant which turned out to be a lovely experience. A little loud, but I do love sitting next to my guy, instead of across from him, so the noise was no bother.

We started with Bay Scallop Crudo soaking in grapefruit and coconut, sprinkled with pig ears ( I mean that sounds exotic, but I am pretty sure it was just bacon) and Spelt Fried Oysters which were seated in an endive leaf with an apple butter sauce topped with a touch of caviar. Delish.

As every good Italian meal should have a pasta course, round 2 included Pansotti with duck and brussel sprout leaves and a signature favorite, Lumache which was topped with a Gochujang inspired Bolognese. Lastly, we ended with Pork Milanese which was so crispy it reminded me of my late grandma Jean’s perfectly crispy cutlets. This cutlet was topped with a wild arugula and jicama salad with a citrus finish. We also had the short rib, at the recommendation of our server. He was right, it was divine and served with baby carrots and a dry aged mustard.

Even though we were completely stuffed…we could not leave without dessert and opted to share the warm backed apples with ginger snaps and rum ice cream.

A splendid and grand finish for March…for April, we are picking up the pace and will attempt to tick off 5 more from the top 50, so stay tuned!