Back Bay
Deuxave opening in Boston’s Back Bay’s menu, hours
I have been observing Deuxave’s construction on Mass Ave and Commonwealth for months now. I’m frequently found traipsing around Back Bay these days, so an ambitious new neighborhood restaurant is much welcomed.
The food is seasonally inspired new American, with emphasis on sourcing local ingredients, and priced at around $26 an entree. The whole shebang is set to open “around” Labor Day (September 6th) and is the foodbaby of exec chef Chris Coombs (formerly of Ming Tsai’s Blue Ginger; Aujourd’hui; Troquet; and the Food Network’s Chopped) and owner Brian Piccini (of Aquitaine and dbar).
I instinctively kind of like Coombs – he knows to spin his youthfulness to his advantage. How’s that for a PR lesson, college kids?
One thing that perplexes me is their pronunciation. It’s explained as “doo-ave” in their press release. But I remember that in French class, there’d normally be a “z” sound to transition between vowel sounds. So I’d been thinking of it as “duhz-ave.” Any French speaker input?
To see their sample menu, click for the jump.
Drinks at M Bar at the Mandarin Oriental
M Bar at the Mandarin Oriental reminds me of Shanghai’s slickly overproduced watering holes. The difference is that in China, these kinds of establishments stock only the most svelte and snowy-skinned of waitstaff, the kind with faces that inspire as much protection as possession.
(The physicality of Chinese beauty hits you in a very different way from Western beauty. Even at its most objectified, the former maintains a certain distance from its sexuality. It’s softer – it doesn’t assault you from the front so much as it circles an arm from behind.)
In honor of last summer, I ordered their Mo-del cocktail, which featured notes of rose and lychee, very Shanghai. I appreciated the generous helpings of sugared almonds and olives, which helped cut a very stiff drink.
I could almost imagine those were expat men lining the sill of the bar and spilling over the banquettes. I was never sure what to think of them last summer, to see them as so many suited malcontents, or to envy how some were mindlessly adept at making the city their jungle gym. Somehow, it felt unfair.
Piattini Gelateria and Match mini burgers
It’s Reading Period! I granted myself a free day wander down Boston’s beautiful Newbury Street, visit some fabulous friends, and eat some junk food… because I deserve it.
I have a good relationship with gelato. We’ve gotten along thus far – I had some truly makes-your-mouth-sing gelato on my brief stopovers in Rome and Paris. (Not as glam as it sounds, I was on a rowdy Topdeck tour that produced utterly cookie-cutter photo-op travel experieces.) I still fantasize about those heavenly fig and honey concoctions that I ate two years ago. So I was looking forward to some inventive varieties.
I saw recently opened Piattini Gelateria and Cafe and decided to give it a try. The super sweet waiter patiently explained every single flavor on the menu (rosemary honey, turkish coffee, fior de latte, thai coconut milk, chocolato scuro, frutti de bosco. And the sorbets were grape, mojito, limone, and pesca).
I sampled a chocolate with hazelnuts that wasn’t on the menu, which was so intensely rich that I decided on spoonful was enough. Rosemary honey felt like chugging floral-scented lotion, so that was a pass. Fior de latte (Amish milk) had the “lightness of vanilla without the vanilla flavor” – it seemed more like a fluffy absence of flavor than a flavor.
At an impasse, I gave thai coconut milk and mojito sorbet a go.
I think the major weakness of the gelato was that it wasn’t very cold – by the time I ate it, it had become soft and a bit melted. It also had a lot more air that I would normally expect. It seemed that chocolate flavors are you best bet here. I had been hoping for something deliriously coconutty, but rather, it was seemed more like run of the milk coconut ice cream.
The mojito had a nice sour, puckery note and icier, grainier texture of sorbet worked well with the flavors.
The bill for this small dish came out to $4.82. Plus tip, this ended up costing me about $6. My credit card felt a little sad.
I wish you had been a more transcendental $6 spent.
Photos of the Day: Dinner at Mistral
I have these old photos banging around in my Picasa (a photo manager) and I can no longer even write a coherent review of the experience, but just to brighten your Monday afternoon, indulge in this high-end food porn from Mistral.
I apologize for not waxing poetic about texture of the escargots or precisely what kind of tomatoes they used, but I’m sure you’ll forgive me.
Most of what I remember of this meal is how we spilled water all over a chair and it took a decent 30 seconds before someone picked up on it. My dining companion, who ate with me at No. 9 Park, suggested I compare this to that dining experience where the service would have been at our feet immediately.
Post on Starbucks later.
The bread is one of my favorite parts of a meal, this was no exception - I think we had some kind of hummus to spread on it.
Very modern, streamlined opulence.
Softshell crab, cherry tomatoes, avocado.
Escargots - buttery, garlicky, heavenly.
Roast Rack of Colorado Lamb, Gratin Dauphinoise Potatoes, Roasted Carrots & Haricots Verts. Translation: lamb, mashed 'taters, carrots, and green beans.
Beef Tenderloin, Mashed Potato & White Truffle Oil
Carrot cake with cream cheese ice cream (creative!)
Mini Red Velvet Cupcake
A mini red velvet cupcake ($1.95) from newly opened Sweet in Harvard Square before I demolished it.