Domani Italian Bar and Trattoria -tasting menu

Last Wednesday, I hit Domani with my good friend Aud. I had met the Executive Chef Rene Michelena recently and thought him to be very cool. He actually won Food and Wine Magazines Best New Chef back in 1998 and has worked in our lovely nation's great restaurants including the luxurious Charlie Trotters in Chicago.

Entering the space, it is very cool and slick design. There is even a moped in one wall as part of the design. The open porch area is cool but it did get cooler as the night wore on. I decided to opt for the 4 course chef tasting menu. After inquiring with our waiter, I found out that it was actually five including the dessert. I wanted to say hello to Rene but he was not in and had the day off. I know how having a day off from work is SOOOO valuable! You treasure your time off from work! It is so important!

Anyways, we had a nice meal and the chef tastings menu was a deal at $50 for four courses (then the waiter shares it is actually five including the dessert). Our main waiter was very good who came over a few times and asked if we wanted to the door closed. See there are big open area and it was a cool night. We opted for it to stay open but it was nice to have great attention. There was one point, the host started moving our table then in the middle of moving our table asked if it was ok to do so. (Aud was not amused and thought it not well done of him). Otherwise, I had no problems with service.

Since I got the tasting menu, my friend would get her pasta dish after I had the first three courses of mine. (Usually not sold if not everyone is at the table getting it, but we were conducting a meeting so we were not in a rush.).

I was remiss in taking a pic of my caprese salad which was delicious! Cheese from Italy and the tomatoe and balsamic vineger etc were lovely. Following it, I got the ravoili with cheese truffle (very decadent) which was delicious! The texture of the pasta you can tell it is homemade! I am reminiscing the flavors the textures of the food I ate in Italy. YUMMY ! Next course, I had the indian spices rubbed salmon (not dry) but the fresh peas with roe accents were nice. The meat dish is the pork medallion over zucchini.

Dessert was the rhubarb shortcake. The fresh strawberries and cream were lapped up by moi. Unfortunately the rhubarb shortcake though lovely in taste was a bit on the "hard" side. I ended up not finishing it was TOO TOUGH!

I give the meal a 7 forks out of 10 forks because of the service (moving the table without informing us and the toughness of the rhubarb shortcake!).

Little Italy in NORTHEND----Cafe Victoria, Fiorentine and Gelateria

After some plans changed alot, I ended up meeting Ben and Lesl V for dinner. Before meeting up, I had a iced cappacino at Cafe Victoria. I love this Cafe that has been in the North End for a long time.

Plus the prices are inexpensive, atmosphere nice (depending on the newer side or older side) and the service, you can sit and enjoy your drink. Just have to flag down the server when you want to pay and leave. Just cash only and their pastries are far superior than the well known neighbor a few doors down "Mikes Pastries".

Hit Fiorentine with Lesl and Ben and after waiting a good half hour for a table on a busy Saturday night, we are seated in the basement. We immediately dive into the bread because we are so hungry. I get the $30 lobster tail, Chilean sea bass, clams, red sauce with spinach entree. We do share the fried calamari which was great! Ben got the rack of lamb and that was good. Lesl was just fixated on wanting to see me finish my meal and eat the lobster. Never having had grilled lobster before, the shell was brittle. I did not have an apron but it was not hard to eat overall.

I thought the service, atmosphere and food were great. What I got was a great deal! Tons of seafood and great value! I give this place 9 out of 10 forks.

I need a gelato fix and I have been wondering how the Napoli style gelato place Gelateria just up the street is (two doors away from Cafe Victoria). I read about them last year. After coming back from Italy last year, I have been in search of a good gelato place. (Athans serves some good stuff for a good price). For a pricey $4.50 I did get a big portion of two flavors of gelato tiramisu and pistachio. But all I could taste was sugar. The decor was cool and hip. Once you sit at the table in the back, you are enveloped in some very strong AC.

4 forks out of 10 forks-Gelateria (on Hanover Street)

System of Grading restaurants using forks

So after talking with my friend this weekend, I should have a rating system like Zagats and other restaurant critics. Since I am not a professional nor have the culinary knowledge or breadth of other critics, I just purely enjoy food!

I will use the 10 forks system.

I will base the overall score on decor/atmosphere/prices/menu/food and service to determine my overall score. So from this day forward I will be grading the restaurants this way.

It will take alot for me to grade a restaurant poorly. The only one I would give a poor score that I already ate at was COPIA in Charlestown. Maybe I went on an off night, as I have seen some restaurant accolades in local magazines. But honestly I was not impresssed and with the sticker shock that did not help matters. I felt robbed! Not a common occurence might I add!

Montien

So I went to my first visit to Montien, a thai restaurant outside of Boston Chinatown by near the theater district. I always thought it would be a bit pricey. The prices were not cheap, but not overly as pricey as I had assumed in my head.

The dining room was welcoming and MPK and I were seated immediately. We were heading to a play so we had not that much time to eat. MPK assured me his prior visits guaranteed we would not be late to our show.

I ordered the White Escolar special with salad (seared escolar) and spicy hamachi. Both were good but not stellar. My friend MPK loved his soft shell crab dinner special. Just for my two items my bill with tax and tip was $25! (Definitely on the pricey end).

Service was attentive and good. One of the waitresses did drop off a soft shell crab order seriously within two minutes of ordering our dishes and then took it away realizing she sent it to the wrong table. Atmosphere was pleasant but the prices are a bit too much.

I give it an 7.0 forks out of 10 forks.

Pho 2000 Restaurant--6.10.07

Headed out for Sunday dinner with my out of town friends in Fields Corner and we hit Pho 2000. I love their food and requested to get non Pho and fresh spring rolls. This is my mom's second attempt to have Vietnamese food.

Carmelized Pork (a major fave of mine) in the pot was a big hit with my mom and it is always my fave. My friend's husband can make it, I am still waiting for the recipe! The carmelized pork sauce is delicious and great with rice. The sauce which was reduced and reduced has so much flavor! Then the seafood soup is sweet and sour and my mom enjoyed it. I liked that it was not overly spicy or overly relying on fish sauce. The blandest of the three and most unexciting is the tofu stir fry with vegetables. Though good, it did not hold a candle to the other dishes in our eyes.

Prices are reasonable, atmosphere very homey and service is decent.

9.0 forks out of 10 forks

Petit Robert Bistro--Foie Gras!

On a sunny and hot Saturday afternoon last weekend, I went to my fave French bistro with reasonable prices, Petit Robert Bistro. My mom had specifically requested a desire to try Foie Gras in particular.

We did have to walk through a throng of people heading to the Red Sox's game on a hot humid Saturday afternoon. We finally arrive at 3pm. We are hungry and ready to eat. The dining room is empty but I know that this successful restaurant is usually packed otherwise but not many places at 3pm during a SOX game anyways.

We immediately are seated and have great French bread. I order the vegetable pate, the soup of the day is potato leek or Vichyssoise, Moules Mariniere (mussels) with our main course being a stuffed blue fish with some lobster in it with veggies. But the big reason we are there is the foi gras. First the Vichyssoise comes out. Nice and cool with great potato and leek flavor. Next the Moules Mariniere which my mom is enthusiastic. She comments never having mussels cooked in garlic and white wine sauce before. The vegetable pate does not do much for her or myself. Our fave is the foie gras ($17). We get a generous portion (my mom even wanted to eat the whole dish!!!!). Now she knows the uproar of the taste of foie gras. She likes it but she knows she will not be indulging in it again any time soon.

Our main entree comes out. The blue fish is nicely cooked but the amount of crab meat is laughable! Just teeny tiny bits I would not call "lobster tail" at all. The juliened veggies are nice and not overly cooked but cooked just right.

I do ask what the souffle of the day is which was apricot. After waiting for it a bit of time (made to order) my mom enjoys the lightness and the vanilla sauce that we put a whole in the souffle to pour it in just makes it taste even better.

Mom's faves were the foie gras and the souffle. More the souffle due to the labor and skill involved and it cost $9 but was worth every penny.

I give Petit Robert Bistro (Kenmore) 9 out of 10 forks.

Tasca---Sangria and Paella

Last Friday, I went to Tasca Restaurant with my mom. She wanted to try something new. But since there was a rain forecast, she was not wanting to walk. I had to persuade her to walk with me and coax her. After she came to the restaurant (after 25 minutes), we arrive around 6:10pm (avoiding the dinner rush crowd).

My mom digs into the garbonzo beans, garlic and sweet red pepper spread which promptly causes her to eat TWO not one baskets of bread due to its utter deliciousness! She is in LOVE! The sangria is good but she cannot handle her liquor. So only two or three sips suffice.

I order some tapas--one with grilled veggies, one with mushrooms, lamb braised in sangria, chorizo and bread, and crab cakes with the main entree being the paella! The sopa del dia were gazpacho and tomato eggplant. Both are great and a nice contrast of warm and cool. I loved the cool cucumber in the gazpacho. The warm tomato eggplant was not overly spiced and flavorful. The favorite tapas were the special crab cakes for only $6.50 and my mom was impressed. As for the paella, she was not overly impressed. (The main reason to want to eat at a Spanish tapas place). She tasted the lobster broth, liked the squid and shrimp but thought the dish needed more.

Overall rating of 8.0 of 10 forks. The atmosphere is always top notch. If you head there on a thursday night, you will be entertained by a spanish guitarist. The service was good but you do have to make requests and get the servers attention sometimes so not always consistent.