Rewarding Restaurants: Boston

Recently we've been trying to stay in and cook at home more. Mostly because when cooking our own meals it's obviously easier to control the ingredients thereby hopefully being a little healthier. The other reasons to eat in are not only to watch our budget but to spend our extra pennies on a really worthwhile experience. Lately, Matt and I have felt that our visits to many restaurants have ranked anywhere between mediocre to a severe let down with a side of regret. We get turned off by lazy service and half-hearted employees who don't seem to hide the fact that they'd rather be somewhere else. Admittedly, when we go out, we're often not as health conscious as we ought be because we see dining out as a treat and a chance to try some new things. But there's nothing more disappointing than heading home with an empty wallet and a belly feeling like it's been filled with concrete. So we're trying to keep a new pact to lay off going out unless there's something out there that we're really craving.

However, traveling brings a unique opportunity to let down your guard in hopes of finding something rewarding. Last week I headed up to Boston to visit one of my closest childhood friends, Julia. Visiting her family for the holidays, Julia was getting ready to head back to London, where she and her boyfriend live, and I was determined to spend a day with my old friend before she departed. While in town, she was doing some part time work for her mom's financial planning office in the Brookline area. I arrived around noon-ish and we set out down the block in search of lunch. We settled on Orinoco, a Venezuelan kitchen. With it's rustic decor and cozy tables, this was the perfect environment for two friends to catch up. Our server was friendly and talked to us about their Arepas; small corn meal pocket sandwiches stuffed with a variety of different fillings. Julia had the Queso de Mano, an Arepa stuffed with hand-made Venezuelan cheese. The cheese is thick and soft, not unlike a fresh mozzarella, and with a smooth, light flavor. I had the Pernil Arepa, marinated pork with fresh tomato and I opted to add the cheese in the pocket as well. With such reasonable prices and the small stature of the sandwiches, I guess I expected to be hungrier, so I also order some tostones; mini-cakes of fried green plantains. Although delicious, my eyes were bigger than my stomach, and I was unexpectedly filled from the corn bread sandwich. We left satisfied but not over stuffed. A delightful lunch for two just shy over $20 is an nice surprise.

After an afternoon of catching up while wandering through the Museum Of Fine Arts, we met up with her mother Carla, for dinner. Julia and I practically shared the same play pen as babies, so Carla is like a second mother to me and it was so nice to see her. She wanted to take us out and after much discussion we settled on a (literally) small place called Ten Tables.

Julia & Carla

Aptly named, Ten Tables in the Jamaica Plain neighborhood, is a small restaurant with a warm feel and a big heart. We enter the small dining room without a reservation. With a welcoming smile, General Manger Stan Hilbert informs us that a party of three had just canceled and that we can have their table right up front. Such luck! I'm sure we've all experienced the blank stares or the upturned noses when walking into a small restaurant without a reservation. Such airs and attitudes will not be found in this room tonight. The vibe is so comfortable and the guests at remaining nine tables are clearly enjoying themselves.

Mr. Hilbert is also our waiter for the evening. He gladly answers any questions we have about the menu, like what part of the cow the hangar steak comes from and why it tastes better when cooked medium rare. He asks if he can offer us some wine with our dinner. While I stick to water because I have a long drive home ahead of me, I sample Julia's malbec, a smooth red from Argentina. For appetizer, we share a home-made country sausage with cabbage, bacon and pear. Full of flavor and not heavy, we can tell the rest of the evening's offerings will be made from quality ingredients.

For dinner we decide on a Pork Chop with Potato Gratin for Julia, Atlantic Swordfish for Carla and I take the Hangar Steak with Rosemary Polenta. Everything is absolutely wonderful! Thrilled by each of our choices, we pass forkfuls of each dish around the table to make sure everyone gets to taste everything. The steak is prepared just the way I like it and the polenta reminds me that I must register for my class at the Culinary school soon. I have to know how to make this myself! The pork chop is extremely tender and in perfection combination with the potato. The swordfish is also quite good, but it's the lemon bread salsa that is intriguing. This crunchy topping with spicy broccolini and cauliflower complete the meal.

Dubreton Pork Chop With Two Potato Gratin,
Swiss Chard & Sage Butter

As we get up to leave, I couldn't be happier to have spent this evening with good friends in this humble kitchen. If you look hard enough, you can find good food almost anywhere, but combining it with excellent service is a rare feat. Upon reading their web site you'll see that owner, Krista Kranyak's goal was to create an environment where people felt part of a big group dinner party where they could be at ease with family and friends, whiling away the night. She has clearly succeeded.

As I make my way home, I can't wait to share the pictures and experiences of the day with Matt. There is still hope for restaurants yet. Now if we could just find something worthwhile, less than 100 miles from home. If anyone out there has any suggestions, we're all ears!

Restaurant ideas in the CT area?
Post here or email me at kathy@thebellyspot.com