Aquitaine – South End

It’s been a little while since Yue and I went out to brunch, so this weekend we trekked out to the South End to eat at a place I’ve had my eye on for a while. Aquitaine is a chic French-style bistro on Tremont Street, serving up elevated French fare for dinner service and a large spread of options for brunch. It’s widely hailed as one of Boston’s premier brunch destinations, and I would have felt remiss in my duty as a food blogger if I didn’t try it out at least once.

We were seated at a corner table in the back on a comfortable wrap-around bench, and the waiter was cheerful and attentive as he took our order. We opted for their brunch prixe fixe menu (which runs until 3 pm on Saturday and 11 am on Sunday), which offers a choice between two different kinds of omelettes or a brioche french toast, along with coffee, freshly squeezed juice, and a cinnamon roll, all for about $12. We went a little later than usual, and they were out of the cinnamon rolls, but they substituted in a fruit cup, and I certainly won’t complain.

Yue ordered the omelette occidental, which is served with ham, peppers, and cheddar, along with a side of potatoes and toast. I ordered the french toast, and then we both split our orders to share. I will be honest with you, dear reader: it was the worst trade deal in the history of trade deals, possibly ever. Don’t get me wrong, the omelette was good enough, and there was absolutely nothing wrong with it.

It’s just that the french toast was simply phenomenal. Without a doubt, the best I’ve had.

The exterior crust was just solid enough to give it a satisfying texture and consistency, but the inside was warm and soft and the perfect contrast without being too sweet. We’ve been thinking about it all weekend, and we will almost certainly have to make a return trip just for that alone. I can see now why Aquitaine has the reputation it does, and I encourage all of our readers to make the trip to the South End to experience it for themselves.

Ganko Ittetsu Ramen – Coolidge Corner

It’s finally time for a write-up of a place I’ve wanted to feature on the blog for a long time. Ganko Ittetsu Ramen is just down the street from my place in Coolidge Corner and it is, hands down, the best ramen spot in the city. Tucked into the Coolidge Corner arcade, it’s right near the Coolidge Corner theater, and a bowl of steaming, flavorful ramen is the perfect thing after a movie… if you can get a table, that is.

When I first moved in to Coolidge Corner a year and a half ago, Ganko had only recently opened, and it had a more underground appeal. The wait times weren’t as long, and you could usually get a seat at the bar counter in a pinch. But awesome ramen doesn’t stay a secret in Boston for long. Now wait times at Ganko average thirty to forty five minutes or longer. Their tiny space doesn’t help matters, and so the past few times Yue and I have tried to go, the prospect of a long agonizing wait for our food didn’t really outweigh the prospect of delicious ramen at the end. But recently the stars aligned, and we were able to get a table after only twenty five minutes (most of which were spent perusing the stacks of the nearby Brookline Booksmith).

Though Ganko offers several kinds of ramen, Yue and I both ordered the shio, meaning salt. The sea salt flavored broth is augmented with thin slices of pork, sweet corn, a five minute egg, scallions and nori. This is certainly not the sad ramen you made in the dorm kitchen when you were an undergrad. The flavors blend in the broth, and the noodles are just the right firmness to fill you up and leave you sated. Now, I may be a simple man of simple pleasures, but I think there are fewer things more satisfying than drinking down the last bit of delicious ramen broth from a deep bowl. (Okay, I lied, there are plenty of things more satisfying, but it’s definitely up there on the list)

There are plenty of things a ramen place can do to throw off the balance of their food. The noodles can be too firm, or too soft, or taste too much like the miserable discount ramen you ate in college. They can add too much water to the broth, or too much salt for “flavor”. I’m looking at a specific ramen place in Boston for each one of those things, in case you were wondering. Ganko does none of these things, and as such, it deserves its crown as Table For Two’s Favorite Ramen.

Now if only they would expand a bit so I don’t have to wait so long…

Petit Robert Bistro – South End

Yue and I have a lot of date nights, and try a lot of incredible food. But Valentine’s Day calls for something a little more special than usual, so this Wednesday we managed to get a table at one of our favorite South End spots, Petit Robert Bistro. Located on Columbus Ave just a short walk from where we work in Back Bay, Petit Robert offers fine French food in an intimate space.

Their Valentine’s menu was a three course prix fixe, and so slightly different from their usual fare. For our first course, Yue chose the tuna tartar, while I indulged with some foie gras. The foie gras was served over caramelized apples, adding a hint of sweetness to the dish, while Yue’s tartar was served beneath an avocado puree, offering something light and refreshing before the heavier fare of the later courses.

The main course was roasted salmon with red potatoes and scallions for Yue and a rack of lamb with mashed potatoes and green beans for me. The lamb was breaded with mustard, and served with a wine reduction, and while I was wary at first of the small portion size, it was the perfect amount to fill me up without leaving me too full. The potatoes were light and made to perfection, while the lamb was tender and fell off the bone with a touch. I can’t really speak for Yue’s salmon (I’ve never been big on roasted fish), but if it was anything like my entree, it was delicious too.

Our final course was, naturally, dessert. It was a difficult choice, but Yue opted for the passion fruit creme brulee, while I settled on the chocolate mousse. Passion fruit is a bit too sweet for me, but the mousse was full-bodied and rich, the perfect treat to cap of a Valentine’s dinner.

Petit Robert blends the best of French cuisine with South End charm, and in the summer they offer al fresco dining. While it’s hardly the time of year for it now, Yue and I had our first trip to Petit Robert over the summer, where we sat outside and watched the sun set over the buildings of Back Bay while we did some quality people watching (and more importantly, dog watching). If you’re looking for something a little more upscale for date night without all the pomp and circumstance, Petit Robert should definitely be on the table.

Osaka – Coolidge Corner

For today’s feature, Yue and I tried a place that we walk past all the time, but had never really noticed. We were looking for something close to home, and Osaka fit the bill. Located just off of Harvard Ave and a little ways up from the Coolidge Corner T stop, Osaka would have a great location if the particulars of that location didn’t make it so hard to spot from the main street. However, it seems popular enough with the local crowd; a steady stream of people were coming and going the entire time we ate.

Osaka is an Asian fusion sushi and hibachi restaurant, and while Asian fusion is a dime a dozen in our neighborhood, Osaka is a more refined setting than its Allston counterparts, and in my opinion, pulls it off a little more seamlessly than its Brookline neighbors. The restaurant is divided into two sections, with a traditional seating area where you order off an a la carte menu and a large hibachi floor with three grills. Yue and I opted for the more traditional seating, though next time I think we’ll try the other side. We wanted to sample a little bit of everything Osaka had to offer, so we settled on a plate of sushi and a plate of hibachi to share.

The pink dragon sushi caught our eye mostly by virtue of its color. Pink isn’t something we’ve seen often in sushi, and the rolls were packed with crab meat, avocado and mango. The mango gave it a sweeter taste than I normal expect from sushi, but it was an interesting change of pace, and I recommend it if you’re looking for something beyond the simple rice and salmon.

Our hibachi was a bit of surf and turf, with a combination of steak and scallops, served over a vegetable medley with fried rice. In hindsight, I regret not being able to see it prepared on the grill, but I’ll know better next time. The amount we ordered was just enough for two people, and if we weren’t sharing, a single plate of hibachi each would have been enough, and we could have eschewed the sushi. It may not look like much in the pictures, but the food is certainly filling (and fried rice tends to weigh me down anyway).

All in all, it’s a nice spot for date night, close to all that Coolidge Corner has to offer. Make sure to come early, especially if you want to sit at the hibachi grill, because that fills up fast.

-Connor

Hei La Moon – Chinatown

As you might be aware, the Chinese lunar new year is set to begin this week, ushering in the Year of the Dog. To mark the occasion, Yue and I Made a trip out to Chinatown this morning for dim sum at Hei La Moon. Hei La Moon is located just across the street from Boston’s iconic Chinatown Gate, and boasts several floors of banquet hall-style seating. Uniformed servers push around carts laden with meats, pastries and dumplings around the hall, and dishes are served a la carte. It’s a sprawling space, but make sure to come early, because it does fill up fast. The building has a parking garage on top, and diners can get validated parking on the weekends, meaning people come from far and wide for an authentic dim sum experience.

Because of the way dim sum service works, you’re able to try all manner of dishes, though the tastes tend to run more towards sweet or savory than spicy. Yue’s favorite dish is chicken feet, and though I was a bit apprehensive the first time we tried them, they’re starting to grow on me. They can be a bit bony, and eating around the bones and spitting them out can take some getting used to. We also ordered peppery pork short ribs with taro, which I think were my favorite in the spread. The flavor serves as a good contrast to the sweeter dishes we ordered, and the bite-sized cubes are easy to pop into your mouth.

Also in the spread was yuba, tofu skin, wrapped around a filling of pork, shrimp, and bamboo shoots, the latter to give the dish a little extra texture. Though they may not look like much, they’re plenty filling. The dish in the foreground of the first photo are rolls of fish tofu with crab meat in the center, garnished with sweet corn. That one was a dish neither Yue nor I had tried before, but it certainly delivered a subtle but interesting flavor, kind of like a heavy, deep-fried sushi.

The egg tarts are actually a dish from Portugal, but due to Portugal’s connection to Macau, have been incorporated into the dim sum spread. The heavy pastry crust and creamy egg filing help clear the palate between dishes. We also ordered shu mai, a kind of steamed dumpling stuffed with pork. These, I think, are what tipped me over from just being merely full to staving off a food coma all afternoon. Worth it.

We ended our meal on the sweet side, with a bowl of coconut milk, watermelon chunks and tapioca pearls, and steamed buns filled with duck egg, butter, and cheese. The natural saltiness of the duck egg was offset by the sweetness of the bun itself and the flavors of the cheese and butter.

We left feeling completely stuffed, and it took a walk back through Chinatown and then all the way down through Back Bay to stave off the post-meal lethargy, but we’re ready to ring in the Year of the Dog.

-Connor