Boston Restaurant Reviews | SickMeals.com: June 2007

Tia's

Wednesday, June 27, 2007

Overall Rating: Sick Meals (86 out of 100)

200 Atlantic Avenue
Boston, MA 02110
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Phone: 617-227-0828

Best known as a Friday-after-work hotspot, Tia's is the place to be for sick meals on a hot summer night. Bask in the sea breeze, feast on fresh seafood, and drink in a vibrant scene on Boston's waterfront.

Tia's

Our History at Tia's
Our fifth visit to Tia's was on a Saturday night at 5:00pm.

Appetizers
Tia's appetizer menu is filled with tempting seafood such as peel n' eat shrimp, steamers, littleneck clams, mussels, and Wellfleet oysters. Prices range from $5.50 for clam chowder to $14.95 for fried coconut shrimp.

We got started with twelve peel n' eat shrimp for $12.95. The shrimp were large and the cocktail sauce packed a punch with just enough spice.

Complementing Tia's seafood offerings are boneless buffalo wings, margherita pizza, and several salads including Asian barbeque Atlantic salmon salad.

Rating: 8.6

Main Dishes
Entrees focus on steak and seafood, including Tia's famous lobsters. Seafood selections include Boston scrod for $19.95, fish and chips for $18.95, and char-grilled marinated swordfish for $24.95. Mesquite grilled marinated steak tips go for $18.95 and a New York sirloin steak is available for $24.95. The menu includes one and one-and-a-half pound lobsters. Tia's "House Specialty" is a one-and-a-half pound baked stuff lobster.

Treating ourselves on an early summer night, we indulged in the baked stuff lobster. Tia's masterfully mixed heaping chunks of crab meat, scallops, and shrimp with mouthwatering buttered almond crumbs to deliver a truly sick stuffing. The lobster meat was sweet, tender, and substantial. Fantastic French fries and tasty coleslaw complemented this lobster feast.

Although a bit pricey at $44.95, Tia's baked stuff lobster is certainly in the running for the best baked stuff lobster in town.

Rating: 9.1

Drinks
A bottle of beer starts at $6. Martinis and "summer favorites" such as a Patron mango margarita go for $11-$12. An affordable but limited selection of whites and reds are available starting at $7.50 for a glass or $28 for a bottle.

Rating: 8

Service
We asked for pre-cracked lobster claws and our waitress cheerfully obliged, but the claws were later served un-cracked. Delivery of drinks was on the slow side. Otherwise, our waitress was pleasant, and the service was fair.

Rating: 7.8

Ambiance
With patio seating, a sick Long Wharf location, and a jovial, booze-happy crowd, Tia's is a highly recommended spot on a sizzling Boston summer night. But get there early to avoid an hour+ wait for coveted patio seating.

Rating: 9.4

Et Cetera

Trivia: Reserve Tia's outdoor patio for a sick summer party. Pricing starts at $100 for 50 or fewer guests. Check out the fees and terms.

Menu: Go here to view the menu.

Reservations: Tia's does not accept reservations.

Transportation: There are several nearby parking garages. The closest T station is Aquarium on the Blue Line.

Dress: You may dress casually.

Hours: Dinner is served every day served until 11pm.

Labels: Seafood, Sick-Meals, Tias, Waterfront

Brasserie Jo

Sunday, June 24, 2007

Overall Rating: Sick Meals (85 out of 100)

120 Huntington Avenue
Boston, MA 02116
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Phone: 617-424-7000

Located near The Prudential Center in The Colonnade Hotel, Brasserie Jo cooks up a variety of casual, traditional French fare. The menu features light hor's devoures and full meals as well as extensive wine and beer lists.

Our History at Brasserie Jo
Our third visit to Brasserie Jo was on a Friday night at 7:00pm.

Appetizers
Appetizers range from $5.95 to $14.95 and include French ham crepe gratin, smoked salmon, and ratatouille goat cheese tarte. Shellfish are also available including oysters on the half shell, crab claws, and jumbo shrimp cocktail. We ordered the smoked salmon, oysters, and a bowl of clam chowder.

The smoked salmon was served with crispy potatoes and horseradish cream. We enjoyed the salmon, but the horseradish cream hit us like a bulldozer. One might call this dish horseradish cream with salmon and crispy potatoes.

Brimming with fresh clams and not too rich, the clam chowder was surprisingly good. A half dozen ample oysters were a tasty treat.

Salads and pizza are also available.

Rating: 8.3

Main Dishes
Entrees include seafood such as sauteed skate wings, steak dishes such as classic Parisian steak frites, and specialties such as chicken coq au vin. Prices range from $14.95 for seasonal vegetables crepe Florentine to $31.95 for the New York Strip Steak. Daily specials are available.

We ordered roasted rack of lamb for $24.95 and sauteed soft shell crab, a special, for $22.95. The crunchy soft shell crab was served with pistachio butter, fingerling potatoes, and haricots verts. Tender roasted rack of lamb was served with braised flageolet beans, a perfect complement to the lamb.

Rating: 8.9

Drinks
Bottled beer and drafts are available, starting at $4.75. The house draft is Hopla, an Alsatian-style pilsner brewed exclusively for Brasserie Jo. A bottle of wine starts at $29. Martinis go for $11-$12. We sipped on a French cosmo, mixed with Grey Goose, Grand Marnier, and cranberry juice, as well as a "Nouveau", a mix of Stoli Blueberi, Cointreau, and lime juice.

Rating: 8.8

Service
Our waiter was patient and thorough in answering questions regarding the menu. Too much time lapsed between drink orders, but we otherwise received professional service. All of the staff seemed to bound with enthusiasm.

Rating: 8.4

Ambiance
Brasserie Jo feels like a brasserie set in an upscale urban environment. The prime tables are those closest to bustling Huntington Avenue. Your experience at other tables may vary. Our table, for instance, abutted the serving station.

Rating: 8.3

Et Cetera

Trivia: Chef Jean Joho owns the acclaimed Everest and Brasserie Jo restaurants in Chicago and the Eiffel Tower Restaurant in Las Vegas.

Menu: Check out the menu here

Reservations: Brasserie Jo is on OpenTable

Transportation: Valet is $12 for 1 hour, $16 for 2 hours, and $20 for three hours. The nearest T station is Prudential on the Green Line (E Branch).

Dress: You may dress casually.

Hours: Dinner is served Monday through Saturday from 5pm to 11pm and on Sunday from 5pm to 10pm. A special bar menu is available until 1am from Monday through Thursday and until 1:30am on Friday and Saturday.

Labels: Back-Bay, Brasserie-Jo, French, Sick-Meals

Avila

Monday, June 11, 2007

Overall Rating: The Sickest (90 out of 100)

1 Charles Street South
Boston, MA 02216
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Phone: 617-267-4810

Avila captures the flavors of Portugal, Spain, Italy, Greece, and France. Creative, mouth-watering dishes make Avila one of the sickest meals in town.

Avila

Our History at Avila
Our first visit to Avila was on a Friday night at 9:00pm.

Appetizers
Small plates range from $4 to $8 and include cured Spanish olives, salt cod poppers, sauteed chicken livers, duck egg over easy, escargot, and Portuguese sardines. First courses range from $9 to $17 and include onion soup, foie gras, cast iron sizzling shrimp, grilled baby octopus, and gazpacho.

We started the evening with salt cod poppers ($6), cured Spanish olives ($4), and cast iron sizzling shrimp ($13). Five deliciously-soft cod poppers melted in our mouths; balsamic mayonnaise was included for dipping. Avila served a healthy portion of Spanish olives. The cast iron sizzling shrimp included three, large shrimp perfectly marinated in garlic, parsley and olive oil. The dish was sick, but three shrimp for $13 felt a bit skimpy.

Avila's bread basket included delectable mini-slices of white pizza. We also received tasty, complimentary morsels of tuna tartar served on a potato chip.

Rating: 9

Main Dishes
Pastas range from $18 to $42 and include hand rolled potato gnocchi, fusilli with jumbo shrimp and Portuguese sausage, and fettuccine carbonara served with butter poached lobster. Entrees range from $25 to $32 and include free range chicken, seared halibut, pork Milanese, grilled veal sirloin, and whole crispy bass. Eight specialties range from $22 for Za'atar spiced black pearl salmon to $41 for natural aged New York sirloin.

We decided to go with the whole crispy bass as well as one of the evening's specials, grilled swordfish. The whole crispy bass was substantial, served whole, including the head. We enjoyed the lightly dusted cornmeal crust that surrounded the delicious bass. The dish was served with sea salt yucca, arugula, and corn colada. Another gem, the grilled swordfish was topped with fried clams and served with hydrogreen salad and orange slices.

Rating: 9.4

Drinks
Wine is available by the glass or bottle. Reds range from $8 to $15 per glass. Whites range from $9 to $13 per glass. Avila's extensive wine list includes several bottles in the $20s and $30s amidst a diverse collection of more expensive offerings. Mixed drinks were expensive but solid. We enjoyed a pre-dinner champagne lemontini for $12, a mix of Ketel One citron, cointreau, limoncello, champagne, and mint leaves with a lemon twist.

Rating: 8.7

Service
We experienced prompt, friendly, and professional service from our waitress as well as the hostess, bartenders, and bus staff.

Rating: 8.8

Ambiance
Avila greets you with a long, alluring bar. A wide open kitchen with counter-style seating lies in the middle of the restaurant. Tall windows, an ultra-high ceiling, and a dim, candle-lit room create an upscale, urban ambiance.

Rating: 9

Et Cetera

Trivia: A bar menu is available from 3pm to 11pm on Sunday through Tuesday and from 3pm to midnight on Wednesday through Saturday. The bar menu features pizza as well as yummy first and second courses such as mini kobe beef burgers, pappardelle bolognese, a lamb tenderloin pita pocket, crispy calamari, and Philly cheese steak spring rolls.

Menu: Check out the menu here

Reservations: Avila is on OpenTable

Parking: Valet for $16 or park in the nearby Motor Mart Garage.

Dress: Business Casual in a fine dining environment

Hours: Dinner is served Sunday through Tuesday from 5pm to 10pm and Wednesday through Saturday from 5pm to 11pm.

Labels: Avila, Back-Bay, Mediterranean, The-Sickest

The Barking Crab

Saturday, June 2, 2007

Overall Rating: Not So Sick (69 out of 100)

88 Sleeper Street
Boston, MA 02210
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Phone: 617-426-2722

Located along the Fort Point Channel, The Barking Crab offers up a spectacular view of the Financial District in the casual atmosphere of a coastal clam shack. Unfortunately, abysmal service and progressively worsening seafood leaves one with the impression that The Barking Crab is a wildly-popular restaurant that may be entering the throes of decline.

Our History at The Barking Crab
Our fifth visit to The Barking Crab was on a Friday night at 9:00pm.

Appetizers
Appetizers range from $8 to $14 and include fried calamari, mussels, Jonah crab claws, fried clams, steamers, fried sweet & spicy beer battered shrimp, and barking crab cakes. A selection of soups and salads are available for $5 to $10. We opted for the Jonah crab claws as well as an order of fried clams.

The Jonah crab claws disappointed. We expected large chunks of sweet crabmeat; we didn't get it. After smashing open a crab claw with a rock, the last thing you want is sparse, bland crab meat. While we enjoyed the fried clams, there weren't nearly enough for two people. Our waitress inexplicably down-sold us from a large portion to a small portion.

What happened to the peel & eat shrimp?

Rating: 6.7

Main Dishes
Entrees range from $12 to $24 and include fish & chips, pan seared salmon, baked scrod, grilled ribeye steak, and platters such as fried clams, fried scallops, and fried oysters. Crabs and lobsters are available at market prices. Sandwiches are available for $8 to $14, including a cheeseburger, a lobster roll, and a crab salad sandwich. Sides range from $2 for coleslaw to $5 for onion rings. Normally, we stick to the fried platters, but on this evening, we explored two "specialties": the baked scrod and the pan seared salmon.

The pan seared salmon fillet was served with a red pepper relish that smelled like wet dog and didn't taste much better; we can't remember enjoying salmon any less. The dish included steamed rice, black beans, and bok choy. On the other hand, we enjoyed the scrod's delicious almond crusted topping.

Our recommendation: go with the fried stuff.

Rating: 6.6

Drinks
Historically, The Barking Crab served only beer and wine, but a full liquor license is on the way. An alcoholic beverage menu presently features 17 mixed drinks ranging from $5 to $8, including a margarita, a sea breeze, and a Bloody Mary. Draft beer is available by the cup or pitcher. Affordable whites and reds are available by the glass or bottle.

Rating: 8.2

Service
The bartender held patrons in open contempt. Pouring a drink seemed like a huge inconvenience. No matter how nice the customer, he found a way to showcase the huge chip on his shoulder.

Table service offered little improvement. Bus staff surrounded our table like vultures, twice trying to clear half-finished plates, and once succeeding in swooping away a quarter-filled wine glass.

Crab staff seemed bewildered regarding the restaurant's transition to a full liquor license. The bartender left us with the impression that no mixed drinks were available. The hostess explained that all 17 mixed drinks on the alcoholic beverage menu were available. Finally, our waitress told us that roughly half of the 17 mixed drinks were available. Huh?

This place could use a good housecleaning.

Rating: 3.8

Ambiance
At The Barking Crab, it's all about the ambiance. The half-indoors, half-outdoors shack is perfectly situated on the Fort Point Channel, offering sick views of the Financial District. Crab traps intertwined with white lights, mermaids, buoys, rock music, and loads of beer transport you to sea.

A word of caution: if you plan on hitting The Crab on a Friday or Saturday night, get there early. Otherwise, you may wait over an hour to be seated.

Rating: 9.4

Et Cetera

Trivia: Live music is played on Tuesdays, Thursdays, and Sundays.

Reservations: Reservations are accepted for parties of six or more.

Parking: The Barking Crab offers free parking in a small lot. Additional parking is available in an adjacent lot for $10 per hour and $3 for every half hour thereafter - with a maximum charge of $19 until midnight.

Dress: You may dress casually.

Hours: The Crab serves food seven days a week from 11:30am until 11pm.

Labels: Not-So-Sick, Seafood, The-Barking-Crab, Waterfront