Boston Restaurant Reviews | SickMeals.com: September 2007

Sel de la Terre

Sunday, September 23, 2007

Overall Rating: Sick Potential (72 out of 100)

255 State Street
Boston, MA 02109
View Map
Phone: 617-720-1300

Located in the downtown waterfront right next to the New England Aquarium, Sel de la Terre specializes in southern French cuisine. We entered Sel de la Terre with sick meal expectations. Unfortunately, lukewarm cuisine, subpar service, and uninspiring ambiance left us unfulfilled.

Gaslight

Our History at Sel de la Terre
Our first visit was on a Friday night at 8:00pm.

Appetizers
$11 first courses include baked aged goat cheese salad, a braised bacon tart, flatbread pizza with smoked chicken, sauteed Maine crab cakes, and crispy fried Rhode Island style squid. Smaller plates such as french olives and eggplant-goat cheese puree are available for $5.

The flatbread pizza with smoked chicken was a highlight. Caramelized onions, green olives, feta cheese, and sage packed a compendium of flavor and texture into the cracker-thin pizza. We also ordered the selection of French olives, which were nothing special; mostly, we received tough, green olives.

Rating: 8.3

Main Dishes
Sel de la Terre's $26 main courses include grilled pork tenderloin, barbecued salmon, roasted chicken breast, pistachio and avocado crusted haddock, and roasted swordfish. Black olive rubbed rack of lamb goes for $33.

We tried the haddock as well as the swordfish. The haddock's pistachio and avocado "crust" (it was more of a "smattering") was sick, but the dish was served at a cool temperature, taking much of the air out of what could have been a splendid dish. Included with the haddock were sparse fingerling potatoes, roasted red onion, and a single cherry tomato. The swordfish was lukewarm and chewy, but it was somewhat saved by the accompanying mix of string beans, shell beans, roasted red pepper, and grilled corn nage.

Rosemary pommes frites, sauteed spinach with parmesan, and chickpea frites with spicy aioli are available as side dishes for $6.50.

Rating: 7.1

Drinks
Featured cocktails go for $10 - $13. A bottle of wine starts at $32.

Rating: 7

Service
Our waitress was hard-to-find when we needed her. Meanwhile, staff inappropriately buzzed around our table, eager to clear unfinished appetizers. Then, after concluding our entrees, the table sat in slop.

Rating: 6.6

Ambiance
Sel de la Terre looked like a private study turned into a restaurant, but the atmosphere felt cold, and the Sel de la Terre team seemed lifeless.

Rating: 7

Et Cetera

Trivia: Prior to opening Sel de la Terre in 2000, Chef/Partner Geoff Gardner spent eight years as the sous chef at L'Espalier.

Menu: View the menu on Sel de la Terre's web site

Reservations: Sel de la Terre is on OpenTable

Transportation: Valet is available for $16. The nearest T stop is Aquarium.

Dress: Casual

Hours: Dinner is served daily from 5:00pm until 10:00pm. A late night menu is available Wednesday through Saturday from 10:00pm until 12:30am.

Labels: French, Sel-de-la-Terre-Boston, Sick-Potential, Waterfront

Gaslight

Saturday, September 15, 2007

Overall Rating: The Sickest (92 out of 100)

560 Harrison Avenue
Boston, MA 02118
View Map
Phone: 617-422-0224

Sick meals are heating up on Harrison Ave. Gaslight, the newest Aquitaine Group restaurant, delivers sick French cuisine, great drinks, and stunning value in a lively, upbeat environment. Dinner is served until midnight and a late night menu is available until 1:30am - seven days a week.

Our History at Gaslight
Gaslight opened on August 23rd. Our first visit was on a Sunday at 9:00pm.

Appetizers
Hors d'oeuvres range from $5 to $8.50 and include smoked salmon, pate, steak tartare, escargots, and a potato tart. We tried the potato tart (tartelette aux pommes de terre) for $6.75 and the salmon (saumon fume) for $8.

Integrating roquefort cheese, truffles, and super-soft potatoes, the small, delectable potato tart melted in our mouths. It tasted like a double-baked potato with a thin crust covering. The smoked salmon was served with four pieces of sliced potato, a perfect surface for the thin salmon with chickpea blini and lemon creme fraiche. Both dishes were petite yet good for sharing among two. We recommend getting one appetizer per person.

Gaslight serves a complementary baguette in a paper sleeve.

Rating: 9

Main Dishes
Entrees include chicken, pasta, steak, and seafood as well as sandwiches and pizza. Prices range from $9 to $19.50. We ordered leg of lamb (gigot d'agneau roti) for $17.50 and salmon (saumon filet roti) for $18.50.

We received a heaping portion of succulent roasted lamb, served medium-rare to medium. Garlic and herbs provided delicious flavoring, and the meat was tender, fit for slicing with a butter knife. This filling dish was served with sick scalloped potatoes. We enjoyed Gaslight's roasted salmon more than any salmon dish we've tasted in recent memory. The crispy-covered salmon was served with garlic braised escarole and lemon confit.

Rating: 9.4

Drinks
Drinks are surprisingly-affordable. Gaslight offers wine by the glass, carafe, and bottle. A carafe of the house red or white is just $12. Reserve selections are available. Cocktails range from $5.50 to $8.50. We sipped a cool "Cuban Ice", a mix of grapes, mint, Mt. Gay rum, and ice wine, served over crushed ice. "Frida Kahlo", an "iced tea with a kick", was another highlight. This addicting drink consisted of tequila with triple sec, lime, and iced tea.

Rating: 9.6

Service
Down-to-earth and eager-to-please, our waitress patiently provided a detailed explanation of many French-written menu items. We were seated several minutes late, but the staff was attentive while we awaited our table.

Rating: 8.8

Ambiance
With a striking bar, wood floors, white mosaic tiles, beamed wood ceilings, and antique mirrors, Gaslight presents an "old world" yet modern setting. Sit at the bar, cafe tables, communal tables, booths, or leather banquettes. Conversation and music resonate in a lively, loud atmosphere.

Rating: 9.1

Et Cetera

Trivia: Gaslight accepts takeout orders.

Menu: View the menu on Gaslight's web site

Reservations: Gaslight is on OpenTable

Transportation: Gaslight offers free parking in their own lot.

Dress: Casual

Hours: Dinner is served Monday through Friday from 5:00pm until midnight and Saturday and Sunday from 3:00pm until midnight. A late night menu is available seven days a week from midnight until 1:30am.

Labels: French, Gaslight-Boston, South-End, The-Sickest

Sel de la Terre

Sunday, September 23, 2007

Gaslight

Saturday, September 15, 2007

Recent Reviews

Archives

Your Feedback