Mantra

Tuesday, February 20, 2007

Overall Rating: Failure (58 out of 100)

52 Temple Place
Boston, MA 02111
View Map
Phone: 617-542-8111

Overpriced and sterile, Mantra makes a mockery out of fine dining. Want to go clubbing in the Ladder District? Mantra is a potential destination. Looking for sick meals? Don't go here. Mantra represents the antithesis of sick meals.



Our History at Mantra
Previously, we only visited Mantra to go dancing. For dinner, we recently tossed a bunch of money in the garbage on a Saturday night at 7:30pm.

Appetizers
Mantra fuses French and Indian flavors with seafood, poultry, meats, and produce. Our party sampled several appetizers that illustrated this fusion style of cooking, including spiced scallops and tandoori stuffed quail.

Spiced seared diver scallops were served with mango, cumin, black pepper relish, and red pepper coulis. This rub delicately complemented the large, tender scallops. The tandoori stuffed quail was served with balchao sauce and a tiny portion of mustard mashed potatoes. We liked both appetizers, but four scallops for $19 and unspectacular quail for $17 is highway robbery.

Other appetizers include a tasting of oysters, saffron tandoori shrimp, and "menage a foie". For $23, the cleverly-named menage a foie gives you a variety of miniature delicacies: torchon of foie gras with winter fruit compote, pate with black truffle and brioche toast, seared foie gras with lobster, morel and goat cheese dumpling, and sour cherry Chambord gastrique. If you like foie gras, do yourself a favor: forget Mantra and go to The Butcher Shop.

Mantra peddles a bottomless supply of naan while you await your meal.

Rating: 7.5

Main Dishes
Overpriced to the extreme, Mantra's dinner menu includes pork tenderloin roulades, grilled rack of lamb, veal tenderloin, deconstructed tasting of game hens, fresh coconut herb crusted halibut, and steamed marinated gulf prawns.

Our party tried the veal tenderloin for $32, the deconstructed tasting of game hens for $39, and the fresh coconut herb crusted halibut for $39.

The veal tenderloin, served with garlic spinach, herb Idaho potatoes, and port glazed madras onions, was undercooked. The deconstructed tasting of game hens - quail, squab, and duck breast - was served cold with broccoli raab and mediocre yogurt, mustard, chili, and fig dipping sauces. Mantra's "fresh" coconut herb crusted halibut tasted like a dry, bland slab of fish with a few breadcrumbs sprinkled on top. We detected no coconut in the crust. Accompanying curry leaf coconut sauce resembled a pool of mayonnaise.

The halibut dish was supposed to include grilled asparagus, bean sprouts, and peppers. Adding insult to injury, we received three asparagus, a few red pepper slices, and bean sprouts - all "barely steamed" more than grilled.

To put it lightly, the menu over-promises and under-delivers.

Rating: 4

Drinks
Cocktails, sometimes carelessly mixed, go for about $10. Like everything else, much of the wine list is stratospherically priced. On the other hand, Mantra made several mean martinis, helping us forget the calamitous cuisine.

Rating: 7.6

Service
The staff wandered around like zombies and seemed bored as they awaited the main event - the transition of Mantra from a restaurant to a club. Our waitress took forever to deliver drinks, and it was no wonder: we watched as she took our drink orders and then went behind the bar to mix the drinks. Bartenders were missing in action. Sid Vicious cleared our plates.

Rating: 5

Ambiance
Cold, airy, and empty, Mantra has no heart. We felt as though we were intruding on preparations for the evening's clubbing activities. Signs of the previous night's clubbing showed up on dirty curtains. Men relieve themselves on ice; a few hours into a visit, the bathroom becomes downright raunchy.

Rating: 5

Et Cetera

Trivia: Mantra makes a better nightclub than a restaurant. Slip in before 10:00PM to avoid a $20 cover and sip a drink in the smoke-free hookah den.

Menu: Check out the menu here

Reservations: Mantra is on OpenTable

Transportation: Park in several nearby garages or valet for $15.

Dress: There is no reason to go here unless you want to go dancing. With this in mind, dress for a night of clubbing, or go elsewhere.

Hours: Dinner is served Monday through Saturday from 5:30PM to 10:30PM.

Labels: Downtown-Crossing, Failure, French, Fusion, Indian, Mantra

posted by The King of Sick Meals @ 6:45 PM 2 comments 

Mela

Tuesday, January 2, 2007

Overall Rating: Sick Meals (83 out of 100)

578 Tremont Street
Boston, MA 02118
View Map
Phone: 617-859-4805

Mela is a new, modern Indian restaurant located along Restaurant Row on Tremont Street in the South End. Mela has been open for a little over two weeks, residing in the spot formerly occupied by The Nightingale. If you like Indian food, then you will want to give Mela a try.



Our History at Mela
We enjoyed sick meals during our first visit on a Saturday night at 8:30pm.

Appetizers
Mela's appetizers include cold and hot selections, ranging from $4 for vegetable samosa to $13 for mustard lamb. Most of the appetizers are $4-$7.

We ordered the meat samosa and received two ample turnovers stuffed with minced lamb and spices and served with mint and tamarin sauces. This flavorful $5 appetizer was suitable for two.

Rating: 9.1

Main Dishes
Mela's dinner menu features modern Indian dishes, tandori, classic curries, and several "hot stone" selections. Most of the entree menu falls in the $14-$20 range. We ordered the lamb vindaloo and the hot stone marinated lamb chops. Both dishes sent our palates swimming.

The lamb vindaloo consists of lamb chunks marinated in vinegar and spices and combined with potatoes in a spicy tomato and onion sauce. Served with a large bowl of basmati rice, this dish is fantastic.

For the hot stone selections, you are served raw meat or fish that you cook on a hot stone at your table. You receive four lamb chops with the hot stone lamb chop dish. Other hot stone selections include shrimp and scallops.

We ordered garlic naan (unleavened bread baked in a tandoor) as a side, and we were not disappointed. Mela's eight bread selections range from $3 to $5.

Rating: 9.3

Drinks
Mela offers a full bar. A bottle of wine starts at $30. We enjoyed two fabulous glasses of Campa Viejo Crianza red wine for $8 per glass. Two vodka mixed drinks were made very well, but came in at a hefty $10 per glass.

Rating: 8.4

Service
The entire staff was friendly. However, our server seemed nervous. From time to time, he hovered around our table, trying to decide whether to swoop in to clear a plate or ask if we needed a new drink.

The hot stone dish was served with no explanation. Setting expectations regarding how long to cook the lamb would have been nice. We asked the server if he knew; he did not know, and he never returned with an answer.

Rating: 6

Ambiance
Mela used decided care in renovating and decorating this space. Inside each table, you see bay leaves, cinnamon sticks, lentils, and other edibles through a clear covering. Like The Nightingale, there are two rooms. The main dining room is open and inviting; most diners have a view of bustling Tremont Street. A smaller room includes a small bar and a few dining tables; this room tends to be crowded with restaurant personnel, and it feels "colder".

Sitting in the main dining room enhances the dining experience. When you make a reservation, ask to be seated in the main dining room.

Rating: 8.5

Et Cetera

Trivia: Mela is a Sanskrit word meaning "get together".

Takeout: Mela offers takeout for most of their dinner menu.

Parking: Valet parking is not yet available. There is street parking on Tremont Street, but it can be difficult to find on weekends.

Dress: You may dress casually at Mela.

Labels: Indian, Mela, Sick-Meals, South-End

posted by The King of Sick Meals @ 7:12 PM 0 comments