Sel de la Terre

Sunday, September 23, 2007

Overall Rating: Sick Potential (72 out of 100)

255 State Street
Boston, MA 02109
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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.



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

posted by The King of Sick Meals @ 9:23 PM 0 comments 

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.



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

posted by The King of Sick Meals @ 9:24 PM 0 comments 

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

posted by The King of Sick Meals @ 12:31 PM 0 comments 

Intrigue

Wednesday, May 9, 2007

Overall Rating: Sick Meals (85 out of 100)

70 Rowes Wharf
Boston, MA 02110
View Map
Phone: 617-856-7744

Extraordinary views. Stellar service. Delightful piano music. Sick continental meals. All of these amenities are for the taking at Intrigue, the Boston Harbor Hotel's surprisingly-affordable waterfront cafe.



Our History at Intrigue
Our first visit to Intrigue was on a Friday night at 8:00pm.

Appetizers
For starters, choose from three "Tastings" and eight appetizers. Tastings include fondue for $7.50 and barbecued boneless spare ribs for $8. Appetizers range from $6 for wild mushroom soup to $14 for chilled jumbo shrimp. We decided to try the fondue as well as the Rowes Wharf salad - crabmeat, avocado, tomato, caper, and horseradish tossed greens for $11.

Beaufort cheese and sweet onion fondue was served with toasted country bread. The sweet onion flavoring complemented the sharp, Beaufort cheese. Although we would have liked some veggies in addition to the bread, this tasting provided a perfect start to our evening.

Next up was the Rowes Wharf salad, stunningly served with a heaping amount of fresh crabmeat, perfectly-ripened avocado, and large, juicy tomato slices. The salad exceeded our expectations and delivered strong on value.

Other appetizers include clam chowder for $6.50, asparagus and parmesan ravioli for $12,50, fennel and lime stuffed Pemaquid oysters for $11.50, and Robiola, Shropshire, and aged Gouda cheeses for $12.50.

Rating: 9

Main Dishes
Entrees range from $14.50 for a Sicilian pizza to $27.50 for a steamed Maine lobster and spiced chorizo. Other options include Fontina cheese and sage stuffed crispy chicken breast, beef tenderloin, grilled jumbo sea scallops, Porcini topped halibut, and Tuscan kale and ricotta cheese cannelloni. In a seafood mood, we ordered the halibut for $19.50 and the scallops for $21.50.

The grilled jumbo sea scallops were bland and a bit chewy; the accompanying curried vegetables proved unexciting. Likewise, the Atlantic halibut was average, and the Porcini topping was much creamier than anticipated. The halibut was served with warm potato, leek, and pancetta salad.

Rating: 7

Drinks
A mostly-American wine list starts at $40 per bottle. The martinis are excellent, but at a whopping $12.50 per glass. A delicious substitute for dessert, the chocolate trifle martini tastes like a chocolate cake.

Rating: 7.9

Service
Intrigue and Boston Harbor Hotel staff practically fall over one another to ensure your satisfaction. Our server perfectly paced the delivery of our dishes, giving us ample time to relax, sip a drink, and chat between courses.

Rating: 9.5

Ambiance
In nice weather, sit outside and enjoy a lively harborside scene. Any time of year, take advantage of a comfortable dining room with live piano music.

Rating: 9.3

Et Cetera

Trivia: Chef Daniel Bruce is also the chef for Meritage

Menu: Check out the appetizers and entrees

Reservations: Intrigue is on OpenTable

Transportation: Valet for $26 or take the Red Line to South Station.

Dress: Casual

Hours: Dinner is served Sunday through Thursday from 4:30pm until 10pm, Friday from 4pm until 11pm, and Saturday from 4pm until 10pm.

Labels: American, Intrigue, Sick-Meals, Waterfront

posted by The King of Sick Meals @ 8:46 PM 2 comments