148424 Tue Jun 29 15:05:20 -0700 2004 10 12 Boston Area 0 795940 I need a good food restaurant for a Monday night in July which is my b-fry's bday. He loves seafood & fresh food. I was thinking Boston 224 or Chez Henri. I'm open to ideas. Tue Jun 29 15:05:20 -0700 2004 0 skideeds 1 795941 What is your budget with and/or without alcohol? Tue Jun 29 15:15:22 -0700 2004 795940 0 Dax 2 795952 $15-$18 for entrees not including alcohol. I'm flexy. Just want it to be fresh & upbeat. Tue Jun 29 17:57:48 -0700 2004 795941 0 skideeds 3 795967 Chez Henri's entres are in the $20-30 range. You can get by at the bar for that, if you can get a seat, but that's a lighter menu (check thread below on Chez Henri). I haven't been to 224 yet but friends and people on chowhound rave about it as a great old neighborhood standby. Personally, for that price range, I'd call the Franklin Cafe in the South End on Shawmut and ask them to fax you their latest menu. Their menu from bostonchefs.com is linked below but I do not know how current it is. They're around your price range and the locale remains fairly hip and energetic. As you can see, they usually have 2-3 seafood options on their menu. They don't take reservations and there is a decent wait more often then not, so if you go, remain flexy. Other options for that price range include the B-Side Lounge and possibly some dishes at East Coast Grille, both in Cambridge around Inman Square. For slightly less expensive but still white tablecloth with some excellent seafood, meat and poultry options around $10-18 per entre, I like Laurel at Berkeley & Columbus or the Deluxe Cafe at Clarendon and something just into the South End for more comfort food usually with at least one or two nightly seafood options. East Coast Grill probably has the most and best seafood out of all of these recommendations. It's also likely to be the most expensive out of these options, but not outrageously so. As a reminder, a number of head chefs are off on Mondays. But at these places, it's not quite as much as issue. Link: http://www.bostonchefs.com/clients/FranklinCafe/menu/index.html Wed Jun 30 09:21:19 -0700 2004 795952 0 Dax 1 795983 Green Street Grill in Central Square also could be a good fit. Entrees are around $18-20 and there's usually at least two fish options and a fish/shellfish stew. Link: http://www.greenstreetgrill.com/menu.htm Wed Jun 30 12:30:43 -0700 2004 795940 0 formerly grueldelux 1 795986 The entrees are a bit more ($22-$24) but you could easily make a meal out of a few apps ($6-$12) at Perdix - the portions are big. The food is great, and seafood dishes are always fantastic. Lately I've tried the shrimp fritters which were addictive and had such a great spongy, light texture. Also a wonderful wild salmon/smoked salmon tartare is back on the menu. I really like their mixed greens - simple, perfectly dressed and often with great micro-greens included when they're available. The sauteed clams are a huge appetizer and the broth is great with the bread served (from Michael Rhodes at Sel de la Terre). Crab salad is nice on a hot night, it's perfectly dressed too. Recent entrees that I've had don't seem to be on the menu any longer. The staff are quite good with wine recommendations, too. **Disclaimer** For what it's worth - I've worked there and go back for dinner sometimes. Link: http://www.perdixrestaurant.com/menus.html Wed Jun 30 14:20:44 -0700 2004 795940 0 MB 2 795987 Dontcha think it sounds a little chintzy to take someone out for their birthday, and just limit them to apps? ;) Link: http://www.bistrodraw.com Wed Jun 30 14:45:39 -0700 2004 795986 0 galleygirl 3 795999 I am the last girl to encourage chintzy! Kinda depends on their style. Even with a pocket full of money sometimes we just order a bunch of apps. Wed Jun 30 17:01:01 -0700 2004 795987 0 MB 4 796000 Not that I would ever say you were that kinda girl! ;) But I love making grand gestures, say, when treating my beloved to a b'day dinner, and many non-hound men don't quite get the concept of grazing on apps...So I like to make sure to pick a place where I can pick up the check without flinching, after saying, "Whatever you want, hon, it's your birthday!"... Link: http://www.bistrodraw.com Wed Jun 30 17:15:06 -0700 2004 795999 0 galleygirl 1 796006 Hope it's not Monday, July 26, which is when the DNC starts, and getting into Boston, let alone Boston restaurants, becomes hellish. You can get mighty fine, none-fresher seafood at Chinatown places like Ocean Wealth and Peach Farm. Point to it in the tank, watch 'em fish it out, bring it back to the kitchen, back out on your plate in a few minutes. The price is right, too. The Nightingale and Perdix seem to be very heavy on seafood dishes these days, and while the prices stretch your budget a bit (both tend toward low-to-mid-twenties on fish), they are both lovely places for a celebration: fresh New American, cool atmosphere, very good service. I second the suggestion for the Green St Grill, which has been remade to look quite swanky and has a new chef who tends less toward Caribbean and more toward East Coast Grill/Blue Room style seafood grilling. Still some island spice to be found, but it's sparser. For something a bit more casual, yet also recently remodeled to be much nicer than its former divey self, try the Forest Cafe, an authentic Mexican place that does grilled fish in a variety of fantastic sauces. Decent margaritas, and Tecate in the pink can. A bargain. Last suggestion, also a small stretch price-wise, but wonderful and unique: Taranta in the North End, which cuts a broad swath across Italian cuisine (from Naples on south, both coasts, and the islands), emphasizing seafood. I'll always treasure this place for introducing me to bottarga. Lovely people that run it, too. Wed Jun 30 21:50:16 -0700 2004 795940 0 MC Slim JB 2 796021 These days Taranta's dishes feature more Italian-Peruvian fusion than traditional Italian (chef is Peruvian). Menu is littered with Peruvian ingredients. Don't remember if the spaghetti with bottarga and sea urchin is still on the menu, but I bet they'll make it if one requests. Thu Jul 01 02:10:34 -0700 2004 796006 0 Limster