Gaslight Review, 8/23 (long, with pics)
Attended the first night at Gaslight open to the public for dinner last night.
The transformation that Harrison Ave. is undergoing is truly remarkable. I think it's a testament to the city's strength that a stretch that two or three years ago no one would want to touch with a 50 ft. pole is now ground zero for Boston's most interesting restaurant boom.
In very non-urbanite fashion, we decided to suppress our guilt and drive from Back Bay proper to Gaslight, enticed by the promise of free, plentiful parking. Sure enough, the adjacent lot is both convenient and free.
The first thing that struck me upon entering was the sound--it's loud! The walls are lined with subway tile that really bounces the noise around. This is not necessarily a bad thing as there was certainly a lively vibe, but it's something people should know before they go expecting an intimate evening.
We were told by the hostess that the seatings were running slightly behind schedule, not unexpected on an opening night, and happily made our way to the bar for a drink while we waited.
My SO had the signature fleur de lis: parfait amour violet liquer, gin, white grape juice and champagne. She enjoyed it a great deal, and based on my sip, I had to concur: well mixed, with noticeable tastes of peach and grape to deliver the gin and bubbles. I, on the other hand, could not help myself and, much to my SO's disgust, ordered a $2 PBR. What other french brasserie in the city has $2 domestic suds? True, it's only 12 oz., but still. The one slip up on this occasion: the bar tender, no doubt unintentionally, charged me $4 for the PBR instead of $2. Completely by accident, of course. The discrepancy was quickly rectified when I pointed it out. The bar itself was a lovely: a french made zinc beauty, curved, just comfortable enough.
We were seatd after about ten minutes at a two top in the middle of the dining room. As noted above, the subway tiles are a neat effect, and in the more spacious dining room, the noise reverberation was not quite as bad.
Complementary bread is lovely: a warm, crusty baguette served in a paper bakery bag. A nice saltiness to the crust, and a moist, chewy interior.
We started with the escargot and the tartalete. I found the escargot themselves a bit on the chewy side, but the broth was lovely: much less overpowering garlic than the usual, mild, with distinct notes of white wine and herbs. The broth was particularly exellent when soaked up with the crusty baguette.
The tartlette was rich and fine, but nothing particularly interesting. Sort of like a twice baked potato in a flaky, mini pie crust. The truffles barely registered over the heavy taste of the roquefort and buttery potato.
For mains, I was talked out of ordering the cubano by my fiance, and we instead split the steak frites and the tagliatelle with braised short ribs and pearl onions.
The steak was ordered medium rare, but the chef clearly knew better than I how this baby should be cooked. Not the thin, chewy hanger or flank steak that one usually thinks of with steak frites, the thick sirloin displayed some lovely outer searing, and, when cut into, revealed a wonderfully rare and tender interior. It was topped with a fresh tasting, herby bernaise that might have been a bit too salty (I will return to this theme). The steak was moist and tender, and really cooked properly for the cut. With less marbling than a ribeye or hanger, sirloin is best when cooked a shade below even medium rare: I think of it more like a filet than a ribeye. You can see in the picture below what I'm talking about as far as the interior temperature. Again, even with the great texture and tenderness, the one thing I would say is that the overly salty bernaise overpowered the flavor of the meat somewhat. The accompanying frites were limp and unremarkable: we more or less ignored them.
The tagliatelle had a lot going for it: the short rib ragout was deep, rich, and full of meaty flavor; the tagliatelle was tender, a bit past al dente, but appropriate for the dish. The ragout was not really ragout, but just a rich braising liquid, making the dish feel more like a short rib bourgignon with noodles than a pasta dish (that's not a bad thing!); certainly the meat and the broth were front and center, and went just as well with the crusty baguette as the pasta. However, the chef definitely needs to cool it with the salt shaker. I don't mind salty food, so I was able to forgive the overzealous salination (especially with the sweet pearl onions acting as a counter balance), but my SO, who is sensitive to oversalting (she once sent back, quite justifiably, a $30 ribeye at ESK because of this very problem) was quite put off. I would give this dish another try based on the depth of flavor and richness in the ragout, but I hope word will get back to the chef somehow about the oversalting.
For wines, we paired a glass of blanc de blanc ($8) and a glass of house white ($4) with the appetizers. The blanc de blanc was an almost perfect match for the escargot, but I found the house white acrid and off putting. With the entrees, we shared a half-carafe ($11) of Domaine Houcahrt '04, which was fine if somewhat unmemorable (were we not driving, I would have preferred a full carafe of the house red for the same price).
We eschewed dessert for a big bowl of bryer's strawberry ice cream at home.
In all, I think this restaurant has a world of promise, and my feeling upon leaving was much brighter than my first trip to Rocca. The prices, hours, and range of fare make it a truly unique place in the city. You could easily have a great meal for two, with wine and appetizers, for around $50. Our bill came to about $70 before tip, plus $10 at the bar.
The service was also much better than our first trip to Rocca, which was marred by a clueless and glacial waitstaff; our waitress was maybe a bit too cheerful and familiar (bordering on TGI fridays-esque), but she explained the menu well, gave us some interesting tidbits of information about the bar and decor, and came ready with good recommendations for food and wine.
I can absolutely see myself winding up here at 1 a.m. for a cubano or burger in the near future. If anyone tries the burger, please report!
Pic 1: The Tagliatelle with short rib and pearl onions
Pic 2: Steak frites, as plated.
Pic 3: Steak interior--rare!!
By tamerlanenj
on Aug 24, 2007 07:13 AM
View »
Just a couple more pics...a lousy shot of the dining room, and our unimpressive frites.
Permalink | Reply
Yay! Glad you enjoyed. Thanks for the great review. I see you shared my feelings about the steak: much better than the hanger or flank steak that is typical for steak frites. I, too, thought the cut was more like a filet and, thus, a very good value, as well as delicious! Now if something can be done to pep those frites up a bit (at least mine were hot and appropriately salted), it will be the perfect dish. I'm going again tonight, and am looking forward to trying to the Fleur de Lys (which they ran out of on Wednesday). I'm sorry you didn't like the tartelette better, because that was another item that was not available on Wednesday but sounded tasty.
Permalink | Reply
The tartalette was nice and tasty, just not very interesting to me. I'm certainly not companing about potatoes, cheese, truffles, and buttery crust!
Permalink | Reply
That guy doesn't look too happy about your taking his picture. :-D
The fries look pretty nasty. Looks like they were fried for about 30 seconds.
Permalink | Reply
This is why I think they need to devise a better presentation for the frites. I'm thinking of a cup or a paper cone...anything to get them off the side plate, which looks more "diner" than "brasserie"! Mine tasted okay (adequately cooked and salted), but the presentation is just not very appetizing, in my opinion.
Permalink | Reply
Great review, and nice pictures!
The tagliatelle looks like a marked improvement over what was served Monday night, which was a friends/family first effort. DIfferent plating, etc.
I'm looking forward to this place. I, too, get a much better vibe than I did/do at Rocca.
Permalink | Reply
OK, now I'm hungry! Great review, and nice pix--the The tagliatelle with short rib looks very nice.I definitely want to get there over the next few weeks.
Permalink | Reply