Persephone - where is it

[Fort Point]

The Improper Bostonian indicates a new restaurant named Persephone will be opening in the Fort Point Channel area in mid-December. I walk in the area and I can't figure out where it will be located. Anyone have a clue. Apparantly Michael Leviton is involved in the prep work.

[holly golightly]

I heard from a friend that this place is finally opening next week! The menu looks very interesting -- sorted as small, medium, large, and extra large items. Sounds like it's going to be very different from Leviton's other spot, Lumiere.

[pamalamb]

Soft opening is today. I met one of the cooks this weekend, and it sounds like the staff is really excited about what the restaurant is doing. Plates will be small, medium, large and extra large, with the assumption that extra large are for sharing with the whole table.

I asked about pomegranate use, and he mentioned pomegranate cookies. Didn't find out about pomegranate martinis ;)

[desertrose5418]

This is located right next to our office on Summer Street, across the street from the Channel Cafe. It was slated to open in fall..and then in December...and now the latest date I've heard is Feb 18 for an opening. I have been waiting all this time for a new food option in the area - I'm sure it's going to be chi-chi but it'll be nice to stave off the workplace lunchtime boredom (although Channel Cafe and Flour around the corner are not exactly chopped liver).

Anyhow, you can see into the windows and the space looks very cool. Hanging IKEA-esque cube shelves, open floor plan, and a large bright bar in the back left corner. Seems like a good place to go for eats before or after an ICA visit - and a posh hangout for the Euro tourists staying in the very mod Westin up the street.

My money's also on them having a pomegranate martini.

[soxchik]

I know this is a bit off-topic but does Channel Cafe do takeout? I never realized it was near my office, but alas, I never have time to sit down and eat.

[huuvola]

Channel Cafe *does* offer takeout. I've got a coworker who calls down and orders takeout items from the menu every once in a while.

[Bob Dobalina]

$10 bucks they feature a pomegranate martini.

[MC Slim JB]

I'd be more worried about cooking odors getting into the $600 sweaters.

[yumyum]

God. Yeah. Who came up with this concept?

And Bob Dob, you not going to find anyone to take you up on your wager. It totally reeks of pomegranate martini.

[Bob Dobalina]

LOL - and it will have three pomegranate seeds.

[yumyum]

Perfect! I'm thinking $15? Serious hound points to the first person to report back. My money is on Slim.

[MC Slim JB]

Actually, after six visits to Angela's Cafe, I think I'm ready to forswear any restaurant with entrees over $14. And I pretty much hate most flavored-vodka cocktails.

But I do think Leviton's work at Lumiere is a very good value as fine dining places go. So I'm inclined to say, yes, I will try Persephone, but not before I get to Saray.

[yumyum]

I wasn't saying that you're of the pomegranate martini stripe, more that you're likely to get down there for one of your side-gigs before any of the rest of us.

Still chuckling about the concept. Oy.

[MC Slim JB]

Ha, no offense taken! I've been called far worse than a pomegranate martini drinker! Someone on Chowhound once accused me of being a lawyer for a neighborhood association, a chimera if there ever was one.

But I do sometimes weary a bit of trying Boston's fancy new places when there are so many good places with no PR agency or ten cubic yards of super-premium vodkas. But for personal and professional reasons, sometimes I can't avoid them. And some of the places that started off bad or I just expected to be bad turned out to be pretty good, or have gotten better, like Toro and even [gulp] Stella. It's a strange Chow world in Boston sometimes. Who knows? Maybe even Persephone will be good, despite the odd concept.

[almansa]

It hasn't worked wonders for Pava, which had an almost identical concept: organic, housemade, clothing... And the bostonians who have money and spend a lot of it restaurants these days like their vodka wall.

[pamalamb]

Thought you guys would enjoy hearing that the pomegranate martini is actually called "the Obligatory $15 Chowhound-predicted Pomegranate Martini"... and it's only $9. Hangar one razberi vodka, orchid pomegranate liquor, and pomegranate juice... sadly, no pomegranate seeds. Good, but definitely not the best drink on the menu. That distinction would probably go to the Desperate Housewife or the Petal Punch.

Food is delicious. Like Lumiere, there is a focus on local, organic, sustanable product, although it's not a selling point of the menu. The Lucki 7 Farms Pork Ribs from the bar menu were awesome, delicately cooked with a slightly spicy hoison sauce. The Crispy Gulf Shrimp, from the "Small" section of the menu, were crispy and light - some people might be turned off, though, by the full shell on the shrimp, but they were thin enough to eat the whole thing. The Braised Veal Shoulder, from the "Extra Large" section, was so tender. I'm not a veal fan, but I would order that to share.

Overall, good food and drinks at not outrageous prices.

[MC Slim JB]

Ha! The local board gets its due. I wonder how many people who order this drink will ask, "What the heck is Chowhound?" I'm curious to hear more about the atmosphere: how separate is the restaurant from the boutique part of the venue?

[Fort Point]

It is one continuous space; there are no dividers between the store and the restaurant. However, at least at night the clothing is enclosed in see through modern containers and there is not a lot of it so it does necssarily feel like two different venues. The store is in the front so you walk through it to get to the restaurant.

We have been twice and had a sampling of dishes, all of which were very good, but for some reason we have not warmed up to the spot yet.

[pamalamb]

Yes, at night with the hanging racks closed up, it feels more like a museum-y entryway. The restaurant is all the way in the back, so when you look in, it doesn't look like there's much going on.

[Bob Dobalina]

Outstanding!

[MC Slim JB]

Inside a high-end clothing boutique called Achilles at 281 or 283 Summer Street, between A Street and the Fort Point Channel. Lumiere's Leviton is indeed the chef.

[Taralli]

From the web: the "Achilles" project" will feature Persephone, a restaurant helmed by Michael Leviton of Lumière, within a 9,800-square-foot space devoted to posh clothing for men and women, as well as home accessories and music. Derek Wilson, previously of Ambrosia on Huntington and The Rowes Wharf Restaurant at the Boston Harbor Hotel, will take the position of General Manager, and Jeff Pond, most recently of Tomasso Trattoria in Southborough, MA, will execute Leviton’s menu as Chef de Cuisine and is scheduled to open ?12/15/07.

[Fort Point]

That's where I believe I had read it was going but I didn't notice anything that looked like a restaurant. The clothing store location may be the reason.

[Fort Point]

I periodically walk by this address and have not lately seen any construction activity going on. There is a piece of plywood across the entrance with a sign that says construction site. Any update?

[woman]

I went last night and they are still working out the kinks. The entrance/bar/lounge area is brighter than most dressing rooms!! and this was past the area where the clothes were displayed. Servers should know menu and limited wine list(white wine not chilled enough). I would give them some time to get rolling. Doubt I will make the trek back.