Best Restaurant Missed by Heavy Posters

[aadesmd]

Certain restaurants are treated as demigods by the morning to night Hounds on this board. Most have been spot on and have provided me with meals that I could have never come close to discovering on my own. Which ones have missed the heavy posters' excellent palates?

[Carty]

One of my favorite under-discussed spots is Don Ricardo's in the South End. Superbly prepared Peruvian and Brazilian, unpretentious, an awesome value. Grilled pork chops one of the best pork dishes I have ever had.

-----
Don Ricardo's Restaurant
57 W Dedham St, Boston, MA 02118

[aadesmd]

Will be in town this weekend, and have to try it for lunch if open. Brazilian food I find to be neglected in the Boston press, and I don't know why

[MParente]

I totally second Don Ricardo's. It is a lovely little spot. I love the steak milanese (they call it something else) with cheese and tomato on it! Appetizers are really good too. Especially in this economy, it feels good to support a local restaurant like this (run by husband and wife team).

-----
Don Ricardo's Restaurant
57 W Dedham St, Boston, MA 02118

[BobB]

In my opinion, Gari in Coolidge Corner falls into this category. I rarely see it mentioned out here (except when I bring it up) but it's our house favorite for good, reasonably-priced sushi. They even do some decent Japanese-American fusion dishes - and I say that as one who normally finds any sort of fusion cuisine to be a culinary disaster.

-----
Gari-Japanese Fusion
187 Harvard St, Brookline, MA 02446

[ilovedessert]

Agreed! I tried Gari for the first time a few months ago for their "Maki Madness" deal on Sundays ($4.50 per roll, $15 minimum per person, cash only). I was a little skeptical at first, but it proved to be one of the best "everyday" sushi experiences I've had in the area. Much preferred over it's oft-mentioned neighbor, Fugakyu.

[SaraASR]

I'm pretty sure they do the Maki Madness on Sundays because they're closed on Mondays... meaning the fish is on it's last leg (fin?). I wouldn't go there on a Sunday night. Genki Ya is fabulous, though.

-----
Genki
398 Harvard St, Brookline, MA 02446

[BobB]

Never tried their Maki Madness, but their regular menu chef's choice sushi-sashimi platter is a steal at $28 - lots of very good, very fresh sushi, sashimi, maki, and even a cocktail glass full of marinated seafood.

[Canadian Tuxedo]

Second Genki Ya--especially if someone (or everyone) in the dinner party is vegetarian. They have an extensive (and fantastic) vegetarian selection in addition to very good seafood.

-----
Genki
398 Harvard St, Brookline, MA 02446

[opinionatedchef]

EVOO, Gargoyles on the Square, Namaskar, Betty's Wok and Noodle, Stonehearth Pizza Belmont. If you do searches for each, you will find detailed reviews by me which explain why I think they're great. The latter two have elicited CH attacks but they are regular and highly enjoyable spots for us.

[Allstonian]

Gargoyle's has gotten plenty of love from several of the "heavy posters" on this board, though it hasn't been mentioned so much of late.

Barmy and I discovered Namaskar due to praise from this board, so I'm not sure it's that much of a neglected gem either. However, we ate there just last Friday and had a startlingly poor experience service-wise. In particular, after tag-team delivery of dishes which just about guaranteed that the servers didn't know who ordered what, we were presented with the bill without comment or any offer of dessert, immediately after we finished our entrees (we had, in fact, been planning on sweets and tea!) The restaurant, BTW, was no more than half to two-thirds full throughout our meal, so they weren't pressed to turn our table, and we were there pre-concert, so we weren't hanging out forever.

We found it a bit of a joke that the bill came with a set of suggested tips - 18%, 20%, and 25%! While I've seen this on computer-printed checks before from time to time, the suggested tips are usually 15%/18%/20%. It struck me as a bit bold after such a half-assed experience for them to be suggesting 25% tips!

[aadesmd]

I also like to hit Betty's when I'm teaching in Boston. I find it to be rather good as well.

[MenuPorn]

I always like Assagio in the North End. Prices are good and so is the food. But I've never seen it mentioned here.

[Pegmeister]

IMHO I'm disappointed that the OP didn't provide a list of places they would like an opinion on. For the most part I think the heavy posters share everything and anything about any restaurant that they have visited. So my question, what is your expectation?

[aadesmd]

Actually, I was trying to find other places that perhaps have not hit the repetitive praise of the board. Cannot list places that I have never heard about.

The heavy posters do share everything, I imagine, except of places they have not been.

Also, I did not been this to be in any way insulting of the heavy posters, although it seems you may have taken it that way. Is there any place in your experience, for example, that has not garnered repetitive praise from the 24/7 crowd?

[Pegmeister]

There are a few I can think of off the top of my head. The Corner Tavern in the Back Bay for one. I posted about it awhile back and pretty much got zero response. It's a great place to watch a game, but what's coming out of the kitchen is the real reason i go. Scallops topped with pistachios and panko crumbs; lobster mac & cheese, thai wings and the short ribs are all standouts. In my own neck of the woods, the Common Market restaurants don't get much love, but I thoroughly enjoy CafedeParis, and I'm okay that everyone doesn't clamor to get there it means I'll always get a seat. Try their chopped salad, topped with wood grilled scallops. This one is special, the salad is tossed with a ranch dressing, bits of bacon, strips of tortillas and everything is ultrafresh. Sorry if I sounded huffy in my earlier post, I just didn't get what you were trying to say.

-----
Corner Tavern
421 Marlborough St, Boston, MA 02115

[Carty]

I tried the Corner Tavern, perhaps peg as a result of your post. Had a very uninspired beef short ribs dish. Bland with a bitter, off taste.

I want to like it, it's a beautiful setting, will try again.

-----
Corner Tavern
421 Marlborough St, Boston, MA 02115

[MParente]

I haven't been following chowhound for long, but am surprised that I haven't seen much on here about T.W. Foods in Cambridge. I think it's on par with Craigie Street's food. They use locally sourced, really fresh ingredients (as in the chef is fishing in Maine at 4AM and then you are eating it at 8pm) and they do some really unusual stuff. I'd recommend the tasting menu with wine pairings (on a special occasion- not cheap).

-----
T.W. Food
377A Walden St, Cambridge, MA 02138

[jajjguy]

I agree, TW is excellent and deserves more love. It is a quiet place, with no bar and no "scene," and is in an out of the way place. For these reasons I find myself at Craigie much more often, though I like TW just as much for a full sitdown meal.