On the other hand, Menton...

[lypp]

I took my husband to Menton last weekend for his birthday. I wanted to love it but unfortunately, it just didn't meet my expectations.

The space itself is beautiful and they do a really nice job of keeping the space light from the outside while recognizing that a view of Congress Street probably isn't all that exciting. It's pretty modern - lot of greys, dark woods, sheer curtains, modern art, etc. Very pretty.

The waitstaff was also excellent. Our waiter was very attentive, took my food allergies very seriously (and I've had two really bad experiences with this lately), and did a great job on our wine pairings.

But the food disappointed. First of all, I understand why for large parties it makes sense to force everyone to do either the 4 or the 7 course menu, but when it's just two people it doesn't really make sense. The menu isn't that expansive that it should be that much of a burden for small parties (6 and under maybe?) to have a choice. Nevertheless, b/c we had to choose, we went 4 courses since we could try more dishes that way.

I started with the lobster salad (for an additional surcharge) and my husband with the asparagus salad. Both were beautifully presented. The kitchen obviously puts a lot of attention into the presentations and technique. The starter courses were good, nothing outstanding that made me want to run home and try to recreate - just good basic food.

Second course I had langoustines wrapped in kataifi (shredded phyllo, and again, for a surcharge) with pea puree, my husband soft shell crab with green goddess dressing. The langoustines themselves were delicious and perfectly cooked. I loved the contrast of the crispy kataifi against the tender langoustines. I enjoyed the first bite of the pea puree but after a while the dish got a little muddy, as if it needed a squeeze of lemon juice or something else acidic to brighten it and keep it interesting. I didn't try the soft shell crab but my husband enjoyed it. Nothing that was exceptional though.

Third course I had the beef tenderloin, my husband had the fois gras stuffed quail. Let me start with the positive. The quail was unbelievably good. Perfectly cooked and with real fois gras inside (we were imagining it was going to be mousse). It was accompanied by phyllo wrapped asparagus which he let me eat in return for the mushrooms with my beef. All the vegetables were actually handled expertly at the restaurant. The biggest disappointment though was the beef. I actually thought it wasn't good. It actually had that taste as if it had been pre-cooked and then heated again. Not good at all.

Desserts are not are thing but we ordered the chocolate caramel tart and the rhubarb clafloutis and both were excellent - anyone with a sweet tooth would have been very satisfied.

All in, wine and dinner, we spent $450 and just couldn't see the value in it (although we were full at least). For that kind of money we really wanted a food experience that was going to leave us wanting to come back or dreaming about it again. But this just completely fell short of that. Other than the beef there was nothing particularly bad, but it just wasn't great or special the way a dinner should be for that price. My husband would like to go back and try the 7-course meal and I won't stay home, but unless they do something to really ramp up the food, it will be my last time there.

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Menton
354 Congress St, Boston, MA 02210

[MC Slim JB]

Reminds me a bit of Mat Schaffer's review in the Herald today, which sounds pretty harsh even though he still gives it a B. (I loved that langoustine dish, by the way.)

http://mcslimjb.blogspot.com/

[almansa]

I guess that's pretty much it. A B is good, but it's not good enough. I remember when he trashed the Federalist when it first opened. The expectations were similar.

[StriperGuy]

For $450 for dinner for two, I would hope you would "hear the angels sing."

[teezeetoo]

we did hear the angels singing at Per Se but that is, so far, the only place we've been in the US that actually earned the $250.00 per person they charged. For us, such an extravagance is an occasional treat and we expect it to be memorable. When you can get very good meals for $100.00 per person (Erbaluce, L'Espalier on wine nights, for example) and very good ethnic meals for $15.00 a person (Shanghai Gate for example), any one who wants you to splurge needs to earn your top dollar.

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L'Espalier
774 Boylston St, Boston, MA 02199

[almansa]

It sounds like your beef was done sous vide which often seems reheated. And I hate surcharges on tasting menus. They don't take 5 dollars off when you order a salad.