New Restaurant for Wife's Bday - I hate little plates

[dcarney]

I am looking for the perfect place to take my wife out to dinner in Boston for her birthday this Friday night. She used to live in Boston and is out of the "best new restaurant" loop now that we live on the Cape.

Her favorite restaurants from when she lived in Boston were: Mistral, No.9 Park, The Butcher Shop, Oishi, Sel de la Terre, Giacomo's, Toro.. just to name a few.

My only requirement is that I hate little plates. I am a big guy with a big appetite and I hate little tapas bites. Maybe if they served 10 of them to me at once....

I'm looking for great food, great atmosphere, and something that we could enjoy for under $200.

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Toro
1704 Washington St, Boston, MA 02118

Sel de la Terre
774 Boylston St., Boston, MA 02199

[MaggieCat]

These certainly are all solid recommendations, but it sounds like dcarney is looking specifically for the "new" thing in Boston, as in trendy or of-the-moment spots? While Market and Scampo certainly fit that bill, I'm not sure Prezza or Davio's really qualify as new. Craigie and Erbaluce seem to fit the bill but I think they may be cutting it close on the $200 limit (depending on ordering of course).

What about The Gallows? That place is certainly quite the scene these days and gets mostly unqualified raves about the food on this board. Not as traditionally upscale as these other recs (and perhaps upscale is most appropriate for the birthday event) but if you're looking for more of the place to see the Boston hipster foodie scene, Gallows might be more fun. Similar to Toro, Stella or the Butcher Shop several years ago.

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Prezza
24 Fleet St., Boston, MA 02113

Toro
1704 Washington St, Boston, MA 02118

Scampo
215 Charles Street, Boston, MA 02114

Davio's
75 Arlington St Ste Lbby, Boston, MA 02116

Erbaluce
69 Church Street, Boston, MA 02116

[kad barma]

Can't give a comprehensive review, but here's a thumbnail of my experience at The Gallows last night: NOISY, food that was good but never great, and service that varied from pleasant to inattentive. We heard raves about their Scotch eggs from seemingly everyone, but found, when presented with the dish, that there was, as Gertrude Stein would say, no there there. The sausage was unremarkable, the egg inside a bit towards the hard rather than soft-boiled side, and overall a decent curiosity more than a worthwhile destination dish. The poutine was my largest personal disappointment--the fries proved little better than commercial, the gravy was thick and bland, and the cheese curd wasn't really cheese curd, but, rather some curds (seemed ricotta-ish) that did nothing to rescue the dish. Some decent meats on the Ploughman's platter, maybe, but I wouldn't go out of my way to go there again, even if we may have missed some other goodies on the menu that might have redeemed the place. Nothing to be avoided, just nothing I'd go out of my way to do again.

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The Gallows
1395 Washington St, Boston, MA 02118

[MaggieCat]

What a bummer! I went for drinks and small app and everything was great, so it's disappointing to hear this.

[MC Slim JB]

I've eaten up and down the menu at The Gallows, and had much better experiences there, though it's true it is punishingly loud when it's busy.

I'm no poutine expert -- my experience of it in Quebec is mostly as late-night drunk food that you get at a casse-croûtes, a diner-level snackery -- but I like their version.

http://mcslimjb.blogspot.com/

[mats77]

For what the OP is looking for I cannot recommend the Gallows. Yes it's new but they have way too many kinks to work out food/service wise. Agree with Scampo, Sorrelina, and Market.

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Scampo
215 Charles Street, Boston, MA 02114

[MC Slim JB]

Good ideas here. I'd maybe add Sorellina, Craigie on Main, Erbaluce, Locke-Ober, Davio's, UpStairs on the Square, and Hamersley's.

http://mcslimjb.blogspot.com/

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Locke-Ober
3 Winter Place, Boston, MA 02108

Craigie on Main
853 Main Street, Cambridge, MA 02139

Davio's
75 Arlington St Ste Lbby, Boston, MA 02116

Sorellina
1 Huntington Ave, Boston, MA 02116

Erbaluce
69 Church Street, Boston, MA 02116

[CreativeFoodie42]

I'd have to second the Erbaluce recommendation. I love the food there and it has a great romantic vibe.

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Erbaluce
69 Church Street, Boston, MA 02116

[Pegmeister]

I would agree with the Scampo recommendation, but Prezza in the North End would be hard to beat.

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Prezza
24 Fleet St., Boston, MA 02113

Scampo
215 Charles Street, Boston, MA 02114

[barleywino]

Scampo has sizable portions (try the roast suckling pig on Friday nights) and would fit your criteria. PS don't miss the cold corn soup w/ corn fritters.

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Scampo
215 Charles Street, Boston, MA 02114

[fabeneag]

Market at the new W Hotel.