On Wednesday Katie and I decided we'd like to go to dinner. I suggested this sushi place in Brookline Village that Leah just went to. Apparently they've got 50% off sushi every night. But Katie wasn't into sushi and said that whatever restaurant we ended up at had to be tasty. So i thought of Pomodoro, which is also in Brookline Village.
Now some of you may have already heard about the original Pomodoro in the North End. Having gone to that one and having had a good experience there, I figured that trying out the new one wouldn't hurt. Especially since it's much closer to me and parking is a whole lot easier in Brookline Village than the North End. So I pick up Katie and Dustin and off we went.
Even though we arrived right before 7, the first thing we learned was, make reservations. The restaurant is actually pretty small, and when we arrived, all the tables were full or reserved. We could've waited an hour for a table or take the 3 seats at the bar. We ended up at the bar. Which wasn't a bad spot. The bar is actually really nice. It sits in the center of the restaurant with seating on 3 sides. and it's rather pretty. I sat in front of where the bartender had her garnishes set up and I like how it looked. So here's a nice pic.
I really liked the decor of the place. Nice dim lighting and an intimate setting. I also like that fact that it was comfortable and laid back. More formal than the North End location, but it was filled with neighborhood people who were there to relax and enjoy dinner. And that's about where the pros will end. Like I mentioned, this restaurant is small. Which is probably why it's also very very loud. Dustin was sitting 2 seats from me at the bar and I could barely hear him. At some point during the meal, i think they actually tried to play music ontop of all the noise, which was just ridiculous.
Next, they need to hire a receptionist, maitre'd, greeter or whatever you'd like to call it. Sitting at the bar, the bartender had to make drinks, serve dinner and on top of that, she was answering the phone, taking phone orders and taking reservations. That is too much for one person to handle in a crowded, noisy restaurants, and thus, service suffered. Be prepared to wait. And for things to be forgotten (like Katie's 2nd glass of wine).
Ok, onto the meal. The menu was small, and I like that. It means that ingredients will generally be in season. More is not better and it's a lot easier to make 20 things well than 100 things poorly. We were started off with some yummy bread and foccaccia with a nice plate of olives in olive oil. I then ordered two appetizers. One was an order of arancini and and the other an order of duck confit. Katie ordered the risotto and Dustin ordered a steak. Katie and Dustin also ordered wine, and I gotta say, I really liked Katie's glass of house white. (there was a choice of 2, i don't remember which one she got).
And here's a pic of my arancini below. Aren't they cute? Arancini actually means oranges in Italian, and i guess, these guys are supposed to look like oranges. In Italy, it's really casual food that you can order at a pizza parlor. My arancini were made of porcini mushroom risotto and stuffed with cheese. And served with a small salad. Now, I'll admit that these were pretty tasty. However, I had a big problem with the portion size/price. As you can see there are only 2 arancini, which are both slightly larger than a golf ball. And for $10, I expect either 4 on a plate, or if you're gonna serve me only 2, charge me $7. (maybe one rolled off and got lost?) We're talking about left over risotto, stuffed with cheese, dipped in breadcrumbs and fried. It's not complicated. The Amateur Gourmet made them at home just the other day. It should not cost $10.
Moving right along, here's the pic of my duck confit. This was a much better appetizer. It's a large leg/thigh of duck. And it's cooked well. The meat fell off the bone. There's a funny little sauce on it which contained grapes and raisins. And i think that worked well. Other than the raisins. I hate raisins and pushed those aside. Plus it cost $12. Definetly worth it, but that just focuses even more on how the arancini are grossly overpriced.
I tried taking a pic of Katie's risotto, but it was white on a white plate, so it didn't turn out well. but neither did the risotto. Basically, when the risotto was served, there was still broth in it. That's not supposed to happen. Katie actually had to continue stirring the risotto after it arrived so that the broth could absorb completely. And Dustin's steak was another expensive disappointment. It was a large portion, but it turns out that half of it was all fat. And for a $24 steak, that's just wrong.
By the end of the night, I think we were all pretty disappointed with our meals. And it wasn't a cheap meal. I remember the Pomodoro in the North End costing less, but then again, that was a year and a half ago. I know I can come off as being very critical about restaurants, but seriously, if you're gonna charge that much, you're just gonna have to do better. That's not just you, Pomodoro, that goes for all the restaurants in Boston. My final conclusion is that Pomodoro would be a great place for drinks and appetizers. The bar is very nice and they have some very creative cocktails. But I'd suggest passing on dinner and heading out to somewhere like Giacomo's. It's not as cool and pretty, but the food is certainly better and worth every penny.
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