SUMMER RESTAURANT WEEK 2007

Oh crap people. I just remembered that the list of restaurants participating in Boston's Restaurant Week 2007 was published last week. Here it is. Sorry, it just slipped my mind with the 4th and the trip to NY. At any rate, I'll take a look see and decided what's worth going to. We probably won't be visiting very many, tho. Tom and I gotta save some $$ before our big move out west.

DON'T WAIT UNTIL RESTAURANT WEEK....

I was surfing around online and started thinking, I like taking advantage of prix fixe menus in NY, some of the best restaurants have them. (I'm a big advocate of Enoteca at Del Posto's prix fixe and I look foward to taking advantage of the Jean Georges one next month.) An even better time to do prix fixe is during lunch, when you still get three courses, but it's even cheaper than dinner. Same ambience, same service. So I started thinking, where can I get a great prix fixe in Boston. I've done some surfing around, so here's a listing of places I have tried or want to try, with links for your convenience. All these place offer 3 courses.

Ten Tables. Currently one of my favorite places to eat in Boston, I always forget that they have a prix fixe menu on Wednesday nights cause I've never taken advantage of it. On Wednesday nights, the deal is any three courses for $25. That is an amazing deal for a place of this quality. But any night of the week, they have the vegetarian tasting menu for $25, and I've been quite happy with that. Oh and on the first Tuesday of every month, the have a 4 course prix fixe with wine pairing for $45.

Sel de la Terre. I haven't been, but Leah really likes this place, so I was happy to see that they have a daily lunch prix fixe for $21. You get two different choices for each course and they only offer it Monday-Friday, 11:30-2:30, but I'm looking foward to trying it out soon.

Sandrine's Bistro. I ate here many many years ago, while still a high school student and visiting colleges. Little did I know that Raymond Ost is quite a famous chef. I haven't been back since, but I think I'll have to after taking a look at their prix fixe menu. Actually, I'm more interested in their dinner prix fixe for Restaurant Week in August (yes, they already have it online and it looks delicious) , but their lunch prix fixe seems to be the best deal of them all, coming in at just $19.

L'Espalier. One of the best restaurants in Boston and it has a prix fixe menu? Who would've thought. The chef, Frank McClelland just won a James Beard award this year, and amazingly enough, you can have a prix fixe lunch for $24. You'd better bet I'm gonna be taking advantage of this one shortly. The menu looks great, and a steal considering the prix fixe dinner is $75.

Craigie Street Bistro. Amazingly enough, I still haven't not made it to Craigie St. They're probably the most famous ones in the city for the myriad of prix fixe menus. And they do have them every night of the week. I'm not going to sit her and describe them, just click on the link and check it out for yourself.

I know I focused a lot on lunch(just trying to list the best deals), but many of these places also offer prix fixe dinners. If you wanna check out one helpful site, here's an article on it from the Globe. Otherwise, as I mentioned earlier, Boston's Restaurant Week will be taking place in August. They haven't published the list of participating restaurants, but as soon as they do, I'll let you know. Personally, though, I'd rather try one of the places listed above, it's probably a more pleasant experience than getting squeezed in with the herds during Restaurant Week.

RESTAURANT WEEK DINNER NO. 2: CHEZ HENRI

It takes a lot to truly piss me off. I takes even more to make me complain on a public forum (like Chowhound). Actually, I've only done it once and that was during my disastrous 26th Birthday dinner at the Red House. (You can go back and find that blog entry on your own time). But dinner last night qualifies as one of those meals that truly pisses me off. And when I do get pissed off, it's NEVER about the food. It's ALWAYS about the service. As I've written earlier this week, we had reservations for Chez Henri last night to celebrate Tom's 35th birthday. It was a nice coincidence that it also happened to be restaurant week. I've wanted to go to Chez Henri for some time, I've heard that they have an amazing bar menu with French and Cuban influences, so I was looking foward to this meal.

When we entered the restaurant, I noticed that it was packed (not shocking for a Friday night). The bar area was completely separate from the dining room and had it's own seating area. We were seated pretty quickly and I noticed that the dining room had some fun, quirky decorations like ceramic chickens and unique glass lamps that hung from the ceilings. It was a smaller dining room than I expected, but that gave it an intimate, cozy quality. We were handed menus as we sat and perused them for a bit. I noticed that almost every entree on the menu contained some form of pork, though. In the salads, the soups, even the seafood dishes. So it's not a great place to take a Kosher diner. Much like Union, Chez Henri only gave you two options for Restaurant Week, so it didn't take us long to decide. However, it did take a while for our waiter to show up, and nearly 10 minutes had elapsed before he decided to grace us with his presence.

He asked us if we wanted to order drinks (Jayna got a mojito) and was sharp enough to notice that we'd been sitting there so long that we were also ready to order. After we ordered, he went off and we scarcely saw him again for the rest of the night. The runners took care of us from there on out. We were given a basket of bread which had these awesome little round rolls enhanced with cheese and roasted peppers and our appetizers arrived soon after that. Everyone else at the table ordered a soup made from Maduros (ripe plantains).
I think Leah and Tom's favorite part of this entire soup was that large chunk of bacon you see peeking out of the bowl. The also commented on the mellow flavors of the soup, claiming that it didn't really taste like plantains at all, but more like some type of squash. Meanwhile, I broke from the pack and ordered a salad of arugula and serrano ham. (You can see the ham under all the greens).After removing the serrano and handing it off to Leah and Tom (and noticing how fatty it was), I enjoyed my simple salad that was well dressed and quite tasty.

The runners removed our plates and this was when we proceeded to wait for our entrees to arrive. Now, since this was a fairly small restaurant, I could actually see most of the tables around us. I noticed that the table of 4 behind us had ordered about 5 minutes before us and gotten their entrees nearly 15 minutes before we got ours. This could certainly be blamed on the kitchen, but not once did our waiter come and check on us. During this time, I was also able to notice how well staffed the restaurant was. There were 3 waiters (for a not huge dining room) in addition to at least 3 runners and a manager. Our water glasses were kept filled by the runners, but that was about how much notice we got.

Eventually our entrees arrived, and you could tell that Tom's order of pork had spent a bit of time under a heat lamp. Both his and Leah's pork loins were a bit dry, though they did get a very generous serving. Meanwhile, Jayna and I had both ordered a tilapia on a bed of rice with a red curry coconut sauce. Once again, I was surprised at how well prepared my fish was. It actually tasted much more Thai than Cuban, but I really liked the moist fish along with the topping of crisp, lightly pickled veggies.
Our waiter failed to check in on us and even give the cursory "How is your meal?" during this time. After finishing our entrees, our plates were finally taken away by a runner, and we proceeded to wait for our desserts (which we had ordered at the beginning of the meal.) During this time, I also noticed that the waiter had forgotten Leah's order of Cuban fries, but it was too late for those. Finally our waiter made an appearance, asking Jayna what she had decided on for dessert (she couldn't decide at the beginning and asked for a suggestion). She ended up ordering the Tres Leches cake, like Tom and Leah.

When our desserts arrived, the rest of the table enjoyed a sweet, dense cake finished with a marshmallow topping and surrounded by a pool of chocolate-coffee cream.
In the meantime, I ordered a simple mango sorbet. It was cool and refreshing, but didn't seem to have been made in house.
Then the real waiting began. We had been at dinner for nearly two hours at this point. The table of 4 behind us had left long ago, as had another table that was seated shortly before we arrived. Our plates remained visibly finished and untouched before us. I even had my napkin on my plate. Meanwhile, I started counting the number of times our waiter walked passed us and utterly ignored our presence. He made about 12 trips past us (as I said, this is a small restaurant) and during this time, we began to debate what exactly we had done to deserve such awful awful service; such flagrant neglect and rudeness. We weren't overly pick or demanding. None of us had made a special request. Even the runners were ignoring us. As I looked around at the other tables, I noticed that no one else was receiving this type of treatment. The dining room was still well staffed and there were a few empty tables by this point. Finally, Tom asked us for the check, and even that didn't arrive promptly. (It was also missing Leah's order of Cuban fries, which the waiter had never bothered to enter).

The only conclusion we could arrive at was that our entire table hadn't ordered drinks. (except for Jayna's mojito) and with the waiter, knowing that the bill wouldn't be bumped up anymore, he felt that it was OK to simply ignore us. This is the second time that this has happened to me in a month. (the other time was with dinner Taberna de Haro when our waiter went MIA). This was truly frustrating and I was mad. All of us had worked in foodservice at some point, and Leah and I own businesses where we interact with the public on a daily basis. We would never have treated our customers like this. When we finally paid the bill, I refused to allow Tom to tip any more than 15% (he's a very generous tipper and normally gives 20%. I often think he overtips) and dinner ended up taking 2.5 hours. We were all exhausted after the meal and stumbled out of the restaurant, full, but certainly unsatisfied.

And I'll conclude with this mini rant. By and large, the Restaurant Week meals that I've had in Boston have been quite good; better than the ones I'd had in NY when I lived there. But for restaurants, this is your time to put your best foot foward and introduce yourselves to a new audience. I don't think we should blithely excuse shoddy service, poor food and long waits on Restaurant Week. It can be done well and if so, I'll return to that restaurant in the future (Union and Mistral). And restaurants are not required to participate in Restaurant Week. If you don't want to do it well, then why bother? Plenty of restaurants can't justify the cost and don't participate. For me, I will never visit Chez Henri again. As I've said a million times before, great service can make up for mediocre food, but poor service will never make up for the most delectable, luxurious, awesome meal in the world.

THE FASTEST RESTAURANT WEEK DINNER EVER

In a previous post, I announced that restaurant week had officially started in Boston. So last night we went out to our first of two restaurant week dinners. The first was at Union in the South End. I have wanted to go to Union for sometime, mainly for their Sunday brunch, but of course, I still hadn't made it there, even after a strong endorsement from Leah. This was the perfect opportunity to check out their decor and sample some of their dishes.

So we arrived on a very cold and windy Boston evening(the forecasters call it "blustery"). Luckily, I had found some street parking nearby. As we walked into the restaurant, I noticed that it was much smaller than I had expected. But it was cozy. The bar area is partitioned off from the dining room area, but both were packed. I gave my name and we were quickly escorted through the bustling dining room. We were seated towards the back, and I could immediately tell that all those around us were also enjoying the prix fixe menus (why else would a single table have 3 of the exact same dessert?). The dining room is very dimly lit and filled with black leather booths. The tables are also very close together, so I gave up on trying to take pictures with flash since I knew this would disturb our neighboring diners, and since it was so dark, it was pointless to take pics altogether.

It's hard to tell what dining at a restaurant during restaurant week will be like. In the past, I've had some truly disappointing meals, almost dismissing restaurant week entirely. On the other hand, I've had some great meals, like at Mistral. If you remember from last year, Rialto kept us waiting 45 minutes for our table during restaurant week. Even though they'd participated numerous times, they still didn't have their routine down for this busy time. Union was the total opposite. They had this restaurant week thing down to a science. The service wasn't unpleasant, they didn't rush us out, but they were efficient beyond belief.

I was happy to see that for restaurant week, they still served you a mini cornbread in a cast iron skillet, which Leah had told me about. It was toasty and warm, and delicious. We gobbled that up quickly. Union only gives you two choices for restaurant week (again with the efficiency), so I ordered one selection while Tom got the exact opposite. For my appetizer, I got a black bean soup with shrimp ceviche and avocado and Tom got a wedge of iceberg with blue cheese and bacon.

Remember, during restaurant week, restaurants are trying to stretch their budgets and break even, so they don't give you the best stuff. But I think Union did a good job. Tom and I both enjoyed our appetizers, but my soup was really filling. We're talking about a bowl of pureed beans. So I was kinda full after my soup, even though I didn't finish it.

Immediately after we finished our appetizers, our plates were whisked away, and there was a small break before our entrees showed up. Tom had gotten a pork loin with sides of pureed sweet potato and red coleslaw while I had a catfish encrusted in nuts on a bed of rice and spinach all in a bourbon cream sauce. I was surprised that my catfish fillet was really well cooked. It was also a very thick and generous portion. So much so that I only ate half of it. The waiter inquired if I hadn't enjoyed the entree, but it was just that I was full. It was a very good dish, though. Tom also like his pork, though it may have been sitting under a heat lamp for a while (we can blame that on Restaurant Week).

Lastly, we finished with dessert. I could tell that 90% of the tables around me had ordered the exact same dessert that I'd ordered, a rocky road bread pudding. I'm not a fan of bread pudding (it has to do with the texture) so I kinda poked at this one. It was served warm, which I appreciated and it tasted pretty good, but again, I was stuffed. And really, it wasn't worth the calories to eat something I didn't love. Tom had a mini banana cream pie, which you could tell was assembled quickly and easily. I don't think the tart shell had been made in house, but you can chalk all this up to Restaurant Week.

Overall, we had a pleasant meal. And we made it out of there under an hour (not a bad thing since I was exhausted after a full day at work). Again, the service wasn't unpleasant, just uber efficient. I don't think they would've minded had we stayed at dinner longer. The final last touch was quite pleasant. They presented each diner with a coupon, where you could return to Union in the next 2 months and enjoy any three courses off their regular menu at the restaurant week price. I think that was quite generous. (I just checked their menu and the most expensive three course meal you can order is about $51. So getting that for $33 isn't a bad deal). Union isn't a super expensive restaurant. The prices are quite reasonable, in line with Eastern Standard and other places, so I wouldn't be surprised if we were back soon.

BOSTON RESTAURANT WEEK

That's right people, Boston Winter Restaurant Week is upon us. This year it'll be held March 5-9. Much like last year, many of the top restaurants aren't participating in this restaurant week (they normally participate in the summer one). But here's the list of restaurants anyway. I've already made one dinner reservation for Union. I hope that they'll serve us the individual corn breads in a skillet that Leah's told me so much about. I like using Open Table to make reservations when possible, but just so you all know, if you can't get the reservation at the time and place you want via Open Table, call the restaurant directly. They can be more helpful in guiding you to a better date/time. I'm also aiming for a reservation at Chez Henri, but their reservation lines don't open until 4pm, so I'll keep you posted.

RESTAURANT WISH LIST CONTINUED....

I am once again at work, bored and hungry. As you may have noticed, lately I've been going to a lot of restaurats that I've gone to before. I haven't found many cheap places that I'd actually like to check out in Boston (if you saw in my previous post, I'm basically too poor to actually go to any of the restaurants listed.) But here I sit at work, and so I started reading a copy of this week's Dig and noticed that they did a review of restaurants in JP. Now, I've always liked going to JP for eats. They have some casual places that aren't too expensive, and tho parking can be a pain, it's not like driving to Back Bay. And my interest was peaked by a Salvadoran restaurant called La Pupusa Guanaca. The last time I had a pupusa was when we went to Orinoco in the South End. And if you recall my review, I did not enjoy it. It was a little too hoity toity. Pupusas are street food, and making them fancy kinda destroys the whole spirit of the food. So I was happy to read a review about a place that serves them for $1 ea, and located in JP!

So of course, I started searching the web and chowhound to read more about JP and stumbled upon a whole host of postings about eating Latin American food in Boston. Now I have a ton of places I wanna check out, and the best part about it all is that it's unquestionably cheap eats. So here's the best post that I found, and additions to my restaurant wish list for cheap eats in Boston.

1. La Pupusa Guanaca, JP, 378 Centre St. Boston, MA.
2. Alex's Chimis, JP
3. Tacos El Charro, JP
4. Rincon Limeno, East Boston.
5. Miami Restaurant, JP
6. Reef Cafe, Allston
7. Tacos Lupita, Somerville
8. O Cantinho, Inman Square
9. Muqueca, Inman Square
10. Singh's Roti Shop, Dorchester

RESTAURANT WISH LIST

Ok I admit it, I'm bored. Like really, truly bored. Yes, I have some work I could potentially be doing. (don't we all?) But I don't feel like it. So there. Anyhoo, Tom asked me why I don't blog anymore, which just isn't true. I just haven't blogged as frequently nor written an actual review in a while. But he suggested that I come up with a Restaurant Wish List. And I thought that was a pretty good idea. I'll be revising this frequently, but hopefully I'll be able to actually go to a few of these restaurants this year. You'll notice that many of them have been around for a while, but that's the thing, I haven't actually gone to any of these landmark restaurants. Something I'll definitely have to do before I move from this coast. One day. And so, in no particular order...

1. The French Laundry, Napa Valley, Thomas Keller
2. Per Se, NYC, Thomas Keller- and as you all know, I'm going here in November.
3. Jean Georges, NYC, Jean Georges Vongerichten
4. Daniel, NYC, Daniel Boulud
5. No. 9 Park, Boston, Barbara Lynch- I've asked to be taken for my bday. (January)
6. Lupa, NYC, Mario Batali
7. Ten Tables, Boston
8. Craigie Street Bistrot, Boston, Tony Maws
9. Aujourd'hui, Boston
10. Moto, Chicago
11. El Bulli, Spain, Ferran Adria
12. Minibar, Washington, D.C., Jose Andres
13. Chez Panisse, San Francisco, Alice Waters
14. Joel Robuchon, Paris, Joel Robuchon

RESTAURANT WEEK: RIALTO

For our second Restaurant Week dinner, I made a reservation at Rialto. I already had some mixed feelings about Rialto before dining there. Kjell and Huong had a not so great Restaurant Week dining experience a couple of years ago. Apparently they had a late reservation and by that time, Rialto had begun running out of food. And Big Ed had visited Rialto the previous week and advised to get the bluefish, but to stay away from the pork. Lastly, I checked out the comments on Chowhound regarding Restaurant Week, and they were pretty mixed. However, Jody Adams is still a pretty famous chef in Boston and my friend, Brendan, was working at the dessert bar that evening, so I was looking foward to a free dessert with dinner. (it's kinda standard in the industry to send out freebies if you're working back of the house. I overabused this power while working in a kitchen myself. Plus I gave him a huge bar of cocoa butter).

Our reservation was for 7:45 and we arrived exactly on time. We were told that they were a bit backed up and could wait in the bar area where mini appetizers were being passed. Well, after scanning the bar area, we realized that there weren't any seats available. And there were about 10 other groups of people who were also waiting for their reservations. We decided to go across the corridor and check out the marketplace at Henrietta's table, and then went back to Rialto to check on our table. However, judging by the sheer number of people waiting, I could tell that we wouldn't be seated at our table for quite sometime. We eventually snagged a small table in the bar area and got to sit down. We grabbed a few of those appetizers (they were ok, too salty for my taste) and I was a little annoyed that the guy circulating about never bothered to ask us if we wanted to order drinks. Then I started placing bets on when we'd get seated. I said 8:30. Tom said 8:45. Leah hoped for earlier. We were seated at 8:25. Yes, even with a reservation, we were seated 40 minutes late. That was not good. Especially considering the number of Restaurants Weeks Rialto had participated in. They should've had this down like clockwork. And yet, I wasn't annoyed as I normally would have been, considering I had good company, I wasn't starving and this was Restaurant Week, you need to have some patience.

We were seated at a large booth, which, though dramatic looking with its high back, was not all that comfortable and you could feel the old springs beneath the cushions. When we were given our menus, I was pleased to see that Rialto was also offering a good number of choices for Restaurant Week. In addition, you could "upgrade" your meal by adding different entress or appetizers for additional sums of money. (For example, I could've gotten a duck entree for an additional $15.) Needless to say, the restaurant was packed, and our waiter was a bit rushed, but still pretty pleasant and not hostile at all. If you'd like to see the menu, Tom's got it posted on his blog, so I'm not gonna repeat it here.

We put our orders in, and Tom, who was pretty hungry by this point, ordered an extra appetizer, something involving clams and sausages. At any rate, they made me take a pic cause they liked the plating. So here it is. I won't offer any opinions since I didn't try the dish myself.
Moving on, Leah and I both started with the gnocchi gratin. I normally do not order gnocchi. I typically find the texture much too chewy. (though i've had had good gnocchi, like the ones at Radius). However, this dish was described as a gratin, so I imagined gnocchi in a little cast iron dish, smothered in cheese and baked. Kinda like a fancy mac and cheese. This is what we actually got. I don't know why they described it as a graint, but it wasn't bad, though still a bit chewy. And not a huge portion, tho I enjoyed the mushrooms it was served with. Leah liked it more than I did.
While I considered ordering the bluefish, I actually ended up ordering the chicken breast. (Leah ordered the bluefish and enjoyed its slight heat). Now, I know that this is a huge risk during restaurant week. Chicken breast is already hard enough to prepare without totally drying it out. And it'd be even harder during Restaurant Week. So I was very pleasantly surprised with my order. The breast was a generous portion (much bigger than Leah's bluefish) and it was very moist (though a bit under cooked as you got to the drumette). I definitely enjoyed it.
Lastly, I finished with the tropical fruit sorbet with almond tuille. My friend Brendan had already warned me that the Restaurant Week desserts weren't going to be overly impressive. But i still enjoyed my sorbet (though they clearly been pre-scooped and frozen, so were served a bit too cold and icy). Tom found it a bit tart, but I really like the passion fruit flavor. It's one of my all time favorite flavors.
And finally, here's our free dessert. It was a dessert you could "upgrade" to on the Restaurant Week menu, and I think it would've been worth it. All of us clearly enoyed this dessert the most, which was essentially a molten chocolate cake, though it was described as a hot chocolate cream(why??). Leah loved the ice cream, which had alcohol in it, while i just liked the gooey-warm chocolate.

So all in all, despite the initial wait and the rushed and often missing waiter, we did have a successful restaurant week dinner. Leah said that she'd definitely bring her father for dinner in the future, and I certainly wouldn't mind going back again. It's been a good Restaurant Week for us, and once I recover from all the food and lack of money, I look foward to trying a few new spots next year. 

RESTAURANT WEEK: MISTRAL

I often approach Restaurant Week with a wary attitude. After having both worked behind the scenes during Restaurant Week and gone to a number of Restaurant Weeks in both New York and Boston, my tummy has learned to keep my expectations low, and to allow myself to be pleasantly surprised. There's actually a lot of debate going on right now, about the usefulness of Restaurant Week and whether the tradition should be continued, but I'm not gonna discuss that too much. You can just check out the discussion board on Chowhound if you're curious. Oh wait, I was just on chowhound and found a posting written by someone who sounds just like me, except certainly less creative and adventureous in trying to find dining options. But I digress. This year, I was able to find out about restaurant week well in advance, and snagged reservations at two restaurants that I had wanted to try for some time. The first is Mistral, and we had reservations at 6pm last Monday.

I was quite proud of myself for getting reservations at Mistral, especially considering their average entree costs more than our entire restaurant week dinner. And I was actually pretty surprised they were offering dinner at all, since restaurants of this price point tend to offer only lunch. So despite our early reservation (which may have turned to be to our advantage anyway), I was looking foward to dinner at Mistral.

When we arrived, Kjell and Huong had not appeared, so we waited in the the little lounge area where I ordered a very nice glass of Viognier. When Huong and Kjell did arrive, we didn't even have to go up to the host stand to notify them, they came and led us immediately to our table. The dining room was actually much smaller than I had expected but it lent a cozy atmosphere to the place. Most of the tables were already full when we arrived, and we started look around at all the diners, trying to figure out what we should order.

Our waiter arrived promptly to take our drink orders. Actually, he was quite attentive and efficient. Shockingly enough, throughout our entire meal, I would experience better service than I'd had at most restaurants in Boston, and this was Restaurant Week! So for my meal, I decided to order the Chilled Summer Corn Soup with Maine Crab, Avocado and Jalapeno Oil for my appetizer, the Seared Scallops with Ragout of Sweet Corn and Summer Chantrelles and the Stone Fruit Cobbler. I was also pretty satisfied with the selection of appetizers and entrees, 3 of each. Oh and also, the waiter was very gracious, and didn't come with the condescending "you're only eating here cause it's Restaurant Week and you can't afford to eat her normally" type attitude.

First we were given this nice loaf of sourdough bread. To be honest, I was surprised that they'd even bother with the bread during Restaurant Week.
And here's my bowl of summer corn soup. I really like this, though Huong found it too sweet for her tastes. The mixtures of textures from the crab to the avocado to the soup were so pleasing. I didn't really notice the jalapeno oil, but that was a minor thing. I was also happy that they even bothered to put crab on the soup and didn't skimp on portions at all.
And here are my scallops. I was happy to find a generous portions of 4 plump scallops on my plate plus there were a generous number of the chantrelles and I just love those. I could tell that all our entrees had been sitting under a heatlamp for a while. It just had a bit of that dried out look on the surface. But I was happy to find that my scallops hadn't suffered too much. They were still moist and tasty. Tom's sirloin did not fare as well. He'd ordered it medium and it arrived well done. He ate it anyway, and I had far too much food and gave him two of my scallops. Lastly, I had the stone fruit cobbler. I'll forgive restaurants for desserts during restaurant week. I realize that it's the easiest place to skimp and simplify. But I still enjoyed my cobbler. I mainly finished the fruit beneath the crust. The topping was just a bit too sweet for me.
All in all, I must say that this was the best Restaurant Week meal I've ever experienced. Service was great and we didn't feel that rushed. True, the appetizers, entrees and desserts came out pretty quickly, one after another, and true, the porter (the guy who actually brings the food to you, not the waiter) was kind of abrupt and not so fluid in how he served us, but in reality, everything was superbly done. They actually bothered to crumb the table several times, and when Huong got up to use the restroom, someone folded her napkin. And I like those small details. For me, the best service is that which you don't notice. One that doesn't intrude upon your meal or dining experience, and at Mistral, they did that very well. Without a doubt, I would go back for a non-Restaurant Week meal, albiet, for a very special occasion.