Tresca - Dinner Party Part II

Had a second dinner party with work in the same week. We went to Tresca in the North End. This is a 'new' style Italian - that focuses on Tuscan food. They have great home made pastas, meats (grilled) and seafood. I was in a rush to run to a Celtics game so I didn't really 'dine', I ate dinner quickly. We shared antipasti and cheese - that was just right. The bread baskets have really great breads, crackers and crostini. I ate a LOT of this. I tried the Fillet and it was a good piece, perfectly cooked and seasoned. We ordered a side of polenta that was fantastic. It had real corn mixed in and I will steal this idea the next time I make it. Nice touch. I am hoping that anyone that attended will post comments to this as I can't speak for them since I ran out early to catch the game and missed a lot of the dinner experience as well as dessert.

Having Tom harass the hostess (Ray Bourque's daughter) was also a nice touch to the evening.

http://www.trescanorthend.com/about.htm

Neptune Oyster - North End Seafood

We finally tried Neptune Oyster in the North End before recent Celtics playoff game. They may not have a full website yet, but they do have a full list of oysters, clam and general raw bar treats. Their daily list may change, but they offer a lot of different oysters, etc from various parts of the country. I like cold North East oysters and I had a lot to choose from. We started with Wellfleet and sampled a few others from New England. They were clean, crisp and delicious. We added shrimp cocktail and Florida Stone Crab claws - Yum! The place is tiny but comfortable if you sit at the bar. They also promote local beer and wine so I was happy they had Westport Rivers available (great wine and sparkling from Massachusetts south coast). We did dinner. I had Sturgeon (never tried it before) and Rofle got Cioppino). Food was well presented, seasoned and extremely fresh. I can't wait to return. This is a great alternative to Italian when strolling around Haymarket or Salem Street.

Avila - dinner party !

I planned a work dinner party for 11 last night at Avila. We were NOT disappointed. The cocktails, wine and food were great. I got the crispy whole Bass. It came on it's stomach and stuffed from the top. It was an interesting presentation and absolutely delicious. Everyone else seemed to like their food - from fillet Mignon to paella to veal chop. The apps and sides were tasty. (I especially liked the 'richness' of the truffle mac-n-cheese and the yucca fries). Even the simple roasted beets were earthy and caramelized perfectly.
We sampled several reds and whites - all good. My favorite was one of the Chardonnays (I forget the name)
http://www.avilarestaurant.com/

This is one of the Steve DeFillipo places. It is as consistent and expensive as it's neighbor, Davio's.

P.F Chang's - Chain Asian Adventure

Usually we do a movie then dinner so we deal with less crowds at the theater. This time we did dinner (actually, drinks, then dinner) then the movie. We went out with Dave and Jenny and both couples had PF Chang's gift cards. We used ours up (plus another 20) at the bar before meeting up with Dave and Jenny. Rolfe notes that they make a really strong and tasty Orange Margarita. I had wine - nothing special but it was good. So we had the perfunctory lettuce wraps. They were a lot better than the last time I came here. I also got the seared Ahi tuna. Dave and Jenny tried it and they don't like fish. They liked this and it was raw. We split the candy beef (Mongolian Beef), the candy chicken (lemon chicken) and a special of candy sirloin (sliced sirloin in a 'special Asian marinade'). Everything here is made with tons of sugar and tons of salt. Makes everything taste like salty candy. So you eat it, feel guilty and feel like crap the next morning. My eyes were puffy and my rings were tight. Oh well, I can't be good all the time. I do eat junk on occasion. 2 hours at the gym ha ha.
Oh by the way... we went to see Ironman - that was excellent and I highly recommend it.