This weekend one of my best friends in the universe is in town from overseas. Last night her sister organized a dinner for the three of us and two more friends at 28 Degrees in the South End. Though I've spent a lot of time dining on Tremont Street I had never heard of 28 Degrees. I looked up their menu online and was quite excited to check it out. I also tweeted them that I would be coming in and they sent me menu recommendations with photos! A great start to the experience before I even arrived!
28 Degrees is located at the corner of Appleton and Tremont Street. There is no parking in the South End normally, but given the recent blizzard I decided to valet park the car. Once inside I realized we would basically be dining in a club. The lights were low, the music was bumping and everyone had a cocktail in their hand.
Our reservation was for 8:00pm and we were seated right away in a large, leather banquette near the bar. The bar is back lit by bright blue lighting and the opposite walls had faux fire places roaring via flat panel TVs.
We started with a round of drinks. I ordered the frozen bellini which is the house specialty. It was fantastic! It meets my number one cocktail requirement: must taste like candy. Its champagne, vodka and peach puree.
We started with two appetizers: the truffle fries and the wild mushroom, ricotta and arugula pizza. The fries were finger-licking delicious and we gobbled up the pizza in mere minutes.
We tried several dishes for our second course. First the mushroom risotto which was so creamy and filling.
We also ordered the mesclun salad which came with shaved pears, manchego cheese, pomegranate and a lemon vinaigrette.
One of the best dishes of the night was the vegetable spring roll. A superb vegetarian choice!
Although we were completely stuffed we split one dessert for the table, the bread pudding. I had never eaten bread pudding because let's face it bread plus pudding sounds pretty disgusting, but at the urging of our guest of honor I tried a bite. I think it basically tasted like french toast. Though not a dessert I would order, I can now appreciate why people select the bread pudding as their sweet fix.
28 Degrees is a great spot for a girls night out or a big, group celebration. The cocktail list is fun and the food is excellent. Just be prepared to shout over the music.
