When I decided to start looking for a place to buy, many of my friends said, "Really? You're going to buy a house? What about living in New York? Or Miami? You'll be stuck here." Well friends, on my walk from work to Beacon Hill tonight I found yet another reason to fall in love with Boston all over again. Check out the view:
Who would ever want to live anywhere else?
Also, can you look at those photos and not want to sing Alicia Keys' "Girl is on Fire" because I can't.
I was walking to Beacon Hill for my second night in a row of Restaurant Week dinners. As I said yesterday, this is my very most favorite time of the year.
Tonight's location was Beacon Hill Bistro on the corner of Branch Street and Charles Street.
As soon as we gave our name to the hostess she walked us through the entire dining room to the second to last table in the back corner. The Beacon Hill Bistro dining room is one long, narrow room. It reminded me of a luxury train dining car.
The Restaurant Week menu (complete with wine deals) was clipped to the top of the menu. I have to say, many of the best dishes from the regular menu made the cut, which is rare. You often get a more simple menu for this special event. I was very happy to see Beacon Hill Bistro did not skimp.
Right after we ordered, our waiter brought us a basket of bread and butter. The bread was very doughy (which I love) and the butter was extra sweet.
We each ordered a different course to start. My friend selected the cockles (clams) and mussels. After her second bite she said, "This is just way too salty."
Her boyfriend ordered the Boston bibb salad which came with big chunks of juicy grapefruit. He said, "There wasn't enough grapefruit for all of the lettuce in the salad. Some bites were just lettuce, which was disappointing." I agree, the more goodies in a salad, the better.
I went with the white sweet potato soup which was served with pink peppercorn yogurt. The soup was perfect for a freezing cold winter evening. It was thick, rich and creamy. The spoonfuls with the yogurt had a great coolness to them and the peppercorns added a nice texture.
For the dinner course, my friend ordered the pork shoulder with Brussels sprouts. Again she said the plate was too salty. She did however love the Brussels sprouts declaring, "These are incredible. They are grilled and cooked to perfection."
Her man decided on the risotto with braised lamb. He informed me, "The meat is very well prepared and I love the mushroom flavor. The risotto is just right - not too creamy, not too filling."
I ordered the one vegetarian choice, the butternut squash. It was served over a bed of lentils, which were actually the best part of the dish. I don't even really like lentils and I couldn't get enough of these!
Now for the fun part, dessert!
The only male at the table chose the panna cotta. I forgot to ask what he thought of it, but judging by his completely clean plate, I think he liked it.
Both of us ladies chose the warm chocolate cake (surprise, surprise). It came piping hot with a chocolate lava center. The plate also had a spoonful of espresso ice cream over a bed of chocolate cookie crumbles. There may have been a moment where our eyes rolled into the back of our heads.
Overall, I really enjoyed our meal at Beacon Hill Bistro. It's in an incredible location, we were seated right away and the food was excellent. The dining room was outrageously loud which would keep me from going there with say my parents or my grandparents, but other than that, quite lovely.
That's two great Restaurant Week meals in a row for me! How is your Restaurant Week going?
