Dining Out: Seasons 52

For months now my mother, sister and cousin have been raving about a restaurant called Seasons 52. They all live in Florida and there are locations in Boca Raton, Fort Lauderdale and Miami.

When I learned a Seasons 52 was opening in Chestnut Hill (which is developing so rapidly it feels like a video game), I couldn't wait to check it out.

My BFF and I went last Thursday and per usual, I was rushing from work. Thankfully there is an enormous parking lot and if you can't find a space, they offer complimentary valet (though the valet guy was hiding inside because it was so cold out).

We were seated at a table in the rear of the dining room. Immediately I heard the music coming from the speakers and when our waiter showed up, I asked, "Is this music live?" Sure enough, there was a female vocalist singing and playing the keyboard in the bar! I love that. It reminds me of the piano player at Nordstrom.

To start the evening, we both ordered a cocktail. My dinner date picked the ruby red grapefruit martini which is grapefruit-infused vodka and agave nectar. She was nice enough to let me have a sip and it was so refreshing! Like freshly squeezed juice.

I decided on the pomegranate margarita martini. Two drinks in one? Yes, please.

For some reason they only salted half of my rim.

The drink was good, but a little too sweet, even for me.

We spent a while looking at the menu before deciding what to order. There were so many great, veggie-packed choices.

To share, we selected the edamame. I normally love edamame, but this version was so plain. There was zero flavor to the pods. The dish came with a small bowl of Japanese green tea salt. It tasted like flakes of fish food. I shudder just thinking about it again.

As we munched our way through the plain tasting pods (it was 8:00pm and we were starving), I noticed the inside of the bowl was stamped with the number 52. Very nice touch.

We also split the baby spinach and caramelized pear salad. When we told our waiter we planned to split it, he noted that and we wound up each being delivered our own plate of salad instead of having to scoop it off of one giant plate.

The spinach was fresh, there was a ton of gorgonzola cheese and I loved the sherry walnut vinaigrette.

The best part of the dish was, without question, the caramelized pears.

From the time we finished our appetizers, to the time our entrees arrived, 35 minutes passed. We watched tables who sat down after us, come and go before our meals arrived. Our waiter did stop by once to apologize for the delay, but it was pretty out of control. The wait was excruciatingly long.

Finally, our entrees materialized. My dinner date chose the turkey skewer with grilled vegetable farro pilaf. The turkey came on a foot long skewer and our waiter removed each piece of turkey for her. The meat was cooked in a Zinfandel BBQ glaze.

After a few bites, she said, "This turkey is delicious. It is cooked so well. I also love the farro salad underneath. It has a great smokey flavor."

I decided to take a gamble and order the winter vegetarian tasting plate. It was a smorgasbord of veggie side dishes. The plate included quinoa salad, a soft taco, golden beets, broccoli rabe, a stuffed mushroom and cedar-roasted tofu with mango chutney.

I love broccoli, but I hate broccoli rabe. It's too bitter. Even topped with sweet roasted rep peppers, it was still too harsh on my taste buds.

The tofu was served cold, which immediately turned me off. This was not a very appetizing preparation.

The quinoa salad was chilled. I did like the taste of this, but it wasn't something I would order again.

The one redeeming component of the plate was the soft taco, stuffed with black beans, onions and peppers. I gobbled it right up.

Once our entree plates were cleared, our waiter asked if we had room for dessert. We had both heard about the famous Seasons 52 desserts. These shot glasses, which they call "mini indulgences" are each less than 400 calories.

Our waiter brought over a boat full of choices and he was carrying a flashlight. He shined that beam onto each and every cup and told us about every sugary component.

We couldn't narrow it down, so we each decided to choose two flavors. After we agreed on our picks, our waiter offered to give us a fifth flavor for free, as a thank you for being so patient while our dinner took 100 years.

We chose, from left to right: raspberry chocolate chip cannoli, Belgian chocolate rocky road, mocha macchiato, tropical fruit cheesecake and chocolate peanut butter mousse.

My absolute favorite was the raspberry chocolate chip cannoli. I love the presentation of the vertical cannoli shell! The custard tasted like a raspberry cheesecake.

The rocky road tasted more like a plain chocolate mousse.

The mocha macchiato was a great choice if you're a coffee lover.

Clearly we hated them.

I have to say, going into this meal I had pretty high expectations. My family, who all dine out very often, gave it high praise. I was disappointed in the edamame appetizer and really disappointed in my vegetarian entree. The mini desserts were the unequivocal highlight of the night.

I don't think I would go back to Seasons 52 for dinner. I would definitely sit in the bar, drink a cocktail and spoon my way through a few mini desserts.

Have you ever been to Seasons 52? What did you think?

 

Molly Galler

Welcome to Pop.Bop.Shop. My name is Molly. I’m a foodie, fashionista, pop culture addict and serious travel junkie. I’m a lifelong Bostonian obsessed with frozen confections, outdoor patios, Mindy Kaling, reality television, awards shows, tropical vacations, snail mail and my birthday.

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Address:
Seasons 52
220 Boylston Street
02467 Chestnut Hill , MA
United States
Massachusetts US