Boston
Uni - Ken Oringer runs this sushi bar in a space that it shares with his more formal restaurant, Clio. It's just a counter with six seats and four small tables along the back wall. One night last October I sat down at their opening time of 6:00 PM, and told Johnny, who mans the sushi counter, that I had to make a 7:15 shuttle back to New York. Well, he took control of the situation, and in that 75 minutes he managed to serve me preparations of Kumamoto oysters, a quail egg with uni and caviar, toro tartar, barbecued eel and foie gras, Kobe beef with Vidalia onions, and otoro with beet tops. It was a terrific meal with the freshest of ingredients, and Uni gets my vote as the best place to dine in Boston. B+
Uni’s Quail Egg Spoon with Uni and Caviar
Radius - In the running for Boston’s best restaurant. I didn’t find very much New England about it. It is pretty much NYC upper middle relocated to a Boston setting, which makes sense because chef/owner Michael Schlow is a veteran of the New York restaurant scene. See if you can manage to engage him tableside—he will be able to give you a short dissertation on the differences between the New York and Boston restaurant scenes. B-
No. 9 Park - The flagship restaurant for chef/owner Barbara Lynch who also operates B & G Oysters, Ltd., and The Butcher Shop in Boston's South End. Located literally at the bottom of the steps of the Massachusetts State House, the restaurant serves an upper-middle cuisine, heavily influenced by the cuisine of the Italian, and to a lesser extent, the French countryside. But it doesn't lack for modern culinary touches, and a lobster poached in butter and served with a Tuscan tomato-bread salad was among the best dishes I had in 2004. B
Butter-Poached Lobster with Tuscan Tomato-Bread Salad from Barbara Lynch
Rialto - Jody Adam's Cambridge restaurant in the Charles Hotel is comparable to a solid NYC upper-middle restaurant. Not the fanciest of food, but a reasonable version of a contemporary take on Mediterranean-style cuisine. I had a nice ribeye steak with some arugula, shaved parmigiana cheese, and white truffle oil. B
Clio - Reminiscent of New York's now-shuttered Union Pacific, Ken Oringer's French-inspired cuisine has a strong Asian fusion influence. Most Bostonians I know claim that this is their city's best restaurant. I had one meal there last February and I wasn't that impressed. I found that my meals at both Radius and No. 9 Park were more enjoyable than my meal at Clio. I prefer eating at Oringer's sushi bar, Uni, which shares the space with Clio. B
Great Bay - In the wake of the over-commercialization of Legal Seafood, Boston was left without a quality seafood restaurant. Enter Radius Chef Michael Schlow and partners who have opened this upscale seafood restaurant in the Commonwealth Hotel in Kenmore Square. I recently had lunch there and although the menu is pared down at lunchtime, enough items were available so that we could get a handle on what Schlow is trying to do. A plate of three mini fluke tacos was delicious. The dinner menu has a stuffed dayboat lobster, a dish I have to go back to try. A great place to go before or after seeing the Red Sox as the restaurant is almost in the shadows of Fenway Park. B-
Locke-Ober - Like eating in a late 19th century museum. Lydia Shire has taken over the kitchens at Locke-Ober, and she has updated the menu to give the food more of a 21st century feel. But even with her updated menu, they still serve what can only be described as an upscale American tavern cuisine. Start out with some clams or oysters on the half shell, and if you have a hankering for wet meat American style, this is your place. C+
Roast Beef Hash with a Poached Egg and Mashed Potatoes at Locke-Ober
Via Matta - Back in the days when he wasn’t an important chef, Michael Schlow, the chef/owner of Radius, Great Bay, and Via Matta, was the second in command to Mark Straussman at Pino Luongo’s Sappore di Mare in Wainscott. So running a Tuscan country-style restaurant comes naturally for Schlow, and sure enough he has opened a reasonable version of the type of restaurant that we have in abundance in Manhattan. Not an exciting place to eat but a safe choice and you won't go hungry. C+
Maine
Fore Street - One of my greatest disappointments in dining ever. Reading Corby Kummer's article about Fore Street in Portland, Maine, made it sound as if this was going to be the East Coast version of Chez Panisse. And when you enter the restaurant, the combination of the aroma from the wood-burning oven and grill, and the sight of a walk-in vegetable crisper near the hostess stand, inspires a great deal of hunger. But I have never seen a greater disparity between the look and smell and the taste of the food as I found in this restaurant. I started with the Maine smoked fish. Ordinary. One would think that they have good fish in Maine, right? Then we shared the brined and spit-roasted chicken which every review of the restaurant raved about. But it was tough and without much taste. I refuse to believe this restaurant was as bad as we found it. I am going to try and go back this summer. I recommend the restaurant only because I refuse to believe that a concept so good can turn out to be this mediocre. C+
Arrows of Ogunquit - When Gourmet magazine voted Arrows one of the ten best restaurants in the U.S., I was happy that my summer travel plans included a trip to Maine. But this restaurant turned out to be a grave disappointment, and it ended up being one of the worst meals I had during the year. One would think that the best restaurant in Maine could do something interesting with lobster. But the restaurant's lobster quatro turned out to be four uninteresting variations on absolutely tasteless lobster. We weren't thrilled with the service either. C-
Saratoga Springs
Springwater Bistro - I visited this restaurant in Saratoga's off-season. Chef David Britton prepares an eclectic cuisine and is dedicated to using local ingredients. In fact, one of the diners at the next table had just brought a sack of fresh ducks into the restaurant. I was there on a Monday evening, and they served a small plates/tapas menu. I enjoyed five kinds of "just picked" New Minglewood Farms baby greens with green goddess-parmesan-chive dressing, some scallop carpaccio with wasabi and tobiko, and some well-braised sweet-and-sour short ribs. Good wine list that the heavy hitters who come to Saratoga for the track during the summer must enjoy. It's the best place to eat in the area along with the delightful Chez Sophie Bistro.
Tandoori-Spiced Salmon with Black Bean Puree at Springwater's Bistro
The Hamptons
Della Femina - Tops in the Hamptons as far as I’m concerned. They serve a solid upper-middle cuisine with a good mix of fish, meats and local produce. B+
Nick & Toni’s - Where the important people eat. A couple of years ago I used to like the food more than I do now. But even now it is reasonably harmless Tuscan-influenced cuisine. I always find they do a better job on the meats than on fish. B-
Mt. Fuji - You will be surprised when you find that this Amagansett restaurant serves some of the best toro and otoro you can find, even in Manhattan. But on second thought, with Montauk and its tuna fishing fleet only five miles away, it all begins to make sense. B-
Red Bar - I think that they downgraded the food in 2004. My few meals were much less enjoyable than in past years. B-
Almond - Low-key Bridgehampton restaurant serving French bistro classics. I wish it was that much better, but it makes do on a night where you just don’t want to cook and you don’t want to go out to one of the more buzzier places. C
Dave’s Grill - Hard-to-get-into restaurant on the docks in Montauk. What you find when you finally get in is a Caesar Salad, Lobster Fra Diavolo cuisine that harkens back to Long Island Italian restaurant of the '70s. Not worth the drive from Sagaponack. D+
Sen - It follows that the most popular sushi restaurant in the Hamptons is also the worst. B-level fish that is inartfully prepared. Always a wait for a table as well. D
don't miss out on Kennebunkport, Maine's White Barn Inn. It is absolutley the best meal I've ever had in the US. Comparable to l'Ambroisie in Paris. simply spectacular.
Posted by: laura @ cucina testa rossa | April 23, 2005 at 04:55 PM
That's quite a claim. We actually stayed in the White Hart Barn three summers ago (maybe four) and we had a reservation for dinner. But when we heard that men had to wear jackets in the dining room, we opted out and wore shorts to the Ogunquit Lobster Pound. Not sure when we will be going to the Kennebunkport area again, as we preferred the Maine coast from Portland to points north. We are going to spend three or four says up there this summer.
Posted by: Steve Plotnicki | April 23, 2005 at 05:08 PM
For Maine destination dining, I highly recommend Primo in Rockland. Melissa Kelly has locally-sourced (some from her own gardens and her own pigs) and seasonal down and done right with courage and integrity. Fine dining without attitude. I've heard that after a meal at a good restaurant you say: "that was good." After a meal at an extraordinary restaurant you say: "life is wonderful." I feel that way every time I dine at Primo.
Posted by: Louise | October 11, 2007 at 09:40 AM