Christopher Herot's Weblog

Gaslight Brasserie du Coin

In France, a Brasserie is a place to get a real meal at a time when more serious restaurants may not be serving or when one is up for more than a cafe but less than a gastronomic adventure, sort of what T.G.I. Friday's does in the U.S.A.  But now we have the real deal in Boston, starting with Brasserie Jo nn Huntington Avenue, then Bouchee on Newbury Street, and in the past weeks, Gaslight on Harrison Avenue.  Brought to you by the same crew that owns Aquitaine in the South End, this new addition has furthered the transformation of the Harrison Avenue area from a bleak industrial wasteland to Boston's version of SoHo or SoMa, complete with art galleries, Internet companies, and upscale restaurants.

Gaslight is noisy (almost deafening), busy and, I will have to say, competent, lively, and reasonably priced.  Since all good brasserie's serve oysters, we started with a dozen from Duxbury which were a bargain at $2 each.  For a first course we had the Salade Gaslight ($7.75) which had haricots verts, bacon lardons, and onions and and Salade Frisee ($6.75) with chevre, black olives, and leeks.  We followed that with the Steak Frites ($19.50) a Bavette (Flank Steak) with a Béarnaise sauce and the Confit de Canette (duckling) ($16).  Both came with excellent pommes frites.

For wine, we had a carafe (0.5 L) each of the 2004 Chablisienne Chablis ($30) and the 2006 Jaboulet Les Jalet Crozes-Hermitage ($30).

The desserts were OK - the molton of the "molten chocolate cake" ($6) was a little bit of sauce on top of an otherwise undistinguished cake.

In summary, this place has a lot to recommend it.  The food is good, the atmosphere is fun, it's open late (1:30 am) and there's plenty of free parking.

Gaslight Brasserie du Coin
560 Harrison Ave.
Boston, MA  02118
617-422-0224
www.gaslight560.com
Reservations Accepted - phone or Open Table
200 seats
Parking - free evenings and weekends

Rocca

Many of the best restaurants in Boston can be traced back to Michela Larson.  During the 80's boom the restaurant she started, Michela's was one of the hottest places in the Boston area.  When the boom ended, Michela's closed, but the alumni went on to greater glory.  Chef Todd English founded Olives in Charlestown (and later five other cities), Figs, Bonfire, Kingfish Hall, and half a dozen others.  Managers Esti (Benson) Parsons and Christopher Myers followed Michela to her new restaurant Rialto in Harvard Square before going on to found Radius, Great Bay, Via Matta and Alta Strada.  Michela herself opened Blu and Red Clay in addition to Rialto.  Now she has left all of that behind to concentrate on one big, new place in the South End and looks like it will be a big success.

We visited Rocca last night on its tenth night in operation and it was bustling.  It is located in a neighborhood better known for artists' studios than for food, although that may soon change.  Rocca specializes in cuisine from the Liguria region of Italy.

On our waiter's recommendation, we started with the Wild Mushroom Toasts ($5), two small pieces of bread with mushrooms, pecorino, parsley, herbs, and olive oil - just enough the whet the appetite.   For a first course we had the Veal-Stuffed Zucchini with fresh tomato sauce ($7)  and Spring Green Panzotti ($14) - which were ravioli stuffed with spinach and chard and then served with a delicious walnut sauce.  The pasta dishes are European sized - suitable for an appetizer rather than a main course.

By this time we had opened a bottle of 2005 Arnaldo Caprai Grecante ($42) from Umbria.  It was fruity but delicate, with a touch of citrus and grass.  Manager Gary Sullivan spent several months traveling though Italy and putting together the wine list.  It's all Italian and almost everything is in the $25-$45 range.

For our main course, we had the Roasted Whole Fish ($24), a Branzini with herbs, olives, potatoes, tomatoes and pine nuts served in the roasting pan (pictured at right) and the Burrida ($21), a fish stew served over toasted ciabatta.

Dessert was worth waiting for, especially the Smashed Almond Bark ($7) - something between a cookie and a shortbread (lots of eggwhite - like a dacoise) and whole almonds, served with a dark chocolate dipping sauce.  Michela told us she had something like it in Milan and experimented quite a bit before they got the result they were looking for.

The waiter was very knowledgeable about the menu and the manager, Gary, knew everything about the wine list.  There were a few, small hiccups in the service, like the mushroom toasts arriving late (comp'd as a result) and an extra dessert we didn't order (promptly and cheerfully removed from the bill).  For a place that had only been open for a few weeks I would say it performed admirably on a very busy Saturday night.  The food was creative, delicious, and reasonably priced for what we got.

There is a lively bar downstairs and a large dining room upstairs.  The front half is lively and quite loud.  The rear is quieter but still festive.  In the summer they plan to serve dinner on a large patio adjacent to the bar.  We will definitely be back.

Rocca
500 Harrison Avenue
Boston, MA  02118
617-451-5151
www.roccaboston.com
Reservations Accepted
Valet parking $8.00

Sorellina

Sorellina recently opened in the space formerly occupied by Salamander.   Chef Jamie Mammano, who started the nearby Mistral and the almost as nearby Teatro has opened this contemporary Italian-Mediterranean.  The space is dramatic, the clientele affluent and attractive, and the food is pretty good as well.

For appetizers, we had the Yellowtail Crudo with crushed cherry peppers, citrus and sea salt ($16), Macheroncelli - "Kobe" beef meatballs, barolo sauce and pecorino loscano ($14), Arancini - crab cakes ($16), Tortellono with parsnip, ricotta, peas, morels, and asparagus ($12), and Escargot with tomatoes and capers (not on the menu).  All the appetizers were delicious, if expensive.  The Crudo was the best.

For the main course almost everyone had the Veal Milanese ($38) which was a veal chop pounded flat and sauteed with lemon and an endive salad, but we should have had the Scallops ($33) with celery root and truffled celery salad.

With dessert and and some modestly prices ($45) bottles of wine, the damage, including tip and tax, came to $100 per person.

A word about the decor and seating:  The space is dominated by a large, backlit, monochrome mural.  It creates a dramatic impression, but you don't want to sit to close to it.  You have been warned.

Sorellina
1 Huntington Avenue
Boston, MA
617-412-4600
www.sorellinaboston.com
Reservations Accepted - Make several weeks in advance for Saturday dinner
100 seats
Valet parking

Zocalo Cocina Mexicana

Having recently enjoyed the cuisine of Oaxaca, we were pleased to hear that Ricardo Ramos had opened a Brighton outpost of Zocalo Cocina Mexicana on the site of the former Uva and Istanbul Café.

We called at 7:15 pm on a Saturday night to see if they could accommodate a party of four.  We were told that the wait would be 35-40 minutes but the receptionist was willing to take our name over the phone.  When we arrived at 8:00 the wait would be another 35-40 minutes, so we repaired to the bar.  The restaurant is still waiting for its liquor license, so the bar only served wine, beer, and sangria, but they did have two types of Dos Equis on tap, so all was not lost.  As it was we were seated after a few minutes anyway.

The atmosphere is colorful and lively.  The patrons are mostly in their 20s and 30s, but all ages were represented and everyone appeared to be having a good time.  We were immediately supplied with some tortilla chips and some excellent salsa, the latter containing plenty of cilantro.

We ordered some Guacamole en Molcajete ($8.5) which was plentiful if somewhat bland, and the Tostada De Nopales ($6) a tasty combination of marinated cactus, lettuce, anejo cheese, salsa verde and chipotle sauce on top of three corn tortillas.

We also had a bottle of 2002 Bodega Pirineos Moristel ($31) from the Somontano region in northeast Spain.  The Moristel grape is usually only found in a blend with Parraleta or Tempranillo, and we were pleased to be able to see that it held its own as a varietal.

For main courses we had Cochinita Pibil ($26) - shredded pork with orange, onions, chile chipotle and tomatoes, served with rice and beans, Chiles Rellenos de Pollo Mole ($16), and Enchiladas Rancheras ($12).  All were at least as good as anything we had in Oaxaca.

The dessert choice was limited - Flan or Chocolate Bread Pudding ($5).  We shared a bread pudding and found it adequate.

We would definitely go again.

Zocalo Cocina Mexicana
1414 Commonwealth Ave
(at Kelton Street)
Brighton, MA  02135
617-277-5700
www.zocaloarlington.com
Reservations Accepted - some tables saved for walk-ins
100 seats
Parking behind Brookline Liquors - stop at the restaurant for a permit

Lineage

We had dinner last night at Lineage, a restaurant in the Coolidge Corner section of Brookline that was opened on March 11 by Jeremy and Lisa Sewall.  Jeremy was formerly the chef of Great Bay, arguably the best, and certainly the most interesting, seafood restaurant in Boston.  Lisa was formerly the pastry chef at L'Espalier.

The food is what is often described as New American Cuisine, that is fresh, local ingredients, lightly and imaginatively cooked.  We started with the lobster tacos - three taco shells stuffed with chilled lobster and guacamole, and served with a salsa verde; and with the duck confit cannelloni.  Both were delicious.  The main courses were swordfish with green lentils and duck breast with crispy  risotto and winter vegetables.  The meal was accompanied by an excellent and reasonably priced Broglia Gavi.  We were glad we saved room for dessert - a rich, almost mousse-like chocolate cake.

The appetizers were in the range of $8-$12 and the entrees $18-$25.  You can find the menu here although everything we had were added in the past few days.

There were a few, minor kinks which I trust will be rectified as the place gets up to speed.  The dinner rolls arrived after the appetizers were served, although they were warm and redolent of rosemary.  The corner where we sat was a bit bright - apparently they are waiting to get a dimmer installed - although the rest of the restaurant was cozily lit.  Otherwise, the service was friendly, knowledgeable, efficient, and helpful, the food was excellent, and the atmosphere comfortable.  I hope this place does well here.

 

Lineage
242 Harvard Street
Brookline, MA  02446
617-232-0065
Reservations Accepted - some tables saved for walk-ins
75 seats

Validated parking at the Brookline Marriott