On the Town

Important! My ALLY Foundation raffle ends on April 1 at 12:00 noon Eastern time! You don’t want to miss the chance to win a $100 gift card to William Sonoma and other great prices. Plus you are supporting the work of an important charity that aims to keep us safe from sex offenders. http://firstgiving.com/meghanmalloyteamally

On Saturday night, my friends and I celebrated my birthday at Woodward, the new restaurant at the Ames Hotel in downtown Boston. We started with a round of cocktails which we drank while looking over a “through the years” photo album that my friend Meghan put together. The photos were funny and pretty embarrassing! Some of the hair and fashion choices that I have made over the last 11 years were awful. It was fun to think about all we have been through together though and to relive our college and post-college days living in Boston.

Our drinks, a Sazerac, French 75, and a Model Behavior, a refreshing blend of St. Germain and Hendricks gin topped with Chandon Brut and a cucumber foam

Instead of bread, Woodward gives diners a bowl of house pickled veggies and fruit. I enjoyed the pickled cukes and carrots, but thought that the watermelon was a little odd.

Our server suggested that we order a bunch of different dishes to share, and the kitchen sends things out as they are made. I love this approach to serving and eating food, especially with friends or family. We started with my favorite,  incredibly fresh Island Creek oysters with a spicy ginger mignonette.

Next up, mussels with white wine, pickled garlic, and preserved lemon. The mussels were perfectly cooked, melt in your mouth, and swimming in a lemony, buttery sauce. Luckily they included toasted bread for dipping. I could have seriously picked up the bowl of mussels to drink the broth.

For our larger dishes, my friend Raija (of the Hollandaise sauce post) had the hangar steak with crispy frites, I ordered the scallops with warmed greens and pickled citrus vinaigrette, and my friend Meghan (the writer of the Cinque Terre post) had the roast chicken with the creamiest most decadent potatoes ever.

Everything was delicious. I didn’t get a photo, but we finished up with the chocolate and almond bread pudding. It was rich, delicious, and perfect for 3 people to share. It was a great meal. I would say that the only downside was that the service was a little TOO overbearing, and toward the end we felt rushed despite several empty tables in our vicinity.

We followed our dinner with drinks at Drink which has quickly become my favorite bar in Boston. I love how fresh and homemade everything is.

Drinks are flavored with fruit, vegetables, herbs, and spices.

I enjoyed a gingery Dark & Stormy. It was delicious!

All in all it was a great night out. Woodward is a must visit location in Boston, and I am looking forward to bringing my husband there soon!