date night

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A brief encounter with spring and a not-so-pleasant encounter with my dentist brought me out and about on Newbury Street earlier in the week.

(Edited to add that I love my dentist. I also love seltzer water and wine and salsa and all sorts of acidic foods and drinks, which have not been super supportive of my teeth enamel. Be careful!)

Newbury Street is a favorite for warm weather wandering, and when my appointment ended at 5:45, it seemed like the right thing to stick around and enjoy the energy.

My husband thought the same thing, and after he miraculously found parking right on the street, we went for a stroll before heading into La Voile for dinner.

(Their website has music, which I absolutely hate. That’s unfortunate.)

La Voile Boston

We sat at the beautiful zinc bar and ordered cocktails to start off a long and leisurely dinner; we were there for a few hours. My cocktail, La Detente, was delicious and the perfect choice on a slightly chilly evening. The smoky Pig’s Nose scotch, Gran Classico Quinquina, and orange warmed me right up and had just the right amount of smokiness and kick. I would definitely order this again.

French Onion Soup

We decided to share French Onion Soup, a beet salad, charcuterie, and mussels for a little taste of a variety of different dishes, and it ended up being the right choice.

First of all, the soup was to.die.for. The broth was so rich and savory, and the gooey cheese and bread were heavenly. It was *almost* as good as my mom’s and made me realize I need more French Onion Soup in my life.  So good.

beet salad

The salad was a needed addition to our diets. We’ve been trying to eat more vegetables, and since we both love beets, this was a great option. Moules frites are always a good choice, especially when a creamy lemon curry option is available, and the frites are perfectly golden, hot, and crisp. I loved dunking frites into the flavorful curry.

moules frites

The charcuterie was one of the best I’ve had, with a truffle pate and a garlicky sausage and pickled onions, all just delicious.

charcuterie

kir royale

While we were finishing up, our server brought us each a complimentary Kir Royale. It turns out they needed us to move to accommodate a larger party, which given that it was Red Sox opening day, we would have been happy to do. It was a nice touch though, to have them offer us something before even asking. I love a Kir Royale!

espresso Settled into new seats and perfectly happy, we decided to stay for espresso and dessert, a chocolate fondant that was gooey and warm, paired with vanilla ice cream. Again, a simple, flawless plate.

chocolate fondant We could have stayed all night, but Monday dates are a rare treat, and we needed to get home to work. We looked longingly at La Voile’s patio as we left, vowing to return on a warmer night for much longer.

La Voile Patio

La Voile was an exceptional dining experience and perfect for a date night. Service and food were both excellent, I loved their wine list and cozy space, and am happy to have another Boston date night favorite on the list.

Tags: Boston, date night, dessert, Dining out, Restaurants, wine

I wrote the below post before the horrific terrorist attacks on Paris on Friday. I have been thinking about all of those affected  by the attacks all weekend and still, like so many others, have no ability to make sense of what happened or the state our world is in. I spent much of the weekend anxious and sad.

I thought about not posting today, but ultimately, I can sit around and feel sad or I can share my love of life with blog readers, people who have, through technology, become friends over the years. I hope that continuing to share things we love and to keep an eye on one another and to connect can help us to keep the love and light in the world when there are some determined to take it away.

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I’ve mentioned it a few times, but our dining habits lately have been leaning sharply toward Dorchester. We’ve visited Tavolo, Ester, and Ashmont Grill quite frequently, and they are so good and so close that it’s hard not to  pull ourselves away.

Last week after drinks with friends we found ourselves in the Fort Point area of Boston and suddenly starving. We were parked by Bastille Kitchen, so we decided to go in and grab a couple of appetizers.

I instantly fell in love with the space and the buzz of energy and activity. The restaurant was busy but had a nice noise level and lots of smiling patrons.

Domaine Augis "La Rosée"

They had a nice by-the-glass wine selection, and I of course went with pink bubbly, Domaine Augis "La Rosée", which added to the already celebratory Friday mood.

I had started the week off with a terrible 36 hour bug and as a result hadn’t eaten much more than soup all week, but at Bastille Kitchen my appetite came back with a vengeance. Their bread basket is not just bread, but warm, buttery mini croissants, which I basically attacked. They were flaky and heavenly. If I could have a warm basket delivered every morning, I would be all set.

warm croissants

Date night always includes oysters, and we polished these off in no time. Fresh, cold, perfect – I love oysters this time of year!

oysters

Now, the plan was to share some appetizers and then to head home, but my ravenous post-illness body saw the Porterhouse for two, and that was all I could think about.

Sides It came with asparagus, potato gratin, grilled tomatoes, and sauce bordelaise, and we got a bit of horseradish on the side, and it was all simply dreamy. The meat barely needed a knife. It was so tender and flavorful, and all of the vegetables were the perfect accompaniments. We ate every bite; I definitely took the lead on this endeavor!

Porterhouse for Two It felt so good to want to eat after feeling so miserable, so we ordered dessert. Profiteroles, light, fluffy, another pastry win, were stuffed with caramel chip ice cream and had a warm hazelnut chocolate sauce for pouring.

profiteroles

The service at Bastille Kitchen was as exquisite as the food and ambiance. Our server and everyone who cared for us were so pleasant and attentive and smiling all the while. It was just a lovely experience. I can’t wait to return.

Tags: Boston, date night, Dining out, dinner, Food, Restaurants, wine

Brrrr. . . it is officially winter and my favorite time of year for staying in and cooking for cozy at-home dinner dates. My plan for Sunday night was to make 40 garlic clove chicken, but the recipe sort of evolved as I was cooking.

I started with a large head of garlic, wrapping it in foil and putting it in the oven at 400 degrees for about 25 minutes. I always go by the smell; once the smell of roasted garlic starts to come through, I shut off the oven and leave the garlic in to cook in the still-warm oven.

garlic

Once the garlic was roasted, I let it cool, set aside three cloves, and squeezed the rest into a bowl. I topped it with a pat of butter, salt, and pepper, and used the back of a spoon to mush it all together.

roasted garlic

Instead of making a whole chicken, I used four chicken breasts which I placed in a glass baking dish, then rubbed with the garlicky butter. I then topped them with a mixture of 1/2 cup Bonny Doon Vineyards Verjus and 1/2 cup chicken stock. Verjus is Bonny Doon’s non-alcoholic wine, and it is just perfect for sauces.

Bonny Doon Verjus

free range chicken broth

In addition to the sauce for the chicken, I needed gravy. Why is gravy so good? I started with a roux made from butter and all purpose flour. I let it get a golden brown before adding a cup of Verjus and 1/2 cup of chicken stock, a shake of salt, and a generous grind of pepper. I also added a few of the roasted garlic cloves, mashing them into the gravy so that the garlic was almost dissolved into the gravy.

roux

The gravy goodness bubbled away on the stove while I checked on the chicken and tackled the veggies.

garlic gravy

The chicken was moist and perfect. I only wished I had browned it before baking it.

garlicky chicken

I thought that my veggie side was too simple to post, but it was so good, so why not?

Brussels sprouts

I cut a bunch of Brussels sprouts in half and sliced an onion into rings.

Brussels sprouts and onions

I added the onions to a little bit of olive oil and butter and let them cook until almost brown then added the Brussels sprouts and chopped cauliflower.

cauliflower and Brussels sprouts

The onions and butter added so much flavor. It was pretty amazing for a bunch of veggies Smile.

We served up our dinner with the new Sam Adams’ Infinium.

Sam Adams Infinium Sam Adams Infinium

Sam Adams’ website shares a bit about this very special beer:

A groundbreaking brew, made with only the four traditional ingredients: malted barley, hops, water and yeast, Infinium™ is a crisp champagne-like beer with fine bubbles and a fruity, spicy aroma. The crisp clean malt character and delicate fruit notes in this beer are complemented by a slight citrus flavor from dry hopping with Bavarian Noble hops. Bottle conditioning adds another layer of complexity and light spice notes.

We really liked this beer. It definitely has a nice crispness to it and the feel of a festive-occasion drink. Hopefully Infinium will stick around for awhile!

It was a perfect Sunday meal and ended up being really quick because I used the chicken breasts. Which gave me time to watch Love Actually while relaxing in my comfy bed. I rarely just do nothing, and this was a nice way to spend an afternoon!

What is your favorite holiday movie? I love Love Actually and It’s a Wonderful Life for Christmas and The Worst Witch at Halloween. Smile

Tags: Bonny Doon Vineyards, brussels sprouts, cauliflower, chicken, cooking, cooking at home, date night, Food, garlic, gravy, recipe, Sam Adams Infinium, vegetables, Verjus

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