Locke-Ober - A Boston Tradition

Every time Restaurant Week rolls around I always debate whether I am going to take advantage because, like a lot of people, I have had some good and some bad Restaurant Week experiences.  Recently, though, restaurants who cannot do the limited menu well have stopped participating.  Others, like the Butcher Shop,  I have done because you can actually make reservations when traditionally they don't take them.  The other strategy is to go for a more expensive place that we would not otherwise plan on going to, which was how this year we decided on on Locke-Ober.  While I had been there a number of years ago (back when Lydia Shire was involved), Nick hadn't, so it seemed like a good option.

Locke-Ober is tucked away off Winter Street in Downtown Crossing, a bit of a dodgy area but definitely getting cleaner.  Once you walk through the front doors, however, you feel like you have not only stepped into a different world but a different time.  While the jackets are not required for men anymore, the guests seem to respect the restaurant's history and dress accordingly.  With the amazing wood carvings and details that date back to the mid 1800's, he interior is really quite striking.

Inside Locke Ober

After taking the space all in, we looked over the cocktail and wine list.  Since the Ward 8 was just featured in Eater Boston's 15 Most Iconic Drinks, I knew I would be ordering it - it's a mixture of rye whiskey, lemon juice, lime juice and some grenadine all topped off with a maraschino cherry.  The drink was sweeter than I expected but still good and made me feel like I was enjoying a bit of history.

Dinner at Sorellina

OK, so this post will show how much of a back log I have been working through - there are worse things for a blogger, I guess!  This post is actually about my trip to Sorellina during Restaurant Week - yes I know Restaurant Week was in August, but these pictures got a bit lost on my camera.  I have a bit of a love/hate relationship with Restaurant Week.  Some places seem to be just "over it" and it comes across in the service and the food, so I am skeptical when making reservations during this time.  But it always seems like such a good deal that I have to try at least one place.  This time around our plan was to make a reservation at one of the higher-end places on our ever expanding restaurant list, which brought us to Sorellina.

Nick and I were a bit early for our reservation and while waiting for our table and Nick's sister, A, we grabbed a seat and a drink at the bar.  Seeing Prosecco by the glass on menu (Fantinel Prosecco Extra Brut, Friuli, Italy NV) I decided to indulge.  When our table was ready we walked over and looked over the menu.

Prosecco

Love the plates!

A ordered a drink that had rave reviews online: the White Pearl, which had pineapple juice, Malibu rum and ginger beer.  This drink did not disappoint and A loved every sip.

The Butcher Shop - Another great Barbara Lynch experiance

Last summer a friend gave us a gift card to The Butcher Shop, but hadn't had a chance to use it - the restaurant doesn't normally take reservations and we couldn't get ourselves to head down there randomly if there was a chance we'd have to stand around and wait.  Lucky for us they DO take reservations during Restaurant Week, so we went for it.  We could order off the regular menu, but if the special menu looked good, even better.

Walking in, I was surprised at how small the actual interior is.  There is a small bar with its own seating as well as higher tables along the perimeter.  In the back, however, is a large butcher block table where a big group or a bunch of different parties (about 10 people) can gather and have some wine and appetizers.  In the back of the restaurant in a large refrigerator where they store all of the antipasti meats and cheeses among other things.

They started us off with some good bread that came with a honey to spread on it that was AMAZING, to the point where I almost bought some when I found out it was for sale!  They also sprinkled sea salt on the butter, which I thought was a nice touch.

Bread and Butter

Market

After a previous failed attempt of going to Market by Jean-Georges (thanks, Christmas Blizzard!),  Restaurant Week seemed like a great opportunity to give it a go.  Knowing the menu on a normal night was relatively pricey, I thought this could be a nice way to see what Market is all about without having to pay an arm and a leg - basically, the whole idea behind restaurant week, right?

On this evening I walked over to the restaurant with Nick and his sister AL on what turned out to be a very cold night.  We were a bit early for our reservation but the host sat us straight away.  I was first struck by how much smaller the restaurant was then I imagined.  I thought it would be bigger given this size of the new W Hotel, but it ultimately made for a much more intimate experience.  The decor is very modern contemporary with clean lines, however, there is some warmth to the atmosphere, which I liked.

We were greeted by our server who also brought a tin of multi-grain and white bread for a little pre-meal snack.

The bread