bostonzest

Tag: regular menu

  • Thanksgiving 2014 Dining Out in Boston

    UPDATE: Reserve Now for Thanksgiving 2015 Dining Out in Boston 

    It's time to make Thanksgiving dinner reservations, especially if you want to enjoy your holiday meal at one of the Boston area's great restaurants on Thursday, November 27, 2014.

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    Most places have special menus and sometimes set seatings for major holidays. Many will require a deposit or credit card number to place a reservation. 

    We publish these holiday reservation reminders early so that our readers can get a head start and grab a reservation at a worthy spot. We'll keep adding updates as more places announce their intention to open and menus.

    Which Boston Area Restaurants Are Open on Thanksgiving?

    Hotel restaurants are normally open on all holidays. In Boston, this means some excellent choices including:

    Master Lists of Boston Restaurants Open for Thanksgiving.

    The reservation site Open Table is maintaining a list of restaurants with Thanksgiving menus. Listings include a price and information on offerings beyond traditional holiday fare. Remember, there are many more restaurants open that day. Put a time and number of guests into the system to see exactly what is available.

    Here are a few that we can recommend from the long Open Table list.

    • La Voile on Newbury Street always plans a special meal for the neighbors who love this small French charmer.
    • Bistro du Midi always serves a wonderful meal. And, if you want lighter fare, their Café will be open at 11 a.m.

    Open Table even includes some places outside the city if you're meeting up with family and friends who live in the suburbs. And, they can help you find a place to enjoy the holiday meal if you'll be away for the long weekend.

    Bostonchefs.com has some information on its members' offerings. For example, here are a few options we'd consider if we were looking for a great menu:

    • Eastern Standard in Kenmore Square will be open all day starting with breakfast and will serve Thanksgiving dinner from 1-8 p.m.
    • L'Espalier in the Back Bay will showcase the harvest from Chef McClelland's Apple Street Farm and will offer a three course prix fixe menu or, for a special holiday treat, a degustation menu.
    • Harvest in Harvard Square, Cambridge
    • Top of the Hub at the Prudential Center in the Back Bay comes with a view!
    • One recommendation for a lower cost option with good food would be Petit Robert in Boston.

    Interesting Twist!

    Fairsted Kitchen is offering a pre-ordered, family style Thanksgiving dinner that is in keeping with their shared big plate menu. It seems like a good deal for a family or a bunch of friends who want to share a holiday meal.

    A Few Places with Their Regular Menus Available

    Many restaurants in Boston's Chinatown will be open. You can check with the Twitter account @bostonchinatown for more details.

    Some chains restaurants will also offer their regular menus.

    Davio's in Boston and Chestnut Hill 

    Capital Grille Boston, Chestnut Hill, and Burlington

    We'll post updates in this space as other Boston resources post their lists and choices.

     Do you have an Amazon Gift Certificate to use? Remember to click over to Amazon from here to support this site!

    Details:

    Words: Penny & Ed Cherubino
    Photography:  istockphoto.com

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  • We’ll Pass on Restaurant Week, But We’ll Share 5 Tips…

    We know that Restaurant Week (RW) has it's fans, but it's not the type of event that appeals to us. We're grazers! We often have a couple of appetizers or share an entree. We like to sit at the bar and nibble our way through a meal. We seldon eat three courses. What's more, most of our favorite restaurants don't take part in the event. 

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    Since we don't have recent Restaurant Week experience, we can't comment on the service or the overall quality of the offerings. But, we can link you to conversations over on the Boston Chowhound Board about last year's event and we'll add new links as they pop up this year. 

    Restaurant Week Boston, Winter 2012 reports?

    Here are a few tips that might increase your enjoyment of Restaurant Week. 

    1. Check the menus carefully. Is there something on that special menu that is on the chef's regular menu or that this restaurant will do very well. Skip the places with the chicken, short ribs, and salmon specials.
    2. A few places offer their full menu. Here's a Chowhound report on that from LAST year. Things change but you can check the menu on the RW site or call ahead for confirmation.
    3. Support and enjoy the places that are not taking part. Again, here is a Chowhound list from LAST year that you can check against the official RW list. 
    4. Pick a chef-driven place that takes pride in its food every day of the year over a chain experience. Support small and local.
    5. Tip your server as if you paid full price for 3-courses at this restaurant. This is a very hard week on servers. They didn't decide to run the promotion but they take the brunt of the problems from the event and work harder for less money. Since you're saving money, share a bit of it with your server. 

    Give us your Restaurant Week thoughts and experiences in the comments below or send us an email and we'll add your ideas when we do updates. 

    Updates:

    (03/19/13) From www.welovebeantown.com : Boston Restaurant Week 2013 – Staff Picks!

    (03/19/13) Here's Rendezvous in Central Square's answer to RW. A much better deal!

    (03/24/13) Over on BostInno, Lisa Decano has reported on 7 Unofficial Menus for Boston Restaurant Week

     

    Do you have an Amazon Gift Certificate to use? Or, do you need to buy one for a gift? Remember to click over to Amazon from here to support this site!

     Details:

    Words: Penny & Ed Cherubino
    Photography: istockphoto.com  

    Note on Comments: We monitor comments constantly and anything that is pure spam, inappropriate, or nasty is swept away. In addition to readers' comments, we welcome hearing from the people, places, and services we cover. Often, those add great insights for our readers. As long as it doesn’t become a pure ad, we’d love to hear from you. We do reserve the right to edit ads and links out of comments.

    Related articles
    Guest Commentary: The real winner of Denver's Restaurant Week
    High Back Booths or Irish Snugs, a Solution to the Noise Problem?
    Where Are These Grazers? Play Attention to Detail
    Your 17 Best Bets for Boston Restaurant Week

  • We’ll Pass on Restaurant Week, But We’ll Share 5 Tips…

    We know that Restaurant Week (RW) has it's fans, but it's not the type of event that appeals to us. We're grazers! We often have a couple of appetizers or share an entree. We like to sit at the bar and nibble our way through a meal. We seldon eat three courses. What's more, most of our favorite restaurants don't take part in the event. 

    IStock_000010580026XSmall

    Since we don't have recent Restaurant Week experience, we can't comment on the service or the overall quality of the offerings. But, we can link you to conversations over on the Boston Chowhound Board about last year's event and we'll add new links as they pop up this year. 

    Restaurant Week Boston, Winter 2012 reports?

    Here are a few tips that might increase your enjoyment of Restaurant Week. 

    1. Check the menus carefully. Is there something on that special menu that is on the chef's regular menu or that this restaurant will do very well. Skip the places with the chicken, short ribs, and salmon specials.
    2. A few places offer their full menu. Here's a Chowhound report on that from LAST year. Things change but you can check the menu on the RW site or call ahead for confirmation.
    3. Support and enjoy the places that are not taking part. Again, here is a Chowhound list from LAST year that you can check against the official RW list. 
    4. Pick a chef-driven place that takes pride in its food every day of the year over a chain experience. Support small and local.
    5. Tip your server as if you paid full price for 3-courses at this restaurant. This is a very hard week on servers. They didn't decide to run the promotion but they take the brunt of the problems from the event and work harder for less money. Since you're saving money, share a bit of it with your server. 

    Give us your Restaurant Week thoughts and experiences in the comments below or send us an email and we'll add your ideas when we do updates. 

    Updates:

    (03/19/13) From www.welovebeantown.com : Boston Restaurant Week 2013 – Staff Picks!

    (03/19/13) Here's Rendezvous in Central Square's answer to RW. A much better deal!

    (03/24/13) Over on BostInno, Lisa Decano has reported on 7 Unofficial Menus for Boston Restaurant Week

     

    Do you have an Amazon Gift Certificate to use? Or, do you need to buy one for a gift? Remember to click over to Amazon from here to support this site!

     Details:

    Words: Penny & Ed Cherubino
    Photography: istockphoto.com  

    Note on Comments: We monitor comments constantly and anything that is pure spam, inappropriate, or nasty is swept away. In addition to readers' comments, we welcome hearing from the people, places, and services we cover. Often, those add great insights for our readers. As long as it doesn’t become a pure ad, we’d love to hear from you. We do reserve the right to edit ads and links out of comments.

    Related articles
    Guest Commentary: The real winner of Denver's Restaurant Week
    High Back Booths or Irish Snugs, a Solution to the Noise Problem?
    Where Are These Grazers? Play Attention to Detail
    Your 17 Best Bets for Boston Restaurant Week

  • We’ll Pass on Restaurant Week, But We’ll Share 5 Tips…

    We know that Restaurant Week (RW) has it's fans, but it's not the type of event that appeals to us. We're grazers! We often have a couple of appetizers or share an entree. We like to sit at the bar and nibble our way through a meal. We seldon eat three courses. What's more, most of our favorite restaurants don't take part in the event. 

    IStock_000010580026XSmall

    Since we don't have recent Restaurant Week experience, we can't comment on the service or the overall quality of the offerings. But, we can link you to conversations over on the Boston Chowhound Board about last year's event and we'll add new links as they pop up this year. 

    Restaurant Week Boston, Winter 2012 reports?

    Here are a few tips that might increase your enjoyment of Restaurant Week. 

    1. Check the menus carefully. Is there something on that special menu that is on the chef's regular menu or that this restaurant will do very well. Skip the places with the chicken, short ribs, and salmon specials.
    2. A few places offer their full menu. Here's a Chowhound report on that from LAST year. Things change but you can check the menu on the RW site or call ahead for confirmation.
    3. Support and enjoy the places that are not taking part. Again, here is a Chowhound list from LAST year that you can check against the official RW list. 
    4. Pick a chef-driven place that takes pride in its food every day of the year over a chain experience. Support small and local.
    5. Tip your server as if you paid full price for 3-courses at this restaurant. This is a very hard week on servers. They didn't decide to run the promotion but they take the brunt of the problems from the event and work harder for less money. Since you're saving money, share a bit of it with your server. 

    Give us your Restaurant Week thoughts and experiences in the comments below or send us an email and we'll add your ideas when we do updates. 

    Updates:

    (03/19/13) From www.welovebeantown.com : Boston Restaurant Week 2013 – Staff Picks!

    (03/19/13) Here's Rendezvous in Central Square's answer to RW. A much better deal!

    (03/24/13) Over on BostInno, Lisa Decano has reported on 7 Unofficial Menus for Boston Restaurant Week

     

    Do you have an Amazon Gift Certificate to use? Or, do you need to buy one for a gift? Remember to click over to Amazon from here to support this site!

     Details:

    Words: Penny & Ed Cherubino
    Photography: istockphoto.com  

    Note on Comments: We monitor comments constantly and anything that is pure spam, inappropriate, or nasty is swept away. In addition to readers' comments, we welcome hearing from the people, places, and services we cover. Often, those add great insights for our readers. As long as it doesn’t become a pure ad, we’d love to hear from you. We do reserve the right to edit ads and links out of comments.

    Related articles
    Guest Commentary: The real winner of Denver's Restaurant Week
    High Back Booths or Irish Snugs, a Solution to the Noise Problem?
    Where Are These Grazers? Play Attention to Detail
    Your 17 Best Bets for Boston Restaurant Week