stuff@night - night | life

Best-kept secret: Michael Scelfo

by Ruth Tobias | September 24, 2007
From the erstwhile Tea Tray in the Sky and Dedo to North Street Grille, chef Michael Scelfo has been wandering through local kitchens for years now, cooking up a storm in the form of funky but not wacky, beefy but not bulky, Med-mottled American comforts...

Lightest Touch: Tom Fosnot

by Ruth Tobias | September 24, 2007
As most Americans know it, cucina italiana is pretty hearty stuff - meat-laden, sauce-doused, and piled high. But that ain't necessarily so in Italy itself - especially in resource-blessed regions like Liguria, where seafood and fresh herbs traditionally...

MVP, large parties division: Rendezvous in Central Square

by Ruth Tobias | September 24, 2007
A New American menu focused on local ingredients that doesn't pander to middlebrow tastes; adept bartending at a bar designed for dining; an airy space not too swanky for the neighborhood; a well-considered, affordable wine list; the irresistible...

Most underrated local seafood savants: The Portuguese, Azorean, and Brazilian restaurants of East Cambridge

by Ruth Tobias | September 24, 2007
You already know that Chinatown's live-tank Hong Kong joints offer the freshest seafood in town (one minute swimming, the next on your plate), but our Portuguese-speaking chefs do equally stunning work with fish, crustaceans, and bivalves. Bring your...

Best fusion cuisine: “Desi Chinese” menu at Grain and Salt

by Ruth Tobias | September 24, 2007
The British-born chef at Grain and Salt (431 Cambridge Street, Allston, 617.254.3373) creates Punjabi and Pakistani specialties that boast unusually subtle spicing. But the real surprise for Westerners is the Indian Chinese menu, catering to homesick...

Best bread: Matt Murphy’s; Union Bar and Grille

by Ruth Tobias | September 24, 2007
While Lifetime Achievement Awards are undoubtedly due to Sel de la Terre and Harvest for their rainbow assortments, the breads we can't currently get out of our heads - or into our bellies fast enough - come courtesy of Matt Murphy's (14 Harvard...

Coolest new watering hole: Vinoteca di Monica

by Ruth Tobias | September 24, 2007
Pardon the oxymoron, but the ostentatiously touristy North End isn't exactly known for the secrets it keeps. So it's a rare treat for residents when a nifty newcomer flies in under the radar - equipped with a full bar, no less. The recent makeover...

Savviest reinvention: Rialto

by Ruth Tobias | September 24, 2007
Thanks to Jody Adams's exuberant brand of cookery - a Mediterranean-influenced merger of the homey and the exotic - Rialto (Charles Hotel, One Bennett Street, Cambridge, 617.661.5050) has long been Cambridge's premier go-to. And yet, truth be...

Hopeful sign amid a tired trend: Locally-owned steakhouses

by Ruth Tobias | September 24, 2007
As frequent business-dinner hosts, we dread the deathly bore that is the luxury steakhouse, especially national chains. So we're grateful that three independents - Boston Public (234 Berkeley Street, Boston, 617.266.4680), Mooo .... (XV Beacon Hotel...

Funkiest Dessert: My Friend David’s Cheesecake Lollipop Tree at Flat Iron Tapas Bar & Lounge

by Ruth Tobias | September 24, 2007
Except for explaining who David is and why he'd be willing to share his goodies with us, the name says it all. Whimsical enough to stand on the banks of Willy Wonka's chocolate stream, the signature dessert at Flat Iron Tapas Bar & Lounge...

Nicest surprise: Garden at the Cellar

by Ruth Tobias | September 24, 2007
A man walks into a bar. Orders . . . a glass of Shiraz and a braised short rib with carrot purée? Okay, it's no punch line, but Garden at the Cellar (991 Mass Ave, Cambridge, 617.230.5880), a civilized little hideaway adjoining an old Harvard Square...

Most overlooked foodie destination: East Boston

by Ruth Tobias | September 24, 2007
Allston and Chinatown have their adherents as go-to neighborhoods for inexpensive, high-quality restaurants of every stripe. But in East Boston , adventurous chowhounds have uncovered a treasure trove of excellent, dirt-cheap Central American, South American...

Alice Waters award for dedication to the “slow food” movement: T.W. Food

by Ruth Tobias | September 24, 2007
T.W. Food (377 Walden Street, Cambridge, 617.864.4745), a "bistro luxe" in Huron Village, builds its wine list and menu around organic and sustainable-agriculture foods, favoring local producers. Don't be put off by the pretentious tone...

Best fine-dining value: Ten Tables

by Ruth Tobias | September 24, 2007
Jamaica Plain treasure Ten Tables (597 Centre Street, Jamaica Plain, 617.524.8810) serves up French-inspired refinement at true-bistro prices in a pretty little bandbox of a space, romantically spangled with lilies and votive candles. This being JP, vegetarians...

Most gracious host redux: José Duarte

by Ruth Tobias | September 24, 2007
When you consider the bad rap Bostonians get for their lack of social graces, the genuine goodwill so many of our hosts exhibit seems all the more admirable - only think of Pigalle's bubbly Kerri Foley, suave Christopher Myers of Radius, et al. ,...

Stuff@night dining awards 2007