1974 posts 1/29/2011 5:27 pm
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15 Romantic & Fun Boston-Area Restaurants
Valetine's Day is fast approaching...
Now is the time to make your plans for a night with that special someone. To assist you, I offer 15 places I personally love - presented in no particular order. Call or e-mail now for reservations! I'm sure prime dining times are already booked in some of these places. Bon appetit!
 
Passion please note: I am not a paid endorser for the any of these establishments, nor affiliated with them in any way. I am merely passing along suggestions to friends in the Greater Boston area seeking a romantic dining experience.
 
1. Sushi/Japanese
Osushi is the area’s hippest sushi bar, flooded by scenesters. The sleek décor of rouge walls, lusty candle lighting, and a second story view of a busy part of the city, set the mood for fine chopstick dining. Miso soup and a sesame dressed salad come with each combination meal.
Be sure to try:
The pear-infused sake martini, a very sexy way to accent your meal at this ultra trendy restaurant.
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2. Indian
Masala Art claims to have the nation’s only spice bar, where customers get an interactive Indian meal. The chef explains the art of blending spices over a multi-course feast. It’s all cooked right before your eyes on an authentic Indian pan that looks like a flattened wok. The dining room is trendy and stylish. If you can’t get a stool at the spice bar, the blue-lit cocktail bar is a fun place to spend the night, too.
Be sure to try:
Their spice bar experience, and also their Saturday and Sunday lunch buffet, which features South Indian vegetarian crepes and live Chana Bhathura – classical Indian music.
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3. Ethiopian
Addis Red Sea is a transporting Ethiopian experience. Adventurous customers eat with their hands on squat stools around a tiny woven basket table. Entrees are served on, and then are scooped up with thin, spongy, slightly sour flatbread called injera.
Be sure to try:
A grand finale of Harrar coffee is the way to go, since Ethiopia is the motherland of the original bean yielding plant. The dark, smooth brew is deliciously aggressive, infused with cardamom.
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4. Peruvian
Machu Picchu’s menu is made up of several traditional recipes that have been preserved from generation to generation, using authentic ingredients. This tiny but charming restaurant offers great ambiance for a date, lots of traditional art on the walls, and a friendly but polite staff.
Be sure to try:
Yuquitas a la Huancina, fried yucca with a creamy sauce made with chili peppers and garlic, as well as Chicharrones, crispy fried pork served with marinated yam and sarsa criolla (onion relish).
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5. Cabo Verde (Cape Verdean) / Portuguese
Restaurante Cesaria is named for arguably the most famous artist from the islands – the lovely and soulful Cesaria Evora. (As an aside, please check out her music, it’s intoxicating). Cape Verdean cuisine is a hybrid of Portuguese and West African cookery. Take your lover to this yellow-walled, island-paced eatery, and imagine you’re on the far off Cabo Verde Islands. And, if this is a concern of yours, please know that Cabo Verde cuisine is not spicy in the slightest. Another bonus is that this particular listing on my directory is incredibly reasonably priced.
Be sure to try:
The garlicky grilled octopus, the deep-fried sherry-infused quail, the egg-topped katchupada refugada, crammed with pork and linguiça, beans and kale, or the goat and potato stew known as cabritada.
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6. Russian
St. Petersburg Café serves Russian cuisine in an intimate dining room lit by chandeliers. The servers are always formally dressed in tuxedos, and the atmosphere is rather turn-of-the-century. Caviar and ice cold shots of vodka are available.
Be sure to try:
The Buckwheat Blini with smoked salmon and sour cream, and the Boneless Duck Breast, prepared with barberries and black current sauce.
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7. International Fusion Cuisine “New American”
Bond, in the luxury Langham Hotel in the former Federal Reserve Bank of Boston, is housed in an exquisite space with gold leaf ceilings, crystal chandeliers, and live piano music. Marble structures and magnificent floral arrangements frame the romantic room like a Roman palace.
Be sure to try:
Exotic Mushroom and Parmesan Arancini Fontina Fonduta or the slow cooked beef short ribs, prepared with a blue cheese and chive polenta. Also don't miss the very interesting as well as sensual Vietnamese Chocolate and Coffee Tart with Condensed Milk Chantilly Van Gogh Double Espresso Vodka.
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8. Italian
Fiore Ristorante is located in the heart of Boston’s famous North End Italian neighborhood, boasts two exceptional dining areas for warm nights: a roof-top terrace and a patio in the rear with potted plants and a peaceful atmosphere. This puts them immediately a step ahead of most of their nearby competition. They offer an outstanding and diverse wine list.
Be sure to try:
Insalata Mista a blend of Boston lettuce, radicchio, endive, sweet onions, tomatoes, oranges and fresh strawberries, tossed with white balsamic vinegar and extra virgin olive oil and house-made Tagliatelle pasta tossed with sautéed house-cured bacon, onions, white wine and fresh tomato sauce.
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9. Mexican/Cajun
Border Café is a noisy, fun-filled, party atmosphere joint with a full bar. They offer a menu of both Tex-Mex and Cajun cuisine, and a free starter of fresh salsa and house-made fresh chips. The vibe is South-of-the-Border retro chic, and they play music by artists such as Hank Williams Sr. and Patsy Cline. The décor is a mixture of murals, aluminum punched and painted signs advertising tequila, piñatas, and similar kitsch.
Be sure to try:
The crayfish etouffee, served with fresh cornbread, and the Catfish Creole, both prepared with a bit of a spicy kick.
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10. French/Cambodian
The Elephant Walk offers an adventurous cuisine prepared with love in a family-owned establishment. The South Pacific surroundings add to the funky atmosphere, while the moderately spiced French-Cambodian menu offers diners a choice between solid traditional offers from either cuisine, as well as some fusion dishes. Even more special, are a wide array of gluten-free items, not to mention choices that are both vegan and vegetarian. They also have an outstanding wine list.
The Elephant Walk offers a unique date idea – why not try one of their cooking classes? As well, The Elephant Walk hosts and sponsors a number of local charities, and even donates a percentage of their earnings from their Waltham restaurant each month to a different organization.
Be sure to try:
Amok Royale, a spicy custard-like seafood mix prepared and served in a banana leaf cup.
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11. French - Provencal
Mistral, located in Boston's stylish South End, showcases uncomplicated French Provencal cuisine, highlighted with the season's finest ingredients. Every bite goes down in a soaring space that’s reminiscent of a farmhouse, but made over with city style. Terra cotta floors and mini cypress trees add a dramatic edge.
Be sure to try:
Their thin crust pizza appetizer served with smoky chili oil is grilled-to-order. Another great appetizer are their classic escargot served Burgundy style with a red wine and garlic butter on grilled semolina toast. For dessert, their profiteroles are out of this world, stuffed full of vanilla ice cream and served with a dark chocolate sauce and a pistachio croquant.
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12. Persian (Iranian)
The romantic Lala Rokh ,in Beacon Hill, seduces its diners with cozy rooms and exotic Persian cuisine. Dishes are woven together with seasonings like fenugreek, rose petals, and pomegranate, plus other exotic herbs, spices, fruits, and nuts. The walls are decorated with 16th and 17th century original works of art, photos, sketches, and antique maps.
Be sure to try:
Morgh Pollo, saffron-seared chicken in a light tomato broth with basmati rice, perfumed with cumin, cinnamon, and rose petals, topped with barberries, and their roasted eggplant appetizer layered with earthy lentils, intensely sweet caramelized onions, goat’s milk yogurt, and a touch of mint oil.
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13. Moroccan
Tangierino is a lavish date place with exotic North African flavor. They consistently are awarded “Best Date Restaurant/Most Romantic/Best Place to Get Engaged” by local reviewers. The Moroccan menu favors olive oil, grains, and fruit, which result in sweet-savory dishes. The entire menu is amazingly sensual, especially when you pair this with the experience of beautiful belly dancers, who make their way around the velvet seats and their adjoining hookah lounge.
Be sure to try:
The chicken b’stila - flaky, phyllo pies stuffed with almonds and cinnamon spiced meat, served with mint yogurt or the Tagine of Lemony Chicken – a crispy half chicken, prepared with preserved lemon and olives cooked in a traditional clay tagine. Traditional Moroccan mint tea is a perfectly sweet way to finish the meal.
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14. Tapas/Spanish
The menu at Taberna de Haro is an ample collection (over 50 dishes) of favorites from all over Spain. A taberna is the Spanish equivalent of a French bistro, and this intimate spot always has a group waiting to get in for the tapas. Yellow walls, traditional brick oven, and Spanish art add to the inviting atmosphere.
Be sure to try:
Their collection of intense dishes includes the out-of-this-world cod and garlic puree with roasted red peppers over slices of fresh baked bread, the dessert Trufas Porreras (Homemade dark chocolate truffles garnished with EVOO, cocoa and Spanish sea salt), and Conejo guisado (rabbit braised with marcona almonds & manzanilla olives)
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15. Classy Comfort Foods
Union Bar and Grille turns out urban comfort food for the stylish soul. The menu is refreshingly non-ethnic, yet on the forefront of creativity. The gothic-meets-urban scene combines massive wrought iron chandeliers and black leather banquettes, and the dark lounge is framed in floor-to-ceiling glass and slanted mirrors.
Be sure to try:
The 10k Tuna is prepared with a coriander crust and candied red peppers. Almost every one of their obscenely delicious desserts are capped with house-made ice cream in flavors like marcona almond, ginger, or blood orange.
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Shown: Interior of "Tangierino" Restaurant
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4396 posts 2/12/2011 1:00 pm |
Quoting PuroAmor78:
I really like that succinct list. Very helpful. I am new to the area and every weekend I want to try something different and I find that there are lost of options. Anyways, thank you again.
Bon appetit!
Welcome to the area! ---- and --- welcome to my blog!
MT
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16 posts 2/12/2011 8:10 am |
I really like that succinct list. Very helpful. I am new to the area and every weekend I want to try something different and I find that there are lost of options. Anyways, thank you again.
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4396 posts 2/10/2011 4:16 pm |
Quoting sonic_n_sideshow:
What a GREAT list. Thank you - so comprehensive. I hope to someday see Boston. Now if given the chance, I will have sustenance on my travels! 
I really hope you'll be able to notify me. I'd love to hang out!
XOXO
MT
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15101 posts 2/9/2011 8:45 pm |
What a GREAT list. Thank you - so comprehensive. I hope to someday see Boston. Now if given the chance, I will have sustenance on my travels!
I am a celebration of willful chaos and a hugger.
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4396 posts 2/7/2011 7:56 pm |
Quoting templar_s:
Such attention to detail, even when talking about food..I heart you, man!
hahaha I sound like I'm your bro now!
*But I do make an outstandingly amazing 'wing man.'
XOXO
MT
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4396 posts 2/4/2011 7:58 pm |
May we have the salted caramel sauce for dessert?
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4396 posts 2/1/2011 3:47 pm |
Quoting wildnwanton:
Indian and Italian...I could live on nothing more.
I have to have Varietyyyyyyyyyyyyyyy
xoxo
thanks for poppin' by!
"Love to talk sometime"
MT
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19428 posts 2/1/2011 6:53 am |
Indian and Italian...I could live on nothing more.
"Shall I tell you the secret of the true scholar? It is this: every man I meet is my master in some point, and in that I learn of him." ~Ralph Waldo Emerson  
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3888 posts 1/30/2011 7:58 pm |
Mistral sounds great, and since I'm a meat and potatoes/rice of guy, I'd also enjoy Union Bar And Grille, plus their desserts sound good. Marcona almond ice cream? Yum!
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4396 posts 1/30/2011 2:38 pm |
I am not sure I understand. You are suggesting I write myself a poem? I write a poem for you? I write a poem in honor of the day?
It...doesn't work like that for me. I wish it did.
But, to be sure:
MT
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4396 posts 1/30/2011 2:34 pm |
Quoting templar_s:
Such attention to detail, even when talking about food..I heart you, man!
It is a sensual pleasure, after all.
I heart you too
Thanks for visiting...would any of these appeal to you if you were in the area?
MT
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3888 posts 1/30/2011 11:59 am |
Such attention to detail, even when talking about food..I heart you, man!
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4396 posts 1/30/2011 9:04 am |
Quoting FATbanger69:
How bout we just sit at home!!! and you make me sum sandwiches????
I'll give you anal!!!
You should have come to Boston for the MollyBoston/ LadyUnlaced/ SmartGirl/ MT/ dude/ dude tapas night. You could have been dude #3. Note I say "dude" "dude" because I know you would totally have your focus on the chicks.
MT
P.S. I can make great sandwiches, but I'm sure as hell not going to on Valentine's Day. Blah.
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1/30/2011 8:48 am
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How bout we just sit at home!!! and you make me sum sandwiches????
I'll give you anal!!!
Dice has felt the need to improve your boring blog!!!!!!
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4396 posts 1/29/2011 7:13 pm |
An after dinner treat? My choice would be a king-sized bed by a roaring fire, with a bottle of sparkling wine or champagne. High thread-count sheets. An assortment of oils, lubes, flavored or studded condoms. A hot tub or jacuzzi in suite. Late check-out. The whole weekend with my date.
(I'm high maintenance, I guess)
Would this work for you in your situation? Perhaps?
MT
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4396 posts 1/29/2011 6:40 pm |
Quoting aspiringbo:
Fun to read your tastes through your recommendations. You've a worldly tongue! Which sounds a bit strange, but I mean genuinely. 
Thanks. Yeah I have a few more I will probably add: Malaysian, Thai, seafood, and brunch come to mind.
I realize too that this is a site-specific post in a way, but now that you say so, it's also a bit of a 'get to know MT' post too.
(But, it is not intended to represent my pleas for a date on Feb. 14th or thereabouts. No no. )
MT
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791 posts 1/29/2011 6:02 pm |
Fun to read your tastes through your recommendations. You've a worldly tongue! Which sounds a bit strange, but I mean genuinely.
"The greatest worth is self-mastery
..quality is seeking to serve others
..precept is continual awareness
..medicine is the emptiness of all
..action is not conforming with the world
..magic is transmuting passions
..wisdom is seeing deeply"
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