Flat Iron Tapas, Neptune, and Monica's
I met a girlfriend last week to check out Flat Iron Tapas Bar at the Bulfinch Hotel - thanks 'Hounds for this recommendation - we had a great time. We met early after work. Suprisingly, the small bar was full. Specials that day included oysters, the cinnamon sea bass Kate mentioned in an earlier thread, and two types of sliders - short rib, and pork belly. We opted for the sea bass, tuna tartare with tapioca pearls, a charcuterie plate (nice selection - manchego cheese with membrillo, three types of Spanish sausage - chorizo, sobrasada, and salchichon, and olives), and braised pork belly with lentils. Loved it all, though have to agree with Kate that, though delicious and one of our favorites of the night, at $12.00, the sea bass was definitely a small tapas portion. And wow the cocktails - they were excellent. Highlights for me included the gingery Crushed Elderflower (gin and sake), the Ruby Tuesday (rye and black cherry puree), and the fantastic "Hot Cucumber" mentioned in Ruth Tobias' article in Stuff@Night (link below) - a delicious cocktail made with cucumber juice and Hendricks, and garnished with sliced cucumber and and a sprinkling of cayenne. Also have to point out Victor as making one of the best moijtos I've ever had in Boston. Not only does he take pride in perfecting his native Cuban cocktail, but he enjoys making them and actually uses real cane sugar (with plans in the future to serve them with the classic stick of sugar cane). Really excellent service - even with just three - Victor, Tyler the manager, and a sweet waitress - handling the bar and serving a packed room by the time we left a couple of hours later.
Ahhh Neptune - how I love thee (in fact, heading over there in a few minutes to treat dad to some fried clams!). Made plans to meet Tatamagouche for a leisurely late lunch at Neptune on a Friday afternoon. I finally was able to try the fried oysters with pickled beef tongue, gruyere, and Russian dressing that I've heard so much. Not only did it live up to its accolades, but exceeded them - this was so delicious, like a fantastic variation of a Reuben. We also shared three types of oysters (Kumamoto, Ninigret, and Wellfleet), the "langoustine cabeza fritter" (just the crispy fried head served with date paste, and "arborio crackle treat, garlic bulbs, oregano"), and the baby back ribs with warm robiola. All this was accompanied by a lovely rose champagne. Neither one of us wanting to call it a day, we decided to wander over to the renovated Monica's where Hoytoynoodle had mentioned Rita d'Angelo is now managing. What a nice re-do, including a comfortable bar area on a sunny afternoon. As always, Rita was her usual gracious and welcoming self, and it was nice to see her. Tatamagouche and I spent another couple of enjoyable hours spending a sunny afternoon at Monicas's with excellent service at the bar, where E met us later. The wise one called it a day. E and I ended up having dinner ; ) Great food - he enjoyed his carbonara, and I loved my dish - a special of clams and pasta. Perfect al dente pasta and fresh seafood in a flavorful tomato sauce. We will definitely be returning.
(BTW, though I'd list the daily specials for Neptune as of last week):
Monday - Lobster Spaghettini
Tuesday - Fried Chicken
Wednesday - Soft shell crab
Thursday - Sardines
Friday - Bluefish
Saturday - Tuna Steak
Sunday - Eel
Cocktail article:
http://stuffatnight.com/columns/liquid/41059/default.aspx
Flat Iron Tapas
http://www.bulfinchhotel.com/flat-iro...
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Vinoteca di Monica
143 Richmond St, Boston, MA 02109, USA -
Neptune Oyster
63 Salem St, Boston, MA 02113, USA
Rubee
Jul 07, 2007 01:06PM
Responding to my own post ; )
We had a great time at Neptune yesterday - dad LOVED it and has already decided to bring my mom. Everything was a winner. In addition to oysters, E ordered the Neptune Burger, and my dad and I the fried clams (which dad described as "perfect" and "it doesn't get better than this"), roasted celery salad (with chorizo, salami, roasted peppers, and warm ricotta), smoked salmon mousse with salmon caviar and baby mustard greens, and, again, I had to have the fried oysters with beef tongue. Excellent meal as always.
Small CH world too, ran into A l i c e a couple of doors down at Shake the Tree, so that was a nice surprise!
I noticed the newly renovated Monica's is actually called "Vinoteca di Monica". I can't find a current website, however. The new bar area I like used to be the salon next door, which, in turn, has moved into the old jewelry shop next to Mare.
And finally, drove by the restaurant that has replaced Sage. It's called "Trattoria di Monica".
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Trattoria di Monica is next to the old Sage. Did they expand into the Sage space?
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Hmmm. Maybe I'm wrong ......
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There are 2 Monica's, the restaurant (now the Vinoteca), near Mare, and the Trattoria, near the former Sage.
With all that wonderful food at Neptune, we also had a very nice sparkling rose, but I don't remember the label...Also, at Monica's, the bread came with a very good bean dip that I couldn't get enough of...
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The sparkling rose was a ciliegiolo, I think. I forgot about that bean dip - that was good!
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I tried the fried oysters with tongue for the first time just last week myself. Fantastic, but readers should be warned: it is very rich!
Which reminds me: several well respected food weirdos think that Neptune would be enhanced by adding a simple green salad to the menu. Do they have one, and we just can't find it? Some of the richer offerings cry out for something green.
Finally, is "vinoteca" an actual word, or did Monica make that up?
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Last summer, when I perused the salad list, I noticed that the salads were all busy and heavy. I asked the waitress if the kitchen could make a plain green salad. The answer, last summer, was an unequivocal "no."
I agree that a plain and simple salad would enhance their menu.
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As far as I know, "enoteca" covers it. I see the word multiple times online, but I don't think it's Italian.
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