L'espalier - Worth the money?

Having run out of ideas for birthday surprises/gifts, I decided to treat P to dinner at L'espalier for his birthday. It's tucked away off Newbury street in a brownstone. I'm surprised I hadn't noticed it before!

We went with the Spring Degustation and wine pairing. A good choice for me since I can never make up my mind. The selection included 4 savory courses, a cheese course, sorbet and dessert. I thought that the price of the prix fixe at $95 was pretty reasonable with today's high food prices. The menu included lobster, lamb, and foie gras. We felt like the food would not stop coming ...

Sorry for the blurry image. Cars kept passing by...


This is the pate with muscat gelee. Then I got distracted with the food. :)


A jacket and tie is recommended for diners (though not compulsory). I thought the tie part was a bit stuffy so I got P to leave his tie at home :) I just feel bad for men having a tie around their throats while they chow down hehe.

Chomp Meter:
I would likely not go back. That said, I think this is a nice place for a special occasion and a good restaurant to try once. While the food is not the best I've had, it was a good solid meal, nice ambiance, impeccable service, so fair value for the price. Also the wine pairing was excellent.

I would also consider Wine Mondays ($60 for 4 course) or cheese Tuesdays ($68). The restaurant is also moving to the new Mandarin Oriental sometime this summer so visit the quaint Back Bay townhouse location before that happens!

L'Espalier
30 Gloucester Street
Boston, MA 02115
617 262 3023

Four Columns Inn - Newfane Vermont

See the Four Columns in on Chompster.com

We took a weekend trip out to Vermont to celebrate Pacman's birthday. It was somewhat depressing with the rain falling Friday through Sunday though we made the best of it by eating lots and touring Vermont by car. We've never had much luck with weather, afterall it did rain on our wedding day which was in the summer! What were the chances...

We had dinner at the Four Columns Inn one evening since we were staying there (pets allowed!). The resident chef, Chef Parks, is somewhat famous having won accolades including the James Beard Award. The restaurant was pretty quiet for a Friday night with only 3 other parties besides us, a nice change coming from Boston.

View from our table:


We started off with hor'dourves of shrimp and asparagus on brioche (complements of the kitchen). For appetizers we had oysters with a vinigrette dressing and seared hudson valley foie gras with grilled pears and crab apple sauce. The oysters were really fresh, almost tasteless, and was well complimented by the tart vinigrette.



The portion of foie gras was very generous and drizzled in olive oil. As an appetizer, it could have served at least 6. Initially, the taste was a little intense, especially when eaten alone, however it tasted much better when paired with the pear. By the end we were fighting for the final bites. Definitely a guilty pleasure.



For the main course, Pacman had the Black Angus Tenderloin while I had the Rack of Lamb. These were the highlight of the meal. The meats were amazingly tender and cooked just right. Huge portions too as you can see. They were accompanied by wild rice cooked in a mushroom sauce which I really enjoyed. The side veggies weren't too exciting. I was expecting more since the restaurant uses fresh vermont produce.





Finally we got to dessert. By this time we were stuffed but we had to push on. You see, dinner was included in our package ;) Pistachio tart with creme fraiche for me and chocolate torte with mango sauce for pacman. Both were good, sadly I wasn't able to fully enjoy since I hardly had any room left, even in my dessert stomach :D

Four Columns Inn
On the Green
Newfane, Vermont

Chomp Meter:
We'll be back if we're ever in Vermont for skiing. Prices are comparable to Boston, however, I have to emphasize that the portions were way more generous!