Trillium is one of the best breweries in America.
Meeting finished today so I’m free until dinner. Meetings tomorrow but right now free for dinner Sunday.
PM sent.
I’m thinking Trillium/Smoke Shop lunch.
New Trillium tasting superstore is straight dope.
Glenn - don’t know if you got my private messages? If tonight doesn’t work, no worries. But if you want to get together please let me know w soon.
A quick update from our Boston trip. It ended up just being the wife and I for the weekend. I was in meetings all day Fri/Sat, which wasn’t a bad thing with a nasty Noreaster blowing through on Saturday. Friday night we had the tasting menu at Troquet. I tried to book O Ya, but it was fully booked six weeks in advance. Troquet was decent, but nothing more. It was strangely quiet for a Friday night. It had the feel of a place that had hit its peak some time ago. I was expecting more with the wine pairings. They simply brought us a number of wines that were on their by the glass menu.
Saturday at Craigie on Main was a different story. Great vibe, really good waitstaff, nice wine list and excellent food. As a Midwesterner in New England, I went heavy on the seafood: raw oysters, fried essex clams and butter poached dayboat cod (all were excellent). The waiter steered us towards a bottle of 2016 Jean-Philippe Fichet Auxey-Duresses, which was a great choice. The cheese plate was excellent and was paired with a glass of 2 user reviews
1989 Domaine du Viking Vouvray Cuvée Aurélie, which was wonderful. I would highly recommend Craigie on Main and hope to return on our next trip.
Unfortunately, you screwed up. 
Troquet isn’t a wine bar; they don’t even have an Enomatic system or a Coravin. The bottle list is what makes it special. ![[head-bang.gif]](/uploads/db3686/original/2X/b/b1cd199e4b2b2988b5107c3c9598fd28dc92a776.gif "[head-bang.gif]"){kind=small}
If I’m drinking by the glass in the bar, I do beers, since they have some world class beers. Although they do sell NV Krug by the glass ($40).
Sorry to hear you didn’t enjoy it Jan. Agree with Kevin, the by the bottle list is what makes the Troquet wine program special, by the glass is certainly better than average, but not as good.
Always Always Always when at Troquet ask if they have any last bottle or ‘scratch and dent’ deals off the list. Chris always has some random stuff hanging around, or maybe something from a new acquisition that just arrived.
I haven’t been in years now but from the start on Comm Ave the brilliance of a night at Troquet was always finding a great bottle at a decent price and the food being a palette for the wine(s).
Sad that a restaurant with a great bottle list doesn’t have a great wine pairing menu with the tasting menu. I guess I should have known that something was off, as they didn’t have the wine pairings listed with the tasting menu. The whole experience wasn’t great. This place has the feel of a restaurant that won’t be around long. One quarter full on a Friday night in October doesn’t bode well. I certainly won’t be back.
Care to place a bet on that?
Been there a few times when I drive up to visit. They are NOT disappearing. Not a chance.
I’m sure that you are correct, but I’ve never been to a highly rated restaurant so dead on a Friday night in good weather. The contrast between Troquet and Craigie on Main was absolutely striking. Can’t say enough good things about Craigie on Main - I’ll definitely be back.
Been to Craig On Main twice. Excellent.
Apples and oranges. Craigie is a nationally famous restaurant with a James Beard Award-Winning chef and would have a Michelin star if Michelin deigned to review Boston. The wine list can be interesting, but I usually order their cocktails, which are better. Troquet has good food, but the reason it is a drive-out-of-your-way restaurant is the best wine list in New England. I had so many great or at least facinating wines there this year over a dozen or so visits (not the least of which was a pristine bottle of 1982 Chateau Margaux for $150). They’ve even got the best happy hour in Boston. Wanted to go there last Saturday, but they were booked solid.
Back from a week in Boston. I lived there until 1997, and go back 3-6 times per year. Always stay at XV Beacon on the hill.
Food: Since I stay at XV Beacon, it is natural to have food there at the bar. They turn out excellent food, whether you want steak with all the fixings, or some wagyu dumplings, for something light. Still hate the name “Mooo,” which is the rename after they called it the Federalist. Oh well.
No.9 Park had always been a favorite for years, but had fallen from glory to my taste. A friend wanted to go there, so of course I said yes. Everything was way up to par…food, service, everything. I went for the homemade tagliatelle with the fresh white truffles shaved over at the table. Awesome. I asked for the waiter to bring me a glass of something to pair, and he opened a fresh bottle of something I think was not on the by-the-glass menu. Regionally correct and perfect for my dish. He poured a second glass on the house. I was not “working,” so I paid little attention to the bottle, just enjoyed what was in the glass.
Lunch at Cultivar, in the Ames Hotel. Gorgeous cod fish stew with potatoes and bacon. I had a glass of some champagne they had on their list.
Lunch at Toscano on Charles St. Always a must. Very inexpensive and always good. Dierdre still behind the bar and ready to please. I had the pasta Nocera (black truffled). Excellent.
Lunch at Post 390 - my friend’s choice. You can easily pass on that because of the food and the service. It was a grade of “D” at best.
Lunch at Carrie Nation. Forget it - do not step in the door. Any Boston restaurant that screws up fish and chips should be fired.
Dinner at Sorellina. Elegant, very good food, very pricey. Not up to previous visits. I was asked by my male companion to order the wine, and I did so. The waiter brought the bottle and a glass to taste from, and set it between us. My companion picked up the stem and declared it fine as my jaw hit the table. Both he and the restaurant are on double-probation.
No mention of deuxave?
I went there shortly after they opened. Been years. Omition is not a negaive - I jut had so many lunches and dinners to have. And I defer to my local hosts. Do not go to Carrie Nation. That was just awful.
I did a working dinner at Deuxave just over a year ago. They did really, really well. Wine list is carefully chosen, not inexpensive, but far from crazy pricing and it’s not in the low rent district. Food was excellent, as was service.
Dan Kravitz