Excelsior

WOW. I LOVE this place.

BF took me to Excelsior for my birthday and I can't wait to go back! We got an awesome bottle of wine: Turley Zinfandel from CA. Then we had a sampler of oysters - with three kinds of sauces to put on them - which were fantastic. I especially loved the ones from Duxbury. Then we had the Tuna Tartare - which I loved as well. The soy-lime dressing on it and wasabe was so tasty. Very complex mixing of flavors. And then bf had the duck, and I had the lobster dish which was so fabulous. Each thing got better and better. For dessert we just got the cheese plate with 3 cheeses, fruits, and bread/crackers. Also fantastic, and we were so full we took it home and enjoyed it the next day.

Service was fantastic, and I loved the cozy seat we got. All around it was a perfect birthday meal. I cannot WAIT to go back.

BF: hint hint - book reservations next week. ;)

Highland Kitchen in Somerville

I have been wanting to check this place out. We had been to the restaurant that was at this location previously and it had been horrible. So we figured this place had to be an improvement.

We decided to go out for an early dinner at 6:30 - much to our surprise the place was packed! There was already a 25 minute wait, so we sat at the bar to wait. The bartender was great. He made fantastic drinks (pretty inventive ones too) and was really nice. Some kind of lime blackberry drink - made with fresh muddled fruit made at the bar. I got a hot buttered rum - never had one before so I figured I would check it out - very tasty - wished I had gotten it for dessert instead though - because it was a perfect end to a meal, but since it was so cold out it was really warming.

After 35 minutes or so we decided to see what the holdup was about our seats. Turns out the hostess screwed up and sat other people or something. First she says to me: "oh I think I sat someone else instead of you guys, it will just be another 20 minutes"... um if you screwed up - say sorry and seat us right away - don't make us wait another 20 minutes!! So my bf was not happy with the answer I returned with - and he went up to her and she said "I thought you guys left so I sat other people". Um no we sat right at the bar in front of her - and she never called our name, and what's up with the totally different story!!?? So bf says we never left, we sat right here in front of you, you've seated people that came in after us, and you never called out name I've been listening. She is like fine after this party I will seat you - so she sat another party of 2, then sat us. Not sure what went wrong there, but they found us a seat fairly quickly after that, but WTF the hostess should have just said sorry and sat us next in the first place. We almost left and didn't get to enjoy the food.

Our waitress was very nice and the food was solid. The beef short ribs and mashed potatoes were tasty. The cheeseburger was also good and the fries were super tasty. As we ate there the place only got busier. I would definitely eat here again - I just hope we don't have to wait so long for a seat next time. HUGE HUGE improvement over the previous restaurant at this location. Great local place.

New Fancy Restaurant in Burlington?

The guys that own Arrows in Maine (voted one of the top 50 restaurants in the US) opened a new place in the Burlington Marriott: Summer Winter.

In the Burlington Marriott? Who knew? Guess I will have to check it out. They will also be added to Open Table soon for reservations.

Boston.com says "With an emphasis on seasonal and local fare (some produce is grown in the on-site greenhouse), this is exactly the kind of elevated comfort food - roasted chicken with lemon and garlic; grilled tuna with pink-peppercorn butter; devil's-food cake - that diners dream of, especially those far from home."

Their first wine dinner is scheduled for Tuesday February. 5, 2008