Too much work has kept the Rab in Toronto for most of the winter, but I’m happy to be back in New England for a short vacay, and extra-happy to be weekend-ing at the Taj (formerly the Ritz) in Boston.

After a tough day of shopping, cocktailing and napping, we wanted a cozy, relaxing spot for dinner and ended up at Bin 26 in Beacon Hill.

This is small wine bar and resto, which still manages to feel intimate despite its busy buzz. We had a 9:00 reservation, and were promptly seated at a nice table-for-two. First-time visitors to Bin 26 should be warned that there is a large communal table in the main room. It’s squishy, and I think we would have been significantly less happy with our experience at Bin 26 had we been seated at this table.

The wine list here is extensive, but also very reasonable. They offer 100, 250, and 500 ml pours in addition to bottles, which is great for maximum sampling opportunities. We worked our way through five wines that evening, the favourite being a Spanish tempranillo, although we tried a Barbera that was also very interesting and Mr. Rabbit had a nice muscadet with his main.

The starters here are lovely. They have a great a la carte approach to cheese and charcuterie, so we started with some grana padano, generous chunks of this hard Italian cheese were served with a reduced balsamic, syrup-y and delicious. We also sampled some wild boar salami and two types of pate — rabbit and chicken liver (with a fantastic, jammy date and walnut puree).

Bin 26 fell down a bit on the mains. Everything was fine (even fine verging on good), but because we’re spoiled brats who eat at too many restaurants we wanted a wow! My lamb shank was hearty and tender, and I liked the bean medley that came with, but the beans became rather monochromatic after some eating and I left quite a bit of my plate unfinished (granted it was a generous portion). Mr. Rabbit’s dinner was also a hefty serving — a whole grilled sea bass served with some beans and a tomato-y sauce. Again, this dish was fine/good but there were no fireworks.

Dessert was solidly mediocre. Threeramisu (inanely named) presents tiramisu three ways (duh). The scoop of ice cream was probably the best of the lot, the shooter was OK, and the slice of tiramisu itself again OK (sorry for the lack of descriptive words, but the dessert really was just OK). Boston has so many superlative Italian bakeries that there’s no room for mediocre tiramisu in this town. I’d try the chocolate cake, if I had a do-over.

However, there probably will not be a dinner do-over at Bin 26. While Mr. Rabbit and I would stop in anytime for wine and snackies, there are too many other options in Boston (and even within stumbling distance from Bin 26) for us to repeat full dinner at this resto. It’s a great spot and I’m glad we found this place, but I would limit its use in future.

www.bin26.com

Postscript on the Taj — The bar at the Taj is one of my favourite bars in Boston (perhaps on the planet). Slightly reminiscent of the Library Bar at the Royal York (Toronto), it’s dark with lots of wood, pictures of hunting dogs and dead birds, cozy corners, and those little silver trays of nuts and snacks for which I am an absolute sucker. They also mix great drinks — and all of this with live piano music in the evenings and full-time excellent people watching (fellow patrons inside and Bostonians on the Common). Drinking at the Taj is just how you always hoped it would feel to be a grown-up!

Posted on February 25th, 2008 by rabbit
Filed under: Boston, Restaurant Reviews