We celebrated Rabbit’s birthday in Boston with a little carouse including cocktails at the Oak Bar, dinner at Mamma Maria in Boston’s North End, and a sojourn at the Hotel Commonwealth. Get yourself a beverage, because this is going to be a lengthy report… 

Let’s just get to the main event — dinner. Boston’s North End is a charming spot with wind-y streets, charming architecture, and a plethora of Italian restaurants, bakeries, gelaterias, and other feeding stations. The place is also often over-run with tourists, especially during the summer months when the restaurants throw their doors and windows open to celebrate the warmer weather. This means that the North End requires careful gastronomic navigation because a lot of the restaurants are crap. Having done my due diligence reading the Boston food boards and magazines, I felt confident that Mamma Maria would be a solid pick. I was happy to find that this research paid off (mostly — but more on that later).

Mamma Maria is on North Square, a little bit off the beaten path. We arrived at about 7:30 on Superbowl Sunday and were not surprised to learn that we did not need a reservation. We were seated in the downstairs dining room, a pretty space with a dignified sort of Old-World European grace — not grand, but respectably keeping up standards. The dining room has widely spaced tables (much appreciated!), large windows, and a nice view of the square.

The wine list is mainly Italian (as expected), but we were surprised that they didn’t list any wines by the glass. Upon request, our waiter offered four selections (Chianti, Primitivo, Barbera d’Asti or a “Super Tuscan”).  We would have liked more particulars on what we were drinking, but we also weren’t in the mood to interrogate so we took our chances with the Primitivo and Super Tuscan which were both fine.

We started with some warm crusty bread served with a little dish of black olives and a dynamite green pesto that was bright, fresh, and completely addictive.

Our appetizer followed without much delay — an impressive antipasto plate. The options on this plate vary, but our visit presented buffalo mozzarella, a roasted veg, some cured meats and steak tartare.

The buffalo mozzarella was sparked up with some basil and a hit of olive oil. 

Roasted red peppers, eggplant and artichokes offered a bit of vegetation. 

The cured meats - sopprasetta, mortadella and prosciutto were all good, but the mortadella was the hit.

But the real star here was the tartare, fresh and flavourful beef  with plenty of garlic and a drizzle of olive oil — truly a fantastic rendition of this dish.

The menu is Tuscan and mains are meat heavy with lamb chops, osso buco and beef tenderloin all on offer. We were both in a pasta mood, so after some debate about whether we should branch out for optimum tasting value we decided that we both just really wanted rabbit. The rabbit pappardelle saw long flat noodles in a subtle but delicious red sauce studded with plenty of tender rabbit flesh. We were both surprised how much bunny was buried in the dish which seemed like a small serving in the beginning (in fact I couldn’t finish my dish). A large sprig watercress added just the right bit of texture and the pasta which was perfected with a generous grate of high quality parm.  I’d come back to Mamma Maria anytime just to eat this again. Rabbit also put back a glass of the Chianti with her rabbit.  

Service, which had been charming up to this point, took a serious nosedive in the final stretch. Shortly after we received our dessert menus a party of four came into the dining room and our waiter fussed over them for the next 15-20 minutes, completely ignoring his other tables (note that he only had four tables total, including this new addition). We had decided on a dessert and coffees  (and since it was her birthday Rabbit might even have been persuaded to have a final drinkie), but as the minutes clicked on we fatigued. Instead of dessert at Mamma Maria we and opted to take some Mike’s pastries back to our hotel.

Mamma Maria is a Chowhound favourite, and I do think this restaurant distinguishes itself among North End offerings. I would return, but service issues prohibit me from giving this restaurant the full Rabbit stamp of approval.

www.mammamaria.com

And another thing…

Mike’s Pastry is a veritable Boston institution. Situated across from Modern Pastry these cannoli kitchens have been in friendly competition for years. We haven’t played favourites since both spots are pretty spectacular. This is why were a bit disappointed to find the Mike’s ricotta tarts a bit less-than this time around. It’s hard to figure out exactly where they short-circuited… the crust seemed perhaps a touch mealy, and the ricotta was less rich and dangerous that I recall. We also got a slice of ricotta pie which fared somewhat better, but something was still remiss. Next time, it’s across to Modern instead. (www.mikespastry.com and www.modernpastry.com)

And one more thing…

 The Oak Bar at the Fairmont has probably seen better days, but it’s still a charming grand dame and a great spot for a bit of a sip. The room has that gilded feeling of being inside a Faberge egg. Sure, some of the seats are getting a big saggy (a dignified, well-earned sag - not a going-to-pot sag), and it’s probably better that the lights remain dim (which is better anyhow for inviting misbehaviour), but I respect this venerable old broad.

After a grueling shopping stint on Newbury Street Mr. Rabbit was glad to unwind with their very generous sidecar (a three pour shaker!), while I was happy with a surprisingly reasonably priced glass of sparking rosé. Mr. Rabbit also went to town on the free mixed nuts. I’m still calling Taj as my favourite Boston hotel bar, but the Oak Bar should definitely earn a place in our regular rotation.

Finally… when it was time to go back to our hutch we booked in at the Hotel Commonwealth. 

Mr. Rabbit likes those old-world hotels with pajama wallpaper and shoe-shine service. I like all hotels rated 4-star or better, but sometimes I crave the contemrporary styling that makes Mr. Rab all sniffy. Since it was Rabbit’s birthday, I got to choose our nighttime accommodation, and though I’d not intended to make any concessions I happened upon a hotel that pleased both of us very much.  

I liked the large rooms…

The L’Occitane toiletries, plush robes…

And an IPOD player and DVD in the room (with access to in-house DVD library) were a great touch.

The gym is well appointed and the staff were pleasant and accommodating.

Perhaps most of all, I love that Eastern Standard Kitchen and Great Bay are the on-site restaurants (and you can get 24-hour room service from the ESK kitchen). ESK has a fantastic bar and we enjoyed lunch there upon our arrival (a fab sazerac for Mr. Rab and great crunchy onion-ring-things on my salad won special points).

But the surprise coup was ESK’s breakfast. Lots of healthy options let Rabbit create her favourite a la carte morning meal — fruit, poached eggs, and an English muffin. My cappuccino was technically over-milk-y and more latte than capp, but that’s actually how I order them up chez nous while Mr. Rab is playing barista, so I was content whereas a more dedicated coffee afficianato may have complaint. 

Mr. Rab went with the oatmeal and berries.

Nicely done - and even more points thus earned for one of our already-favourite Boston restaurants.

One might note that while the Hotel Commonwealth is in very close proximity to a lot of great things (Fenway Park and the Fens, the MFA, Newbury Street, Brookline)… “close proximity” means that it’s actually a short walk to anything. I think this location is quite great, but if you’re not a walker or if you want to be right in the thick of some action, this hotel might feel slightly isolated. But that’s the only “bad” thing I can think to say about it. Oh, and the minibar is one of those auto-affairs where you can’t touch anything or you’ll soon find the computer has sold you a Snickers, two Buds, and a bag of corn nuts (take it from Rabbit!). I loved this place!

 www.hotelcommonwealth.com

Posted on February 3rd, 2009 by rabbit
Filed under: Boston, Restaurant Reviews, Uncategorized