CLAMP Campus Adventures

Saturday was about hedonism. We went out to L’espalier, a very fancy restaurant in Boston’s Back Bay area. This was our chance to spend my bonus check on something fun and a bit frivilous. However, eating very expensive and lavish dinners at 4 and 5 star restaurants is one thing we really enjoy, and we’re quite willing to spend a little extra time saving for a meal costing in the $300 range (with tax and tip).

We got to the restaurant a little early (by about 1/2 hour), and paid for the valet parking as it was raining out. We then went in and were immediately seated by the maitre d’ on the third floor of the rennovated 19th century townhouse. Each dining room was set up as its own floor. We were seated in the Library room, where I learned climbing the stairs in my high heels was its own, unique challenge. This small room is filled with intimate seating, and has windows overlooking Gloucester Street and the Boston rooftops. The walls are painted a salmon color and lined with mahogany woodwork. The woodwork scrolled along the walls and the ceiling, giving a subtle, elegant atmosphere. We were seated in front of the fireplace, which with lit with candles.

In the room was only one party, a couple dressed fairly casually with a small child. They were already mostly done with their meal, and I had the feeling they were placed up there due to their casual dress and the small child (who was incredibly intelligent and well behaved, answering complex questions although she couldn’t have been more than 1 or 2 years of age), and the only reason we saw them was due to our early arrival.

Our waiter greated us and offered us an apertif and a small palate cleansing hors d’oeuvre of potato and goat cheese (quite tasty). He suggested champagne, or the specialty of the house, which is a champagne and a raspberry Belgium ale combination. We both chose the latter option and I was a bit apprehensive about the ale, since I’m not a fan of beer, but I was quite delighted with the taste. It tasted very similar to a Kir Royale, but with a bit more bubble to it.

While we sipped our apertifs, we perused the massive wine list. I was pretty sure we only wanted a half bottle of wine. We can never quite finish a full bottle. There was a huge selection and we were a little lost. Carl indicated he’d prefer a red wine, so we were able to eliminate half the list there. There wasn’t so much choice on the half-bottles in the red wine list, but the waiter came to our rescue and asked us if we’d like to see the menu to help us choose. Once I got the menu, I was able to get our choices down to a red Zinfandel and a Cabernet Sauvignon. We ended up choosing the Zinfandel.

The menu offers one of four options. You can choose the 3-course pre fixe menu, a 7-course degustation menu, a 7-course vegetarian degustation menu, or the 7-course chef’s menu. We choose the 7-course degustation. I was able to find most of what we had on the online version of the menu. Unfortunately, anything else is not as elegantly presented in verbage. The courses were as follows (and served with the house specialty bread):

1. Bouillabaisse served in a small expresso cup with a light, sweet cracker
2. Baked Maine lobster and pulled pork “cassoulet” with grilled escarole, key lime and avocado
3. Foie gras terrine with piccalilli, roasted rhubarb and Coteaux du Layon gelée
4. Baked Gloucester cod fillet with mussels and crab tamale; almond garam masala sauce
5. A selection of prime beef
6. Grand Fromage - a cheese platter with a selection of cheeses including Gouda and Stilton
7. Grand Dessert - a selection of desserts including spring rolls with vanilla rice and grapefruit

As we ate, the room continued to fill with other parties (all better dressed than the first party we encountered, making us feel better about our own attire). There were mostly couples, but there was one birthday party and one woman dining alone. Now, that’s hedonism. I used to go out to restaurants by myself, when I was single, but never to a place quite this fancy.

We finished our meal with some coffee and tried to keep our eyes from going too wide at the bill. It was well within what I had budgeted for the meal, it’s just shocking to see something cost as much as it did. Carl had been told to tell the waiter to get our car 15 minutes prior to departure, and, in a grand show of perfect timing, our car was just pulling up as we got my rain coat out of the closet.

I truly enjoyed the experience and hope to one day have the opportunity to go again. However, there are many other expensive and fine restaurants in Boston to try before heading back to L’espalier. Going to a fancy restaurant, dressing for the occassion, is like being royalty for the evening. It’s time to start saving for the next one.