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Dine Out Boston ends this week. Here are 4 deals you should try.
Dine Out Boston is running until March 15. This is what I ate across four prix-fixe menus, for two lunches and two dinners.
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Sometimes restaurant deals appear just when you need them. That was the case for me and this winter’s Dine Out Boston (formerly Boston Restaurant Week).
I’ve been in a winter blues funk, too often spending my time under my favorite throw blanket while I spin up the worst (read: wrong) theories about whatever is happening in Severance. Even scarier than working at Lumon: my bank account!
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I could use a value-driven reason to get out, and the return of Dine Out provided that for me.
In its 25th year, this program runs twice a year, during the winter and summer (the restaurant industry’s slowest seasons). It feels like it gets bigger and better every year, too.
Some fun facts about this season’s Dine Out: For the first time ever, the program is running for three full weeks. More than 200 restaurants are participating, a list that includes James Beard-nominated restaurants, eateries that span various cuisines and neighborhoods, and restaurants for any budget.
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Deciding where to go is the hardest part. To get you started, here’s where I went and what I ate:
MIDA Fenway, $27 lunch
A $27 prix-fixe meal? In this economy? Especially for it to be at the recent James Beard-nominated spot MIDA, where the gnocchi are like pillows, I had to go. I tried the winter caesar salad, a spicy spaccatelli pasta with broccoli rabe and Italian sausage, and an orange creamsicle gelato. I’d get the salad again, and if the Fenway location isn’t close to you, all locations of MIDA are participating in lunch and/or dinner.
Sumiao, $32 lunch
This Kendall Square Chinese spot was bustling for a weekday lunch service, to the point that I was nervous I wouldn’t be able to get a table for one. As usual, it served me plates of food that reminded me why Sumiao is one of my favorite Chinese restaurants in Greater Boston. I ordered a pumpkin paste soup, purple yam bao, and the Hong Kong sausage with potato entree. I’m adding the latter to my takeout and dine-in rotation when I go back to Sumiao, it was just that good.
Althea, $46 dinner
The point of Dine Out, I’ve been told, is to try restaurants you haven’t had the time (or money) to patronize yet. Althea, a Dine Out first-timer, was one of those restaurants that I’ve been excited to try since it opened last year. The aesthetic is super fun and makes it a great spot for a date, and I can’t wait to go back when it’s warm enough to enjoy that huge patio. I took my fiancee with me and ordered the Bloomin’ fried mushroom, smokey chicken croquettes, spicy crab spaghetti, smoked brisket, banana upside down cake, and a s’mores dessert. The stars were both the small plates (Althea gives you 13 small plate options to choose from, so it was a tough decision to make) and my brisket.
Select Oyster Bar, $55 dinner
Another James Beard-nominated spot. I think going to places like this is the fun part of Dine Out. Many of the $55 dinner options for Dine Out include some high-end, award-winning restaurants that aren’t places we can dine at every week (think: Bistro du Midi, Grill 23 & Bar). If not for Dine Out, I would have shelled out for a few seafood small plates at Select, but instead I left stuffed after my less expensive three-plate prix-fixe. My fiancee and I ordered the yellowfin tuna crudo, the beet salad, Maine lobster chowder, sugar pumpkin risotto, and dijon-crusted hake. My personal faves were the crudo and hake dishes.
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Dine Out Boston runs through March 15, so try something new and yummy, and let me know what you enjoyed most at [email protected].
For your reading list
- 🍽️ Peruvian restaurant team eyes Back Bay (Boston Magazine)
- 🍚 Devra First’s Somaek review (Boston Globe)
- 🍣 The most important person in Japanese food (New York Times)
- 🌎 A new best restaurants list to follow (Eater)
For your calendar
- 🥐 French brunch buffet at Batifol
- 🍻 An early St. Patrick’s Day party
- 🌭 Try Trina’s new hot dog tower
- 🤤 Arancini pop-up at La Saison
What I’ve been eating this week: Tacu Tacu a lo Macho with fried fish from Celeste
When I had this meal, I hadn’t yet heard the news that the Celeste and La Royal team would be expanding to the Back Bay with a new concept this fall. But after my meal at their Union Square restaurant, it makes me even more thrilled about what’s to come. The dishes I ordered with a group included the picture above (underneath the seafood galore of toppings is a beautifully fried fish), a rich and creamy scallop pasta, and a pupusa special I wish could be a permanent menu item. The friendly hospitality (shoutout to server Ivan, who gave us free Pisco shots) and electric vibe of the place also counted for a lot.
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