Restaurant Week Dinner 2: Vintage Lounge

Restaurant Week Dinner #2:

Place: Vintage Lounge, Boston's Financial District

Purpose: We've never been and there's parking for those who were driving.

Scene: The VL is a modern affair. The lounge area features an L-shaped bar dressed in gold accents and high bar chairs on one side; leather couches and ottomans in various colors fill the remaining area for loungers to lay back with a martini and an appetizer. Section 2: Another bar with the same gold accents lead diners into a large dining room flanked with flowing velvet drapes and dining room tables with high-back brown leather chairs. Votive candles adorn the tables, but not in a romantic kind of way... the illusion is sensual and sexy. The parking lot located directly behind the window where we were seated reminded us we were still in the city. We watched as businessmen and women dragged their tired bodies over the trash in the streets and into their beaten up cars, while attempting to avoid the trash trucks and delivery cars that were making their final pass through the financial district before calling it a night.

The Food: Pre-prepared. That's the one bad thing about Restaurant Week -- many of the restaurants pre-prepare the food and just opt for a quick heat-up upon order. It's a chance you take, but in this case, we were pleasantly surprised. Skip the salad with tuna sashimi -- there are approximately three tiny pieces of sashimi mixed into a plate of baby arugula and drizzled with an overly salty balsamic dressing. I passed on finishing the first course because my ankles were swelling after two bites of the salty dish. The tomato soup was a hit among the rest of the table, and it was served steaming hot over cheese and a garlic crostini. Looked and smelled wonderful. The cornish hen, filet mignon and tomato gnocchi filled our table for the main course. Everyone was pleased. The meats were perfectly prepared and cooked to perfection and the servings were just the right size. The second course made up for the first course, and we finished our evening with creme brulee and chocolate cake.

Good job, Vintage Lounge. While I would recommend you chef lay off the salt, the overall appeal of the place is a winner.