The original plan was to post this with my Sel de Terre Back Bay review, but I couldn’t stand the idea of defiling my tribute to Chef DiBiccari so I’m posting this one first. Bear with me as I rip this location apart and stay tuned for my dollops of rare praise to be bestowed on the Back Bay location.
Though Sel de la Terre Back Bay was scrumptious, its polar opposite lies on the waterfront. I hope things have changed since my last visit there, the menu definitely has, but considering my experience, my hopes are not so high. My opinion of this particular location is summarized in two words: tourist trap. This place is the ultimate tourist-pleaser, touting high-end ingredients combined unoffensively (but cooked poorly) to offer every tourist his or her ideal experience of the typical Boston waterfront dining experience.
To start, the Monkfish with Clams entrée showed up with the fish floating an oily liquid. To quote Tom Colicchio from Top Chef, “I don’t like fish floating in water. That’s where it came from…” Our server described it as having a texture similar to lobster, but the last time I had lobster, it wasn't rubbery and overcooked. What irks me further is the clams, which weren’t acceptably fresh. They weren’t bad, but they weren’t fresh, which is unacceptable at a waterfront restaurant. I tried a few bites of the Roasted Free Range Chicken, which was a safe combination of acceptable flavor and not too dry. Fortunately for me, this was the ideal dish for my date who delusionally believed that an adventurous eater was one who ordered only the chicken from 20 different restaurants.
The Rosemary Pomme Frites were crisp and nicely season, but come on, it is a sad day when the fries are the only thing you don’t hate. The truffled mac and cheese was gooey and good but I felt like I was ordering off the kids’ menu. The latest trend for restaurants is to gracefully execute their own spinoff of an old favorite, but this could have been made with velveeta and a microwave.
Bottom line: if you’re not an adventurous eater and prefer to dine at a tourist trap, make a reservation at the Waterfront location.
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