Tag Archives: Restaurant Review

Casa de Pedro: Fine Latin cuisine in Watertown, MA

This past weekend I had dinner at La Casa de Pedro, which describes itself as offering a true taste of Venezuelan hospitality and fine Spanish cuisine.  The restaurant is conveniently located next door to The New Rep Theatre where I saw their production of The Kite Runner.

Casa de Pedro is a warm and inviting restaurant with a nice patio for dining outside, a large bar and even larger indoor dining room.  Main plates range significantly in price, but dinner for two including a shared starter, two drinks and main plates cost $70.00 with tip; more than reasonable considering the portions and how delicious it was to eat.

We started our meal with calamari ($10.50).  No need to ask for lemon wedges as the lightly fried calamari was heavily seasoned with lemon juice which was nicely offset by the heat of the jalapenos. Just as we were finishing the plate of calamari our main plates were served.  The portions were surprisingly large but so savory we both finished our meals without hesitation.

click on the photo below to enlarge

Caraquena (above left) is $17.99 and includes chicken tenderloins, sirloin strips, and Spanish sausage sautéed with Spanish spices. The plate also included rice, beans and plantains.  The meat was flavorful, heavily salted and complemented my cold beer.

The Fish Tacos (above right) is $15.50 and was equally delicious albeit lighter. The three tacos filled with tilapia had a distinctly grilled flavoring was accompanied by rice, beans, fried yucca and plantains.

I will come back to Casa de Pedro.  It makes for the perfect place to grab dinner before seeing a show at the New Rep Theatre and who doesn’t love dinner and a show?  You can see Casa de Pedro’s full menu here.

Just a block or two from the Empire State Building is a new Greek restaurant called Meli.  The evening I dined there it was nearly empty, but I’m sure as word gets out that will change.  I would describe Meli as upscale Greek with a twist and that extends to both the decor as well as the menu. The main dining room is bright with high ceilings, an impressive chandelier and large dramatic images of Greece. 

The plates include all the ingredients you expect in Greek food but the menu has a very modern take on the cuisine.  A good example would be the starter, Grilled Eggplant Gazpacho.  Although the gazpacho and much of the menu was appealing, I stuck with some traditional choices and walked away very satisfied.

I started my dinner with the beet salad.  The roasted beets encircled a cool creamy feta and garlic spread with crushed almonds.  It was a delicious and filling way to start dinner, and something I could order over and over again.  As I was finishing my salad, I was brought an incredibly hot mousaka.  Meli does not use eggplant and zucchini in their recipe rather they include artichoke hearts, which gives a subtle flavoring that is very agreeable with the ground beef and potatoes.

Main plates at Meli range from $18 (my mousaka) to $32 and starters and salads range from $9 to $15.   The food, service and setting all make the price point a good deal and a place worth trying.

Meli is located at 1 East 35th Street between 5th and Madison Avenue.   The restaurant appears to be having issues with their website so I would recommend calling if you have any questions.

Photo from Aragosta website

Last week I had dinner at Aragosta in Boston’s North End. This upscale Italian restaurant in the Fairmont Hotel is surrounded by Boston harbor which you can see from their beautiful patio. As the bar photo above shows, the restaurant has a sophisticated and modern decor.  The menu includes typical Italian fare mixed with many local ingredients like lobster, PEI mussels and George’s Banks scallops.

Main plates mostly range from $21 – $33 and while there are many tempting starters, I would suggest trying Aragosta’s shared plate of meats, cheese and fish for $29.  The platter was more than enough for our party of four and was a delicious beginning to our meal.I was tempted to try Chef Daniels daughter’s favorite plate, Orecchiette D’Olivia, Lobster “Mac & Cheese”, but I opted for the “Piatti di Giorno”, which was veal parmesan.  This is a staple plate at any Italian restaurant and a personal favorite.  The red sauce was fresh and flavorful and combined nicely with the perfectly prepared veal; it was my very definition of comfort food. The one blemish to the dining experience was the lack of experience from our well-meaning but clearly green waitress.  When questioned about the menu her responses were stilted and unsure and when glasses ran empty she was slow to recognize or show herself to reorder another bottle (perhaps that’s best – it did save us some money).

I would enjoy returning and trying another dinner, but I think next time I’ll insist we dine outside on Aragosta’s lovely patio.  Aragosta is located at 3 Battery Wharf in the North End, and reservations are suggested, (617) 994-9001.

Stephen Starr, a Philadelphia restaurant impresario, impressed me so much on my last visit to the city of Brotherly Love in April when I ate at Talula’s Garden, I wanted to try another establishment. Earlier this month a business trip brought me back to Philadelphia and I was able to try Parc Bistro and Cafe in Rittenhouse Square.

Upon entering Parc there is no doubt you are in a large, bustling French restaurant, and I immediately felt at home walking into this brasserie.  The staff was attentive without being intrusive, allowing my colleagues and me to enjoy a leisurely dinner.

The dinner menu is divided into “fruits de mer” ranging between $10-$20; hors d’oeuvres and salads $8-$20; main plates $16-$32; as well as signature “specialites du jour” $31-$34.  While everyone enjoyed dinner,  my colleague’s steak frites $27 seemed to be the most tempting.

Beet Salad $12                                                   Spinach Ravioli $20

I started my dinner with the beet salad accompanied by mascarpone cheese, candied walnuts and dressed with a pomegranate vinaigrette.  The rich, smooth Italian cheese combined with the beets and frisee was refreshing and I could eat it again and again.  Unfortunately, the spinach ravioli, which I ordered as my main plate (this is also available as a hors d’oeuvres) was bland and a bit disappointing.

Despite the lackluster ravioli, if I lived in this part of town I’d come here often.  I loved the vibe of this place and I think you will too.

Parc Brasserie 227 S. 18th Street / (215) 545-2262