Picking the Brains of My Friends

[ladysprite]

So it seems that, whatever else one can say about my job, my boss is actually quite a nice guy. I already knew this, but it's occasionally pleasant to have tangible proof of this.

You see, I was holding down the fort by myself for the past two weeks while he was out of the country. And apparently he's very happy with how smoothly things ran while he was gone, and his gratitude has taken the form of a not-insignificant bonus that I have been told is to be spent on a Very Nice Dinner for my hubby and me.

There's just a wee problem, though. We're not so much fancy restaurant people, mostly due to not generally being able to afford dinner at a fancy restaurant. Our average date-night restaurant is more along the lines of The Cheesecake Factory, with occasional forays up as classy as Legal Seafood.

So, I'm asking y'all - if money were no object (within reason - on the one hand, we don't drink alcohol, so that brings down the overall price of dinner quite a bit; on the other hand, it's not quite enough of a bonus that we can travel out of the area for a meal), where would you go for dinner?

Heck, even if you're not local, where would you suggest? Someday I might be in your area and looking for a way to burn cash, and it'd be nice to have a list of fancy expensive restaurants in random areas of the world....

Comments

[goldsquare.livejournal.com]

What sorts of foods do you like?

[goldsquare.livejournal.com]

Generic answer - it is my firm belief that Gargoyles on the Square, in Davis Square Somerville - is one of the finest restaurants per dollar spent you can find.

I took a friend there one, who travels a lot professionally and stays at 4 star hotels and eats very well - he is quite a bon-vivant. He said he would happily twice that price for the same meal, in any restaurant.

[dreda.livejournal.com]

Ah - how recently have you been there? I used to love Gargoyles, but now I think the chef is on acid. Same impeccable construction and preparation, but now exponentially more likely to include Coca-Cola, Rice Krispies, or packing peanuts. (I am not inventing these - I have seen them.)

[goldsquare.livejournal.com]

I've been there recently - while they had the rice-krispie concoction on the menu. I think I even blogged about the truffle ice cream.

Everything I have ever tasted there, worked. Worked WELL. Even the wacky desserts.

[dreda.livejournal.com]

Chacon a son gout, then - I miss the more graceful synthesis of the older menu.

[goldsquare.livejournal.com]

Last time I went, they still had duck confit with coconut milk sauce - and that covers a lot of sins, baby. :-) (I couldn't eat it, of course - but Robin really loved it!)

[ladysprite.livejournal.com]

Hm. I try my best to be open-minded, and I'm not *too* picky. I'm slightly less fond of some of the more heavily spicy Asian cuisines, though I'm becoming quite fond of Indian food. In general, I'm willing to try almost anything once - and this is a good way to find stuff I wouldn't otherwise seek out on my own....