Review of Top of the Hub, Boston Restaurant Week March 2015

Ever find a favorite restaurant in your favorite city and cannot get past it when it comes to trying new places?

This is what happened with us and Top of the Hub, Boston.  This was our second time going here for Restaurant Week in Boston, MA. Not to mention we have been several other times for their regular menu. We fell in love with the food, ambiance, and service last time we were there for restaurant week that we totally were sucked back in to going again this year.

I mean can you get over this view?  I know we can't...takes our breath away each time we see it in person.  Such a gorgeous skyline and view.

We had actually made reservations for our girls night out before the menu was posted publicly on a website we tend to stalk...for Restaurant Week in Boston.

The website for restaurant week Boston will post all the participating venues and their menus for lunch and or dinner.

About a week after we booked our reservation the menu was released for Top of the Hub...and I will admit, I wasn't as excited as I had been the last time we went as the menu was a little on the boring side for options.

First of all there was no steak option...we girls like our steak!

Second of all, the options were a little on the cheap side when it came to ingredients and the price that Top of the Hub charges for their pre-fixed meals.

For dinner they charge $38 for a three course meal.
Here is the menu posted for March 2015:


Appetizer Choice:
Tuscan Soup (white beans, escarole, Italian sausage)

Baby Kale Salad (lemon, pignoili, Pecorino, Calabria Pepper Vinaigrette)

Entree
Braised Chicken Leg
Polenta, mascarpone cheese, swiss chard, pine nuts, chicken jus

"Chicken Fried" Pork Tenderloin
Washington Apples, blue cheese, celery, upland cres, marble potato salad, mustard dressing

Linguine Alla Vongole
Tender clams, vino blanco, garlic, chillies

Dessert
Chocolate Raspberry Mousse Cake

Creme Brulee with Season Berries

So after reading the menu, I wasn't thrilled with the idea of not being able to pick my meal...I love when a restaurant offers so many amazing choices that I actually have a hard time narrowing down my list.   This menu did not challenge me at all!  I knew right away what I was going to pick and frankly, I felt like some of the items were not on the gourmet level it should have been for a first class establishment like Top of the Hub.

I went with the Tuscan Soup, Linguine Alla Vongole, and Creme Brulee and Organized Chica picked the same ecxept for dessert she opted for a diary free dessert.  Which I will say our waiter was willing to request the kitchen to accommodate her.  She was given the choice of either a bowl of fresh berries lemon sorbet.  She chose the fresh berries.

Course One - Tuscan Soup

Course Two -Linguine Alla Vongole (Linguine with Clams)

Course Three-Creme Brulee with fresh berries

Our meal was excellent, and we are glad we made our choices.
However our friend who was with us picked the braised chicken and she was left feeling like it was stewed chicken meat with not much flavor.

After dinner we enjoyed some live music with a jazz band and of course we made time for some laughs and great conversation.  Just love girls night out!!!

Overall we are glad we went as the food was perfectly executed and the service was impeccable just like the previous time.

I do hope they bring back a little bit more quality to the actual menu and add in more sophisticated plates as the cost of the menu was on the higher side compared to other restaurants that were only charging $28 for dinner.


Happy Dinning!

Love, Stylish Mama

Fun weekend spent in around the Boston area

What an amazing long weekend spent with friends! Hope you all were able to do the same or at least enjoy some time off work this past week.

My bestie from the U.K. came out to visit this past week...and we had to make sure we did a million things all jammed packed in the very few days we had together.

While planning our time together...I came up with a few touristy and local places to visit.  A must when someone is traveling from another country.  Even though she has been here countless of times to visit.

There is just honestly too much to post about - and I wouldn't want to bore you with it all.  But I figured I would share with you all a few must do things for our local area.

One place we visited in Boston (Quincy Market) was a new ice bar.  Its called Frost Ice Bar and it was really "cool" - a balmy 21 degrees cool!  If you have friends visiting the Boston area and are planning on doing some shopping or eating down in the Quincy Market area - this is a must!  The bar has all ice hand carved furniture, and even the drinking glasses are made out of ice.  There is also fun ice sculptures inside the bar - one being a giant swan boat that you can sit in.  Both the girls and the guys in our group enjoyed the experience...and oh dont worry they make sure to keep you warm - the bar experience also includes a big warm quilted parka and gloves.  One of the things the guys enjoyed was the fact that you were allowed to "smash" your glasses when you left the bar - as they are made out of ice and are never reused.

See photos of us girls in the ice bar below:

Last Friday I think you might recall me mentioning a favorite local shop I enjoy visiting.  Called Palettes of Natick, Mass.  I have been here a total of 3 girls night outs...and honestly, I have enjoyed each visit in a totally different way.  I have had the joy of going with a different mix of girls each time...so it's fun in a way to see how each one of my friends reacts to the class being taught.  This is a great place to go with your friends or even parents or siblings...which I have seen all of these kinds of groups when I have been to Palettes.
Check out our fun in the photo below:

As you can see in the photos above all of our paintings came out a little different.  Love my friends and their unique style!!!  xoxo

Thanks to all my friends who gave me some great new memories...and a special thank you to my British Fab Gal Pam for coming out to visit me once again...I love you to the moon and back girly!

Love,

Stylish Mama

Summer Doesn't Have to End...

Samantha Faye Jewelry

I recently stumbled across fun, whimsical, and creative jewelry made by a local jeweler out of Boston, Mass. 

Her name is Samantha Faye and she makes some really cool necklaces with charms - I love how you can capture your summer memories with her line.  Have any of you gone to the Cape this summer?  How about Martha's Vineyard or even Nantucket? 

Well now you can keep your summer memories with you by wearing one of these beauties:

Cape Cod Necklace ($68)

Martha's Vineyard Necklace ($68)

Nantucket Necklace ($68)

How cute are those??

There are many collections - those were just a few I felt were fun to share as they were local places.  But I also loved the Closet Collection - which has an adorable bow necklace and button one that I would love.

I suggest you travel lovers to take a little "trip" over to her website and check out all her fun pieces.

shopsamanthafaye.com

Let me know which one you can picture on yourself!


And speaking of jewelry...

Had to share a photo taken last night of my mini stylish mama rocking mommy's necklace.
She saw it on me and asked to wear it.

isn't she cute?

Love, Stylish Mama

 

 

 *I am not sponsored by Samantha Faye