Fun place to eat in Boston?

September 21, 2005 5:55 AM

I need a fun, different, and/or interesting place in the Boston area to take my wife for our anniversary dinner.

We've eaten at plenty of fine restaurants and I could certainly pick one and drop $250.00 on a nice dinner and a good bottle of wine, but I want to be more creative this time. If I could pick one scenario that my wife would love the most it would be dinner served on a sailing (you know, powered by the wind) ship cruising around the hahbah. Not sure if that's possible. Other ideas would be dinner theater that doesn't suck (out of work "actors" serving bad food to knuckleheads desperate for their ren faire fix... no thanks) or some other dinner+? event. I'm open to almost anything as long as it's fun and the food is good. Hell, I'd even be willing to dance.

Specifics: Saturday night in early October, anywhere within an hour of Boston (actually Metro Boston) would work. She's not into rock and/or roll or anything pop-culturish (yet I love her anyway for some reason), we'll eat anything, we're eager to try new things, we can dress up or down, depending on the occasion, and budget isn't a huge concern. We have a babysitter from 5:30 until 12:00 or thereabouts, as long as we're home at some point during the night.

I thought about hitting the Providence Waterfire but I'm not sure we can make it down there in time for the lighting.

Ideas?

posted by bondcliff to food & drink (12 comments total)

Craigie St. Bistrot and the A.R.T. team up to offer a three-course tasting menu + 2 tickets to Carmen in early October. $70 a person- pretty good deal considering tickets alone are $50+. Haven't eaten there but heard good things, and we went to see Carmen and were blown away- very inventive adaptation and staging. Stop by the bar at Rialto after the show for desserts + drinks.

If you find a good sailing + dinner cruise (on a real sailboat), please link it in the answers! I'd love to take my ladyfriend on a boat.
posted by bobot at 6:22 AM on September 21, 2005

Craigie Street is very good.
posted by rxrfrx at 6:24 AM on September 21, 2005

Bobot, I found this though I don't know anything more about it and I don't think I'll be able to make it in time, even if it is still running in October.
posted by bondcliff at 6:30 AM on September 21, 2005

I'll third Craigie Street Bistrot -- best meal I've had in Boston. Very relaxed and comfortable, too.
posted by josh at 6:33 AM on September 21, 2005

It's not wind-powered, but the Odyssey Cruise will serve you dinner on a harbor cruise. I have no idea how good the food is, though.

If you're looking for something unusual, there's an excellent Italian restaurant in Woburn called Ristorante Fiorentino (aka Ristorante Il Fiorentino. It has really weird decor, and can have very long waits, but the food is on par with or better than the best I've had in the North End.

There's also the Sail Loft, which has excellent food and a fantastic view of the water, even if you won't actually be out on said water.

You could also of course look into chartering a sailboat and getting a catered picnic dinner to eat on the boat or on one of the harbor islands, but that's probably a whole lot of trouble and expense, and may not even be possible or comfortable in October in Boston.
posted by cerebus19 at 7:54 AM on September 21, 2005

I wouldn't worry about making it down to Providence for the actual lighting. The better part is when it's actually dark, the wood is crackling, the music is haunting, the crowds are gathering, the smoke is wafting. The darkness makes the fires even more appealing. I'd say dinner at Cafe Nuovo or another deluxe restaurant along the water, where you could have a window seat and enjoy the slowly darkening sky and crackling fires from above, then move down to the sidewalk and enjoy it from another perspective. Make sure to request a water view at the restaurant, then take dessert (if it were me) at one of the Federal Hill restaurant stands along the water. There will most definitely be a Pastiche stand, which is by far the best dessert in Providence. Take a dessert down to the water, and enjoy!
posted by fionab at 8:18 AM on September 21, 2005

I can't find it right now, but a couple of years ago Channel 5's Chronicle had a story about a lighthouse that you could reserve for a private dinner. The food is delivered to the lighthouse by a nearby restaurant. I'll try to find info online, but I always thought it would make a great anniversary date and the prices were reasonable given the circumstances.
posted by jerryg99 at 9:48 AM on September 21, 2005

Found it! Newburyport Lighthouse Dinner... there is another videoclip about the palce here.
posted by jerryg99 at 9:52 AM on September 21, 2005

Oh, and one more link, it's $350 for a private dinner for two if you can get reservations. BYOB.
posted by jerryg99 at 10:03 AM on September 21, 2005 [1 favorite]

jerry99, that is awesome. Pretty much perfect. A bit more than I'd prefer to spend, but for this I'd be willing to splurge. They don't have the night I want but if I can get a combination of dates and babysitters to work I'm going to do it.

Still looking for ideas though, as this may not work out.
posted by bondcliff at 10:47 AM on September 21, 2005

I like Top of the Hub. OK, I went there once and they made me wait a good 30 minutes beyond my reservation time, but I think it was basically because I was a kid and looked like it (a kid with money, though). Top floor of the Prudential, great food and drinks, live jazz (and maybe dancing? I don't think so) every night, and an incredible view of Boston. If you read reviews that say the service/food weren't that great, check the date; the restaurant changed hands sometime in the last couple of years, and is run much more professionally now from what I can tell.

I'm totally bookmarking the lighthouse place though.
posted by autojack at 1:48 PM on September 21, 2005

Oooh..

My vote: Le Espallier. Simply the most romantic and tasty restaurant in Beantown!
posted by bhenry at 6:06 AM on December 24, 2005