Justin "big noise" C.'s Profile

In a word, fabulous. This is the best meal I've had in Boston in a while. I thought it humorous when walking in that this rather Tribeca-grandish hotel, of which there are scores in NYC, is seemingly unique and still quite popular, judging by the crowd, in Boston.

It's certainly chic, and the service is pretty accommodating. We were escorted to an outdoor table at 6:45 on a Tuesday, and tended to by a committee of servers. We tried a mozzarella burrata with beef carpaccio, the ciccio bread, the corn angilotti, and the truffle cheese & chanterelle pizza. All of the food was exceptional, with the pasta being a particularly memorable highlight. The exceptionally fresh mozz and the exquisite carpaccio was a delight as well - simple, elegantly done, and just really tasty.

Topped it all off with a choice chocolate souffle, which was also just lip smackingly great, and topped with some ice cream. Everything here seems handmade from scratch, and is presented in a professional and unique manner. It's the right balance of flash and simplicity. I'll be back repeatedly, if I can - the place was jam packed when we left around 9:00.

The great, chic indoor space and lovely outdoor patio do not match up with the very underwhelming food here. Everything tasted thrown together and cheap without exception; I doubt they are making anything from scratch here. The particulars:

Corn Fritter app: We asked if these were gluten free and they didn't know, i.e., they obviously came from a box. They tasted like bland corn bread.

Spare rib app: These were OK, not appalling, but dry and unflavorful and tasted like they had been coated in a store bought BBQ sauce.

Hanger steak: Asked for medium rare, got medium well, and the meat was more like steak tips; there were four or five little strips of meat. The fries were wilted and just bad. A companion's lobster risotto was not fresh tasting, and rather gloppy.

Our server was pleasant and we liked the place, the consensus was that the food has a long way to go - like the whole way - if they are to survive. $90 for a party of 3 was absolutely out of hand for such fare. Disappointing, and a missed opportunity unless they figure the food out fast.

It's Joe's - very average food, but a pleasurable chain whose fair is a cut above the neighboring chilis & co. This Joe's has always had good service, too. I do crave the chowder in a bread bowl sometimes, and they also have a large lounge area with a bunch of TVs and sports on. Useful.

Decidedly average on my first go around; I was psyched for this place, as it is so sorely needed in Milton, a town woefully barren of good quality dining. Though I must make mention of the fact that this place has tangible potential, and I think they are ironing out some opening kinks and will be great in the future; I don't often come away from an experience like this genuinely feeling that way.

They really did a nice job with the space - it's upscale in a way that it is not annoying for East Milton Square. There's a centralized bar on the main floor, and a visible, open air kitchen in the back of the room. There are some visible heat lamps in the front of the kitchen which I'd rather weren't there, but that's a detail. Apparently, there are another 8-10 tables in a downstairs dining area.

My main criticism with the experience was a hiccup with our food service. We waited a full 40 minutes for our second appetizer to come out after we ordered it. The server brought over one party member's salad, then another 20 minutes later, the pasta dish we ordered as another appetizer finally showed up. She had clearly flubbed the order, and didn't admit it or apologize for it. Oh well.

When that dish arrived, it was good. Fresh housemade papardelle with grilled shrimp, peas, scallion, and pancetta. The sauce, creamy in nature, was not gloppy, and was nice & light. The shrimp was a single, succulent offering, well balanced by the bits of salty pancetta. The dish was slightly underseasoned, but still, pretty satisfying.

For mains, I tried the short ribs with fontina arancini and asparagus. The short ribs were fall apart tender, perfectly cooked and nice & flavorful. Again, there could've been a touch more salt, but that's my only criticism on this dish. The arancini was crispy and tasty, and the soft asparagus was a nice compliment to the meat.

Others in the party tried the osso bucco special, the Tuscan brick chicken, and the lobster cavatelle. The cavatelli was very interesting, with a light, lemon mascarpone sauce and unctuous chunks of lobster meat. The chicken looked fabulous, and was well prepared, but slightly oversauced with a balsamic reduction that was a bit too sweet for my palette, though my sister who'd ordered the dish quite liked it.

I skipped dessert as I had to be somewhere for a thing, and as I mentioned at the outset, I do think this place will figure some things out and be a good, reliable place to eat in the future. I like what they are doing technologically, utilizing twitter to advertise specials, and I think as they grow they will figure out staffing issues and tighten the ship. I look forward to returning in the future.

I really love this studio, super positive vibes from all of the people I've encountered there, and a great heated vinyasa flow class. I like that each of the instructors has a slightly different twist on their general flow. I've taken classes with Taylor (the owner & co-founder, who rocks), Katie, Ray, and Jene, and all of them were really good. They definitely keep things focused on just doing your best, and all offer little helpful instructions about how to move through the practice.

The style is cool, too, in that it's heated, but not nearly as hot as bikram studios. It's also very clean and well kept, and all classes are invigorating and fun - totally leaves me feeling great!

Lotsa 5s and 1s here - how polarizing of a place! I'll dare to be different with a 4 I suppose. I had a great experience with Leah - she gave me a discount and included free tailoring, I thought that was a savvy move for a customer new to buying such expensive jeans. I have never done so before (and my pain at doing so does cause me to drop what was otherwise a 5 to a 4, LOL), but I found some jeans that I just absolutely loved, so I did it. I figure it's nice to have something that can be a once-in-a-while type of jean.

Either way, I can see some people have had some specific experiences, and while Yelp can get to be a pile of anecdotal evidence in that regard, let me be one to say, don't believe the hype, and just go in and try the place out for yourself. You might even come away a believer in fancy-schmancy jeans!

This is a superb wine shop, the owner Sean is the man - he often has wines open to taste, and you can speak to him about anything you like; he offers the kind of personal service and product knowledge that you won't find at many larger stores. They also have a really neat and off kilter selection of wines; I can always find something I've never tried before but that looks fantastic for under $25 here. Highly recommended!

Big fan of this outfit and their wicked awesome gear. I used Camilia's discount code and got a hawt wine & heather t-shirt that I've been living in since. It's not cheap, but they donate part of their proceeds to good causes and I was ensnared by the ladies message of spreading love. Why the F not?

Been here for dinner about 3 times now, and for drinks a couple more, and have had mixed experiences. They definitely go for the more ornate roll combinations - I've had a couple of those, and they were generally interesting and tasty. But, I've also had a chef's choice sashimi that had very little fish, some of which did not taste at all fresh. NAGL. It's also on the pricier side for sushi, especially in Quincy. Kagawa down the block is less fancy and cheaper for very similar food.

I've tasted a couple of the cooked dishes - one was a yaki udon type of thing and while it was OK it was unremarkable. I've also had their curry rice, and though the owner told me they don't make their own curry because they used to but so few people order it now, it was actually pretty good.

The place itself is pretty fun, though. They have a good sized space with an area that has a large TV where I've seen people playing Wii, and they occasionally have DJs in that area, too. They also have loads of flat screen TVs playing sports, and a good sound system. They do a good job with those atmospherics, which makes this, overall, slightly more appealing as a grab drinks and maybe eat place. They have a lot of cute waitresses & bartendresses, too.

Average food at best, very overpriced, and sub par service. I've seen other reviews saying the food is good, and it really is nothing special - over oiled and buttered, and they had a really low amount of fresh fish offerings by any reasonable Cape Cod Standard.

Furthermore, We were having a rollicking good time on a summer's evening after a gallery opening, and the waitress cut my friend off, after adding in a 20% gratuity - which by the way was not listed as a standard process on the menu. She was a little tipsy, just enjoying the evening, and wasn't driving, and we were having fun. The waitress made a big, embarrassing show of it. I do not recommend this place if you are into having fun and good service.