Restaurant Report: Pierrot Bistrot

As part of the 21st anniversary festivities, Jim took me to Pierrot Bistrot, on Cambridge St. in Boston. It's across the street from Mass General Hospital, and Jim ate there once before while waiting for me to finish with some medical stuff. (I'll spare you the gory details). Jim loves bistro food and has been working on perfecting his pan sauces, so he was dying to take me there to enjoy it for myself. (Check out this book for tips on trying this at home.)

Jim is not a big one for dressing up. I was lucky to get him into a tux (or "wedding costume" as he called it) a couple of decades back. (It's true: We actually chose St. Maarten for our honeymoon because Jim read in a guidebook that "ties are rarely worn on St. Maarten.") Fortunately, PB is one of those lovely places that can double as a romantic dinner destination and a homey neighborhood spot. The lighting is intimate, the Edith Piaf music mood-setting, but dress is casual. I'm not sure I'd recommend jeans (we wore business casual), but I saw some tourists come in wearing khakis and sneakers, draped in cameras, and the hostess batted nary an eye as she sat them.

Being a splurge evening, we ordered a little too much food (two apps, two soups, two entrees, two desserts, and two coffees--but only one glass of wine; I have the alcohol tolerance of a small hamster), but it was all delicious and a surprisingly good value. The appetizers and soups, in particular, were wonderful: chanterelles in a white wine, garlic, and shallot sauce for me (I love wild mushrooms) and the justifiably popular salad with pig's feet for Jim. (Fear not--the pig's feet come in battered pan-fried disks along with the greens. You'd have to know what they were to know what they were.) He had lobster bisque; I had cold potato and leek soup. We shared, we oohed, we shared some more, we aahhed. The chef came out to see if we enjoyed the chanterelles, because the dish was a special that evening. (None of the food is exactly SFNE--but Boston is more than just the sum of its clams, after all.)

The generous portion of veal short ribs (another special) was delicious. If there was any sense of disappointment, it was that--although our fruit tart slices (mine peach, his pear) were tasty--by the looks of it I would have loved the creme brulee ordered by the woman dining at the next table. But having yet another reason to return is not a bad thing.

We overstayed our meter by half an hour, but the parking gods were on our side and graced us with a ticketless state--a nice little anniversary present from the City of Boston.