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| - I just came back from my second meal at Verandah since they got a new executive chef, Antonio Minichiello, who started last September. The first visit, I had the $45 prix fixe menu (not sure if they're still offering the same deal) -- salad, salmon, and a very interesting dessert (cow milk fritters with fresh strawberries and strawberry sorbet), all excellent. I'm forgetting the specifics now, but all in all, it was a terrific meal for much less than you'd expect to pay at the Four Seasons.
I ordered a la carte tonight. First, the special appetizer, fried softshell crab in a pear prosecco sauce. I was a bit disappointed at first because the crab was on the small side, but then I remembered that this ain't the Cheesecake Factory, where just one appetizer could easily be dinner for two Europeans. In other words, appetizers shouldn't get you full, or anywhere near, since most of your meal is still to come. After a couple of decades in Boston, I had plenty of softshell crab, and this was the best ever: light and crispy, not the slightest bit oily, with a sauce that complemented the crab instead of overwhelming it. I had a second appetizer, capesante, seared scallops in two different sauces - rhubarb compote and aioli - both very good, although I found the scallops a bit salty (granted, I have a low salt taste). For a main course, I tried the house special pasta: La Pasta Cotta Nel Vaso (pasta cooked in a jar, in case your Italian's rusty) -- artichoke pasta with scallops, calamari, langoustine, shrimp, tomato, and basil -- and yes, it is actually cooked in a mason jar. You're actually supposed to eat it from the jar, although they do give you a pasta dish if you want to partake more conventionally. I was a bit dubious, but the dish was superb. Most important, the pasta was done perfectly al dente, not the watery overcooked mess that most restaurants serve. All the seafood was also cooked perfectly, so that everything was tender and flavorful. Cooking it all in a mason jar seems like a gimmick, but there must be something to it because all the flavors combine beautifully. For dessert, I went a bit crazy and ordered the dessert for two: tiramisu in a crème anglaise, topped by 3 scoop(lets) of gelato in a caramelized wafer bowl, topped by a county fair-sized fluff of orange cotton candy. My eyes popped when I saw this huge dessert coming my way, but fortunately, most of the mass is just the cotton candy. The tiramisu was excellent, as were all three flavors of gelato (white espresso, rum crunch, butter pecan - all made in house). The caramelized wafer bowl was buttery, just the right sweetness, and perfectly crispy, and even the cotton candy was surprisingly good.
Others have criticized Verandah for its poor service, but I experienced only top-notch service both nights I went. My server knew every single item on the menu down cold. He, along with the food runner and assistant server (actual title?), were terrific. Service was of equal caliber during my first visit as well. Chef Minichiello has made Verandah the best Italian restaurant in town, in my opinion. With a great staff and a beautiful room, it's one of the best restaurants in town, period. Oh, and it's not nearly as expensive as you would think for being in the Four Seasons.
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