Boston Restaurant Week {Reviews}

Working in downtown Boston allows me to experience Restaurant Week lunches during the two Restaurant Weeks that Boston hosts each year (two weeks in March and two in August). In past years, Josh and I have eaten at some truly amazing restaurants (notably, Locke-Ober and Smith & Wollensky's) and, usually, Restaurant Week menus make sure to wow their guests. This year, of the three lunches that I enjoyed, two of them were fantastic and one was a bit disappointing.

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To start, I enjoyed an amazing meal at North 26 - at the Millenium Bostonian Hotel in Faneuil Hall. I went in on a quiet Tuesday afternoon, was able to sit at a table in the sun and was able to enjoy the book I was reading without being constantly bothered by the waitstaff. For my first course, I had the Baby Iceberg Salad, followed by the North 26 burger and then a trio of ricotta bites with chocolate dipping sauce for dessert. This was a great meal, with great service, and I can't wait to go back for dinner!

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On Thursday, I had my favorite meal of Restaurant Week at Jay Santos' (of Hell's Kitchen fame) Blue, Inc. - located in Boston's financial district. While they only offered the "light lunch" Restaurant Week option - only 2 courses - I got to start with one of their milkshakes made with liquid nitrogen! For my first course, I enjoyed the tuna tartare and for my second course I had the Blue Inc. burger - even better than North 26's! With the burger, I added a side of their truffle and gouda tater tots and they did not disappoint! I sat at the bar because the restaurant was jam packed, but the service was great - although the bar chairs weren't the most comfortable - Josh and I will definitely be headed back here in the near future!

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Finally, last week I wanted to squeeze in one more Restaurant Week lunch and decided to head over to Mija Cantina in Faneuil Hall. Full disclaimer - I have been here before for a quick dinner and absolutely loved it. The tacos that I had were amazing and the sangria was delicious. This trip, however, left me with a horrible taste in my mouth and made me wonder if I'll go back again. To begin with, their Restaurant Week menu is only about 5 items long - 3 for a first course and 2 for a second course - and if I hadn't wanted pork or chicken, I was out of luck. While the service was great, the food was really just subpar. My chicken tortilla soup was bland and my chicken enchilada was okay, but really nothing special. To me, the point of Restaurant Week is to create a fun menu that showcases some of your best dishes and talents and encourages guests to come back and pay full price for your more expensive menu items. Mija's dishes did exactly the opposite of this and I don't plan on heading back anytime soon.

Did you enjoy any Restaurant Week meals this year? If you're not in Boston, do they have Restaurant Week in your area? If they do, I highly recommend giving it a try!