Sky-high dining, sky-high prices, but not always sky-high service
Type: Eclectic
Prices: Appetizers, soups, and salads $4.50-$14; entrees $16-$36; desserts $8.
Good choices: Appetizer, mushroom strudel. Entrees, artichoke and goat cheese ravioli, sauteed mignons of veal, pan-seared salmon. Desserts, the big dig, trio of mousse cake.
Hours: Mon.-Thurs. 5:30-10 p.m.; Fri.-Sat. 5:30-11 p.m.; cocktail lounge open until 1 a.m. during the week, 2 a.m. Fri.-Sat.
Credit cards: All major cards.
Fully accessible.
Other establishment listed in this review:
THE TOP OF THE HUB
800 Boylston St., Boston
(The Prudential Center)
(617)536-1775
Type: Eclectic
Prices: Appetizers, soups, and salads $6 to $15; entrees $16 to $34; desserts $8.
Good choices: Appetizer, spicy lobster soup. Entrees, roast free range chicken, seared yellow fin tuna steak. Dessert, warm chocolate cake with pistachio ice cream.
THE BAY TOWER
60 State Street, Boston
(The Prudential Center)
(617) 723-1666
Restaurant reviewed 02/20/98 by Brian McGrory
On its face, it seems a rather odd proposition: take an ear-popping elevator ride a few dozen floors up the spine of a Boston skyscraper, stare down from nauseating heights at pedestrians the size of carpenter ants, then order some remarkably overpriced food.
And yet, in so many ways, it works, this time-tested concept of sky-high dining. Sitting atop a grand downtown tower before a linen-clothed table and a braised lamb shank, a diner cannot help but feel, quite literally, above it all, on top of the world, somehow rejuvenated. While you're choosing a white wine, something dry but not too tart, those specks of humanity far beneath you are driving their little cars, rushing in and out of their little buildings, carrying on with what appear to be their tiny little lives.
Which perhaps explains why the talented quartet at the Bay Tower restaurant at 60 State Street seemed to be breaking out into a gleeful rendition of "Happy Birthday" every half-dozen songs or so, or why the man who took my reservation at the Top of the Hub inquired as to the occasion. These are restaurants dedicated to the art of the celebration, where patrons can break the bounds of their daily routine and ascend to almost spiritual heights.
No doubt, some gourmands scoff at the quality of such establishments, and we'll be clear: while the views - and yes, the prices - may be astronomical, the food is far more earthly. Restaurateurs don't build in the heavens because stoves work better at 400 feet, and diners don't come here looking for cutting-edge gourmet. Still, we were pleasantly surprised by several dishes at both restaurants, and concluded that with careful consideration, it is possible to dine well at a price of only moderate outrage - probably around $75 per person, including wine and tip.
That said, be warned: The Top of the Hub, long notorious for its poor service, may have only gotten worse - in one visit, actually transcending the rude to achieve the insulting. Our waiter informed us that we weren't important or wealthy enough to warrant a window table with a good view, even while such tables sat empty. "Those are for VIPs," he said.
Herein are Boston's two sky-high restaurants:
The Bay Tower
The initial approach is a bit disorienting: a warren of hallways from the elevator bank, a warning sign on the need for proper attire, a couple of checkpoints manned by officious staff. But follow the maitre d' through a stadium-like underpass into the main room and you are met full-square with the restaurant's raison d'etre, its two-story windows offering the best dining view in town.
On a gin-clear night, the peak of the Custom House Tower gleams so close you think you can reach outside and touch it. The waterfront and harbor glitter in the background, Quincy Market lies just below, and the soft rose-tinted lights of the restaurant allow the view to reach inside, to make everything more beautiful.
Worry not about a good table. The terraced room is brilliant for its design, its ability to offer every diner an unhindered view, especially in the mezzanine lounge.
The food? Be careful. Some of the most expensive offerings on the entirely predictable menu are not necessarily their best. The $33 roasted rack of lamb smacked of oil _ lamby if you will. The most distinctive part of the sauteed Maine lobster was the price _ $36. Likewise for the lobster medallion appetizer, which bordered on tasteless. The $31 grilled filet of beef was nothing special, like something from the supermarket. The roast stuffed chicken breast was barely stuffed at all, and dry.
But like so much else in life, there is virtue to be found if you know where to look. The sauteed mignons of veal were nothing short of terrific, dressed with cranberries and a mushroom pasta. The $17 artichoke and goat cheese ravioli was the least expensive and one of the best entrees. The pan-seared salmon was moist, accompanied by innovative sweet prawn ravioli.
To start, stick with the mushroom strudel, the silky smooth lobster bisque or the winter green salad, accented with toasted pecans and apple slices. Dinner ends with a bit of whimsy. One dessert, the big dig, is a pile of peanut butter, marshmallow, and chocolate, with a shovel-shaped cookie on top. Or try the mousse cake, which includes two chocolate silhouettes of people sitting before a cookie window with the Custom House Tower in the background.
Top of the Hub
It's tough to get over a few aspects of this restaurant, like the hostess walking you past a bank of empty window tables to your own perch facing a mirror, to the waiter telling you you're not important enough to be moved, to the manager informing you that the best he can do is to relocate your party a couple of tables over, still away from the windows, still without a notable view.
For fun, we asked the waiter what would constitute a VIP, in effect, how important is important. He told us that he had a lot of wealthy diners, even a multibillionaire in the week before, and they would be VIPs. In a more touching moment, he said it wasn't all about money. His mother, he said, she'd be a VIP. Then, with a laugh, he added, "Of course, everyone here is a VIP." That is funny.
The room itself, redone in bright lines and striking colors, gives you the sense of floating above the city, distinctly separate, rather than the more intimate Bay Tower. And unlike the Bay Tower, there are tables distinctly good and bad, and you get the drill on who sits where.
All this said, I was fully prepared to disdain the food, but couldn't. The $27 pan-seared tenderloin was extraordinarily mediocre, and the mush-like codfish is to be avoided at all costs. But the salmon, as well as the yellowfin tuna steak, were hits, as were the roasted pork chop - very moist - and the nicely treated chicken, which seemed a bargain at $18. Appetizers, too, were creative and ranged to the delicious, especially the spicy lobster soup and the smoked confit of duck.
To finish, order the plate of warm cookies, served with a dish of fresh chantilly cream. It makes my list as one of the top desserts in the city, and is large enough for the more altruistic-minded to share. To avoid the catastrophic service, I recommend slipping into the lounge, late at night, for aperitifs and cookies and a view.
Lunch the next day was a smash success. We were led to a sun-splashed window table. The food was good, the service was even better, leaving me to wonder about the schizophrenic nature of the place.
Tips & hits
