Good choices: Crab cakes; galantine of capon; seafood stew with red wine sauce; lobster ra gout; grilled ahi tuna with baby bok choy; pan-seared duck breast, leg confit star anise-glazed; tenderloin of beef stroganoff; Indian pudding; apple tarte tatin.
Can a club-like, slightly old-fashioned restaurant with no ostensible decor succeed in this design-crazy era? Can luxurious food with rich sauces grab diners weaned onto grilled, skinless everything? Can smoothly professional service appeal to those accustomed to casual and perky?
These questions occur to me as I savor chef Jam Navaraj's lobster ragout at The Exchange, the new restaurant in the stately former Shawmut Bank building. The ragout is outstanding, extravagant with giant chunks of lobster, spears of asparagus and wonderfully musky morels. Yet it slides down without any hint of heaviness, the sauce just a silky sensation rather than a weight on the tongue. Navaraj, who was chef at Locke-Ober for more than 20 years, shows his skill in saucing, the respect for luxury ingredients, and sense of finesse. But this menu breaks into free-form more often than his previous position must have called for.
The owners of The Exchange plan a private club on the lower level of the building, complete with cigar humidors, liquor lockers, and dining rooms tucked into old vaults. In fact, when I called for reservations soon after it opened in July, the staff member first said reservations were taken only for members, but ``since we've just opened,'' he added, a table was available. By the second visit, no such requirement was mentioned. Even so, there's a hint of mystery or perhaps continental panache at The Exchange. One of the owners, who according to staff members gives only the name Harry, greets customers and gladly gives tours of the building.
The large, long bar fronting the restaurant portion of The Exchange is full of business types in early evening along with smoke and noise. The room bustles so that it's difficult to imagine a restaurant being on the premises. But this dissipates once one is led back to the dining room, through a rather awkward hallway where waiting staff congregate. Then a new sensation becomes ascendant. The room is quiet, the tables spaced widely, the wait staff professional and soliticious. There's nothing arresting to see and unlike most of the places I go to these days, one can hear the music playing on the sound system. It's impossible not to count the number of people in the room, match it with the bustle of the bar, and for a moment, wish that some of that liveliness would seep into the dining room.
But then the first appetizers arrive, chasing aside other thoughts. Navaraj treats classics tenderly. Crab cakes are small and full of the flavor of the shellfish; a sprightly mango coulis and one of cranberry add sharp accents. A plate of jumbo shrimp fits its description, four very large and firm shrimp perfectly cooked. A galantine of capon is an ode to forgotten French delicacies, and lobster bisque grabs one's attention with a sea flavor almost smoky in its intensity.
Over the several months The Exchange has been open, the menu has been slimmed down, Navaraj says in a phone interview, and many dishes are now given a lighter or more modern twist. A classic bearnaise sauce graces grilled ahi tuna, but the creamy sauce is fired with just enough wasabi to brighten its tone, especially when tasted against slightly bitter baby bok choy. A seafood stew is simple but luxurious. Shrimp, scallops, chunks of toasted bread, and fish rest just a little in an herb-scented red wine sauce gilded with some cream. It's certainly not diet fare, but not too heavy either, and excellent.
Tenderloin of beef stroganoff, on an earlier menu, is flagrantly rich, though, reminiscent of all those '70s gourmet meals one made at home, but with a much better grade of beef. Pan-seared salmon is almost austere in comparison, with only a light champagne sauce against the rich fish.
Navaraj is Thai but an Asian accent seldom creeps into this French-based food. Pan-seared duck breast and leg confit in a dark sauce has just a faint tinge of something exotic, almost a scent more than taste, that turns out to be star anise, the distinctive spice that rolls peppery sharp, almost sweet, and several other sensations together.
The Exchange, along with fairly high entree prices, boasts an interesting but rather steeply priced wine list. The wait staff matches the style of the cuisine beautifully, attentive and courteous, without a smidgeon of attitude.
Desserts are classic also and worth every calorie. Apple tarte tatin upheld the honor of just caramelizing apples and adding a marvelous pastry with a dollop of creme fraiche. Indian pudding was a little sweet for my taste, but authentically done.
The Exchange is a rather delightful throwback in some ways. The staff cosseting, and the cuisine based on French traditions are excellent. A little more color in the room or perhaps some openness to the outside (even the windows are darkened with shades) would add spark. And yet it's quite reassuring to know one can eat so well, be taken care of, and have a conversation with companions.
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