Thanks for the Globe story. I hate these stories because they are gross, but I suppose I am better for having the knowledge.
You're really not better off, IMHO, unless you are willing to give up eating out altogether. Those kinds of things go on at most every restaurant in the world every day. Some more serious, some less, but no none is perfect.
I'm sorry, I was wrong and take back the rats / rodents comments (I'll edit my post too). But I was right in that they were cited for health violations at least over the past 3 years. HERE is an article from The Globe detailing some of what they have found at Mistral, Union Oyster House, The Federalist, etc. Mistral was cited for 3 violations this year, along some with from that article which were deemed "critical risk factor violations" and similar from the website you cited.
May not be rodents but certainly not somwhere I'd like to be eating.
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Originally Posted by magiciansampras
Thanks for the Globe story. I hate these stories because they are gross, but I suppose I am better for having the knowledge.
Quote:
Originally Posted by tkey75
You're really not better off, IMHO, unless you are willing to give up eating out altogether. Those kinds of things go on at most every restaurant in the world every day. Some more serious, some less, but no none is perfect.
Exactly. If one were to spend some time doing research, they would find that most "better" restaurants (and, in fact, most restaurants) have been cited for similar violations as those that EdV seems so eager to point out about Mistral and Sorellina. It's a fact of restaurant life. If you don't like it, don't eat out. Rather, eat at home where food storage, food handling and other food safety measures are not nearly at the high level as at Mistral, Sorellina, or most other restaurants in Boston.
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Quote:
Originally Posted by marais
BTW you might consider Locke-Ober downtown for a more formal (and sublimely Bostonian) dinner---there are private dining rooms there for a group such as yours.
I was part of a group of about 14 or 16 that had an absolutely, incredibly wonderful dinner in a private room at Locke-Ober ... of course that was in 1966, so YMMV.
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Blumie's right, it's not just these restaurants: you wil find that almost every restaurant will eventually be cited for something. So it is unfair to single out these two restaurants. I guess they just kind of stuck in my head from that very article I had read and cited. But honestly having now re-read they're violations in comparison to some other big name, high end restaurans that I like to frequent I think I'd rather be eating at Mistral. It's violations are nothing compared to what some of these other restaurants have been cited with. Sorry for the confusion and thanks for the website: a good resource but not something I think I want to know about now. Ignorance is bliss sometimes.
Here's a happy fun fact about Boston (and some food for thought - pun intended )
I have it from a reliable source that the restaurants that occupy the Quincy Market building have some sort of grandfather to certain inspection requirements because the building is in such a state due to its age that full compliance would never be possible. Think: rodents in the basement areas.
This info came to me a few years back, but I don't think the situation has improved with age.
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Quote:
Originally Posted by tkey75
You're really not better off, IMHO, unless you are willing to give up eating out altogether. Those kinds of things go on at most every restaurant in the world every day. Some more serious, some less, but no none is perfect.
Quote:
Originally Posted by Blumie
Exactly. If one were to spend some time doing research, they would find that most "better" restaurants (and, in fact, most restaurants) have been cited for similar violations as those that EdV seems so eager to point out about Mistral and Sorellina. It's a fact of restaurant life. If you don't like it, don't eat out. Rather, eat at home where food storage, food handling and other food safety measures are not nearly at the high level as at Mistral, Sorellina, or most other restaurants in Boston.
I don't buy it. I don't think every restaurant leaves out par-cooked entrees, unrefrigerated, waiting to be cooked. Some restaurants are better than others and I am glad that I have access to this kind of information.
I don't buy it. I don't think every restaurant leaves out par-cooked entrees, unrefrigerated, waiting to be cooked. Some restaurants are better than others and I am glad that I have access to this kind of information.
There's no question that some violations are more severe than others, and some are so severe that the restaurant ought to be closed until rectified. But I still stand by my statement: most restaurants -- especially the higher end ones that have so much to lose from negative publicity about health code compliance -- have better food storage, food handling and general food safety standards than you have in your own home.
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Blumie
There's no question that some violations are more severe than others, and some are so severe that the restaurant ought to be closed until rectified. But I still stand by my statement: most restaurants -- especially the higher end ones that have so much to lose from negative publicity about health code compliance -- have better food storage, food handling and general food safety standards than you have in your own home.
Maybe, but I don't have to serve hundreds of diners on a Friday night, either where things can get crazy and there is more of a chance of cutting corners.
Further, since my wife has mild OCD, I'm not even sure your original premise is correct.
Further, since my wife has mild OCD, I'm not even sure your original premise is correct.
Does your wife wash her hands before emptying the dishwasher? When was the last time your wife used a thermometer to check the temperature of items in your fridge? Does your wife use a thermometer to check the temperature of foods before she serves them? When you put food in plastic bags or containers, do you label them with the contents and the date?
There are a myriad of regulations that comprise the vast majority of restaurant health code violations, most of which us lay people are wholly unfamiliar with.
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Blumie
Does your wife wash her hands before emptying the dishwasher?
Yes.
Quote:
Originally Posted by Blumie
When was the last time your wife used a thermometer to check the temperature of items in your fridge?
About a month ago.
Quote:
Originally Posted by Blumie
Does your wife use a thermometer to check the temperature of foods before she serves them?
For poultry and meat, yes absolutely.
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Originally Posted by Blumie
When you put food in plastic bags or containers, do you label them with the contents and the date?
We tend not to save too much stuff.
Quote:
Originally Posted by Blumie
There are a myriad of regulations that comprise the vast majority of restaurant health code violations, most of which us lay people are wholly unfamiliar with.
Yean and apparently lots of them the restaurants are unfamiliar with, or worse, choose not to follow.
We haven't been there in years, but is Durgan Park still good?
Um...it's good for what it is, which is a slice of Olde Boston more geared toward tourists since Quincy Market was redeveloped in the 70s. Definitely not a place for fine dining. And, since it is not air-conditioned, it can be a rather uncomfortable place for dinner...I had clients a couple of years back who insisted on going there for dinner on a hot evening in June, and we sweated our way through and the food was okay, but the experience was not pleasant.
If the OP wants a "fine dining" experience which is totally Boston, then I would agree with the suggestion of a private room at Locke-Öber on Winter St. Lydia Shire updated the menu a few years back without sacrificing the old Boston ambiance. No. 9 Park would be a good backup, depending on the size of the group. Regardless, the OP should book now.
I have to have a soft spot for a place where my grandfather used to eat,
but D-P shouldn't even appear in a thread about "best hundred restaurants
in Boston." I continue to take people there, including the occasional FTer.
If you order judiciously, have low expectations for your vegetables, and
get Indian pudding, you can have a satisfying meal.
Ignorance is bliss sometimes.
)
