When you want to escape the conference, try out these eateries for a quick bite between sessions or a relaxing sit-down meal.
Anna Kushnir
Café Jaffa: Middle Eastern street food, just one block from the Hynes center
Café Jaffa has its roots in Middle Eastern street food, offering such dishes as falafel and shawarmas, shaved meats wrapped in a soft pita. But this street food is best enjoyed sitting down, preferably at one of the colorful tables in the inviting café.
Bourekas, mashed potatoes wrapped in a thin, pan-fried crepe, are on the short list of appetizers. The potatoes are light on taste and leaden in texture. Focus instead on the wonderful meats on the menu.
Chicken, lamb, or beef shawarma and kebabs are available as a wrap, a platter with rice pilaf and pita, or with a salad. The lamb and beef shawarmas have a peppery bite and the strips of shaved chicken are very tender and moist.
Succulent chicken kebabs come out sizzling hot at Café Jaffa.
The chicken kebabs are large chunks of white meat served off the skewer on a sizzling metal plate, along with slivers of onion and chunks of grilled bell pepper. The accompanying Greek salad is a vehicle more for crumbled feta than for vegetables; the fresh, briny cheese is wonderful wrapped in a bit of warm pita.
End your meal with some Turkish coffee or a glass of wine, and linger a while. After all, street food doesn’t have to be fast food.
48 Gloucester St.
Boston, MA 02115
(617) 536-0230
Appetizers: $4.50-8.50
Entrées: $4.00-14.95
Scoozi: On the casual side of Newbury Street
The food at Scoozi may not be refined but it is fast and good, letting you get back to strolling down Newbury Street (or that conference at the Hynes Convention Center) fully sated.
The pizzas are not for the dainty. The 16-inch pies have a thick, chewy crust and are topped generously with molten, stretchy cheese. The chipotle pizza is spicy, with rounds of chicken sausage dotting the top; beware of dripping hot oil and cheese.
You risk making a mess with the grilled steak panini, but the tender slices of steak, cheese, and mushrooms in a pressed baguette make it worthwhile.
The shrimp scampi is perfect, piled high with shrimp, giant capers, and tomatoes in a light garlic wine sauce. Garlic permeates the dish without offending; capers offer briny accents, while parmesan adds richness and depth.
The small restaurant can become cramped and a little loud. On a nice day, take it outside; Scoozi’s street-level patio allows for ample people-watching.
237 Newbury St.
Boston MA 02116
(617) 247-8847
Appetizers: $5.95-12.00
Pizzas and pasta: $13.00-17.00
Panini: $6.85-9.15
Laurel Grill & Bar: Quiet elegance in the Back Bay
Pale green walls and tall windows at Laurel Grill & Bar provide a sense of calm that allows one to focus on friends and food, just blocks away from the hustle and bustle of Newbury Street.
For a light dish, try the ricotta and spinach ravioli: the fresh tomato and white wine sauce bathing the ravioli has a robust rosemary flavor. A special of grilled arctic char, a fish that resembles mild salmon, comes topped with a tangy mango salsa.
The eight-layer trifle at Laurel Grill stacks layer upon layer of rich chocolate flavor.
If the atmosphere at Laurel is not enough to soothe, the desserts will do the trick. The eight-layer trifle alternates neat layers of dense chocolate cake, bittersweet chocolate mousse, whipped cream, and crunchy toffee bits. Scooping all the way to the bottom of the glass with a long spoon is half the fun; savoring the smooth chocolate flavor is the other. The fudge brownies are so good that they inspired a separate business; you can order the brownies through the restaurant’s website.
142 Berkeley St.
Boston, MA 02116
(617) 424-6711
Appetizers: $4.59-8.99
Entrées: $12.95-21.99
Dessert: $7
Piattini: Putting wine on an equal footing with food
When you combine a tapas restaurant with a wine bar and add an Italian twist, you get Piattini. The menu has recommended wines listed alongside small plates and main courses. For the price of one glass of wine you can taste three by ordering a “flight,” a sampling of wines that have been matched in body or taste.
Start with a cold plate of silky beef carpaccio doused with an assertive olive oil. Move on to a small plate of butternut squash ravioli adorned with pieces of candied squash and torn sage leaves. The sweetness of the brown sugar-heavy sauce is kept in check by the savory ravioli filling.
The candied squash on top of the butternut squash ravioli at Piattini is sweet enough to serve as dessert.
One of the specials is seared scallops around a ring of saffron risotto. The scallops are so sweet and creamy that they overshadow the meek risotto. Among the main courses, corkscrew-shaped whole wheat pasta is tender yet full of texture. The pasta wraps around wilted greens and strips of pan-fried veal. The best way to enjoy Piattini is to mix and match small plates of food.
Seared scallops flank saffron risotto at Piattini.
226 Newbury St.
Boston, MA 02116
(617) 536-2020
Small plates: $7.95-12.95
Pastas and entrées: $15.95-22.95
Brasserie Jo: A French restaurant set apart from the rest
How does a French restaurant in a city full of French restaurants set itself apart? In the case of Brasserie Jo, it focuses on the cuisine of Alsace, a German-influenced region of France.
Alsace specialties include tarte flambée, a type of flatbread pizza. The Brasserie’s version has soft cubes of bacon and onions on a bed of thick cream, which balances the saltiness of the bacon.
Crisp flatbread tarte flambée at Brasserie Jo is a classic Alsatian dish.
The enormous serving of braised lamb shank is full of buttery meat that practically falls off the bone. The rich lamb is accented by a mustard mayonnaise and made into a hearty meal with roasted root vegetables and herbed spaetzle, or Alsatian noodles.
The shrimp bag at Brasserie Jo has bright pink shrimp stuffed inside a tall phyllo dough pouch.
The presentation of the “famous shrimp bag” is impressive; a pastry pouch filled with shrimp sits atop wild rice in a pool of lobster sauce. Sadly, the visual appeal outshines the taste. More lobster flavor in the sauce and more seasoning on the shrimp could make this good dish great.
The spirit of Alsace and supremely friendly staff put Brasserie Jo in a league of its own.
120 Huntington Ave.
Boston, MA 02116
(617) 424-7000
Appetizers: $5.95-14.95
Entrées: $14.95-24.95
Did we miss your favorite Back Bay restaurant? Post a comment about it here. And read our reviews of other restaurants in the Longwood area, South Boston, Kendall/Central Squares near MIT, the South End near BU Medical Center, Harvard Square and "Kenmore Square near BU.":https://network.nature.com/boston/news/Review/2007/09/10/restaurants-near-kenmore-square