Boston Magazine
2005
Zagat Survey 2004
Citysearch
2004
Boston Phoenix
10/03
Best of Boston
2003
Slammed 2/03
Impropr Bstnian
7/07
Digital City
'02
Stuff@Night 11/02
City Search
'02
Boston
Magazine 1 '02
Boston Magazine
2
Stuff@Night
By Ruth Tobias
11/02
Legends
in their time: Restaurants that put Boston on the map -
and still matter
"Refusing either to rest on their laurels or to forfeit focus for franchises, they continue to abide by both the traditions and the innovations on which they were built. I recently revisited five such places to see what was new - and to reflect on what will never grow old.
It seems impossible - since their cooking couldn’t be more distinct - that Chris Schlesinger, Gordon Hamersley, Frank McClelland, Todd English, and Mario León could echo each other’s sentiments so, sharing culinary philosophies and even aesthetics. Nevertheless, the themes recur: consistency. Loyalty to the local, seasonal, and artisanal. Simplicity and humility. Modest goals that, as such, proved revolutionary.
Dalí is the exception to the rules these chefs wrote as they went about borrowing imaginatively from other culinary traditions to invent something distinctly American. Rather, owners Mario León and Tamara Bourso thought, Dalí would introduce something purely Spanish to America. Many Bostonians had their first taste not only of tapas and sangria here, but also of the conviviality that defines dining just about everywhere but the fast food-fueled US. León, for one, is a gracious host, the kind of old-school charmer who’d kid that 'my wife is (Dalí’s) artistic director and I am the utility boy.' And the restaurant itself has a glittering sumptuousness, with surreal touches that pay homage to the painter who lent it his name; the effect is as festive as tapas - meat-heavy yet veggie-bright tidbits meant to be shared with lots of wine or sherry.
As for the menu, says León, it’s basically the same as it was on opening day in 1989, loaded with bold flavors - pork sausage paired with figs, salmon 'meatballs' with caper sauce, garlic soup; he attributes the restaurant’s staying power to its commitment to and celebration of authenticity and heritage: 'If you’re so worried about what the guy across the street is doing, and you go through fusion and Cajun…no, no, no.' Trends pass; truth lasts. León’s especially proud that the Spanish temperament is palpable enough for Dalí to win the epithet “Most Romantic Restaurant.' One couple, he says, 'came in on a blind date; now they come in with two kids.' Such is the love-potion power of paella.
The anecdote reminds me of Gordon Hamersley’s paraphrase of the response famed New York chef Danny Meyer gave to the question 'What’s a classic?' 'Meyer concluded that ‘it’s one of those places that multiple generations go’ … In 20-plus years, you can shape what a restaurant means to people.' As Boston’s latest legends-to-be incubate … these five giants continue to grow older, better, and even more meaningful."
