The Boston weather is totally messing with us with hints of glorious warm sunshine, back to 28 degree temperatures and crazy rainy windy weather that had me wondering why I even bothered with doing my hair that morning. Sadly, the night I was meeting my good friend, Kathryn for dinner was on this particularly stormy evening. Luckily though, we decided on an absolute favorite of mine, Sam’s at Louis… inside not out on the patio :(.
Later in the evening as everything was quitening down
I did my first review of Sam’s back in May 2011 and I can honestly say it has only got better with time. I have been back many times just for drinks and apps, dinner and brunch so I thought it was high time I did another review of this fabulous place.
I am not doing the fun lighting justice but its so cool to see it reflected in the windows
Located a little off the beaten track of the Seaport area on Northern Ave, Sam’s sits above the high-end clothing store, Louis Boston. Climb up the stairs to their restaurant and you are greeted by the clean and retro cool open space, which has a somewhat industrial vibe with a little bit of whimsy thrown in. The ceiling is exposed metal where you can see all the wires hanging down and the restaurant itself has diner’esq tables with chrome and white booth seating. The lighting is fun with large balls of white hard shades that reflect stunningly in the windows as the sun goes down. It all seems to work very well. Although on this particular evening, the rain was smashing against the windows With no sun in sight.
We had a great table in the center of the restaurant, which was quite noisy on this particular evening with large groups of women on a night out. It’s so funny how much louder we women can be when in a group. Everyone seemed to having a super fun time.
Our waiter who has served on me and my friends many times is absolutely wonderful, thoughtful and knowledgeable. We started with ordering a bottle Godello, a crisp, fruity and dry Spanish white. Wine was poured throughout our evening without us even noticing.
While we decided on what to order the best bread in the world is delivered to the table. I am not kidding, this bread is insanely good, especially with the salty butter.
Sam’s insanely good bread
Our evening started with a half a dozen Island Creeks, which I have said many times are amazing this year. The perfect creamy, briny oyster.
Fresh Shucked Oysters with cocktail sauce – mkt
With “snack” choices of Skillet Baked Polenta, Spiced Nuts and Zucchini Strips we wanted everything but settled on sharing the Edamame Hummus, which I could not stop talking about. I even asked if the chef would give me the recipe. This is such a simple, fresh dish, which tasted just as good on sliced cucumbers as it does on the thinly crisp papadums.
Edamame Hummus – miso, chili oil, cucumbers, papadums – $9.00
There are choices for first courses of Warm Kale, Quinoa Salad and Duck Noodle Soup, however we moved straight onto our main courses. Perhaps next time. The Duck Noodle Soup looked great.
Entrée options range from Stuffed Whole Trout, Baked Parisienne Gnocchi and Braised Lamb Shank. My mouth was watering just reading the descriptions. I knew I wanted fish so finally settled on the Spiced Halibut. This dish is just perfect with creamy buttery fish atop a flavor explosion of crunchy radishes, pesto, couscous, a hint of fennel and a delicate taste of saffron.
Spiced Halibut – roasted radishes, winter pesto, Israeli couscous, fennel, saffron butter – mkt
Kathryn ordered the Herb Roasted Chicken, which I would have been just as happy with. This chicken is so juicy and has wonderful tastes of creamy cheese and spinach. It did remind me a little Cordon Bleu Chicken. So tasty.
Herb Roasted Chicken – sunchokes, bel paese cheese, creamy spinach puree, preserved lemon – $27.00
No room for dessert but there was still some wine left for us to enjoy while continuing to catch up.
Sam’s is great for a date, especially if you need background noise and even more so when the patio is open. Super for dining out with friends and even better for large groups to get together.
There is absolutely no downside to dining at Sam’s… it’s just simply good!
