La Voile

Friday after work rushing into Boston from NH can be daunting so add the Head of the Charles traffic and a detour to Wellesley to drop off Dorothy costume ruby slippers that I found at Target for my niece into the mix and YES I was late for the 7:15 reservation.

Parking on Newbury Street is a nightmare. I was even willing to valet but unable to find anything. I was furiously praying to the parking karma gods but ended up in a garage near the BPL. Drama!

Once I found La Voile – a French brasserie located between Fairfield and Gloucester streets – I was on an escape to a mediterranean sailing dining experience. The walls are painted with French quotes about “la mer” and the busboys are dressed in tight striped sailor shirts (oo la la). Our waiter was francais and gave us the specials in a thick accent. I asked him how to say www in French slang and he said it was “double v, double v, double v” but I feel like there is some cool way to say it I am missing out on. In Italian they say “voo, voo, voo”.

They start with an amuse bouche (naturellement) and this one was thin slices of saucisson and tiny bite sized sandwiches of roasted red pepper, ham and cheese.

The wine was already poured so I told stories about the family trip to Florida last week and helped choose starters. The best one was the millefeuille d’aubergine (eggplant napoleon). How much I cannot stand undercooked eggplant is equal to how much I adore it when it is properly cooked. We also shared seared scallops in cauliflower cream and 3 cheeses served with a bit of arugula which was simply dressed in a mustard-y vinaigrette.

My companions had salmon and lamb but my entree was the best of the table and I had the rest of it for breakfast today! It was joues de boeuf (beef cheeks) braised in wine and served with petite potatoes, carrots and zucchini. So tender you could cut it with a fork and the ultimate in flavor (bring on the offal).

No dessert – although I savored the mousse au chocolat at the table next to us with my eyes.