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by MC Slim JB |
February 20, 2009
Bond, the swank new restaurant/lounge at the Langham Hotel
(250 Franklin Street, Boston, 617.451.1900), looks surpassingly rich,
with its soaring ceilings, framed blowups of US currency, and luxe
leather furnishings in tones of chocolate, chestnut, and honey. While
2009 may not be the best moment to celebrate the banking world, Bond’s
pretty, oversized small-plates are surprisingly sensibly priced. These
are not teenytiny tapas: the Moroccan-spiced lamb ($18) might qualify
as an entrée at many restaurants. Three gorgeous, medium-rare chops
form a teepee atop a mound of cranberry-hued fruit that turns out to be
that humble staple of regularity-challenged diners: stewed prunes.
You’ll stop snickering once you discover what a sensational combination
of flavors is made by a bite of grass-fed lamb on the same fork as this
tenderly reconstituted dried fruit, with a textural exclamation point
of oily, crunchy Marcona almonds. This dish pairs serenely with a glass
of 2006 Glen Carlou Cabernet Sauvignon ($14), a round,
fruit-forward red from South Africa’s Paarl Valley. Toasty, sweet-spice
notes echo the prunes’ subtle cinnamon accents. The net-net? Bond
combines a dead-chic setting with exquisite grazing, and no one will
accuse you of squandering your government bailout. ...
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