bex77

My co-workers and I decided to have a business lunch today at Henrietta's Table, one of the restaurants in the Charles Hotel in Harvard Square. They were participating in "Restaurant Week," a charming event where fancy restaurants have special menus for lunch or dinner during a week in August that would otherwise be too quiet for them, and they only charge $20.08 for lunch and $30.08 for dinner. The great thing about HT was that they let you order a three-course meal from anything on their menu! So you can see our choices on their web site http://www.henriettastable.com/menus/lunch.php

HT's "thing" is fresh and honest food from local suppliers.

We started with a pecan cranberry bread. It was warm - a sign of a good place! Most of us ordered the Crimson Berry Iced Tea and the other had a white sangria with pino grigio, rum and fresh fruit.

My compatriots tried the spinach salad with blueberries, pecans and goat cheese and vinaigrette. It was colorful and served in a large wooden bowl. I ordered the Maine crab and corn chowder with smoked bacon. It came in a tiny cast-iron crock! It wasn't creamy, but a light chicken stock base, with lots of crab, corn, potatoes and bacon.

For mains, two of us had the baked Gloucester Scrod with organic baby potatoes. Another tried the Arctic Char, a salmon-like orange fish, with sauteed bok choi and summer squash. The other had a selection of 5 local cheeses served on a cheese board with dried fruit, grapes, jelly and toast. He let us sample the cheese...divine!
The portions are on the small side, but reasonable for lunch.

I had the raspberry apple pie with fresh whipped cream for dessert, and got to taste the vanilla bean cheesecake and oggle the fresh strawberry shortcake.

All the food was fine, but didn't have the "super fresh" or "interesting" combos I might have expected at their normal prices.

The interior was bustling when we arrived. We were seated under a skylight, which helped blunt the noise a bit, and it calmed down as people trickled off in the later afternoon. The service was slow and rather poor - I've found this normal during restaurant week as places get overrun.

I probably wouldn't go there on my dime, but it was very civilized and a great way to spend a summer afternoon with the best of my co-workers.