Restaurant Review: Bin26 Enoteca
Last night I got all dolled up for a nice dinner out...and then realized that Bostonians don't really dress up so much to go out. In any case, I enjoyed my meal at Bin26, which is located on Charles Street in Beacon Hill. Beacon Hill is absolutely my favorite part of Boston because every time I go there I feel like I've traveled back in time a century. Here's a photo of an alleyway:
Bin26 is a small, casual-chic Italian eatery that serves a lot of Italian standards. My husband and I ate at the bar because we didn't feel like waiting 45 minutes for a table. One great thing about eating at the bar here is that the service is great because all the waiters have to go to the bar to get cutlery and drinks for guests. So they have to see you, which means they will not forget about you. Still, we waited over 30 minutes between our appetizer and our main course. In my husband's eyes, it is unforgivably bad. In my I-prefer-meals-to-drag-on-forever mind, this wasn't sooo bad. This is the what the restaurant looks like from the street:
For our first course, we chose to split steamed mussels:
The mussels were edible, but bland and dry. Where was the flavor and what flavor was it supposed to be? The waiter explained to us that they had just added them to the menu, so maybe that explains it. Still, I wouldn't order them again. They set us back about $11. For my main course, I had Farro Fussili:
I was really surprised that they had Farro (spelt) pasta on the menu because it is really rare to find whole-grain pastas served in restaurants. The pasta was tossed with mozzarella cheese, tomatoes, and a light oil-based sauce. I enjoyed the shape of the Fussili because my hair curls into that same shape. Very pleasant indeed, although the pasta was not al dente. That never used to bother me until I spent the summer cooking and living with a Chilean from an Italian family. My husband ordered a duck breast cooked with turnips:
It wasn't as tender as I expected it to be and the flavor was a little bland. Certainly not worth the $27 they charge for it, especially when compared to my much better-tasting $14 pasta. I believe the duck was braised and when you braise such a fatty animal, you have to add some strong flavors to the meat. Otherwise, it will just taste like fat.
The wine list was nice and we drank a very nice rose. I like that you can order wine in 3 different quantities (4 if you count ordering the entire bottle). It makes it entirely possible to taste many different wines in one dinner. I think I would return here, but mostly for the pleasant atmosphere. By the way, the online menu doesn't seem to be up to date.
Bin26 is a small, casual-chic Italian eatery that serves a lot of Italian standards. My husband and I ate at the bar because we didn't feel like waiting 45 minutes for a table. One great thing about eating at the bar here is that the service is great because all the waiters have to go to the bar to get cutlery and drinks for guests. So they have to see you, which means they will not forget about you. Still, we waited over 30 minutes between our appetizer and our main course. In my husband's eyes, it is unforgivably bad. In my I-prefer-meals-to-drag-on-forever mind, this wasn't sooo bad. This is the what the restaurant looks like from the street:
For our first course, we chose to split steamed mussels:
The mussels were edible, but bland and dry. Where was the flavor and what flavor was it supposed to be? The waiter explained to us that they had just added them to the menu, so maybe that explains it. Still, I wouldn't order them again. They set us back about $11. For my main course, I had Farro Fussili:
I was really surprised that they had Farro (spelt) pasta on the menu because it is really rare to find whole-grain pastas served in restaurants. The pasta was tossed with mozzarella cheese, tomatoes, and a light oil-based sauce. I enjoyed the shape of the Fussili because my hair curls into that same shape. Very pleasant indeed, although the pasta was not al dente. That never used to bother me until I spent the summer cooking and living with a Chilean from an Italian family. My husband ordered a duck breast cooked with turnips:
It wasn't as tender as I expected it to be and the flavor was a little bland. Certainly not worth the $27 they charge for it, especially when compared to my much better-tasting $14 pasta. I believe the duck was braised and when you braise such a fatty animal, you have to add some strong flavors to the meat. Otherwise, it will just taste like fat.
The wine list was nice and we drank a very nice rose. I like that you can order wine in 3 different quantities (4 if you count ordering the entire bottle). It makes it entirely possible to taste many different wines in one dinner. I think I would return here, but mostly for the pleasant atmosphere. By the way, the online menu doesn't seem to be up to date.
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