Sweet and Sour in Boston

Sorry this has been delayed, but I really just didn’t want to remember my meal at Sel De La Terrible. To be fair, it definitely wasn’t worse than the British Beer Company. Also, I wrongfully assumed it was a seafood restaurant. So sue me, it’s right by the aquarium and there are fishies on the building.
Since it’s been a few days you’ve all probably read JP’s posting. We walked in and were greeted by no less than 6 people. I was actually overwhelmed. And stated so. They laughed. I’m not sure why. Seriously. When I was a server we were never allowed to stand around together looking not busy. Cardinal sin. We walk away and are seated. Immediately our waiter comes over asking us if we’re ready to order. Now this isn’t cool for a few reasons. One, he was one of the 35 people standing at the front door so he knows we’ve just been seated. And (B), he followed us over and I actually watched him watch us sit down. He clearly knows we didn’t even have time to open a menu. Dude. Relax. I know you guys want to turnaround a huge crowd tonight, but let me at least take off my coat.
We order drinks and food. I get the tomato soup with grilled cheese, the blue fish, and the puff pastry with caramel ice cream. John Paul ordered the oysters, steak, and some chocolaty dessert.
Loud dude has since left and now JP and I can talk about him. Dude, what was with him? Was he wasted or just that loud of a person? I feel bad for his date. Yikes. A little bit further into our conversation I notice something funny…our waiter is counting money on a table near ours…like actually ON the table. Eww. Dirty money does not belong touching a table! Also, why are you counting it in front of patrons? Take it in the back. This is supposed to be a nice restaurant!
Food comes. Tomato soup is delish. Finished it and craved more. Was very creamy and I was able to taste basil. There were also scallions cut up and sprinkled on top for garnish. They added a nice bite. Hopes are now high. If the rest of my dinner is as fantastic as the soup, I’ll be the happiest girl.
Sadly, the fantastic meal ended with the appetizer. My blue fish came out. The fish had at least 3 bones in it. Eww. Yes that happens every now and then, but three? Ick. Also it was in this nasty broth. The broth actually made me feel ill. Yuck. There were two positives about the dish, the portion of fish (HUGE!) and the corn. The corn was amazing. I tried JP’s steak and wish I had ordered the same. It was perfectly cooked and melted in my mouth. Damn I hate ordering wrong.
Dessert arrives and I notice our ice cream is melted. John Paul thinks it’s because the pastries we have it with are so warm it’s melting the ice cream. Unfortunately his assumption is incorrect. Our pastries are cold so that means our food has been sitting out for quite some time. Man that always makes me sad. I like when my food is served at the correct temperature. Points off again…or shall I say dollars off our waiters tip…that’d be a more appropriate statement.
Finally it’s time to pay. Now if only we could find our waiter…don’t you love it when your waiter is up your arse the entire night, until it comes time to pay the bill. Yeah I love that too.

Since we tried Sel De La Terre during restaurant week I admit I have some concerns. I wonder if it would have been better if we had tried it when it wasn’t restaurant week. Yet, I also wonder if it would have been just as crappy and now we’ve saved ourselves some money by getting it at a restaurant week price. The world may never know, or at least I won’t because I don’t plan on returning any time soon.

I give Sel De La Terre 2 out of 5.

I can’t remember the last time I actually had to wait to be seated at a restaurant. Nowadays JP and I are so open-table savvy we just make reservations and then head out at our designated time. Also, we rarely eat at chain restaurants, or chain-like restaurant in this case. I’m suddenly remembering why this is such a rare occasion. I think JP mentioned this in an earlier blog, but when we first started dating I used to LOVE Olive Garden. My friends and I would travel far and wide for their amazing, never-ending breadsticks and the reasonably priced “authentic Italian food” (they learned from real chefs in Italy!!). I’d never had Italian food so yummy. I, of course, was wrong. Very, very wrong. I’ve since changed my opinion about my formerly beloved O.G., along with all the other chain restaurants. Now British Beer Company, or BBC as I’ll call it from now on because I’m too lazy to type out the entire name, is not a chain restaurant. At least I don’t think it is. Which is good. Because if there is more than one of these around, I’d be worried. This is not a restaurant one wants duplicated in various areas. To put it plainly, it sucks. It’s not a good restaurant. It could be because they’re new and not used to crowds and how to properly turn over a restaurant, I’m not sure. All I know is, I would never eat here again.
We walk in and we’re told the wait is 45 minutes. Fine. I can see that there are 40 + people waiting, so 45 minutes seems reasonable. However, about 15 minutes in (and half a beer later) I notice 2 tables open in the bar area. Wtf? Why aren’t people being seated there? JP and I converse a little longer and still, no one is sitting there. Again, wtf? I’m impatient, this I can admit. So after 15 mins of the tables being left open, I go to the hostess stand in the other room and ask if I see open tables in the bar area, if we’re allowed to sit there. She says no, but they’re working on filling them. Working how? By leaving them open for 20 minutes? You have how many people waiting you should know exactly when tables are free so you can seat people quickly. Duh. I, head back to where JP is standing, sad that the two tables remain open…for ANOTHER 5 or 10 minutes.
Right around the time when we’re trying to figure out if we should get another beer, a beer drops, I scream, JP yells, white people laugh at the funny Asian man. Maybe he’s right, maybe he should do stand-up. He’s definitely funnier than Dat Phan.
Heading over to the bar we meet random men from, what I assume, is North Carolina. They have funny accents. They actually use their “r” too. Huh. Strange. Anyway, we chat with them for a while. Trying to figure out how long they’ve been here waiting. Their answer: 3 beers. Crap! We’re only starting on beer number 2; it’s going to be a long night in the ‘burbs. Taking a look at the beer menu, JP notices they do have Boddingtons (why was that bartender such a liar?). He decides on that. I decide on the Fullers Golden Pride. Now we wait. Why, because now no bartender will take our order. Again, wtf? Finally our NC friends flag down a bartender. We order. The guy gets the Boddy for JP. I, on the other hand, have to repeat my order…2 more times. Wft? No wonder you’re a bartender at restaurant in Framingham. Nice try buddy, but maybe you should start off with something easier, perhaps “would you like fries with that?”.
We go back to our waiting area and notice that the table on the stage has been open as long as those other two tables, so going on 25 mins now. The table is clean, set up, and waiting. After a few sips of our new beers, our pager goes off. Guess where we’re sitting? Oh yes, the table that’s been open for 25 mins. This is frustrating. Why have we been waiting for 45 minutes to sit at a table that’s been open for over half the time we had to wait?
Menus are presented. Goi cuon is on the menu. $8.99. WTF? I can go to Dorchester and get 3 for $3 and they probably taste better. Other than that, everything else is quite reasonably priced. JP gets the fish and chips and I order the shredded pork “poggwhich”. It’s called a “poggwhich” because “pogg” means HUGE in British slang. Our food comes. “Pogg” does not mean huge, it means average. My fries are cold. JP’s “panko-crusted” green beans are cold too. And kind of nasty. My sandwich is okay. The pork isn’t really shredded and I can hardly taste the gouda. I wonder if it’s my fault. Did I order wrong? I ordered American BBQ not something British. Would I have been better off with bangers and mash? Wait. This isn’t my fault. It’s their fault. Why should I place blame on myself? They put it on the menu, they should be able to cook it well. If you suck at making it, take it off the menu. Oh and the claim that your pickles are "the best on this side of the pond" is a complete lie. They're gross.








I think I’ve figured out why the wait is so long. They make sure you’ve had a couple beers so the buzz you have makes the food taste better. Guess what, it doesn’t.

I give BBC 2 out of 5, and that’s only because when the old people tried to take open seats, the staff made them wait like everyone else. And the crowd. The suburbs people were pretty funny.

Side note: that girl’s dress was WAY too short. I should never have to know that you prefer to have a lightening bolt. Gross.