cocktails

Starting the week by feeling behind is not ideal, but here’s to hoping for lots of energy to somehow catch up on life. Work is busy; it’s seven days a week with calls at any time of day, including 9:00 p.m. on Saturdays. It’s hard to find time to take a mental breather! A silent meditation retreat is sounding pretty good right about now. . .

Blog events have been a nice way to reconnect with friends and network with new people while enjoying great food, and the Taste of Columbus Hospitality Group a couple of weeks ago was definitely one of these evenings. A week out from the marathon bombings, things still felt somber, and a gray, drizzly night added to that mood. Luckily, the Columbus Hospitality Group pulled together some great dishes to warm our hearts and stomachs! The group consists of the following restaurants and hotels.

• Mistral
• Teatro
• Sorellina
• Mooo…
• L’Andana
• XV Beacon Hotel
• The Inn @ St Botolph

Upon early arrival at Mistral, I enjoyed cocktails with Lin and Megan before heading into a private back room to stuff ourselves silly with deliciousness.

As we entered the room, I grabbed a slice of Mistral’s beef tenderloin, mashed potato, and truffle oil pizza.

I absolutely adore Mistral. The food is delectable, and it’s a great, sophisticated yet still comfortable place for drinks. It’s also a great place for a girl’s night out in Boston. This beef tenderloin and mashed potato pizza, with it’s intoxicating truffle aroma is one of the most amazing comfort foods ever.

Mistral tuna tartare is pretty legendary. I had it for the first time many moons ago for a date, even before I met my husband, We’ve been together for almost 10 years;  this tuna tartare has a long-running fan in me and I think the rest of the City of Boston as well.

Tortilleria La Niña, the first tortilla bakery in New England to authentically produce white corn tortillas and chips.  They’re local, and they use non-GMO corn I addition to being delicious. Tortilla chips are one of my major food groups, and I was happy to discover these tasty chips. Just add a big bowl of guacamole and a margarita!

Other food highlights included sliders from Mooo. . . I hadn’t eaten at Mooo. . . . at that point, but actually had lunch there a week later when conducting a site tour of the beautiful XV Beacon. Part of my job is placing press and trade groups visiting Massachusetts in  hotels, so it’s always fun to get to visit and see the hotels firsthand. XV Beacon is absolutely gorgeous, so stylish and city chic!

One of my other favorites of the evening was Teatro’s fig and prosciutto sausage in a spicy tomato brodo with a charred pepper. The tomato brodo was so warm and comforting. Even as it gets warmer I have been all about the soup lately; this little bite was both tasty and soul-warming.

Wine is another of my major food groups, and since we were just back from California and yearning to go back already, I went with a glass of Trefethen Chardonnay. The event also offered a selection of cocktails; everything looked great.

I loved the opportunity to try bites from restaurants I haven’t been to; it definitely inspired me to want to check them out. Once of the great things about this tasting event was that it was small. Sometimes “taste of” type events can be overwhelming, but at this one we were able to grab a table and go back and forth to get food and take photos. All in all, a great event.

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