Two weeks ago I got together with a handful of people who participate in the Boston Brunchers group. The website is organized by Renee, who picks various places for us ‘foodies’ to brunch. I previously attended brunch at Dorado Tacos and had a great time so jumped at RSVP-ing to this brunch. Why not attend a brunch this month?
One of the April brunches was going to be held at Sel De La Terre. There are several locations in and around Boston. I hoped on the train and headed down to the Long Wharf. Of course it was raining, and I didn’t take my umbrella so I arrived looking like a wet dog. Awesome.
The $30 prefix brunch started at 11. Well, the restaurant opens then but they were not ready for us right away so we saddled up to the bar. I ordered a bloody mary. I hate to say but I have high standards for bloody marys and this didn’t live up to it. It had may too much horseradish. It would have been more enjoyable with shrimp than with vodka. Coco, fellow food blogger, and I asked for lemon wedges, which helped cut the taste a bit.
After drinks at the bar, the 11 of us were seated at a large table. We had a few options for our first course, entree and dessert. I picked a salad with a warmed slice of goat cheese, crab cake eggs Benedict, and banana cake.
I loved the salad starter. The salad was lightly, evenly dressed with a balsamic vinegrate. The goat cheese was warm, melty, and salty. The combination of textures, temperatures, and flavors went so well together.
The crab cake eggs benedict was less than spectacular. The egg was perfectly poached. The quality and size of the egg were impressive. The crab cake was a pretty standard, being that I thought it was a little bready. The biggest disappointment was related to my english muffin. Mine was really burnt. It would have been nice to have been able to have eaten it after it soaked up some of that amazing hollandaise sauce. (I didn’t ask for a new english muffin only because the service was so spotty until then that I figured I would have gotten a new one on my 27th birthday… next January)
The dessert course was delightful. The cake was accompanied with a caramel
sauce and a little price of popcorn. The banana flavor really shown through the cake. The texture was light and airy. I would love a whole sheet cake of that. Yes, please.
Aside from the burned english muffin, the meal was really good. Unfortunately, our service was awful. It took a long time, about 30 minutes, to be initially seated. Taking our order took a long time as well, plus each course took time to bring out. For SDLT, I thought this was strange since I’ve have wonderfully attentive lunches and dinners at both locations in Boston. Additionally, we are a group of people who frequent places for brunch, a group of people who often blog about our dining experiences. So why not treat us properly and get some nice write ups? Ah maybe it was just an off day, the rain gets to us all.
PS- I just wrote this entire blog post on my iPhone while watching Lady Gaga’s Monster Ball on HBO. Yeah, be impressed. (I’ll insert links later)
That stinks that the service was not up to expectations, especially for Sel De La Terre! But at least almost all of the food was good!
Hate to say that I have had this type of service the other time I brunched at SDLT Long Wharf. I was hoping for a comeback performance. I guess not, womp, womp!
wow, awful service is so unlike any places the Boston Brunchers hit up!! They were totally unprepared. And there is nothing worse than a bad bloody mary and burnt english muffins!! they know their desserts though so I’m glad that lived up 🙂
I actually went that same day a little later with my mom, fiance, and sister. We had terrible service as well. But the tomato soup was delicious and made me very happy.