Conference noted::boston_eats

412.0. "Rabia's Ristorante in the North End" by CPCOD::JOHNSON (Peace can't be founded on injustice) Wed May 21 1997 23:06

We were in Boston on Sunday for the matinee performance of "Les Miserables". 
Afterwards we walked over to the North End, and had dinner at a place new to
us called Rabia's. I didn't see a note on it in here when I did a title search
for Rabia so I'm making one.

This one of the first places we came to after crossing under the tunnel, and
since the menu and place looked good we stopped right there. The address is
73 Salem St. 

It's a little hole-in-the-wall, rather narrow and long which reminded me of a 
lot of the places we've eaten at in France. It was definately an Italian place
though. There was one front window which was open & no screen. They asked us if
we'd like the window seat, but it felt a little over-exposed to me. So we got 
a table further in, near the kitchen. There was an opening cut in the wall 
between the dining area and kitchen and we could catch glimpses of the two 
cooks very, very busy at work. Tables were close together, but it felt intimate 
rather than overcrowded. The ceiling was festooned with grapevines (artificial
of course), and the lights were made of glass balls clustered like grapes. The
walls were lined with mostly small paintings of a romantic Mediterranean nature.

We were immediately served a basket of bread and bowl of olive oil for dipping,
plus a small bowl of assorted olives. The wine list was moderate in size with
a good range in selection. I ordered a glass of sparkling wine which they 
brought out in a small bottle that was opened at the table so it was great and
hadn't gone flat. My husband ordered a glass of Merlot which I think he found 
enjoyable.

They were very busy - there were a lot of parties celebrating graduations - but
I thought the service was prompt, curteous, and friendly without being overly
familiar. When there was a slight delay at the end handling the check because 
of a large group next to us placing their order, the waiter apologized. I hadn't
found the small wait that bothersome, but it was nice to know he was paying
attention. The wait staff was constantly in motion, and also very cooperative
with one another.

The menu was moderate in size, but again, like the wine selection, I thought
there was a good range of choices. Prices ranged from about $14 to $22 for the
entrees. Besides what was on the menu there were about 6 or 7 specials.

I started with a salad of baby greens and feta cheese in balsamic vinegrette 
and my husband had minestrone soup. I think there were a couple soup selections
which change day to day. We were both offered fresh ground pepper and freshly
grated parmesan over our salad and soup at the table. I thought the entrees we
had were delicious. I had chicken margherita - which was pounded thin, very 
lightly breaded and then sauteed. It was served in a cointreau sauce with 
dried appricots, apples, and figs and few herb springs artfully arranged on 
top. It came with a side of pasta in a light marinara sauce which was okay, but
not spectacular. My husband had wild mushroom ravioli in a light cream sauce.
I brought about half my entree home and enjoyed the rest of it for dinner last
night. It was great the second time around too :-). We splurged and had dessert.
I had a fruit tart while my husband had a chocolate mousse pie. I thought the
desserts were more beautiful than they were delicious, although they were good.
They came on top of a ring of raspbery and appricot purees which had been 
pulled through with something to make a kind of starburst design. Besides being
beautiful, the purees were very tastey.

I enjoyed the experience and would go back here again.