Clio

It's been years since I've actually gone out to a nice restaurant on Valentine's Day.  Bryan and I live in the city, and thus we have ready weeknight access to popular restaurants.  So why fight the crowds when we don't have to?  We learned our lesson early in our marriage.  Our first Valentine's Day together as a couple, we foolishly decided to walk out to Harvard Square and just show up at Finale (one of the most popular fancy dessert places in Boston) on Valentine's Day.  Ha!  Guess what?  We ended up wandering aimless around Harvard Square that night, looking for a bite to eat.

So it's unusual, but this year, on February 14th, right on Valentine's Day AND Chinese New Year, Bryan and I actually enjoyed a nice meal out.  We snagged a last minute early reservation at Clio, a place we've been meaning to try for some time now.  We enjoyed a nice, relaxing, and exquisite meal along with an amazing bottle of wine.

Join me in pictures as we re-live Clio's special Valentine's Day dinner.


A beautiful soup of tiny, perfectly cut potatoes, savory croutons, celery veloute

The soup was smooth, velvety, and wonderfully fragrant.

I loved the contrast of the creamy soup, the crunchy croutons, and soft potatoes.

This cod had the most perfect texture -I swear it must have been sous-vide.  So soft and tender, perfectly cooked throughout.  The fruit-flavored sauce was interesting, though maybe not my favorite.

Look at the exquisite detail!  Down to the single Brussels sprout and chestnut sitting on the end of the pork belly.  This dish was creative, interesting, and fun to eat.

The lobster tail was huge!  This dish was executed well, although the flavors were not particularly exciting.  We both agreed that the beef dish was more interesting.

This wine is beautiful.  It was #4 on Wine Spectator's top 100 wines and has a Wine Spectator rating of 95.  It's an absolutely beautiful wine, with tons of fruit yet full bodied at the same time.  Not a hint of bitterness or astringency.  I loved it.

I often don't love dessert at these fancy restaurants, but this one was actually quite enjoyable.  I loved the deep, rich chocolate truffles (complete with a glittering peanut butter sauce on right!).  Even though I don't like bananas, the banana ice cream was subtle, creamy, and quite good.

Happy Valentine's Day!  Here's to 8 1/2 years of marriage.  :)

Clio
370a Commonwealth Ave
Boston, MA 02215