Location: 1210 Boylston Street, Chestnut Hill, MA (Map)
Executive Chef: Todd Winer
Date Opened: Nov. 23, 2004
Cuisine: Steakhouse
Expect to spend: $50+ for dinner
Dress: Business Casual
Setting: Intimate, modern
Bar/lounge: Yes, with bar menu
Private dining: Yes, event planner available
Parking: Valet, on-street
Other: Pantry Collection
Special events: Sunday Supper, a three-course, fixed-price dinner menu every Sunday from 5:00pm to 9:00pm.
Local awards: Boston magazine's Best of Boston 2006, The Improper Bostonian's Boston's Best 2006
Restaurant's Web site: MetClubandBar.com

Foodie Chick Review
Date Dined: Monday, March 5, 2007
Occasion: Restaurant Week (first reservation of the week!)
Highlight: Desserts
Lowlight: Beet salad
Overall: Highly recommended. It's not perfect, but the food and atmosphere is worth the price tag.

Dubbed a "modern steakhouse" by its executive staff, this restaurant lives up to its name -- if you're ordering your red meat off the regular menu. Compared to the typical $39 sirloin, the "One minute" Sirlion served for Restaurant Week looked more like a "Steakum," as one of my dining companions affectionately noted.

This was my second time at The Metropolitan Club. On my first visit I found the food so yummy that it compensated for the average service, made me want to return for Restaurant Week and inspired me to order the same entree I had back then last night. (It happened to be on the Restaurant Week menu, though the portion was considerably smaller this time around.)

Prior to arriving last night I made my reservation through Open Table, as I'd done with several other Restaurant Week reservations. The Metropolitan Club was the only one that required a credit card to reserve the table. None of the other high-end restaurants asked for this. If we were to cancel at the last-minute, I'd be charged $100 for my party of five ($50 if it was a party of two). Right off the bat you get a sense that they don't care what you think, they know they're good and they expect you to pay for it, even if you haven't actually dined with them. During my first visit, I got this same haughty vibe from the hostess and waiter, who didn't even bother to ask us during dinner if we wanted one of the 18-minutes-to-bake desserts. Thankfully we had a much friendlier experience for Restaurant Week.

The restaurant was dimly lit, warm and inviting. The hostess was all smiles, which was pleasantly surprising after the first visit. We were seated at the far end of the restaurant near the fireplace. I love a fireplace (see picture).

I ordered off both the regular menu and the Restaurant Week menu (see below). My Restaurant Week selections included the Smokey Tomato Soup with melted cheese crouton for my first course, the Lemon Sole with caperberries, golden raisins, sundried tomatoes and cauliflower puree for the entree -- with an order of Bruleed Smashed Sweet Potato off the regular menu as a side dish ($7) -- and the Silky Chocolate Tart filled with fluffy peanut butter mousse, marshmallow ice cream and Spanish peanut crunch. That was the only dessert option on the prix-fixe menu. Since I was craving their fresh-baked desserts, we ordered to share THE MET Molten Caramel-Filled Chocolate Cake and the New England Orchard Fruit Cobbler. I had the cobbler last time and loved every berry-filled, sugar-crumb-topped bite.

We were trying to save some money, otherwise the whole prix-fixe thing would have seemed sort of pointless, so we went for a $50 bottle of a Casanova di Neri Brunello di Montalcino. I believe it was a 2000, but don't quote me on that. We ended up ordering a second bottle of this drier red wine it was so tasty. It really was one of the cheaper bottles on the wine list: They jump from about $50 directly to $125, $200 and up. If you are a wine lover, this is a place to splurge.

One thing you'll notice about the majority of Restaurant Week offerings is that they are small. Not all restaurants cut down the portions significantly, but the really nice places do. It was no surprise that the first course for all but two of us -- the beet salad -- looked almost comical. It was about a quarter-cup of diced beets in a mini tower on one end of a giant plate. The presentation was nice... but it was just beets. I understand cutting back the portions for this event, but it can't be a good sign when the first plating makes your guests laugh. The soup I ordered was far more satisfactory. It had the consistency of a smooth tomato sauce, and was darker like rich, ripe tomatoes. I particularly enjoyed the melted cheese crouton on top -- cause I love cheese.

My entree was excellent, but I already knew it would be since I ordered it for my first visit to the Metropolitan Club. The caperberries, raisins and sundried tomatoes make this probably the only seafood dish I would choose over a steak. It's not an overpowering fish. It's light and delicate with a fresh, sweet flavor. It was just a good thing I ordered the side of sweet potatoes because the sole was small. Maybe half the size of the usual serving they give you. The same went for the "One Minute" Sirloin, as I mentioned earlier. No one had any complaint whatsoever about the taste -- just the portion size.

The only problem we ran into all night involved the sirloin off the regular menu. It was a thick piece of meat that was ordered "medium" and arrived medium well. We didn't see any pink until cutting into the thickest part of the steak. If you prefer your meats rare or medium, make sure you emphasize this to the waitstaff. Our waitress did offer to return the steak and bring out a new one, and she seemed genuinely concerned about making sure the steak was acceptable. I just found it odd that the one problem happened with the most expensive dish ordered. Aside from that the service all night was attentive and timely. They were especially good about making sure we always had wine in our glasses, which is probably why we ordered a second bottle!

Now for the amazing desserts. The Metropolitan Club's turtle cheesecake was recently named one of Boston magazine's Top 25 Dishes in Boston. I didn't order that, as you know, but I don't think you can go wrong ordering any dessert here. The molten chocolate cake is like a perfectly baked brownie tower that oozes this rich, fudgy/caramel sauce when you pitch your fork into it. It may be the best molten cake I've ever tasted, and it was the first dessert to be wiped clean. The peanut butter dessert that came with the prix-fixe menu was impressive but it's only for people who really love their peanut butter. This is a substantial dessert that emphasizes the "fluffy" but still tastes heavy after a big meal. I enjoyed the chocolate cookie cup that holds the peanut butter mousse the most. Finally, the cobbler (see picture) was as good as it was the previous time, but I noticed that it was heavy on the apple. Last time it was heavy on the berry. I guess that makes your decision to order it that much more exciting -- not sure exactly what you'll get!

My next Restaurant Week reservation is this Thursday at Meritage, another high-end dining establishment. Stay tuned for that review and some of your more typical, local flavors along the way.

Happy dining!

- Foodie Chick

Winter 2007 Restaurant Week at The Metropolitan Club
The Metropolitan Club will be participating in Restaurant Week for two weeks. Dinner is available Sunday, March 4 through Friday, March 9, and Monday, March 11 through Friday, March 16 for $33.07. Lunch is available Tuesday through Friday during those dates for $20.07. 

DINNER MENU 

First Course 
THE MET Mixed Beet Salad blood orange, herb salad and creamy goat cheese 
or 
Smokey Tomato Soup melted cheese crouton 
 
Entrée 
Lemon Sole caperberries, golden raisins, sundried tomatoes,cauliflower puree, brown butter 
or 
“One minute” Sirloin seared and peppered petite sirloin, crispy potato pancake,frisee greens, red wine bacon vinaigrette, great hill blue cheese butter 
 
Dessert 
Silky Chocolate Tart filled with fluffy peanut butter mousse,marshmallow ice cream, and Spanish peanut crunch 
 
LUNCH MENU 

First Course 
Smokey Tomato Soup melted cheese crouton 
 
Entree 
Chicago Classic Chicken Caesar romaine, parmesan cheese, croutons,authentic caeser dressing, and add one Met Crunch 
or 
The Met Tokyo Burger kobe beef, munster, avocado, daikon sprouts,pickled red onion, sticky soy 
 
Dessert 
Silky Chocolate Tart filled with fluffy peanut butter mousse,marshmallow ice cream, and Spanish peanut crunch