PRICE:
Frommer's Very Highly Recommended

Troquet is French slang for "small wine cafe," and it's a good name for this sophisticated two-level restaurant. The second-floor dining room overlooks Boston Common, and the ground floor is a lounge that serves "creative cocktails" and small plates to a chic after-work and pre- and post-theater crowd. Troquet offers 40-plus wines by the 2- or 4-ounce glass and hundreds more by the bottle. Because the markup is lower than usual, sampling several selections is surprisingly affordable. The menu recommends pairings, and you'll want just the right thing to complement the exceptional cuisine, which emphasizes seasonal ingredients and never overwhelms the wine. The word that keeps coming back to me is subtle -- a salad of marinated beets over baby greens was flavorful but not overpowering; pan-roasted rib steak with root vegetables and potato purée was rich and earthy; panko-crusted cod seemed perfumed rather than punched up with red curry and kaffir lime. Best of all, whether you're a novice or a pro, the staff offers as much wine advice as you need. I'll offer some dessert advice: sticky toffee pudding.

Copyright: Excerpted from Frommer's Boston 2009, (c) 2008, Wiley Publishing, Inc.

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