9 courses for 90

dabney and ann are surrounded by fancy-schmancy restaurants. their neighborhood is known for its eating establishments, with such well-heeled places such as icarus, aquitaine, and the mack-daddy of fine dining, otherwise known as hammersley's. hammersley's was supposedly one of julia child's favorite places to eat in town. for years, ann and dabney have passed it on their walks with feidler. each day they stare longingly at the diners inside, basking vicariously in the warm light cast by its butter yellow interior. every once in awhile, if the door opens at just the right time, they can even smell bread baking.

the steep prices have always tainted the potential experience - no special occasion has ever been quite special enough to pay $30+ for an entree. instead, ann and dabney will choose dumplings and noodles in nearby chinatown any day of the week. but this year, they finally got their act together and booked two months ago for boston restaurant week. for five days every august, some of the nicest restaurants in the city offer prix fixe menus for reasonable prices ($20.05 for lunch and $30.05 for dinner). ann and dabney have been to the official website at some point, although, arguably, the unofficial site is way better.

all this to say that ann and dabney made not one, not two, but three reservations this week. on tuesday, ann and dabney finally bridged the moat and entered hammersley's for lunch. one would think that years of high expectations would spell disaster for the experience but, dagnabbit, the food was good. everything was deceptively simple and fresh. ann and dabney each had the same appetizer and entree, then shared two different desserts.



tonight is dinner at les zygomates with ashbloem and carrrrrmen, and tomorrow is no. 9 park for lunch with lucy and the tall guy.

if you hurry, cross your fingers, and wish real real hard, you might just be able to get reservations at the armani cafe.