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The Tufts Daily
Where you read it first | Friday, March 29, 2024

Restaurant Review | Forget about freedom fries: Les Zygomates is amazing French food

Got some cash burning a hole in your pocket? Want to pretend to be French? Like jazz? Seeking to impress (or apologize to) your significant other? Parents coming into town soon?

If you answered "yes" to any of the above, give Les Zygomates some thought.

Tucked away behind South Station on South Street, Les Zyg, as those in-the-know call it, serves up some of the best French food in Boston. In fact, the restaurant won Boston Magazine awards in 2003 for both "Best Neighborhood Restaurant - Downtown" and "Best Wine List."

The bistro, which has a twin in Paris, actually comprises two restaurants within one: One side is reserved strictly for food whereas the other half features both a large bar and a stage where live jazz is performed every night, Monday through Saturday.

Indeed, Les Zyg is as well known for its lunchtime financial district crowd as its evening live jazz.

First off, the place itself is gorgeous. In the bistro side, the high ceilings and red leather couches and chairs give the place a true "chillin' in Paris" feel. On the jazz side, in contrast, the stage is raised and off to the side, separated by a stylish colored glass wall. Think tasteful but fun, kind of like Eleanor Roosevelt. And Chef Ian Just's menu is, to say the least, amazing.

For the starter course, I went with the seared crab cake with chipotle aioli. Wowza. The crab cake was perfectly grilled, the chipotle not too spicy, and I finished it before even thinking to find out what "aioli" means.

Also good was the heirloom tomato and smoked mozzarella salad; the smoked mozzarella tasted a little "bacon-y." If neither of those appeal, try the oysters, warm goat cheese salad or the escargots.

When considering what to have as an entr?©e, let's make something clear: Les Zyg's steak frites is famous across Boston. The sheer mention of it makes me hungry.

The steak is cooked to perfection (get it medium rare) and covered with truffle maitre'd butter. Again, I have no idea what that is, but believe me: It's delicious. Piled liberally on top is a mound of perfect french fries. Imagine the perfect pomme frites: crispy brown outside, silky potato on the inside. Cover them in butter and a gravy-like sauce and you have it. Top it off with a side of gravy and butter drowned spinach, and that's one heck of an entr?©e.

Also delicious was the night's special, grilled salmon, with substitute of mushroom risotto. The risotto was described as the best that my dining colleague had ever tasted and the salmon was also quite good, cooked perfectly and marinated in subtle spices. Also rumored to be excellent are the scallops and the pork chops.

After unbuttoning my pants to finish the steak frites, I went with the warm chocolate cake with chocolate Chinese five spice ice cream for dessert. Notice how the word "chocolate" is repeated in that sentence. Also tempting were the cr?©me br?»le?© and the caramel cranberry tarte with maple flan.

Not to be forgotten is the wine list. Les Zygomates' wine list is among the best in the city, and probably New England. There were 40 kinds of wines and spirits on the dessert menu alone. That included 10 kinds of Scotch and five Brandys. The wine menu is a comprehensive six pages long.

Forgotten in all this talk about food is the excellent jazz. Only faint strains of saxophone were audible from the next room while dining in the main restaurant, but upon further inspection, the jazz side was beeping and bopping along. It was also considerably more crowded, with clientele ranging from hip parents to college students and young professionals. It's amazing that the two atmospheres can be housed within the same restaurant without noise problems.

Without wine, expect to drop at least $40 per person. With wine, add on $20 to $40, depending on how much of a baller you are.

Les Zygomates may push the upper limits of a student's budget, but the experience is comparable to prohibitively expensive places like Rialto, Olives, or No. 9 Park.

Reservations are a must for tables on weekend nights. And, as a special treat to the college crowd, Les Zygomates is open until 1 a.m. every night of the week.

If possible, bring the parent's credit card.

Street parking is possible. Red Line stop is South Station.