The overall effect of Chez Henri is like buying a CD with well-written music but lame musicians. The elements are all there: hip surroundings, creative flair, and good service, but when they should be rocking the house, they end up with some guys sitting on stage with bored looks on their faces.
Just a few blocks before Harvard Square, nestled next to a Starbucks on Shephard Street, Chez Henri is the brain-child of Boston-native Paul O'Connell. O'Connell learned his craft at Johnson and Wales University, and later worked with some of the finest East Coast Chefs: Lydia Shire, owner of Biba, (sometimes called Boston's best restaurant), famous TV Chef Todd English at his restaurant Olives; and Chef Chris Schlesinger at the nearby East Coast Grill.
His idea for Chez Henri is no doubt a sound one: Take classic French cuisine and fuse it with the spiciness and vibrancy of Cuban food. It was precisely this unique combination that prompted me to try out his restaurant. After viewing the menu on www.bostonchefs.com, I set out last Friday with a friend to see what creative fusion dishes O'Connell could stir up.
Upon entering, we were immediately greeted by a jovial gentleman with a French accent who shook my hand and seated us right away. With walls decorated in rich red earth tones, black tables for two lining the booth-seat walls, and pastel-colored funky artwork hanging at eye level, it was evident that the restaurant caters to a young, hip crowd. Thankfully, the stuffiness associated with some upscale French restaurants is absent here. The young wait staff contributes to this feeling as well, and to top it off, check out the photos in the front window of the Buena Vista Social Club savoring some of the chef's dishes.
Appetizer
After perusing appetizers such as grilled anticuchos of salmon (sugarcane glazed salmon skewer served over a salad of smoked salmon escabache with mojo rojo and green olive salsita) and an onion soup gratinee with gruyere cheese, I decided to try the Duck Confit, with a port wine-apricot tart, almonds and winter greens ($12.95). A confit is any type of meat that is cooked in its own fat and then immersed in it to prevent contact from air _ basically a sort of flavor-giving preservative. It arrived shortly after I ordered it, and the presentation was superb. The meat was nice, medium-hot, and tender, with that lush richness usually associated with duck. Unfortunately, it was also quite salty, and although this was diminished some by the winter greens, the prevailing taste of saltiness lingered in the mouth. As for the apricots and the small pastry with the almonds, the fruit's consistency was similar to that of a dried apricot (though slightly stickier), and although the pastry was flaky and quite good, it just couldn't save the dish from the damage done by the salt. Rating: 2 stars out of 4.Entr?©e
Like the appetizer menu, the choice of entr?©es demonstrated creativity on the part of the chef. Among other things were seared sea scallops with a spicy star anise-citrus drizzle, potato tortilla, and seviche salsa; a wild mushroom and faro grain stew with a napolean of roasted beets, pear and goat cheese; and grilled beef ribeye, with a chimichurri and a piquillo pepper-caper tempranillo sauce (wow). After some deliberation, I settled on a Wood Grilled Swordfish Steak with grapefruit glaze, Valencia black rice, braised squid with smoked paprika, tomato and chorizo ($25.95). My friend ordered the Herb Roasted Cod with a Riesling beurre blanc (white butter sauce), carmelized fennel-lobster salad, and sweet parsnip puree (also $25.95). (Two quick definitions: Fennel is similar to an onion though thicker in texture, and its flavor is likened to black licorice and anise; a parsnip looks like a white carrot, though it contains much more starch, and is thus more similar to a potato).
Again, the presentation was wonderful, but I could have done without the "Chez Henri" printed across the top of every plate. My swordfish rested atop a green tomato-colored broth bursting with thick grains of rice, and the cod was arranged with similar flair. But once again the food was disappointing, especially in light of the prices that they charged. Despite the supposed glaze on the swordfish, the only grapefruit flavor in my dish came from the few pieces of fruit scattered about, leaving the actual steak itself simply boring. Instead of that melt-in-your-mouth deliciousness that swordfish should have, when this fish reached the palette, it just sat there. Furthermore, the concoction meant to be its compliment also came up short. With the exception of the strong, spicy flavors of the three bite-sized morsels of chorizo (a kind of Latin everything-meat, produced in the same manner as American sausage), the combination of the rice, tomato, and paprika from the squid had the effect of canceling out each of the individual ingredient's flavors. The result was a sort of green mushy substance which tasted like _ well, a warm, flavorless green mushy substance.
Thankfully, my friend's herb roasted cod fared slightly better. The Riesling beurre blanc had a nice complexity to it, with undertones of the wine and a silky, not-too-buttery finish. The parsnip puree was an interesting concept, slightly thinner than your average mashed potatoes, with a good flavor, and the fennel was caramelized to a crunchy texture and sweetness, though the lobster didn't shine at all. The main problem with this dish was, once again, what should have been its main attraction: The cod. Like the swordfish, it was boring, and although in this case its accompaniments were more interesting than those of the swordfish, they could not rescue it from its inherent blandness. Overall Rating: 2.5 stars out of 4.
One appetizer, two entrees, and three glasses of wine later, with tip, the tab came out to be around $110. The next time you're going gourmet, pass by Shephard Street, take a look, then keep going toward Harvard Square.
