Chez Henri, Boston

In the spirit of taking advantage of a work-related jaunt to Cambridge, MA, I had "dinner" in February with two friends at Chez Henri, a restaurant that had long been on my list of Places I'd Like To Go but which somehow never made it to the number one spot. Chez Henri is a cute little restaurant parked on a sidestreet just off the main drag of Massachussetts Avenue, between Harvard and Porter Squares. Upon entry, you realize that the cute little space is further divided into two separate but not entirely equal spaces - to the left, the bar room and to the right, the dining room. I had lured my friends to CH on the basis of its famously fancy (and comparatively well-priced) bar food and as we walked through the cold evening, our hunger built.

When we arrived, the bar room was probably 75% full - most of the seats at the bar were occupied and there were diners at most of the small tables. But we found a seat and settled in with the menu [http://www.chezhenri.com/menu.php?menu_category=Bar%20Menu]. I had read very promising things about the Pressed Cuban Sandwich and now that Kitchenette has finally convinced me that pork isn't the evil meat that I was raised to believe it is, I decided to order that. J had Cuban Style Empanadas and F the Warm Spinach Salad with Duck Tamales. We also shared an order of calamari. Everything was delicious - my Cuban was cheesy and oozy and warm on thick toasted bread. YUM!! The food came out quickly, the service was good and the environment was warm and cosy. It could have been a less enjoyable experience if we had been stuck at a table near the door or squeezed into some corner of the small room but we were lucky and had a lovely time.

If you find yourself in Boston - or live there - and are looking for a classy restaurant experience without spending a lot of money, I'd highly recommend Chez Henri. And get the Cuban - while J and F enjoyed their food they were both jealous of mine!