Restaurant Review - Myers and Chang

Last night, Cathy and I went to Myers and Chang, an Asian Fusion restaurant.  It is well known in the Boston area for a couple of reasons.  Maybe the first is that Joanne Chang of Flour Bakery owns it.  Flour Bakery has been seen on many cooking shows, including “Throwdown with Bobby Flay” when they had a “Sticky Bun Throwdown.”  (Which she won, by the way.)

But it is also known for being very conscious of people with food issues.  So, they created not only a gluten free menu, but also a vegetarian menu, a nut free menu and a shellfish free menu.

As usual, I checked various reviews and I have to tell you:  There are tons of gluten free reviews on them already.  So…what could I tell you that hasn’t already been written?

I could tell you that, because all they have is on street parking, I couldn’t find a parking spot because I absolutely STINK at parallel parking.  But that would be a lie.  Not the part about my parallel parking skills…that’s very true.  But there was plenty of on street parking available.

I could tell you that the service was bad.  No one there to seat us, no one to take our orders, no one to fill out water glasses...but that would also be a lie.  The fact is, the service was outstanding!  We had reservations, we were seated right away, they let us linger over our Dim Sum (more on that later) so we could stay for the dinner menu, and our waitress checked on us without being over bearing.

I could tell you that the Dim Sum that Cathy and I shared was awful.  I could tell you that.  But I can’t.  Because it was fantastic.  We decided to share the gluten free Thai Ginger Chicken Salad, prepared with cilantro, mint, rice vermicelli, and lemongrass among other ingredients.  It seemed to have a broth made from lime juice, and it had a bit of heat to it, and a slight crunch.  It was a perfect starter.

On to the entrée’s.  I could tell you…. ok, I’m beating this joke to death.  The gluten free entrée’s were also amazing.  I had one to myself and Cathy and I shared one.  The one I had to myself was something called Nasi Goreng.  This is Indonesian Fried Rice.  It had rice (duh), pork, shrimp, pineapple, and a fried egg.  It also had a very spicy sauce.  It comes in a bowl with each ingredient separate.  The idea is to mix all of the ingredients together.  The egg yolk adds richness to the dish, while the pineapple cuts through the heat.  The pork was kind of crispy while the shrimp was perfectly cooked, not the least bit rubbery.

The entrée Cathy and I shared was Chicken and Broccoli Chow Fun.  It had thick rice noodles, gailan (which comes from the broccoli kale family) and tellicherry pepper, which did not add heat, just a lot of flavor.  The best way to describe this dish?  Imagine the best Chinese Chicken and Broccoli dish you’ve ever had.  Now multiply it by 100.

As for desert, all of their deserts can be modified to be gluten free except for their coconut cream pie.  Cathy and I decided to share the chocolate and cocoa nib terrine with Vietnamese coffee sauce.  To make it gluten free, they left off the cocoa nibs.  Didn’t miss them.  The desert was rich with dark chocolate flavor, with the coffee sauce giving a nice contrast.

As for the bill?  Wow, what a deal!  We had four cocktails, one dim sum salad, three entrée’s (Cathy also got one herself), desert and two French press coffees for $101 before tax and tip.

Rather than add pictures, here is a link to a video from a TV show that has an interview with Joanne Chang talking about her gluten free menu, and actually shows some of the dishes I had.

I could tell you that this was the best meal I have had in a long, long time.  And that would be the truth!