The view of Boston Common and the Public Gardens is rivaled only by that of the Ritz. The dining room glows with golden-oak paneling, meticulously bookended. Tables are draped with heavy skirts and thick white table linens. They're so generously spaced that it's impossible to eavesdrop, no matter how curious you might be about the business deal being sealed 10 feet away. The cutlery feels solid in the hand and the crystal airy.
Service is at once invisible and instantaneous, amiable and inoffensive.
The food is impeccably prepared and elegantly served. And just a tiny bit dull. Executive chef David Fritchey took over the kitchen at Aujourd'hui late this summer, moving to Boston from Houston . While dinner at Aujourd'hui certainly left me feeling pampered and well fed, it didn't leave me swooning. The salad was surrounded by baby artichoke hearts and dabs of a sherry-infused tomato coulis.