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ROBERT NADEAU
Robert Nadeau was born in New Orleans, a descendent on his father's side of an old Creole family who immigrated from Haiti, and on his mother's side of French Jews who moved to New Orleans after l'affaire Dreyfuss swearing never to speak another word of French nor eat another crumb of French food. Since they did not understand the local dialect nor recognize the local food, they were entirely happy until their unfortunate deaths in the Mississippi Flood of 1928. Robert lives in Boston with his wife Louise and their children Maurice and Stephanie.
Latest Articles
Satisfying a Grecian yearning
Having longed for an all-out Greek dining room in metro Boston since, well, almost since the Phoenix was reviewing plays by Euripides and protesting the Peloponnesian War, I finally hit Dionysos in Cambridge about a year before it closed in 2007.
A welcome change in the neighborhood
For more than 30 years, this location housed Lucky Garden, one of the first neighborhood Mandarin-Szechuan restaurants in Greater Boston, and one of the best in stretches.
Walking a narrow path to success
Another week, another gastro-pub. Okay, Post 390 technically bills itself as a Back Bay "urban tavern," and is bigger and glitzier than most, but it has the same combination of comfort food with a twist, a few bits of high cheffery, serious drinks, and playful desserts found throughout the city so frequently these days.
A quirky neighborhood that puts all the pieces together
The Regal Beagle is making a quick success doing what almost all the new restaurants want to do: small plates; comfort food with a gourmet twist; a mixture of high and low; a bit of locovore, green, and slow fare; some salty fast food; interesting drinks; and scrambled nostalgia.
Nothing quaint and everything delicious at Belmont's 'country house'
Il Casale — the "country house"— may be more rustic than Chef Dante de Magistris's magisterial and experimental restaurant Dante in the Cambridge Royal Sonesta, but it ain't no hometown spaghetti shack.
The second time's the charm
One of my frustrations with restaurant criticism is that restaurants do not usually respond to it.
My year in food
This was an unusual food year for me, in that the recession did not have the expected effect on the local dining scene.
Artistry and taste combine — but perhaps not often enough
At breakfast and lunch, Pairings serves as a basic hotel restaurant, which the Park Plaza has lacked for about 10 years.
Can a Korean dive bar serve the masses? Certainly, with alcoholic melon drinks.
Myung Dong refers to a high-rent, youth-oriented shopping district in Seoul, thus "1st Avenue" is a kind of evocation of both Fifth Avenue and SoHo. This restaurant has a variety of Japanese and Korean dishes, but the idea is to appeal to a young crowd, more specifically a drinking crowd.
A fantastically long list of Turkish delights
Even without enormous evidence, the Nadeau family has decided that "Turkish food never lets you down." Louise likes to grab lunch downtown at Boston Kebab House; Maurice prefers Allston's Saray; and Stephanie and her school friends enjoy Brookline Family Restaurant.
A former tourist trap proves its worth
The owners of Caffé Vittoria and the Florentine Cafe took over this venerable tourist trap that looks out on North Square a year ago, renamed it for their son last May, and quietly spiffed up the rooms and the menu.
Sampling the perks of a recession
I'm enjoying this restaurant recession more than the last one.
A pleasantly unpredictable treat sneaks out of the shadows
How do we find hidden gems? You can't just look under the radar. Sometimes the hiding place is behind a famous name, as is the case with ArtBar.
Fresh as can be and well-priced. What’s the catch?
Ready for some reasonably priced lobster after years of paying too much? You’re in luck, since a price war seems to be unfolding on the streets of Chinatown, with various window signs advertising twin lobsters in ginger and scallion for as low as $14.95.
Versatility and competence go a long way
I have to admit I giggled when I got a press release describing this restaurant as being located in the “white-hot West Roxbury-Dedham dining scene.” After all, the space had already killed a reasonably good steak house, Vintage, after a long closure in which it tried to upscale, then ended up downscaling by adding red-sauce Italian dishes.
Some call it inauthentic, but this is Malaysian fusion done well
I’m not an enthusiast of fusion food, but I do like the cuisine of Malaysia, where history has developed a four-way fusion cuisine.
A quality Indian bargain spot deserving of multiple visits
Punjab Palace — by the same owners of Kenmore Square’s India Quality — “proves to be the kind of kid brother that would make any older sibling proud,” my colleague MC Slim JB wrote last year. That’s true, but this is also another second-tier Indian restaurant. So why do Slim and I like it so much?
Shining light on a secret Iberian bargain
Three-year-old ethnic bargain spot Con Sol snuck under reviewers' radar with an Iberian menu that draws mostly on Portuguese-American food — a cuisine that feels native to long-time Cantabrigians, but otherwise is little known north of New Bedford and Fall River or west of Provincetown.
A Jasper White protégé branches out with great success
I never call chefs before writing a review, but if I did speak with Brian Flagg of North 26, I'd ask him if Jasper White has ever paid a visit.
Jazz and soul team up to make sweet music
Remember Circle: Plates and Lounge? The Stork Club has succeeded that short-lived restaurant and bar, which succeeded Bob's Southern Bistro, itself the recast version of Bob the Chef's.
