Restaurant Review: Henrietta's Table

As a general rule of thumb, whenever my partner and I decide to go out for dinner, we usually have a very different set of criteria on determining where to eat. Typically, it goes like this:

Me: I saw this great new gastropub that opened in Brookline, we should go!
Spouse: How about Ethiopian? I really loved that raw beef/cheese/jalepeno dish we got last time.
Me: *SIGH*

Luckily for me, because I and some good friends are all city worker bees, we usually get together every so often and that's when I can indulge in my zest of refined yet casual fare. No place epitomizes that idea better than Henrietta's Table, located in Harvard Square in the Charles Hotel.

Last week, I and two of my worker friends ate there on Thursday night and the first comment I heard from one of my friends was, "Wow, it's like we're going to eat inside a Williams Sonoma." Given the farm house inspired decor complete with modern yet rustic tables, green tablecloths, and the khaki wearing serving staff, I can see how she would say that.

As a frequent diner of Henrietta's, I can say for sure that the food isn't exciting nor incredibly innovative and modern. What they are good at is cooking classic New England food at decent prices (definitely recommend the weekday 2 course or 3 course prix fixe menu option).

During dinner, two of us opted for the 3 course meal while one of use chose the 2 course in order to share two desserts. We started off with an order of Maine Crab Cake accompanied by a chunky house made tartar sauce that could have used a little bit more salt but still tasted fresh, Smoked Pastrami Salmon served with a chive oil, crispy waffle potato chips, and a simple salad, and a Iceburg Wedge with Blue Cheese dressing, which had way more dressing than salad but still was fairly tasty despite its heaviness.

Our main courses were definitely better. I chose the Duck entree that consisted of a roasted Duck Breast with a thin layer of skin and fat still on and a Duck Confit. The meat was delicious and cooked perfectly but the cranberry sauce was too large in quantity and the tartness overwhelmed the game-like flavor of the meat. My friend's Roast Chicken was also delicious as the meat was juicy and flavorful though the skin wasn't as crispy as I would've liked.

Perhaps the best entree was the simple Yankee Pot Roast served with a classic brown gravy atop of a small mountain of mashed potatoes. To me, this dish typifies what Henrietta's is about. The beef was meltingly tender, the gravy added a nice richness and the mashed potatoes was buttery and soaked up all the delicious juices from the meat.

Dessert consisted of an Apple Turnover with Caramel Ice Cream while my friend and I split a scoop of Lemon Sorbet and Mascarpone Ice Cream. The Turnover was textbook good while the ice cream was surprisingly not overtly sweet. While my friend and I enjoyed the Mascarpone flavor, the Lemon Sorbet was way too tart to fully enjoy the sweetness of the other flavor. That was our bad though and certainly of no fault of the restaurant.

When we were eating dinner, I couldn't help but notice that the majority of table seemed to consist of families convening for a meal. Sometimes, a well cooked meal is all it takes to bring people together and Henrietta's is a great example of that.