Beacon Grille, the experience of a lifetime

Beacon Grille in Woburn opened last year. And ever since I have been begging Carlos to take me to this restaurant. It's expensive so we had to wait a while before it became affordable to us. I have been cooking meals for us pretty much every night. A meal big enough to be dinner and lunch the next day. That takes a lot of effort and by Friday I'm just too exhausted. I used to have Fridays off (we would go out to a restaurant instead) but since Carlos has school Friday mornings and works through the night, I've had to not only do grocery shopping and laundry on Friday evenings, I had to cook dinner too. So as a thank you for all my hard work, Carlos treated me to an evening at Beacon Grille.

We got all gussied up for the event. Here is Carlos looking mighty fine.

You can't miss Beacon Grille's signage when you drive down Rt 128/95.

Should I post on this side?

Or on this one?

After some picture taking, we finally entered the restaurant. We had a reservation made NOT by phone, NOT by email but by Twitter. No joke. The very friendly social media rep who handles the @BeaconGrille Twitter account was very gracious to take my reservation request by Direct Message. Hey! I like that. I've always thought Twitter was one of the most useful social media tools out there and here is another way it was beneficial.

Our reservation was for 7pm on that Friday and we were seated towards the back near the kitchen. I love spots like this. I get to see all the action going on in the kitchen and I like being tucked away in a cozy corner. We had a very fabulous server named Michael. That's Michael. M-i-c-h-a-e-l. Remember the name. If you go, ask for him. He is knowledgeable not only about the food and drinks at Beacon Grille he can give you lots of advice about cooking and food in general. He's very personable and helped made our experience there one we'll never forget.

Everything was super nice at Beacon Grille. Now this post may sound like I've never been to a fancy restaurant before. But I have. In fact, I was telling Carlos that evening about the strange French rustic restaurant I went to in New York City. The waiters choreographed their movements, we had multiple courses, we ate on a 400 year old oak table, we had our own sommelier and Al Franken was dining at the next table. That was memorable but I have to say that my Beacon Grille experience one upped that!

We were served a small basket of sesame & poppy seed crackers and hot rolls with a little tub of butter. 

Then came the complimentary amuse bouche. Hot damn! This was good. And it was all mine because Carlos doesn't eat seafood or seaweed. Two slices of seed encrusted Ahi Tuna, shrimp, a cucumber & seaweed salad, teriyaki sauce drizzle and a bit of pickled ginger to cleanse the palate. Wow. This got my taste buds roaring for more.

Carlos, being the restaurant diva he is, asked for a sommelier. He wanted a wine from Chile (that's where his Dad is from) but they only had other South American wines. He worked with the sommelier to find the best red wine (by the glass) for the meal he was going to order. Me? I had the Honey Tequila Smash.  I had seen a picture on Beacon Grille's Twitter and I knew I had to have one. So it's the first thing I looked for on the menu. Honey, Lime, Tequila, Mint, soda water and ice. Perhaps one of the best cocktails I've ever had a chance to imbibe.

Then came the Calamari. Of course Carlos had to ask for a separate plate of lemons! The calamari was perfectly cooked and they drizzled a sweet chili glaze with some balsamic. There was a red pepper aoili on the side for dipping. I thought this was delicious. However, I could have done without the glaze. It made the otherwise crispy coating a bit soggy. And it tasted a bit like sweet & sour sauce. Still very good.

Happily sipping on my Honey Tequila Smash. Another please?

I quickly went to the bathroom before our main course arrived and took this snapshot of one of the dining areas.

By the time I got back, our amazing server Michael had refolded my napkin for me! Isn't that cool? I felt like a princess being pampered!

Apologies for the blurry shot. I ordered the stuffed shrimp. It comes with 6 jumbo shrimp, 3 stuffed with crab and 3 stuffed with lobster. It comes with a side of spaghetti squash and instead of mashed potatoes I got roasted fingerling potatoes. I loved this dish but I kick myself for not asking about the Baked Stuffed Lobster that Phantom Gourmet showcased on an episode a while back. It wasn't on the menu but I still could have asked for it. I did however get my lobster fix with this dish!

Carlos got one of the weekly specials: Flank Steak with avocado and some sort of potato/corn/bean cakes. The flank steak was really good. When I asked Carlos if this flank steak was better than mine, he couldn't quite look me in the eye. Auw. That's okay! I'm not professional. Michael did suggest cooking flank steak with a dry rub instead of a marinade. I might try that next time.

Our friendly sommelier offered to take a picture of us together. How nice of her!

For dessert, I got another Honey Tequila Smash and Carlos got a glass of Cognac. It comes in a warm glass and boy is it very fragrant. Before you even take a sip, the Cognac goes straight up your nose and tickles your brain. 

We had Warm Peach Upside Down Cake which was amazing of course. I wish they had added a small scoop of ice cream to go with it though. They serve ice cream from Christina's in Cambridge and they had vanilla bean available that night. Would have gone great with this. It was absolutely scrumptious on its own. And a nice big portion for Carlos and I to share.

Doesn't Carlos look tres cool with his glass of Cognac?

I just look goofy here. Not very Grace Kelly-like (remember she swirls a glass of Brandy in a scene in the movie Rear Window!)

I left Beacon Grille completely intoxicated. Drunk from the great dining experience, the good food and perhaps the two Honey Tequila Smashes I had. It was wonderful. I hope we can come back again soon. Even if it's only for the drinks.

I want to thank Beacon Grille, the sommelier, the Twitter rep and our server Michael for making this night wonderful. And a very special thank you to Carlos for treating me to this wonderful night. I love you Carlos!