Girls Night in Harvard Square

I spent Saturday managing factories and building railroads in Russia, aka playing Euro boardgames at Unity Games 20, so I was definitely looking forward to a girls night out in Harvard Square.  It was our friend's birthday and she had two requests, a place where she could get a fun drink and dinner at Toscano's.  I was more than willing to go along with these "demanding" requests!

Normally I would have suggested we meet up at Upstairs on the Square before dinner, but with it's closing at the end of the year, I was kind of stumped.  Sure we could've gone to Park, which has a great vibe, but it didn't feel right for the evening.  The Beat Hotel could've worked too, but it didn't seem to match Toscano's level of sophistication.  The Red House was on my list for a while, but I felt like it was a little to "old fashioned" for a birthday.  I continued to wrack by brain and that's when I remembered Noir at the Charles Hotel.

I've never been to Noir but I have always heard good things about it and after perusing the menu it offered plenty of options, and they all sounded so good.  The atmosphere was perfect for the evening.  Noir has a great modern, sophisticated atmosphere with dim lighting and a black and red color scheme.  It's not stuffy at all so it strikes the right balance for three girls in their thirties!  We all loved our drinks and I will definitely be going back.

After dinner we headed over to Toscano's.  My friend and I had first visited Toscano's on Charles Street during Restaurant Week 2010.  We loved everything about this place and both of us were excited when it was announced a year ago that they would be opening a second Toscano's in Harvard Square.  Italian food is seriously lacking in the Square so Toscano's is a great addition.  I also really didn't like the restaurant that used to occupy this space so it's especially nice for me.  Toscano's is beautifully decorated with stone surfaces and dark engraved wood.  The bar side is a bit more casual versus the more formal dining room side.

We were seated in the bar side and I actually really enjoyed the atmosphere.  Our waitress was excellent and very helpful.  My friend and I were torn between two pasta dishes, Rigatoni Norcina which featured homemade sausage with a black truffle, cream puree and the Rigatoni Toscano that has double smoked bacon, tomato cream, and herbs.  Our waitress overheard this and let us know that she could order both dishes and have them split between two dishes.  No need to make a choice!  It actually worked out really well since the Norcina is very creamy and the Toscano is a bit spicy so they offset each other perfectly.  Our other friend got the gnocchi and they were cooked perfectly, although I like a tomato sauce on my gnocchi.  The waitress also heard me mention this and she said you can always ask for the tomato sauce with the gnocchi.  I was really impressed with all of the options the restaurant allows and the overall quality of the food.  The Norcina was delicious, perfectly accented with the black truffle.  The Toscano was balanced nicely with the bacon and the delicious tomato sauce.  Of course, we couldn't go to Toscano's without ordering the legendary meatball appetizer.  It's a must get in my opinion.

It was a really fabulous night with great friends and reminded me once again how lucky I am that my life changed for the better when I lost my job unexpectedly eight years ago.