Anniversary Trip: Tapas Teatro

My very first restaurant review was for the hip and always-crowded Tapas Teatro, next to the Charles Theatre. During that review, I raved about tempura veggies:

A little bit about these veggies: the chefs take onions, eggplant and asparagus and fry it in what seems like a tempura-like batter. The chefs at Tapas Teatro then serve it up hot with a spicy, smooth mango-jalapeño salsa (actually, it's more like a jelly), with pieces of red pepper on the sides. The presentation on a square white plate is also gorgeous.

I'm gettin' all sweaty just thinkin' about it.

Since then I've been a few times, but I haven't been lately. So I decided to go this past weekend. There were some seats outside, but even more people waiting to be seated, so I figured I wasn't going to sit outside. I eventually ponied up to the bar and looked at the menu.

Maybe it's been a while, but some of the prices seem to have risen since the last time I went! Only by about a dollar or two, but it caught me by surprise. So I ordered the requisite Guinness (about $4) and decided on a meal. I got a little more than I usually do:

• lamb albóndigas (meatballs) in a tangy tomato sauce with cilantro (about $8)
  
• dried tomato on hearty bread slices, with a little tomato sauce underneath (about $4)
  

These were good tapas, with the beer coming to about $17 after tax. I left $20 and headed out for the next part of my night. I didn't go far. In fact, I went to the other side of the Charles. Sofi's Crepes offers crepes - just crepes, dinner crepes, dessert crepes, fancy veggie, cheese and meat crepes and simple crepes with butterscotch or chocolate. And they always serve them up hot. The best part is that you can create your own. Instead I took a pre-existing one and added to it. I wanted dessert and I wanted cheap. So I went for the simplest and cheapest dessert crepe I could find, their homemade butterscotch crepe. The kicker is that it's the butterscotch that's homemade. To this decadent crepe I added nutella for an extra buck. Total cost: $5, for a hot, steaming, fattening, wonderful crepe. I also got an iced tea. It wasn't remarkable - just your standard iced tea. I doubt people go to Sofi's for the tea anyway.

All in all, I'd say this was an extremely satisfying anniversary meal. I don't know why I had never gone into Sofi's Crepes after the Charles. Glad I did this time.