Pigalle - Theatre District

Restaurant Week is a funny thing. If you don't know what Restaurant Week entails then I'll give you a quick rundown. Restaurants that participate in the event offer a prix-fixe three-course lunch and dinner for $20.08 and $33.08 respectively. This means that upscale restaurants and average-budget restaurants cost the same for the week. The advantage to this is that you can go to a high end restaurant and not have to pay an absurd amount of money.

This is how I was able to go to Pigalle for a seafood dinner. Dimly lit with a very formal environment, Pigalle isn't a place I would frequent, but it was a good experience. Also consider that this meal probably would have easily cost over $100 normally.

I began the night with oysters on the half-shell, which I have craved for some time, but never tried. I am fond of mussels, but the gelatinous consistency of oysters had always eluded me until now. Dressed in a light salsa, the oysters seemed a little overpowered by the dressing--oysters do not have a very potent flavor naturally so that coupled with the chilled temperature and dressing made it very difficult to determine what the natural oyster flavor was. Regardless of crustaceous authenticity or not, they were a nice light introduction to the meal.

Next was the entree, crusted Salmon on a bed of greens--cilantro and bok choy if I can recall correctly. The salmon was juicy and cooked to a good consistency, the moist bed of vegetables underneath it was flavorful and complemented the salmon well. A good plate overall, but about halfway through it I think the flavor became a bit tedious--the mixture of the greens and seafood started to take its toll in a monotous way. I think a plate like this would benefit greatly from a side of some sort to distract from the salmon every once in a while--maybe a fancy mashed potato or salad.

For dessert, a coconut panna cotta in a strawberry sauce. This was good pairing with the seafood. Oddly enough, I found that this was my favorite part of the meal--and I do not have a sweet tooth. The mild flavor of the panna cotta was a great vessel for the sweet strawberry sauce.

If you're lucking dump some cash out of your wallet and you can get over the whole French thing then you'll probably like this place. I think my palate is a bit taxed by upscale restaurants like this. You should definitely take advantage of Restaurant Week when you can though.

75 Charles St., Boston, MA 02116, 617 423 4944, www.pigalleboston.com