Jeannie and I were in Boston over the weekend and had the opportunity to have brunch at Miel in the Intercontinental Boston.
Brunch was about $32 per person, and included a fruit smoothie or a mimosa. Both were excellent. They also have a selection of eggs, bacon, sausages, pastries, mini desserts, cereals, and such, but the highlight was absolutely the fresh fruit. The berries (blackberries, cranberries, blueberries, raspberries, and strawberries) were fresh, flavorful, and plentiful. There were assorted cheeses (soft and hard) as well.
The highlight, however, are the small plates. We had a leisurely brunch and tried several of them. Depending on your tastes some are outstanding, and all are well prepared, innovative dishes.
First up, the Bacon Wrapped Sea Scallops. They have endive but that's appearance as far as I'm concerned. The pine nuts were fine but the rosemary honey dressing was too sweet for me. The scallops though were fresh, well cooked, and very flavorful. Second was the Crab Cake Benedict - it's a traditional poached egg but that's where it stops. It has spinach, and shallots, and a roasted red pepper hollandaise. But the real innovation is that it rests not on an English muffin, but on a crabcake. A bit over the top, but interesting.
The best of the small plates was the Steak and Eggs - it was a nice slice of steak, well seasoned, resting on truffled hash Browns, spinach and on top was a sunny side up egg. It was innovative, flavorful, but still captured steak and eggs as a dish. It looked like an eggs benedict with steak but absent hollandaise at first.It was very pretty on the plate as well.
The Sausage Omelet is just that, but it was well done with sausage, onions and cheddar cheese. The Croque Monsieur had Béchamel, honey ham and Swiss cheese, nice enough. The Toasted Baguette with goat cheese and tomatoes was more similar to a bruschetta, but good. The Crêpe aux Fruits Rouge had sautéed mixed red and black berries and white chocolate shavings and the crêpe was nicely done. Very good flavors, great mix of berries and the white chocolate.
Service was very good, the view was nice (though winter is less exciting to look at on that segment of the river in winter than in summer). The manager stopped and chatted when we engaged with him, and remembered us the next day when we stopped for the regular hotel breakfast. Excellent food, good prices, excellent service, I'd recommend it.
Brunch was about $32 per person, and included a fruit smoothie or a mimosa. Both were excellent. They also have a selection of eggs, bacon, sausages, pastries, mini desserts, cereals, and such, but the highlight was absolutely the fresh fruit. The berries (blackberries, cranberries, blueberries, raspberries, and strawberries) were fresh, flavorful, and plentiful. There were assorted cheeses (soft and hard) as well.
The highlight, however, are the small plates. We had a leisurely brunch and tried several of them. Depending on your tastes some are outstanding, and all are well prepared, innovative dishes.
First up, the Bacon Wrapped Sea Scallops. They have endive but that's appearance as far as I'm concerned. The pine nuts were fine but the rosemary honey dressing was too sweet for me. The scallops though were fresh, well cooked, and very flavorful. Second was the Crab Cake Benedict - it's a traditional poached egg but that's where it stops. It has spinach, and shallots, and a roasted red pepper hollandaise. But the real innovation is that it rests not on an English muffin, but on a crabcake. A bit over the top, but interesting.
The best of the small plates was the Steak and Eggs - it was a nice slice of steak, well seasoned, resting on truffled hash Browns, spinach and on top was a sunny side up egg. It was innovative, flavorful, but still captured steak and eggs as a dish. It looked like an eggs benedict with steak but absent hollandaise at first.It was very pretty on the plate as well.
The Sausage Omelet is just that, but it was well done with sausage, onions and cheddar cheese. The Croque Monsieur had Béchamel, honey ham and Swiss cheese, nice enough. The Toasted Baguette with goat cheese and tomatoes was more similar to a bruschetta, but good. The Crêpe aux Fruits Rouge had sautéed mixed red and black berries and white chocolate shavings and the crêpe was nicely done. Very good flavors, great mix of berries and the white chocolate.
Service was very good, the view was nice (though winter is less exciting to look at on that segment of the river in winter than in summer). The manager stopped and chatted when we engaged with him, and remembered us the next day when we stopped for the regular hotel breakfast. Excellent food, good prices, excellent service, I'd recommend it.
