If it isn't fresh, it isn't Legal!

I'm sitting in my room at the Boston Park Plaza and it's been a long day. I got up at 5:30 AM (which is 2:30 AM Arizona time) and took a 6:00 AM car service to Penn Station, took a train to Hartford, Connecticut (with a connection in New Haven), met with a client from 10-3, took a shuttle to the airport, picked up a car and drove to Boston (in the rain), returned the car right next to the hotel, and checked in.

When I got to my room I realized I'd left the cell phone in the car - I hurried back but they'd already taken the car to Logan Airport. They've put a hold on the car so they won't rent it out without looking for my phone, but they closed for the night so at best I'll be getting it tomorrow. Annoying.

Better, though, was my dinner. My coworker, Priya, and I went to Legal Seafoods and had a really nice dinner. I started with a cup of the clam chowder (obviously!) and ordered a crab cake combo: one crab cake prepared using a magnificient, subtle, mustard sauce; scallops that nearly melted in my mouth; and perfectly cooked grilled shrimp. I really enjoy scallops, but it's the kind of ingredient where the quality of the product and the preparation make all the difference in the world. When it's good, it's heavenly, but all too often they can be chewy and uninspired. Today, they were as good as you can hope for. Likewise, shrimp are often overcooked and stringy, but these left little to desire.

Also, I need to return sometime with some wine buddies, because the wine list was phenomenal. Lots of great selections and many of them at or below retail prices. Typically, restaurants charge 2-3 times the store price for a bottle. At Legal, most of the less expensive bottles were priced well, but not out of the ordinary, but as I moved up in price I found many surprising bargains. A number of aged bottles in the one-to-several-hundred-dollar range were actually priced well below their current retail prices. Still a lot of money, obviously, but you're not going to find the opportunity to drink world-class wines in a nice restaurant at these prices in many places. Kudos to Legal! This wasn't the right night for it, but I shall return.