STELLA: 1525 Washington St, Boston MA

Since my mother was in town last night for a conference, we decided to meet for dinner. I picked her up and we drove over to the South End to make our 7:30pm reservation at Stella. I have been to Stella many times for drinks, but never for dinner. I have heard some good things about the food and when I looked at the menu, it seemed reasonably priced. I, also, really like the atmosphere. It gives a very clean feel with the white tables, chairs, and bar, and the taupe olefin rug. We arrived exactly on time and were seated right away. My mother complained that it was a bit noisy, but after her first glass of wine she didn't seem to mind! She definitely won on having the better meal. For an appetizer she chose the "Crispy Fried Artichoke Hearts" which literally melt in ones mouth. Her main course was the "Pork Milanese" and was gigantic and delicious. My mother was so impressed with her choices that she decided to give the waiter a play by play description about how much she enjoyed each bite of her meal. She was in rare form and I knew I needed to ride this wave for as long as I could, so I suggested that we stop for a martini at the next bar on the way back to the car. she happily agreed. At the bar, my mother made friends with this older-rich-handsome-gay gentleman. They mostly talked about his "organ" (well, it was actually his grand piano, but organ makes for a better story!). The two instantly hit it off and literally were BFF's. When we left, my mother invited him to stay with her and my father in the Berkshires so they could go to Tanglewood together! As we walked out of the bar, she said to me "This was such a great night, you are so fun!" to which I thought to myself "How am I the fun one? She was the one who entertained me all night!"

Overall, I give Stella 3.5 kirby cakes… the .5 is for the added entertainment!