Martini Mondays Lead To Tired Tuesdays

One of my favorite things about working in the Newton/Waltham area is that there are so many fantastic restaurants close by. Over the past year my cousin Anna and I have made it a point to try and check out as many of these as possible and we have done pretty well: making our way down Moody Street (which is a task in and of itself since that street is littered with bars and restaurants from Indian and Thai to Tapas and a Micro Brewery, it's a culinary (and alcoholic) smorgasbord), and eventually radiating out to visit restaurants like Lumiere and last night, finally taking part in Martini Mondays at Ariadne.

What does a "Martini Monday" entail? $5 Martinis! And it's not just the weak, gross martinis that are usually featured on Special Menus ("Here, enjoy our house martini, which contains kool aid and a splash of Zhenka for only $5! WHAT A DEAL!"). No these are strong, delicious and unique cocktails with names like The Creamsicle (with vanilla and mandarin vodka) and Lemon Drop (absolut citron, limoncello, triple sec and lemon juice).

The menu is conveniently broken down into Small, Medium and Large plates which is great for someone like me who eats lunch at 3PM and usually doesn't have the appetite for a huge meal right after work, but would still like to order something other than an appetizer. I ordered the crispy Confit Duck Leg, which came with a large and lovely watercress, orange and almond salad. It was really tasty and satisfying, and at $12 the price was definitely right. Anna ordered the wonderfully tender Grilled Flat Iron Steak which came with the most divine potatoes and vegetables. At $27, it is towards the more expensive end of the "Large Plates" menu but offers a lot of food for the price.

As for the martinis, which was for us the MAIN attraction, we had three each: I had the Lemon Drop and Cranberry Martini, Anna had the Razzle Dazzle and Sweet Tart, and we both could not resist the Creamsicle Martini which really lived up to it's name in a dangerous way. At $5 a pop, it was the deal of the night!

The decor was a surprise to me, the website is kind of rudimentary and I tend to judge places by their website. But the restaurant is really lovely and elegant.



Ariadne also offers a prix-fixe menu every night of the week for $30, so I would skip coming here on Restaurant Week and go somewhere else where the $33.07 special menu is more of a deal. If you live in the area you should definitely check this place out though, it's close to Washington Street and Comm Ave in Newton, and about 10 minutes off the Pike. Anna and I will be going back on the 23rd for their bimonthly "Greek Night" which features a full Greek menu, Greek music and belly dancing. It sounds like a fun way to kick off my birthday weekend!