Mistral - Brunch - 3/21/2010

I just had brunch at Mistral, and I can’t remember the last time I was this excited about a meal that I’d eaten in Boston. Lately I have been feeling like the Boston restaurant scene has gotten a bit tired, particularly for brunch. I’ve been to many of the highly regarded brunch places, and this morning I was struggling to think of a place that I was eager to go to for brunch. I was reviewing some of the recent Chowhound posts and saw the recommendation for Mistral. I’ve been there for dinner and always been impressed, but for some reason I’ve never gone for brunch. So I decided to check it out today and I left the meal feeling elated and rejuvenated. I now have a new favorite brunch spot. The menu had a well rounded mix of brunch classics, new innovative dishes, and some dishes that were both. And the service was excellent.

I started with Riesling Poached Seckel Pear. The pear was perfectly poached. It was soft and juicy, but not at all overcooked. It was served on top of honeyed ricotta which helped cut the sweetness of the pear and added richness and depth to the dish. The pear was topped with a ginger galette, which added a nice crunch verses the softer textures of the pear and ricotta.

For my main course I had the duck confit. It was topped with three eggs sunny-side up, served on top of small cubes of what I believe were root vegetables, and there were a few roasted cherry tomatoes on top of the eggs. This would have been the perfect dish last weekend when it was cold and raining. Nonetheless, on this sunny day it was still exceptionally good. The tomatoes were well seasoned and bursting with flavor. The egg yolks were still soft, so when I cut into them the yolks oozed out on to the duck and vegetables below. The duck was succulent, moist, and full of flavor. The seasoning on the vegetables along with their natural sweetness (carrot and possibly turnip) created a delicious sweet and salty combination that complimented the flavor of the duck perfectly. Further vegetables cut the richness of the duck and egg combination, and added a slightly crunchy texture to the dish.

I will definitely be returning to try the many other tempting dishes, including the dropped egg appetizer served on toast with asparagus and parmesan cheese.