Warrior: 5.7 Warrior Points. Peony did not attend tonight because she is at a conference. It was my first time having dinner alone since pre-pandemic. I missed you sweetie!
Peony [Warrior serving as proxy]: Tonight’s dinner was enjoyable. They use good ingredients. I find the food a little traditional so it is more to Warrior’s tastes.
Chi Spacca is a tough place to dine alone because it really limits how much food you can order. I think 6 people is the perfect number.
I like four at Chi Spacca. Six I’m afraid people would have to shout to all hear each other. Never doing solo again, if I’m on my own I go next door.
Peony: Quality food and good cooking. Courteous waitstaff. Unfortunately, while I think it’s personal preference, I don’t feel as impressed by this restaurant as Warrior.
Warrior: A little spoiled are we? The squid squidded, the fennel fennelled. The octopus neoned meate dreams. The gelato and sorbet were Sunday’s finest. 5.1 Warrior Points.
You trying to upset me not being impressed at Chi spacca while ordering salads and sea boogers? We’re here for the meat and the meaty pies and the meat in casings. said with a smile
(i love your and warrior’s posts)
so the bone marrow pie is perfect but the other pies aren’t?? Now I’m debating whether to even get the bone marrow pie…
I would say even bone marrow pie is really low on my list, looking at current menu I would recommend the following:
Affetati misti
Focaccia di recco
Warm dates (optional)
Little gem salad
Spacca Caesar
Pollo a la diavola (@TheCookie recommended this one and it was great)
Pork tomahawk
Grilled octopus or calamari(I’ve never had the calamari but you cannot go wrong with their proteins) (optional)
Lamb chops - if they happen to have them on special or something
Onion rings (optional)
Cauliflower (optional)
Burrata (optional but it is relatively light so it’s good throughout the meal)
Budino
Keep in mind that everything is very heavy but it all tastes great. Grilled proteins are what they excel at and their salads are a great counterpoint. We usually always get two salads and skip their side veggie section.
My personal faves are lamp chops, pork tomahawk, pollo, budino, and the two salads. I very much enjoy affetati misti and the focaccia di recco but we don’t get them every time because they are so filling. If it’s your first time def get the focaccia di recco and a salumi since they make everything in house if the affetati is too daunting.
thanks! didn’t even consider the salads here tbh
The vegetable dishes at Chi Spacca have often been among the highlights of my meals there.
The focaccia di Recco is great but so filling I don’t always order it.
From the current sample menu, for a party of four, I’d maybe order tongue, octopus or squid, lamb shepherd’s pie, tomahawk pork chop, and two or three of the broccoli di cicco, cauliflower, mushrooms, and cabbage. But the menu changes all the time.
With fewer than four people I’d eat next door at the Osteria.
thanks! is there a reason you prefer the lamb Shepard’s pie to the bone marrow? always heard the bone marrow is the signature
I’ve never had any pie there. I’d order any lamb dish.
the bone marrow pie with accompanying robuchon potatoes are great but really rich, enough to share between two for a main.
my favorites are the porchetta fredda, veal tongue, anchovy butter, spacca caesar or little gem, chicken, tomahawk pork chop.
Yep… the beef pie is top of my list but I like the whole menu
is this space at all child-friendly (4-6 age range)?
also, is there a resource somewhere in the forum on child-friendly restaurants? my search skills are coming up with nothing…
I would say no the space is small and the tables are packed tight. No where for the kids to roam if they’re bored.
There are some outdoor tables. It’s already so noisy from Melrose traffic outside that you have some extra leeway. The servers at Spacca are also particularly gracious, so assuming your kids are generally polite diners and can handle a 90+ minute meal you’d be totally fine.
How do you define a child friendly restaurant? IMO whether a restaurant is kid-appropriate really depends on 1) the temperament of the kid and 2) the manners their parents have taught them. Some 4-6 year olds would be fine almost anywhere barring long tasting menus or very formal spots and some kids would struggle to stay seated and generally quiet for even a quick meal at a pizzeria.
It really depends how used your kids are to restaurants. In nearly all restaurants the expectation should be that kids shouldn’t run around if they are bored but are used to sit at the table for 1.5-3 hours. Chi Spacca falls into this category.
Are there restaurants where kids should be allowed to run around ?
