The Not So Savant Project

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If Saturday mornings are for being productive, Sunday mornings are for relaxation.

I was sitting around and playing on my computer when this guy made me jump right out of my seat. Good thing he was a ‘nice’ bug and not something scary.

Matt rescued him in a cup and sent him on his way.

So about last night…we had an interesting experience at a newish restaurant called The Savant Project.

Before dinner, I cleaned house and enjoyed my new candles! The smell was nice, but these burned really quickly and got wax everywhere:(

Matt also had his friend (and college roommate), Jeff, over for a beer (ladies, Jeff lives in Boston and is single!)

Matt and I walked to The Savant Project, where we met Lauren and Evan. The restaurant had some interesting concoctions; I ordered The Blonde – Alagash white beer with a hint or orange liqueur.

It was like a beer/ wine combo and was sooo delish. Matt got The Brunette, which was a nut brown ale with port; it was equally interesting and awesome.

We also got some kind of apple salsa that was fun.

The Savant Project had tapas and main courses, so we ordered a some of both.

These are tuna sliders

and three cheese empanadas!

I wasn’t a huge fan of the sliders, because they tasted kind of like Boca/soy burgers, but I loved the empanadas, especially with the apple salsa.

This is when things got a little confusing at the restaurant. First, our waiter said the kitchen had lost our order and we had to remind him what we chose as entrees. Then, he came back and told us that the kitchen had just run out of the pork tenderloin (both couples ordered one of these to split for dinner) and that we needed to pick new entrees. Matt and I choose the fish tacos since we’d had a positive experience with the empanadas. About ten minutes later, our waiter put a pork tenderloin in front of us, and we were really confused 1) as to why they suddenly had pork again and 2) why they brought a pork for Matt and I, but not for Lauren and Evan. So, we asked our waiter what was going on, and he said they had “found a pork” and cancelled our fish tacos. Strange. So, we happily ate the pork, which wasn’t great (in all of this confusion, I forgot to take a picture). Apparently, no one had cancelled the fish tacos, because those arrived (free of charge) about 30 minutes later.

At this point, we were getting kind of full, but Matt and I were determined to eat our free entree! The fish tacos were fabulous, so I’m glad we accidentally got them. Lauren and Evan’s salmon was great too, but it arrived 30 minutes after our entree.

Needless to say, the service was pretty terrible at The Savant Project, but the staff was at least apologetic about the mix up(s). At one point, we asked to speak to a manager and were told there wasn’t one on site (maybe that’s their problem?). Luckily, one of the bartenders came over to our table and told us that all of our drinks would be taken care of, and when the bill came, some of the entrees were free too! Although it wasn’t the best dining experience, we did enjoy some pretty good food at a pretty low cost, so it’s a shame the service wasn’t better.

We ended up sticking around to hear a local band play. I’m always up for live music, and there was a fun crowd, so it ended up being a very entertaining evening.

Today’s schedule is wide open. You know my life revolves around food so the only certainties are lunch and dinner..


  • Heather
    September 19, 2010 at 1:00 pm

    Such a bummer to hear about the mix-ups at TSP. It’s been on my list to try for awhile (but since so many new places are opening up around here lately, it never gets crossed off!) and I’ve heard great things. It sounds like they handled their mixups gracefully and appropriately, though, which can make all the difference! If you’re fish taco fans, have you been to Ole or Olecito in Inman Square? Delicious.

    • Laura
      September 19, 2010 at 10:21 pm

      I’ve heard of both but haven’t tried either. I’ll def. put them on my list now!

  • Katie
    September 19, 2010 at 7:14 pm

    Thanks for the review of Savant Project – I live in Boston and have been wanting to check it out. Sounds like decent food with not-so-decent service. You can tell Jeff that he caught the eye of a single Boston girl;)

    • Laura
      September 19, 2010 at 10:22 pm

      ohh, really? I’ll let him know:)

  • Allie
    September 21, 2010 at 12:29 pm

    i went there for drinks, but didn’t eat. i like your honest review. hey Jeff’s cute 😉 i think i’m a bit too old for him tho.

    • Laura
      September 21, 2010 at 10:09 pm

      Well he’s a few years older than me, so maybe you’re just right:)

  • Christine
    September 23, 2010 at 8:31 pm

    Hi! Discovered your blog while reading KERF the other day and was happy to see your reviews of Boston restaurants. I also live here and have been curious about the Savant Project and have been wanting to check it out but now might go just for drinks and music rather than dinner. It’s hard to find good live music so I think it would be worth it. I agree that Jeff is very cute. Hard to believe he is single!

    • Laura
      September 23, 2010 at 9:58 pm

      def. go for music because it was a neat little venue and beer/liqueur drinks were fun!