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The Basics: The Cafe at Taj Boston restaurant information

The Cafe at Taj Boston

15 Arlington Street
Boston, MA 02116
617-598-5255

The Cafe at Taj Boston restaurant information
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Occupying one of the city's most prestigious addresses at Arlington and Newbury Streets, Taj Boston is nestled between the picturesque Public Garden and the city's swankiest shopping district. Diners at the hotel's signature restaurant, The Café at the Taj, are well-rewarded with a menu as elegant as the historic setting.

Whether they're regrouping after a shopping-spree or spa day, planning a pre-theatre dinner or gathering friends and family for a festive celebration, guests can relax in the intimate dining room over internationally-inspired menus of New England's finest meats, seafood and produce. Innovative seasonal dishes illustrate the chef's philosophy that meticulous attention to quality and freshness of ingredients are of the utmost importance.

News and Events at The Cafe at Taj Boston restaurant

A Teddy Bear Tea at the Taj
This December, Mrs. Claus is making the trek down from the North Pole to delight kids of all ages at ...

The Dining Docket
November 12th – November 18th
Who says September is the only time for back to school? We’ve got a class-packed ...

The Cafe at Taj Boston Celebrates Diwali
The Café at Taj Boston hosts a full on to-do in honor of Diwali, the annual five-day-long festival of lights.

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Michael Mandato

Chef at The Cafe at Taj Boston

Chef Michael Mandato at The Cafe at Taj Boston

As Executive Chef at the Taj Boston, the landmark hotel at the corner of Arlington and Newbury streets, Michael Mandato is responsible for all culinary operations at Taj Boston - The Café, The Bar, The Lounge, the Taj Club Lounge, monthly wine dinners, seasonal Sunday Champagne Brunch on The Roof, 24-hour in-room dining, and all banquet and catering for the hotel. Luckily, years of experience at some of the world's most prestigious hotels has left him well equipped for the challenge.

After graduating from the Culinary Institute of America, Chef Mandato began his culinary career by mastering successively challenging positions with top chefs at French restaurants in New York: as Commis de Cuisine at The Terrace with Chef Kerry Simon, as Poissionier at La Cote Basque with Chef Jean-Jacque Rachou, and as Chef de Partie at Lafayette Restaurant with Consulting Chef Louis Outhier and Chef de Cuisine Jean-Georges Vongerichten. He then went on to work as Chef de Cuisine with Consulting Chef Jean-Georges Vongerichten at New York's Brandywine Restaurant, a new concept that blended classic Alsatian cuisine with an American steakhouse, before he was recruited to work in Canada.

During seven years with Fairmont Hotels and Resorts in Canada, he was Executive Chef at the Fairmont Jasper Park Lodge in Alberta, where he had the honor of serving the Queen of England and the Duke of Edinburgh. He also served as Executive Sous Chef, Sous Chef and Garde Manger at Fairmont Royal York Hotel in Toronto. His other Toronto experience includes stints as Sous Chef with Le Royal Meridien King Edward Hotel and at a series of innovative restaurants and jazz clubs, where he developed creative cuisine for a range of concepts that included Eastern Mediterranean and fine dining Portuguese.

Just prior to joining Taj Boston, Mandato was Executive Chef at The Ritz-Carlton, St. Louis, where for four years he oversaw fine dining operations that included five restaurants, clubs and lounges, and all banquets and events. He also lent his expertise to the hotel company's teams in Kapalua, Maui; Grand Cayman, and Ft. Lauderdale.

Chef Mandato, a member of Chaine des Rotisseurs, has appeared on Food Network Canada, Breakfast Television and CTV in Calgary and Edmonton.

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1. noun A blend of ail (garlic) and oli (oil) in the parlance of the Provence region of southern France. Around here, we'd call it a garlic mayonnaise.
Aubergine
1. noun French for "eggplant."
Carpaccio
1. noun Wafer-thin slices of raw beef served cold; named after the Renaissance Venetian painter.
Chorizo
1. noun Crumbly, spiced pork sausage.
Chutney
1. noun A spicy, fruity, sometimes marmalade-like Indian condiment.
Coulis
1. noun A thick puree or sauce.
Ganache
1. noun A rich mixture of chocolate and crème fraîche frequently used as a filling for cakes.
Haricot vert
1. noun A green string bean with French attitude.
Jus
1. noun French for juice, jus also refers to the unthickened juices from a piece of roasted meat.
Mascarpone
1. noun Ultra-rich, soft cheese known best for its role in tiramisu.
Naan
1. noun Tandoor-baked, unleavened, Indian bread.
Osso bucco
1. noun An Italian dish of braised veal shanks with white wine, onion, carrots, celery, and tomatoes.
Paella
1. noun A saffron-flavored rice dish with meats, vegetables and shellfish; named for the large shallow pan in which it is traditionally cooked.
Polenta
1. noun A slow-cooked cornmeal porridge popular in northern Italy; can be served soupy or firm, sometimes fried.
Praline
1. noun A sweet made of almonds and sugar invented for the French Comte du Plessis-Praslin by his cook in the 1600s.
Risotto
1. noun Italian dish made from rice cooked by intermittently adding small amounts of stock or broth. Other ingredients are added as required.
Roti
1. noun Unleavened, griddle-cooked Indian bread.
Tamarind
1. noun A bittersweet spice made by drying and pressing the pulp from the fruit of the tamarind tree native to Asia and northern Africa.
Tartare
1. noun Ground or finely chopped, seasoned raw meat (traditionally beef). May or may not come mounded, and with a raw egg.
Tuile
1. noun A thin, crisp, French cookie.
Wonton
1. noun A small dumplings made by filling thin sheets of dough with a mixture finely chopped meat, seafood or vegetables.