Thanks to all for the ideas. In the end, my choices were constrained by geography (Jean didn't want to set foot in Cambridge) and reservations. The clear winner of our trip was B&G Oysters, where we had a great meal. We started with a selections of oysters from New England and the Pacific Northwest, all of which were delicious. The other dishes were equally appealing (I had a lovely and genuine-tasting cioppino) and we got a bottle of the 2012 Clos des Briords that was rockin' good and open for business. Jean: "Why do we buy Chablis when we can get this?" Our son was very happy with his dish of hake with edamame on the side, so all was well. We also got a table in the sunken patio, which added to the pleasure.
We also ate at Troquet, which was a block away from our hotel. I can understand the complaint that it's pricey, but the meal itself was very good. Both Andrew and I got the "Peking" duck, which both of us liked a lot. Jean got the duck confit salad, which was a treat, and the white corn agnolotti, which was a miss for her. The bottle of 1990 Maurice Ècard Savigny-les-Beaune 1er Les Peuillets (our second, after returning the first, fruit-scalped bottle) was gorgeous, showing no roasted character that I find so often in that vintage, fresh and vibrant with lovely fruit, lots of forest floor character and a great spine of acidity. There weren't many bargains on the wine list, but this was one of them.
We also had a number of other wines on this trip. Our glasses of the Henri Goutorbe "Cuvée Prestige" were a bit clunky and heavy for my tastes, admittedly colored by the non-dosé BdBs we've been drinking of late. Much more appealing, actually, was the half bottle of Taittinger Brut La Francaise, zippier and lighter, more minerally, with a pleasant frothiness to the mousse. A bottle of 2013 Dom. Dupeuble Beaujolais was a bit too marked by CM for my tastes, but with time took on more depth and minerality. The 2011 Laurent Gauthier Morgon Cote du Py was more appealing, deeply fruity with lovely floral aromatics. This was my first exposure to this producer and I was impressed.
