Miel: The Time I Had The Best Salad Ever

Let me tell you about the best salad I ever had. It was at Miel Brasserie at the InterContinental Hotel Boston, home to the talented chef Didier Montarou, and it was his "salade de tomate," a tomato and burratta salad, that had me swooning. While it sounds like a textbook salad, it was so much more than that. The tomatoes were not just any tomatoes; they were vine-ripened heirlooms that were blanched and peeled and transformed into a silky sauce for the big, bulky, and beautiful buratta to rest in. In addition to the tomato "stew," there was also a spoonful of pesto placed alongside it, so each bite of (utterly) creamy burratta was paired with that popular tomato/basil combination. The tomatoes that were served whole were also peeled, so the flavors of the dish were soft and sultry, like most Provençal cuisine is, rather than tart and bold like the one you get with an unpeeled tomato. While the other dishes enjoyed that night at Miel were equally as remarkable, there is something about that salad that I'll never forget, and I can't wait to go back and have it again.