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Chez Henri
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Chez Henri
Location: 1 Shepard St., Cambridge.
Phone: 617-354-8980.
Bar hours: Mon.-Thurs., 6-11 p.m.; Fri.-Sat., 5:30 p.m.-midnight; Sun., 5:30-10 p.m.
Most romantic spot: the two bar seats next to the wall or the table by the window.
Appetizer prices: $3.95-$9.95.
Chef's appetizer speciality: warm spinach salad with duck tamale.
Smoking at the bar: yes
Noise level: moderate to loud
Special Valentine's menu: Served Feb. 12-14, the menu includes appetizers of Moonstone Beach oysters with champagne-chive sauce and caviar; chicken with a lavender-honey-thyme glaze; hearts of palm, avocado, and crab meat with a passion fruit vinaigrette; warm corn arepas with foie gras; and a Venezuelan-chocolate mousse with fresh raspberries and chocolate cake for dessert.
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A small, friendly room, with dark wainscoting, walls painted a muted sage, and a skylight overhead, Chez Henri's bar has a vaguely foreign air, as if it could be a little hideaway on the Left Bank. The asymmetrical wood and glass wall sconces look like lanterns and enhance the funky, intimate atmosphere.
Owner and chef Paul O'Connell says that he "wanted the bar to be cozy and dark, because there aren't that many of those places left."
But while the atmosphere may be French-artsy, the food has a Latin and Caribbean sizzle. If you sit at the bar, you can order from either the dining room or bar menus. The bar food is so popular, says O'Connell, that "some nights, the bar has been so full, we have to sit people in the dining room for the bar menu."
From the bar menu, the pressed Cuban sandwich overflowing with slow-roasted pork and cheese (a vegetarian version contains cheese and vegetables) is a favorite. Or take O'Connell's advice: He contends that Latin food is very sensual, and he considers the warm spinach salad with bacon vinaigrette and served with a tamale bursting with duck "the sexiest thing on the menu."
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