Stix Boston: Big on Price, Small on Portions

Stix Restaurant, 35 Stanhope St, http://www.stixboston.com/ – 2/5

It may come as no surprise to you that one of Back Bay’s newest restaurants caters to those worried about finding a trendy place to eat and not so worried about how much it will cost. And Stix seems to be capitalizing on both the former and the latter.

Stix scores points on ingenuity; the centerpiece of its menu is a series of small plates that contain all kinds of meats and vegetables over skewers. Such a meal is not necessarily a novel one but what Stix does to separate itself is to infuse the sticks with a series of seasonings that add a remarkable amount of flavor to the food. These small plates try to encompass different geographic areas which range from Vermont all the way to Thailand and back. We were able to try the Chicken on Mango Curry Stix and the Waffled Bacon on Honey Bourbon Stix. Both were very tasty especially the waffle plate.

The problem with Stix and the reason I can’t foresee myself returning there is the combination of high price and small quantities. Both small plates were made up of 3 sticks each with about three or four inches of actual food on them. Albeit delicious, each rang in at $9 each and after spending $19 on two plates I was not full and needed to go then find a hardier finale to my dinner experience.

Trendy, yes. Cost-effective, absolutely not. That is Stix in a nutshell.