The wine list at STIX is medium length and marked up; it doesn’t list vintages. A glass of Graf Koenigsegg “Velt.1” gruner veltliner ($8/glass; $32/bottle) was a very well put together pinot grigio from Austria. Concha y Toro’s Casillero del Diablo “Reserve” carmenere ($8/$32) is my favorite bargain example of this Chilean red, and it showed well with STIX food. Five Rivers pinot noir ($9/$36) had some oak and was perhaps too subtle for spiced food. Cappuccino ($4) and decaf ($3) were excellent.
Warm chocolate fondant is your basic flourless chocolate cake, here accompanied by a delectable smoothie involving cherry liqueur and a hint of cocoa. Crème brûlée is not unusual, but the coconut macaroons with it were exceptionally good. My favorite dessert, through, was gingerbread cheesecake ($9) with pomegranate sauce. The spice makes sense of the cheesecake, and the sauce makes exquisite sense. The only failed experiment among the desserts was the kaffir-lime panna cotta. I’ve loved the citronella flavor of kaffir lime (usually leaves) when it’s been infused in several recent dishes, but this was so strong it was resinous. A shooter of basil seeds on the side looked like frogs’ eggs (basil seeds swell up in water to make something like bubble tea) but had little flavor despite the interesting texture.
We also had a complimentary sample of the chocolate-truffle tree ($7 for one; $13 for two), which brings various homemade truffles on long white paper sticks that stick out of a glass brick with holes. The ones we tasted were outstanding, so this is one item on a stick that must be tried.
STIX is obviously something of a reviewer’s paradox. Eliminate all the novelties (basically by skipping the stix) and you have a competent, moderately priced bistro near Copley and Park Squares. But the novelties are what the restaurant is named for and is promoting. That said, the service is good and the room is very handsome, though three muted TVs showing sports may be too many. If you’re there primarily for drinking, the stix are the snacks to have, especially with beer or cocktails. If you had planned to go somewhere else for after-dinner drinks, you might want to stay put for the large plates and desserts.
Robert Nadeau can be reached at RobtNadeau@aol.com.
