I resisted checking out the Liberty Hotel when it opened last year in
Boston’s former Charles Street Jail, despite rave reviews of its design
and the hip scenes at its first restaurant, Clink, and the Alibi bar.
The idea of hanging out in the same place that had held many of the
area’s most notorious criminals for as far back as I could remember
(and then some) just gave me the creeps.
Then Scampo opened, with chef Lydia Shire in the kitchen, and my
conviction started to waver. It’s not so much that I have to run to
every new restaurant opened by all of the city’s ‘celebrity’ chefs. But
Shire is one of my favorites.
I have been a devoted fan since she
started cooking at the restaurant in the former Bostonian Hotel, more
than 20 years ago, when I didn’t have a clue who was in the kitchen –
just that I loved the food.
Still, I didn’t run to Scampo. I waited a few months. But I was pretty
excited by the time I finally got there. And I wasn’t disappointed.
