TRADE
***
540 Atlantic Ave., Boston. 617-451-1234. www.trade-boston.com. All major credit cards accepted. Wheelchair accessible.
Prices Small plates $8-$15. Flatbreads $11-$16. Entrees $16-$31. Desserts $8-$9.
Hours Dinner Sun 5:30-9 p.m. (bar menu until 10), Mon-Thu 5:30-10 p.m. (bar menu until 11), Fri-Sat 5:30-11 p.m. (bar menu until midnight). Lunch Mon-Fri 11:30 a.m.-2:30 p.m. (afternoon menu until 5:30).
Noise level Very loud.
May we suggest Squid with borlotti beans, pomegranate-glazed eggplant, rosemary and ricotta salata flatbread, lamb sausage flatbread, whole roast fish, Brussels sprouts.
WHEN JODY ADAMS began working as a line cook at Seasons in the Bostonian Hotel, it was 1983. The notion of celebrity chefs barely existed. Had you told her she might one day be considered one, she might have stopped working just long enough to laugh.
Today, Adams has appeared on the Bravo show “Top Chef Masters,’’ won prestigious awards, and written a cookbook. Some celebrity chefs seem in it for the celebrity. Adams is not among them. She hasn’t spread herself thin with multiple establishments or tried to establish a presence in other cities. Since 1994, she has faithfully run Rialto in Cambridge’s Charles Hotel, maintaining a high level of food and hospitality. In the summer months, the chef herself might be spotted selecting tomatoes at the adjacent farmers’ market.
Thus it was news when Adams announced she would open a second restaurant, teaming with partners Eric Papachristos and former Rialto general manager Sean Griffing. Trade opened in the middle of October, on the Greenway in downtown Boston. Where Rialto is subdued and elegant, even occasionally somnolent, Trade is stylish, filled with energy, and incredibly loud. Adams has gone from a whisper to a scream. Mobbed at lunch and dinner, the new place has been an instant hit. But it’s the backbone of humility Adams brings to the proceedings - the sense that, beyond the buzz, the point remains a high level of food and hospitality - that makes Trade likely to be a continuing success.
Executive chef Andrew Hebert, formerly of Rialto, runs the kitchen; he and Adams collaborate on a menu inspired by travel. Flavors are mainly Mediterranean, with Asian touches. This avoids the boring same-same of many Boston restaurants. To be sure, the ever-present squid appetizer, beet salad, flatbreads, and short rib main course are present and accounted for. But preparation and presentation set them apart.