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Flux
Minimalist dining for the 21st century
BY ROBERT NADEAU

 Flux
(617) 695-FLUX
1 Appleton Street, Boston
Open daily, 5:30 p.m.–midnight
AE, DC, Di, MC, Vi
Full bar
Valet parking, $12
Sidewalk-level access

Flux aspires to the minimalist excitement of Miracle of Science or Cambridge 1. It is in some ways even more minimalist than they are, although it does have a sign. Flux is a long room with white-formica tables, black-and-white seating, a neutral carpet, and simple globe lamps. On the menu, all the appetizers and desserts cost $5. Entrées are grouped at $10, $11, and $12 — none of that grouping by beef, chicken, or seafood for Flux diners. And of course the menu is in sans-serif type, with words either all uppercase or all lowercase. There are 10 listed beers, 16 wines, and six cocktails. The background music is techno and fairly nondescript. There are no reservations.

When minimalism works, it works because every remaining detail is right, and then there is a certain electricity because people fill up the spaces in the concept. This happens sometimes at Flux, but not all the time. An example is the appetizer " ICEBERG with tomato and your choice of dressing " ($5). That sounds pretty minimal, but the platter is two wedges of lettuce and three wedges of pink tomato, and our balsamic vinaigrette was mostly vinegar. At Cambridge 1, the same platter was a single wedge of iceberg, with no choice of dressing, just a delicious and weirdly purple shallot vinaigrette that elevated the lettuce into a conceptual salad. Looked starker, but tasted (somewhat in contrast with its appearance) like a symphony.

Flux does better with " POT STICKERS with soy dipping sauce " ($5) because the chef has spun the five-spice flavor of spareribs into the chicken filling of these fried raviolis, and then gone with a Japanese-style soy dip. These are lively and different. " BASKET OF FRIES " ($5) comes in " sweet potato and standard. " We had the sweet-potato version, and they were thin, tasty, pretty greaseless, but not crisp. Fried calamari ($5) are terrifically crisp, so it may be that there is only one fryer and the kitchen sets it for squid. Order accordingly.

My favorite entrée was " CHIPOLTE MEATLOAF " ($11), and it couldn’t have been better if they’d spelled it right. The meatloaf is a four-inch cube, lighter than any diner ever served, and slightly hot, with the real fire coming from a glaze of homemade barbecue sauce. The mashed red potatoes (with some skins and pepper) and sautéed green beans have the look of diner food (America’s previous fling with restaurant minimalism), but the flavor of chef-driven bistro food. Seared turkey breast ($11) is simpler in flavor, but effective, and I liked the herbed couscous with it (as well as those green beans).

Grilled garlic chicken ($12) had some grill marks on a boned breast, but not enough garlic, and the same excellent potatoes and beans. " TORTELLINI with tomato and fresh mozzarella " ($10) is excellent pasta, stuffed with cheese, in a nice tomato sauce, with not a lot of fresh mozzarella. Here the smallish platter was entirely welcome.

The wine list is not as inexpensive as the food, and $5 bottled beer sets no records. My bottle of Harpoon IPA was not the freshest. One can always say that beer is a bottled product, so the restaurant had no hand in that. But the way to make minimalism work is to make it look minimal, while actually taking the extra step — in this case, working with suppliers and checking the shipment. The coffee and decaf were good but weak. Tea is served in a metal pot, bag on the side, so it also doesn’t brew up very strong.

Desserts are basic but satisfying. " PIES ask your server for today’s variety " ($5) was apple our day, a very good filling in a decent crust. " ICE CREAM strawberry, chocolate or vanilla " ($5) comes in a tall stemmed glass as in the old soda fountains, and the vanilla is rich, superior ice cream. " CHOCOLATE CAKE a classic " ($5) is a swell piece of reasonably strong chocolate cake, with a lot of strong chocolate frosting, and some chocolate chunks worked onto the frosting in case anyone missed the idea. " PLATE OF COOKIES assorted favorites " ($5) were all chocolate chip or oatmeal raisin our night, but good enough, especially with the ice cream. Service at Flux was very quick and good, no errors. It’s a little bright and loud for hanging out, but some people like that, so it may evolve into a 21st-century diner.

Evidently the owners intended to make Flux inexpensive and flexible, in contrast to the elaborate restaurants of the Theater District and the Tremont Street restaurant row. This was already apparent on our weeknight visit, as the place filled up quite nicely. A slight majority of the initial clientele appeared to be neighborhood walk-ins, which is to say gay men of all ages. But other groups, including an obvious suburban family, were not out of place. My guess is that the no-reservation policy will push out pre-theater customers after a while, but if Flux becomes a neighborhood spot, it won’t need the hassle. If plans for a late-night DJ develop, the club crowd could be more specialized, but it can’t get too extreme because this is a long room with a long wall of windows to the street. The very minimalism of Flux sends no clear signal, and opens the place to many kinds of tables: middle-aged couples on their way to the theater, young daters on a night out, neighbors too tired to cook, partiers on a budget, post-theater snackers, drinkers sharing some appetizers. It’s versatile, and with some selectivity, it’s good.

Robert Nadeau can be reached at RobtNadeau@aol.com

Issue Date: June 6 - 12, 2003
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