Boston’s Dining Culture: Where’s the Good Food?
Nearly a century’s length of championship futility had haunted this New England town. Ok, not exactly championship futility when you’ve had a “Hondo” and a Rondo furnish your parquet-floored arena with glorious banners. Oh yes, and there’s that one guy named Tom Brady. Enough said.
However, the primary pastime for these residents still remains and perhaps will always be baseball and their beloved Red Sox. After all, Boston isn’t just called “Red Sox nation” for nothing. Five years ago, they finally got their chance to sing “Sweet Caroline” in unison. Boston is a New England town enriched with the kind of old Americana that’s apparent throughout the brownstone constructions seen from Back Bay to Fenway. While there was much to wander about and random bar chums to ‘sling bull’ with, I did actually have a few plans in mind for this trip.
Lobster and Fries: A Boston Staple
Aside from attending a concert, on my itinerary was to partake in the dining culture and feast on their seafood staples, ‘lobstah and clam chowdah.’ There’s one problem; being an admirer of multi-cultural fine dining—I found myself baffled over Boston’s deficiencies in that department. For example, I had a fairly inexpensive lobster meal at Whiskey’s which I found to be decent. Unfortunately, it’s graded as a bottom-tier spot amongst natives.
It seems to move up in tiers, you have to be willing to drop at the very least 40 dollars on an entree. And yet, that’s not guaranteeing that you’re actually eating your money’s worth. An old article from the Boston Globe focused on the lack of food culture and price gouging. In the article, author, chef and food connoisseur, Anthony Bourdain offered his insights on this matter: “I think what’s going on in Boston is a classic example of chefs working in a place that’s not yet a national restaurant city, not by a stretch. It’s a period of insecurity. And I can really understand why the chefs are charging so much: If prices come down, they lose their mystique as chefs. They’re reluctant to abandon their pomposity, expense, and pretense.”
Blunt, yet I couldn’t agree more. It’s disappointing to have your options limited to finding a good meal at mid-level price (~$20). After actually finding a spot in the land of higher education, Cambridge, all I got for it was lukewarm clam chowder… That’s not to say all is lost for Boston in the dining department. They do have a sizable West Indies population, so it wasn’t too hard to find some Caribbean grub at this counter spot called Pepper Pot right in the heart of downtown at Dudley Square. The jerk food is not flavored to the point of taking away the tenderness of the meat. The portions are more than enough to cover two meals and don’t miss out on the side of plantains. It’s definitely worth your while if you’re on a budget.
The greatness that is J.P. Licks
On the dessert front, J.P. Licks ice cream is a winner. There’s not one particular thing that makes it stand out over the competition. It’s just a classic homemade, not too creamy, yet not too stiff, hand-scooped piece of nostalgia. It’s not from the Dairy Queen / Cold Stone mold—unless you opt to get their soft-serve brand—and more in the Blue Bell area of taste and texture (for all you Southern folk). If given the chance, they should seriously consider expansion.
Despite their dining dilemma, knowing that one can walk through the heart of Boston and you’re guaranteed to see a pub or two from block-to-block is a pubcrawler’s paradise. Samuel Adams and Guinness seem to be the choice brews to relax and watch the daily Sox game on the flat screen. Fancy a White Russian? Ha. Put that away man. Asking for drinks of that sort will bring forth looks of jeers amongst the locals. It certainly seemed that way when my traveling comrade ordered a margarita on the rocks with amaretto only to leave our Rajon Rondo jersey clad bartender with a smirk and “eww!?” response. “I had her approval and reassurance with my order” is what I would like to say. Nonetheless, she gave a similar reaction to my six-dollar liquid coke on the rocks. For that low price, she can treat me like a Yankees fan.
Move over cocktails; there’s no room for you in the drinking land of ale. To truly feel at home in Boston’s bar scene, you must chug with pride and hear some soft-rock ballad playing through the loudspeakers. One man can only take so much of Survivor’s “The Search is Over” before enough is enough. The lines have to be drawn somewhere, which brings us back to Boston restaurants. Great food can be bought at a premium; bad food can be bought when all else fails [financially], but where’s the good food for everyone else? You know… that quality meal you can get at a still affordable 15 per dish. Maybe one day, Bostonians and fellow tourists will be able to find that more often than not.
