There was once a time when bar food meant deep-fried mystery meat and warmed-over platters crowned with limp carbo-vehicles for porous cheese. But not in Boston. Not anymore. Critic Ruth Tobias checks in at some of our pubbiest spots to find that serious chefs are rewarding the libating masses with above-standard cuisine.
This is happy news: After all, we want delicious food to complement our 12th mudslide. (We might even tip accurately after receiving it!) It’s fortunate, then, that Mark Cina’s performing menu CPR at the Independent, L’Espalier alum Alex Crabb is putting a “seasonal spin” on the fare at Atwood’s Tavern, and Petit Robert Central chef Eric Bogardu has made over the McGreevey’s menu. Even the Rattlesnake, once a sticky-floored dive, has innovative Chef Brian Poe breathing new life into the menu, Tobias notes.
So basically Boston bars are expanding their menu offerings to a more youthful crop of diners and ditching the middling pub grub. We think that national chains should take note. Because for now, food purgatories like Applebee’s, Chili’s, and the Olive Garden favor a reverse formula: Keep the middling menus, and expand booze offerings to children!
Raising the Bar [Stuff]
Related: The Independent: A Kinder, Friendlier Place for Vegetarians
