29 Jun 3 Must-Eat At Restaurants in Boston

Work took me to Boston recently. I had not been to Boston in more than five years and in that time, especially in the past two years, the Boston food scene seems to have exploded. On my two day trip to Boston, I found three restaurants that are must eat-ats if you are heading to Bean Town.

Committee Boston
50 Northern Avenue
Boston, MA 02210

Located on the waterfront in Boston’s Seaport District, Committee Boston is a large, 5,500-square foot restaurant. The open space is a mix of materials, including wood, stone, leather and metal. Wooden wine crates line the walls and ceilings and lighting fixtures are urban funky.  A Mediterranean theme, Committee features a menu of small plates, an interesting wine list featuring a good selection of Greek wines and cocktails. Having traveled to Greece a couple times over the past few years, I was impressed by the authenticity and flavors of the dishes. I hosted a Madeira wine event at the restaurant and the small bites paired perfectly with the sweet fortified wines.

Chicken Skewers  Greek yogurt marinade, spiced Greek honey

Falafel  tahini, chickpeas, Kalamata olives

Basturma  meat pie, yuftka, kasseri, cured beef

Lahmajun  spiced lamb, charred tomato, nigella

Charred Octopus balsamic glaze

Oak + Rowan
321 A St
Boston, MA 02210

Located in a loft-like space with exposed brick walls and leather booths, Oak + Rowan is a cozy, down-to-earth restaurant. Featuring a New American menu, the dinner menu is divided into several sections: Begin; Soup + Salad; Pasta; Land + Sea; and a Cheese section. The food is creative, such as the dried Strawberry dollops in my salad of little gem lettuce, stracciatella and sunflower seed pesto. And the house-made pasta is delicate and fresh. The rotolo pasta with ricotta salata and asparagus popped with the crunch of the beets and preserved orange. The wine list at Oak + Rowan is international in scope and diverse with a selection of familiar varieties but also more unique ones. There is something for every wine drinker and we enjoyed a rustic, earthy Gattinara. I was impressed with our servers knowledge of the wines and his ability to discuss different options with our table.

Townsman
120 Kingston St
Boston, MA 02111

Townsman is a brasserie-style chic restaurant with large floor to ceiling glass windows looking out the the street. Inside, the space is modern and inviting with colorful tiled murals on the walls and bright red chairs. Sourcing local ingredients and focused on seasonality and sustainability, Townsman is a restaurant to enjoy with friends. The menu is primarily share plates and with a party of 6, we were able to order almost half of the menu. And there was not a morsel left on any plate.

Boston Brown Bread (blackstrap-sweet quadrants of brown bread with maple-honey whipped butter served atop cans of maple syrup)

Gougeres (sweet potato, black pepper honey, speck)

Crispy Brussels Sprouts (malt vinegar, harissa)

Ramps (straciatella, bee pollen, green almonds)

Soft Shell Crab (nori butter, smoked carrots, lovage)

Lamb Ribs (curtido, rhubarb glaze, peanut relish)

Braised Chicken Leg (chorizo heirloom beans, roots)

Spinach Pasta (goat, ricotta, chickpeas)

Spring Onion Gritbakes (crab, green tomato jam, fennel)

Hanger Steak Au Poivre (fingerling potatoes, chicories, cipollini jam)

Moules Frites (Maine mussels, ‘nduja, vermouth)

My visit to Boston was short but there was no shortage of good food. With these examples of delicious food, I am looking forward to returning to Boston soon to eat my way through the city!