Boston Food and Drink

Headed to Clery’s a few days ago with a pretty solid crew.  For those who haven’t been to Clery’s, it is the place at the corner of Dartmouth and Columbus that has a line 100 people deep, 50% of which are girls in short skirts defying the laws of body heat even when it is 20 degrees.  I seem to remember it being rated as one of the best singles bars as well.  This always amazes me but I can’t really argue with that given the clientele every night and the fact that there is a boom-boom room downstairs for those who want to “dance” the night away.  They have some great front windows that open up to the street which is very cool in the summer (we all remember what that looks like right?)

Here’s the layout.  Two main bars on the top floor, one in the main room and one in the back room that is usually open when the crowd gets big.  There is a large sit down eating room, and of course the aforementioned boom-boom room.  The crowd here changes daily.  First and foremost it is a very popular spot with the Back Bay/Hancock/Pru/South End after work crowd.  They have a trivia night and usually some good specials on food and drink throughout the week.  Nights here carry the same crowd plus the twenty somethings.  Friday and Saturday nights are packed and a solid line forms around 10pm and will last until midnight or later.  It’s best to stake out your spot early.  There will be no shortage of single mingles there, you just have to get in the door.

So we headed over there for a mustache party…what’s that you ask? Well, my buddy is growing a mustache for charity and they meet once a week to stroke each other’s mustaches and talk about how much it itches…at least that’s what I got out of it…but it’s a good cause and we applaud them for it.  Arrived with The Big Cat (not Bianca de la Garza), TC Fight Club, and a Boonton alumn.  We saw on Twitter that they had 3 dollar nachos so we started with a round of Guinness and nachos.  Guinness = Great, Nachos=awful.  At one point I came back to the table after using the facilities and I thought one of my buddies peed in the bottom of the bowl (yes a bowl, not a plate like one might think).  So soupy, watery, and awful…but the Guinness was right on so we can’t complain.  When you go here, order the bar food.  I typically get the steak tips which come with a veggie and a potato, always a good take.  Fight Club and the Big Cat had Cubano sandwiches which and the reviews were mixed.  Again, stick to wings, tips, etc.  Bar food kids.

We ate, the Mustache Crew arrived, and we headed to the back bar for some more drinks and shootin the shiz.  The crazy thing about Clery’s are the amount of people on the prowl who try very hard not to be.  I swear it is the place to eyeball everyone, yet not talk to anyone.  Were we at a 5th grade dance? Nope, they didn’t have Kamikaze shots back then…or did they? At any rate, we headed to the back bar and checked out the mustaches.  Here is Clery’s in a nutshell, my friends and I were working out trades for fantasy baseball, a group of attractive females talked about their bad dates over the weekend, a couple was talking about breaking up, four guys were trying to get courage to go talk to said females, and a groups of 20 guys are talking a panoramic photo of their mustaches.  I mean can you get more random? That is the great thing about Clery’s, anyone can go there and have a good time, it really is an interesting melting pot of Bostonians.

We will always consider Clery’s a neighborhood bar but its clientele goes way beyond the Back Bay/SE.  Clery’s serves lunch every afternoon and does a brunch on the weekends.  Clery’s has it all…just avoid the nacho plate.

113 Dartmouth St, Back Bay, @ClerysBoston

The Met Back Bay finally opened this week and by the looks of it, this place should be a great stop after a long day of shopping on Newbury.  Two floors of drinking and eating with a private top floor for those bold enough to buy a membership.  They will specialize in huge cocktails using freshly cut ice from a block, a fine cheese and ham bar, plenty of table and bar seats, and floor to ceiling views of Newbury St.  Check it out this week!

Urban Daddy slide show  http://bit.ly/bHq1B0

Met Back Bay, 279 Dartmouth St (the old Joe’s)

Zocalo, 35 Stanhope St, Back Bay, we love it for the guacamole that they make fresh right at your table…also try the margaritas

Post 390, 406 Stuart St, Back Bay, we love this spot for the fireplaces in the bar area, a perfect spot for some fall and winter drinks…

Stella, 1525 Washington, South End,we love Stella for the Bolognese, still the best in town.  They also have 2 great bar areas and are open well past 1, great spot for late eats and people watching.

Myers+Chang, 1145 Washington St, South End, we love it for the Mama Chang’s Pork Dumplings along with everything else on the menu, go early and sit at the bar facing the kitchen and you can usually have a nice convo with Joanne!

Cafe Vittoria, 296 Hanover St, North End,we love a spot where you can get a great Cappuccino and a fantastic Cannoli, feels like an old cafe and has plenty of locals that play the part well

Douzo, 131 Dartmouth St, Back Bay, we love great sushi and this is still the best sushi in town…

The Gallows, 1395 Washington St, South End, we love it for the boiled dinner and for having one of the coolest menus around!

Prezza, 24 Fleet St, North End, everyone should love Spaghetti Wednesday’s, a great pasta meal for 6 bucks!

Back Bay Social Club, 867 Boylston St, Back Bay, nothing better than their Bloody Mary menu…

Abe and Louie’s, 793 Boylston St, Back Bay, we love the fact that people still don’t know about the upstairs bar…until now

To be continued….

Finally, someone takes the old Bertucci’s spot!  It has been a few years now that Bertucci’s has gone out from the Stanhope St location.  The Columbus Center project really hurt that area, but the city has cleaned it up a bit and now a new restaurant will move in!  From the owners of Shrine and Tosca comes “Red Lantern”, and if it is anything like Shrine, it should be a very cool spot.  Think sushi, noodles, and great cocktails!  More info to come.

Red Lantern, Stanhope St (between Clarendon and Berkeley) next to Zocalo

Geoffrey’s Cafe opened at 142 Berkeley yesterday taking the spot of Laurel.  Geoffreys has been all over the place, including spots on Tremont St in the South End and most recently, Roslindale.  Well known as a great spot to grab brunch and comfort food, they will also be serving dinner and lunch will start next week!  We have heard nothing but good things about the other locations so lets hope this delivers the same response!

Geoffreys Cafe, 142 Berkeley St, Back Bay, http://www.geoffreyscafebar.com/

According to the Globe yesterday, the Capital Grille will be moving from it’s Newbury location into the Hynes Convention Center, occupying a 10,300 square foot space (the current spot is 5500).  This move will happen sometime in 2011 and will give the Hynes Convention center two great anchor restaurants (Towne opened earlier this year).  Word is the new spot will be opened for lunch which will put them directly against Abe and Louie’s for steakhouse lunch supremacy.  Capital Grille will be open until the other spot is ready to rock.

Globe article: http://bit.ly/9q81w8

After a libation filled Saturday, we thought we would keep the run going with a Bloody Mary filled brunch at Back Bay Social Club.  I gave you guys a heads up in a previous post that it was the old Vinny T’s spot right on Boylston.  Two floors with a bar on each floor (downstairs closed for brunch and lunch).  Plenty of bar stool seating, table seating inside, and  a small outdoor patio with a handful of tables.  Definitely has that speakeasy feel to it with the furniture, checkerboard floor and mahogany bar.

We rolled in with reservations at 10:30.  Didn’t look like we needed them but it filled up after 11 or so.  Those who partied even harder chose to roll in around noon.  Outdoor seating was taken up fast even without any umbrellas at the tables.  We sat inside and it had a nice feel to it.  They have the front opened to the patio and you have just enough fresh air from outside to make it feel very open and spacious. 

We were sat promptly and rolled the dice on a few Bloody Mary’s  Their was 5 of us, 3 of us ordered the Pickled Bloody and 2 of us ordered the Pepper Bloody.  Both types won rave reviews.  My Pepper Bloody came packed with a jalapeno, a pepperoncini, and what tasted like a little vinegar in it.  All of these tastes really came together and it was very good.  The others really enjoyed the Pickled Bloody, can’t go wrong with either.

I ordered the “Cowboy” scrambled which had 4 ribs on top of some good scrambled eggs.  It said it came with peppers and onions, but mine definitely didn’t.  Good side of spiced home fries and a biscuit that was pretty dry (consensus of the table).  “The Treatment” was ordered, basically a giant plate of fried chicken, waffles, and eggs.  Received rave reviews and was gobbled up in minutes.  The “Social Breakfast” was gobbled up in seconds and I canonly assume that is was a hit.  The “Belgian Waffles” were good but could have used a bit of syrup on them (we asked for a side of it and it came right away). The only disappointment was the “Fatboy”, everything was a bit dry and had to be dolled up with some syrup.  The portions were huge and the BBQ sauce they use is very good.  Read the menu thoroughly and make sure you know what you are ordering; this isn’t the waffle, syrup, and butter type of place (which is fine by us).

Very good service, the managers came over to say hello and give us their recommendations.  Waters and coffee were poured right on cue and we never had to wonder where the staff was.  I liked the atmosphere and can see this also being a cool after work spot for the late 20’s, 30’s, and 40’s crowd.  Interesting take on the traditional brunch that should keep people coming in!

If anyone has dinner there let us know!

Back Bay Social Club, 867 Boylston St, Boston 617.247.3200 www.backbaysocialclub.com

One of my buddies in the food industry shot me this link, looks like the Met Back Bay will be opening up in the Fall.  This is the old Joe’s Newbury St spot before Joe’s moved up the road.  They are calling themselves a “modern steakhouse”.  I hope they have that burger bar that the location in Natick does!

For those interested, or those who need a J.O.B. check it! http://boston.craigslist.org/gbs/fbh/1884462103.html

According to the Herald, the Big Papi’s Grille braintrust is scoping out places for a 2nd location., the first one is in Framingham.  While we hope he keeps smackin the ball, we would rather see this average-eatery stay in the ‘burbs.  This also brings up the question of him re-signing with the Sox…a Papi’s Grille without Papi around?

Herald article http://tinyurl.com/2agdvbn

Couldn’t think of a catchy title…

The Back Bay Social Club has opened up on Boylston St, taking the spot of the old “Vinny T’s”  formerly “Vinny Testas”.  I never liked that place and changing the name to Vinny T’s just made matters worse.  This spot looks to put the old times to bed.

Two floors of throwback red leather couches and a checkered floor sourrounded by an bar made of rich mahogany http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0357413/quotes Thanks Ron Burgundy.

At any rate, place looks cool and we welcome a new look to that spot.  Check it out and let us know how it is!

Back Bay Social Club, 867 Boylston St, 617.247.3200 http://www.backbaysocialclub.com/