HOUSTON'S: 60 State St, Boston, MA

This past weekend I tagged along with my close friend and her boyfriend for lunch. As we walked around touristy Faneuil Hall, we foolishly attempted to eat at a few different "chain restaurants!" I know, I know… I also try to make it a general rule to stay away from the chain restaurant. However, I believe one should try everything at least once. Besides, what kind of self labeled restaurant critic would I be if I did not review everything? Anyway, as it turned out, many of these chain establishments were fortunately closed due to a water main break in the area the night before. As we were discussing our options, I suddenly remembered that my favorite "cougar den" was right around the corner. Houston's literally is the best place to grab a drink and hunt for cougars mid-week after work. I have never been there to eat, so we figured this was the best time to try it out because it was too early in the day for any cougars to pounce on us. As we burrowed our way through the door, we were magically transported out of Boston's sunny tourist trap and into a dimly lit lounge. Once past the bar and escorted safely to the dining area, I noticed that the ambiance was surprisingly mediocre. In addition, the young waitresses were quite pleasant. I honestly was shocked! When it was time to order, we all decided on burgers and, again, I was somewhat impressed. I mean, don't get me wrong. There are definitely better places to eat that are within walking distance, but I seriously expected Houston's to be much worse. On the other hand, Houston's menu is a bit overpriced. Nevertheless, they are located in the perfect area to over charge the typical city visitor. Overall, I have no major complaints. So, I have vowed that if I was ever hungry in the area again, and I couldn't decide on a place to eat, AND if it was too early in the day to be mauled by a chain smoking cougar, I would definitely "consider" going back.

Unenthusiastically, Houston's gets 2 kirby cakes!

FRANKLIN CAFE: 278 Shawmut Ave. Boston MA

Franklin Café is my all time favorite place in Boston. It is tucked away on a side street in the South End and I typically go there for all my special occasions as well as drag my friends there for their special occasions. I have never heard one person say they dislike it… however, some have complained about the potential for incredibly long waits. I would recommend going early in the week, rather than on a weekend. One cannot make a reservation and tables are very limited. But the kitchen is open late night and the ambiance (when it is not super crowded) makes any wait well worth it. It is not pretentious at all (and this is coming from a guy who likes pretension) and so far I have not had bad service. Furthermore, I believe Franklin is the biggest bang for your buck. All the main courses around $20 and are better than some high end restaurants that I have been to. If you cannot decide from all the “fantastic-ness” on the menu, I highly recommend starting with the smokey skillet roasted mussels and then move on to the classic steak frites. However, I have tried most things on the menu and have never regretted what I ordered.

Seriously, do you even have to wonder… OBVI, 4 kirby cakes!!!!!!!

ACHILLES PROJECT: 283 Summer St. Boston MA

I wanted to let you all know about another great restaurant find in Boston. This weekend I went to this AWESOME new place (only 8 weeks old) right over the bridge on Summer St. I actually went for a "wedding," but was so impressed with the place that I ended up talking to the owner for about 20 minutes about the concept and the menu etc. He was very friendly and told me they are going to start advertising in May. The wait staff was also very friendly... but that may have been because I was on all "giddy up" from the open bar.

It is called Achilles Project and it is a boutique/bar/restaurant. That's right, they sell cloths too. The menu is quite interesting and separated into small (tapas size), medium (apt size), large (main course) and extra large (serves two) portions. And while it seemed simply "ok" priced the owner explained that all the food is more or less bought locally.

Overall, Achilles Project gets 3 kirby cakes... However, I am basing this off of the catering menu and not the regular menu. I reserve the right to adjust my "cakes" upon a proper (birthday) meal next month!!!

CHURCH: 69 Kilmarnock St. Boston MA

I went to church recently and was pretty impressed. I went with a group of about 5 friends and everyone seemed to be happy with their meals and the ambiance. The service was definitely worth the over-tipping regardless of how drunk and generous we felt. Our waiter was very friendly and over all knowledgeable (especially about the “Seven Deadly Sins” cocktails list which, I believe, consists of all fresh ingredients.) I ordered the braised lamb shank and it was amazing!!! The other dish I would highly recommend is the bacon wrapped pork loin! The eggplant rollatini was alright, but very similar to a great recipe that I picked up whilst living in London (leave me a comment if you would like me to forward the recipe to you). A couple other positives was that there is a free parking lot and if you eat dinner there and wanna go to the jazz club next door, they will comp your cover (which is like $10)… so you can always try to plan a night when there is a band there that you wanna see!

Overall, church gets 3 kirby cakes!

This is definitely one church that I will hope to attend regularly!!! (I know, I know… that was lame!)