For me there is no greater thrill than trying a new restaurant. Much like the anticipation before a first date, preparing to venture out to a new restaurant makes me buzz with questions - Will I discover a new craveable dish? Will I have a waiter or waitress who is fun or hilarious enough to make me want to visit again and again? Will the design and decor of the place transport me to a new mindset and help me leave behind my busy day? The possibility of these wonderful discoveries excites me and keeps me exploring new dining destinations.
Last week I went with a friend to Beacon Tavern. She had been before and assured me I'd love the atmosphere and the food.
Beacon Tavern is located in that no man's land of Beacon Street in Brookline between Coolidge Corner and Fenway. Home to a few great restaurants (Elephant Walk, Sol Azteca), it's not a particularly high traffic area.
On the night of our visit the weather was great and people chose to sit outside on Beacon Tavern's spacious patio. I can only imagine how packed this place gets before Red Sox games. Since the sun was going down and the temperatures were dropping along with it, we decided to eat inside.
The hostess showed us to a booth right away. Our booth had cool metal work that severed as a divider between our row of booths and the far side of the restaurant.
The restaurant has three sections - the bar, the booths and then the small tables.
I love the high, red booths that separate the bar from the next section.
Once seated we took a look at the cocktail list. You know the expression, "Pick your poison"? They take that very seriously at Beacon Tavern. Notice the graphic on the bottom of the cocktail menu.
My friend selected a pinot noir and I chose the bee sting cocktail which is champagne, St. Germain and a splash of lemon. I loved the lemon peel garnish! If you like St. Germain, I highly recommend this drink.
We were quite hungry, so we decided to share the hummus and cheese platter which comes with edamame hummus, spiced hummus, grilled pita bread, halloumi cheese, cheddar cheese, mixed olives, grilled figs with gorgonzola and balsamic reduction and quinoa salad. Every component of the dish was tasty, but the figs were the stand out for sure. They were so decadent and delicious!
For our entrees my friend went with the black bean burger. When it arrived she took a bite and made a strange face. She cut me a piece of the burger, handed it to me and asked, "Does this taste like curry?"
I took a bite and sure enough, the housemade burger patty did taste like Indian curry. I am not a fan of that flavoring, so I wouldn't order that burger on a future visit.
I ordered two appetizers for my meal. The first to arrive was the cauliflower and potato soup, garnished with a crostini topped with goat cheese and crispy shallots.
The soup was so creamy and the flavors worked in perfect harmony.
I also ordered the sweet potato tater tots. The tots were large, round and packed with hot, sweet potato. They came with spicy ketchup and tasted incredible once dunked.
I was very happy to learn about Beacon Tavern and have such a scrumptious first visit. I can't wait to go back, try more cocktails and sit in the sun on the patio.
Have you made any great restaurant discoveries lately?
