Boston, a true foodie city, is best known for its baked beans. However, the coastal city is much appreciated for its seafood, from lobster rolls and New England clam chowder to steamed clams and fish and chips. The city is also known for its Boston Cream Pie and the famous Fenway Frank. We rounded up 10 classic Boston dishes and asked readers to review their favorites.
More than 150 readers responded and told us about the dishes on the menu that are iconic to the area, from lobster rolls to cannoli. They voted for their favorites, with clam chowder as the best choice, with 22% of the readers' votes. When you're along Boston's Freedom Trail, it's a no-brainer to serve a classic dish or two. Beantown baked beans are a traditional recipe with whole-grain bread as a side dish.
After six hours of simmering in molasses and brown sugar and resting all night, North Country Smokehouse's bacon flavor sounds like the cry of a rebel. This is Menotomy Grill, a tribute to yesteryear, when Arlington was known as Menotomy. Their Boston baked beans are a sweet and savory bowl thanks to bacon and caramelized brown sugar. It is available as a very hot side dish or to accompany the main course of New England cod pie.
This cast-iron skillet, served Monday through Friday, is filled with eggs, pork andouille, spinach and parmesan and served with ciabata. James Avenue. Starting with white beans, golden salted pork, onion, molasses, water, brown sugar, and mustard, they are baked for several hours until the beans are tender. Try your own with the recipe from his “Flour, Too” cookbook.
(Various locations) When the legendary French chef and Parker House chef, Augustine Francois Anezin, sprinkled chocolate ganache on a French cake filled with vanilla cream, it created a slice of local history. Delight yourself with Boston cream, which includes a rich golden layered cake and sweet vanilla cream with chocolate ganache. Made with Valrhona dark chocolate icing and filled with vanilla custard, they use an ultra-spongy dough made with cultured butter to give it a touch of flavor. This huge maze of Italian delicacies can be intimidating, but your selection of cannoli is worth it.
Think raspberry, pistachio, tiramisu, chocolate and ricotta. A mini trio makes the decision less stressful. These cannolis are legendary, with Nutella, peanut butter, amaretto, strawberry, chocolate with mint and more in a huge box along with the traditional ones. (Multiple locations) Boston's other King of Cannoli.
Team Modern Pastry is savoring crispy fried pastry tubes filled with delicious cream or ricotta, yellow or chocolate. The flavors can be dipped in chocolate with chocolate chips, almonds or pistachios. (Multiple locations) In Nebo, there's no tunnel vision when it comes to this Italian sweet. Instead of a tube, the dessert consists of a deconstructed layer of cannoli shell and ricotta cream covered with powdered sugar.
Their thick, creamy clam chowder put this family-owned restaurant on the map by winning several local awards over the years. Served in an overflowing cup, it's packed with fresh chopped clams and potatoes and plenty of dill to reduce its richness. The hot bowl is accompanied by homemade moonshine cookies that are balanced. He also mixes bits of herbs from his family's Herb Lyceum in Groton.
Their vegan frappe menu consists of a dozen concoctions made with local FOMu coconut-based ice cream. Matcha Frappe is a favorite: vanilla, MEM tea, matcha and oat milk, topped with coconut whipped cream and toasted coconut. Children drink chocolate, strawberry, chocolate with mint and mocha, while those over 21 can order frappes such as Mud Pie with coffee ice cream, Pinnacle vanilla vodka, Pinnacle, cocoa cream, Kahlua, vanilla icing, and crushed Oreo cookies. (Various locations) Seaport Restaurant's new macaroni and cheese and lobster are an updated version of one of their most popular and exquisite side dishes, with whole Maine lobster, Tillamook Cheddar cheese, and delicious noodles.
The macaroni and cheese and lobster have huge chunks of succulent lobster and a topping of seasoned breadcrumbs. Buy a live lobster from the market to make it yourself at home. I moved to California years ago and dream of a fresh lobster roll. Barbara Lynch's Maine Lobster Roll is chock-full of cold, freshly peeled meat with mayonnaise.
It comes with French fries, coleslaw and lots of buttered pickles that take away all that richness. The steamed bun is slightly sweet and filled with chunks of lobster with whole wheat butter. Keep in mind that this feast on a bun is made with lobster mixed with mayonnaise. The smaller ones come in a New England-style grilled hot dog roll, while the larger ones are stacked on secondary rolls to accommodate all that meat.
Try the North Shore Three Way (barbecue sauce, mayonnaise and cheese) or the 80T (with cheddar cheese, pickled red onion, and spicy aioli, also known as Thoreau sauce). (Multiple locations) This tiny sandwich shop in Brookline Village triumphs with the Roast Beef 1000, a meaty masterpiece full of slow-roasted meat, crispy shallots, Thousand Island and strong cheddar cheese on Iggy's brioche. Add a spoonful of hot pepper sauce for an extra kick. Picnic tables and buoys set the stage, and when you combine a Cucumber Cooler cocktail with the 1.25-pound combination of lobster, clams, corn and potato salad, this is what life on the water means.
Clambake features two-pound whole Maine lobster, clams, chorizo and sweet summer corn. The North End restaurant doesn't take reservations and, since it has won many prizes in fish and seafood, be prepared to wait. The dish serves roasted pork shoulder on a bed of carrots, onions, apples, roasted potatoes and braised cabbage for a very warm winter (2 Center Plz. In winter, it is served with a garnish of locally grown roasted carrots, crispy shallots and sauce to complete the hearty meal.
Head to Mike's Pastry for a sweet slice of Boston cream pie. Located in the North End of Boston, this bakery allows you to buy the famous Boston dessert (which is actually a cake) by slices or all over the cake. The pub known as Cheers was the inspiration behind the hit TV show and is also one of Boston's biggest attractions. While you're here, be sure to grab a bottle or a sip of the smooth Samuel Adams.
You can even bring a Cheers mug as a keepsake if you're a big fan of the series. To enjoy the best Boston clam chowder you've ever drank (or sipped) from your spoon, head to Neptune Oyster. This restaurant is open daily, giving you plenty of opportunities to try this Boston specialty. Every baseball fan knows that you have to eat a delicious hot dog when you're at home for the Boston RedSox to play a game.
Fenway Park offers some of the juiciest you've ever had with its Fenway Franks. Marliave has been in business since 1875 and serves delicious options for lunch and dinner. This restaurant also serves perfectly seasoned Boston baked beans, another food that Boston is famous for and that tastes best when you eat here. When you go to Neptune Oyster, make sure you arrive hungry.
Not only do you have to try the clam chowder, their lobster dishes are also to die for. Go on a Monday because spaghetti with lobster is often the star dish. .
