this post is filed under Cuisine - American, Location - Boston

Sorry about the slow updating... real work is gonna start soon. Then again, that may mean I'll update more to procrastinate my big paper. Anyway, I've been to Chart House a couple of times this semester. Chart House is a very reliable seafood/prime rib place near the Aquarium, and I stop by every once in a while (here's a past trip that wasn't a full meal). It's actually one of the first Boston restaurants I ever went to. The restaurant has two floors, with a pretty big bar area on the bottom. The place has a pretty old-school feel to it - apparently the building is one of the oldest along the wharf. Hmm, from their website, it seems it's a pretty big national chain... Well, either way, the food is still pretty good. They make a mean prime rib.

clam chowder - $5.5

crab-stuffed mushrooms baked in a white wine sauce - $10.95

I am by no means a clam chowder expert, but I think Chart House does it extremely well. It comes piping hot (which has been a problem in other places) and is neither too thick nor too thin. There are lots of tasty clams and not too much potato. As for the mushrooms, I think the word "rich" sums it up best. Each large mushroom is stuffed with a good amount of crab, and the whole thing is covered in a very thick, very creamy, very buttery sauce. They were great, and quite filling.

fried calamari - $8.95

lobster spring rolls with tangy mustard sauce - $10.95

We had a decent-sized group of people so the fried calamari was a safe choice. Chart House does a pretty good version, although I'm not a fan of the dipping sauce we got. It was some kind of weird very sweet (supposedly Thai-style or something) stuff rather than your typical marinara. The pseudo-Asian theme continued with the lobster spring rolls which were good but not great. The skin was the really thick and really fried egg-roll type. The sauce was indeed tangy - it had an almost horseradish-like kick to it.

prime rib, Chart House cut - $22.95

baked crabmeat-stuffed flounder with rice pilaf - $25.95

The main event here is the prime rib, and boy it's good. I admit I once ordered the bigger Callahan Cut, and it was way too big. The prime rib here is tender, juicy, and just all-around great. I suppose some may be put off by the big red chunk of meat bathing in its own juices, but carnivores such as myself adore the sight. You can also get a topping of jumbo lump crab with avocado pico di gallo (sadly not pictured) which really makes the prime rib great. The second time I went this year I decided to try out fish because I'd gotten the prime rib the past few trips. It was good but perhaps a tad overcooked. It wasn't as flaky and moist as I was hoping for. The buttery sauce of course fixed everything, and paired with the rice it was still pretty good.

hot chocolate lava cake - Godiva chocolate liqueur cake with molten chocolate center, chocolate sauce, Heath Bar Crunch & vanilla ice cream - $8.95

The other reason to go to Chart House is their excellent rendition of this now very common dessert. I prefer the one here to the overhyped version at Finale. I think the key is the Heath Bar Crunch, which melds wonderfully with the ice cream and the molten cake. The serving is huge and can be shared by a good number of people (especially people who are stuffed from prime rib).

Generally I think of Chart House as the place to go to fulfill that prime rib craving I get every half-year or so. The place isn't inventive or anything, but it doesn't try to be, and the quality has been very consistent for me. You get exactly what you expect.

Comments

Uh, that's the largest cut of meat I've ever seen on a plate. I can't believe that it comes in a size bigger...

YUM!

P.S. I'm not sure when you did the redesign (I've been bad at visiting my favorite sites lately), but it looks great!

posted by megwoo on April 20, 2005 01:12 PM

The prime rib cut looks excellent; alot heartier than House of Prime Rib in SF imo.

posted by John D. on April 21, 2005 11:15 PM

Thanks a lot Meg! It is indeed very big, but the photo probably still makes it look bigger than it is.

John, I actually haven't been to House of Prime Rib in SF still - sad to hear it may have gone downhill.

posted by Arthur on April 23, 2005 07:11 PM

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55555555556666666.000$$$$$$$$$$$
crazy

posted by rew on May 8, 2005 08:28 PM

I'm glad that the Boston Chart House isn't as bas as the one in Longboat Key, FL. The steak was cold, rubbery and looked like it came off a hospital cafeteria line. Even worse than the big price tag and the awful food was the unapologetic used carsalesman of a manger who brushed off our complaints with, "it looks just like the picture in the kitchen". A truly awful experience!

posted by wine_oh on December 18, 2005 08:48 PM