BostonFoodGuy

Archive for the ‘American’ Category

Eh, I have such mixed feelings about this place. It’s always packed, so it’s tough to get a table. The wine list is great – but is it worth the price. Yea it’s really cool inside and I feel like I’m in a really cool Crate and Barrel or something -but it’s still overpriced. For an app – I had a simple salad – it was fine. Yea the seafood is good, it’s better than average. I had the salmon – it was well cooked and not over seasoned it certainly was fresh. The service is pleasant but a bit rushed. I would have enjoyed to relax a bit more, and the noise level was a bit loud for my tastes. I don’t know – I guess the Boston Food Guy is in like with the place but not in love with it.

Max and Dylans has only been open since December 2008 and they are experiencing their growing pains. That being said they should be all set come summer 2009 as their menu and service has greatly improved and with it a solid price point. Max and Dylans is located right on the freedom trail by the end of the Charlestown bridge. The bar area is well laid out with nice cozy leather seats against the wall and comfortable high-top chairs. The service has been good, very fast food and drink orders and everything has come out great. They offer some great Mac and Cheese dinners, and some very solid flatbreads, but the best of the best is the Kobe beef meatloaf..at a great price point mind you. For an an try their dumplings, very tasty. All in all I have been impressed. Max and Dylans is owned by the same people that run Scolley Square and Tavern on the Water – you could think of Max and Dylans and right between those two for quality and service.

So, I  heard fantastic things about this place so I had to go give it a try.  If there is one thing the BostonFoodGuy loves, is a nice steak with a great bottle of red wine.  So a place named the Butcher Shop must be good right?  Plus it’s in the South End and super pricey and trendy so it must be good huh?

Well, first off while we were seated very quickly – the service to our table was very slow.  And I mean slow.

Then I looked at the menu, no steak.  I come to a butcher shop, and there is no pure steak on the menu… no chops, just fancy pate and foie grae – but nothing of real substance (I was hungry).  There was a steak sandwich type item which I ordered.

After we ordered our wine took forever to get to the table, and the wait started… after about an hour the hostess came over to apologize and gave us free appetizers because the meal was taking so long.  The wine still took over a 1/2 hour to get to our table – I mean it’s wine – it’s in a bottle – just open and pour.

Finally the meal came. Eh’ I’ve had a better steak sandwich at an Outback steakhouse (which is really really sad)- the meat was dry and tasteless – and the bread had no flavor.  Borrrrrring.  I felt cheated.  I just couldn’t believe how dry and chewy the steak was.

I don’t even know where to begin – I have never been more disappointed in a restaurant in all of Boston – (that’s not true the Legal Test Kitchen is right up there with disappointment).  I left hungry and angry.

I will never be going back to this place.

For the prices that they are asking the least they could do was have good service.  But my waiter was rude and unhelpful.  The hostess however was very nice and she was very apologetic.  The food,  very forgettable.

I know, some of you out there love this place.  I don’t get it.  Please tell me why you like it, because maybe I went on a bad night maybe the chef had a bad night I don’t know but as for me… I’ll always think of this place as one of the most overrated restaurants in the city.