Lunch at Eastern Standard

Whenever anyone heads over to the Fenway area for a Sox game, the first watering hole/eatery people think of is Eastern Standard.  Even now, with the Fenway area exploding with tons of new culinary options, Eastern Standard remains a mainstay for Bostonians.  When Nick and I and our friend G ended up over in the area on a Saturday mid-afternoon, we decided to grab some brunch and explore something other than their beer offerings.

The restaurant had only a few guests upon our arrival (a bit on the later side and pre-Sox season) so we were seated straight away at one of the high-tops in the bar area.  Our server quickly brought us our drinks (simple sodas) and a lot of delicious sliced bread that we could nosh on while looking over the food options.

Bread

G went with the Mushroom Pasta with brown butter cauliflower, Grana Padano and swiss chard.  The pasta was delicious though a bit heavy.  The swiss chard was refreshing in contrast to the heavier pasta dish.  While such a dish could be a bit much on the summer nights we're having now, we were there in the colder weather, so the heaviness was comforting.

Hand Cut Mushroom Pasta 

I, of course, went with the Eastern Burger with Cheddar and served on a brioche roll with french fries.  I love when a burger comes and the cheese is super melted and dripping down the sides.  It usually implies delicious things and this was no different.  The burger was juicy and flavorful.  The Cheddar was sharp and added a good bite to the burger.  The brioche roll was a bit overwhelming (I did rip a bit off the top!), but since it was well toasted it helped a bit.  

Standard Burger

Nick, after a bit of deliberation, decided on the chicken sausage and Buttermilk Biscuit after an endorsement from our server.  The biscuit was light on the inside and nicely golden on the outside.  While the flavors were yummy, the sauce was a bit too thin - I think Nick was expecting more of a gravy-like consistency - so this could have used an extra biscuit to soak up the broth!

Chicken Sausage and Gravy

From other visits I can vouch for their lengthy creative cocktail list, beer and wine offerings.  Even better is their long bar that has plenty of room to serve many of the patrons looking for a quick drink before heading to the game or to forget about the work day.  Those patrons hopefully take advantage of the food menu, as our visit proves why Eastern Standard is such a staple in the Fenway community with its diverse menu that is reliably delicious.

Where do you like to eat in the Fenway area?