Ashmont Grill—The Sequel

Let it be known that the Palateers always stay true to our promises. We hadn't forgotten our delicious brunch back in May 2009 at the Ashmont Grill or our vow to return. As can be deduced from the last review, we were not to be disappointed. The more one visits a particular place in ones lifetime, the more one learns and appreciates it. The same stands true for restaurants.

On our second visit, we enjoyed the lovely small subtleties of Ashmont's ambiance—particularly the chicken themed paintings on the wall. Also, just as it is the go-to spot for brunch, it is also the prime evening lounge destination for local residents (They even had dancing on New Years!).

But of course, what stole our attention was the food. Be prepared, we ordered more than we usually do. For a salad, we had the spinach, goat cheese and beet salad special. It was delicious, though it isn't very hard to mess up. This particular salad seems to be all the rage these days, however, Ashmont distinguished itself by the subtle substitution of hazelnuts instead of the typical walnuts.

Hazelnuts!

Main Courses:
The pan roasted cod ($19) was creative and inspiring, but not that filling. The perfectly roasted fish was on a celery puree that had the consistency of hummus, but the potent zing of celery. It was served with a side of roasted fennel. To give it a dash of color, two slices of blood oranges were laid to rest on top.

Creative, but not that filling

If the fish didn't fill us up, then the bacon cheeseburger ($12) finished the job. This grass fed burger was far and away one of the best burgers we've had in Boston. Ashmont gets extra bonus points for the locally raised beef.

The Crest de Gallo pasta ($16) was twisted funky shaped pasta. Somehow, the strangely shaped pasta tasted better. The pasta was mixed with butternut squash, caramelized onions, pine nuts and finally, a dash of fresh sage, making it the ultimate in flavorful comfort food.

That is some Funky Shaped Pasta

Two other table favorites were the herb roasted half chicken ($19) and the lamb tagine ($17). The lamb was a bit too spicy, but that was the only complaint.

Scrumptious

A Wee Bit Spicy

Now for the best part, dessert. Where could we possibly begin? We were already stuffed from the main course, but we pushed forward, and how could we not when tempted with these choices.

The exploding chocolate cake ($7) was about as good as you will find at Finale, but at half the price.

Gooey Delicious Finale Rival

Our mouths were watering by the very site of the the sticky toffee pudding ($7) served with a palmful of fresh whipped cream.

Mouth Watering

If our second visit was as good as the first, it might necessitate a third.

Oh yea, we had hot dogs again.

Ashmont Grill
555 Talbot Ave
Dorchester Ctr, MA 02124
(617) 825-4300

Boston Restaurant Review