Boston Market - A Visit Here is Like Going Back Home.
Written: Oct 17 '07 (Updated Oct 20 '07)
|
Product Rating:
|
|
|
Pros: Great entrees, lots of comfort food sides, excellent value
Cons: Service at Palm Harbor location not good.
The Bottom Line: Boston Market offers very good roast chicken and a whole lot more at very reasonable prices.
|
|
|
| mongkut's Full Review: Boston Market |
I was contemplating what to write for my 300th review. In the Epi-scheme of things 300 is not a very large number. But this is significant to me because it also means I’ve reached the end of CaptainD’s Race to 300 write off. And since this is a memorable point for me I thought I’d write a review in the category that got me started Epinionating. And what better review to write than of a restaurant chain I’ve seen go from birth through maturity.
As my mom tells it, when my folks were living in Wayland, Massachusetts one of their neighbors in the condominium complex had opened a restaurant in Newton, Massachusetts which he and his business partner hoped to franchise. The concept was that you could have a roast chicken with your choice of home style side dishes and either eat it there or take it home. His name was, still is for that matter, Steven Kolow and he and his business partner, Arthur Cores, opened a little restaurant called Boston Chicken.
Steven still lives in the condominium complex but his creation has seen many changes since it left his hands in 1989 when they sold the concept to venture capitalist George Naddaff. The company began to grow at an incredible rate until by the late 90’s they were opening up a new restaurant nearly every day. That growth also caused the company to eventually have to file for bankruptcy protection. After the fallout was sorted out the chain was purchased by McDonald's. It is now back on track and selling roasted chicken throughout the country. You’d know it as Boston Market. Founded by one of mom and dad’s neighbors.
The Restaurant
The Boston Market restaurant nearest us is located at 33163 US Highway 19 North in Palm Harbor in front of the Coral Landings shopping center. The restaurant is easy to spot from US19 because it sits in the very front of the shopping center in its own standalone building.
Like many Boston Market locations the Palm Harbor restaurant has lots of large windows around the dining room to give it a more open feel. At the back of the restaurant are the rotisseries and it front of these are the display cases. The display case to the left holds cold items such as salads and bottled water. Next to that are the hot sides in steamer trays. To the right of the hot sides are the two cash registers in front of which are usually some baked deserts such as pies or brownies. Then at the far right are the drink fountains.
I’m sure everyone knows the drill but just in case when you enter the restaurant you start on the left side of the service counters and place your order from the overhead menu and then choose your sides if any. If you are dining in they will place your food on a tray that you then take the rest of the way to the cashier and drinks. If you're ordering items to go they will take the food to the cashier for you.
The dining room is very utilitarian and won’t win any awards for style. At least at the Palm Harbor location it appears they do a good job of keeping it clean, although we always take the food home to eat. I would describe the atmosphere as slightly nicer than a fast food restaurant.
Atmosphere Rating: 4/10 (Palm Harbor location)
The Food
Since Boston Market started out as a restaurant that made its name on the quality of its rotisserie chicken you might imagine this is good place to start, and you’d be right. Even though almost every supermarket has an in-house version of roast chicken, Boston Market still serves some of the best for a quick service restaurant. The chicken is also the most consistent product they offer. I’ve never had a dry chicken from the restaurant and the flavor is always very good.
My son is a huge fan of their USDA Choice Roast Sirloin which he loves to dip in the accompanying au jus. I too like their sirloin which has a very nice spicing from the rub they use prior to roasting. The only problem I have is getting them to give me beef as rare as possible. Half the time we luck out and the other half we end up with well done, which to me is well ruined.
Boston Market chicken pot pies are very tasty but if I had one complaint it is the amount of chicken per pie. I made the mistake of sharing one with my son based on the size of the pie. When I divided it up there was barely enough chicken for one adult so my son got a little more than half and I ended up hungry. I still like the flavor but would recommend one pie per person. You may end up throwing some of the pastry out but you’ll have enough chicken.
We’ve never tried the meatloaf because to me this is the stuff of school lunch room nightmares. After a childhood filled with pot roast and New England boiled dinners I pretty much flee from this kind of ‘comfort food.’
The sides are a standard mix of American comfort food items, mashed potatoes (my son’s favorite), mac and cheese, sweet potato casserole, and various combinations of steamed vegetables. I’m not in love with the sides because steamer table fare doesn’t do much for me so we normally just stick with the entrees.
And that brings me to one of the nice things with Boston Market, the flexibility. Boston Market offers their items either as individual meals, family meals, or a la carte. Also available are $5.99 meal deals and $4.99 daily combos.
Food Rating: 7/10
The Prices
Boston Market is actually a very good value given the quality of the entrees. A whole chicken is only $7.99 and a pound of roast sirloin only $10.49. The meal combinations are even better deals with the least expensive starting at only $4.99 for half a sandwich, a beverage, and either a soup or salad.
Value Rating: 8/10
The Service
The worst part of the Boston Market experience at the Palm Harbor location is the less than enthusiastic staff. There may be one or two staff members who actually care about serving their customers but the rest seem to be doing their time to get their paycheck. The cashiers in particular are humorless and their attitude often borders on rudeness. I expect this with high school slackers at McDonald’s but Boston Market should strive to be a little better.
Service Rating: 3/10 (Palm Harbor Location)
Hours
The Palm Harbor location is open from 11AM – 9:30PM.
The Parking
Parking at the Palm Harbor location is actually very easy with plenty of spaces surrounding the building.
Recommended:
Yes
|
|
|
|
|
- Add to My Yahoo!: 
- Add to Google Homepage: 
© 1999-2009 Shopping.com, Inc.