At Sam Adams, serious suds - what else? - and good pub grub
Type: Eclectic
Hours: 11 a.m. to midnight daily.
Good choices: Salads, clam chowder, crab cakes, fish and chips, bratwurst, chili, portobello mushroom sandwich, vegetable quesadilla.
Credit cards: All credit cards.
Access: Street-level entrance; handicapped lift chair to restrooms.
SAMUEL ADAMS BREWHOUSE
710 Boylston Street, Boston
(617) 421-4961
Restaurant reviewed 03/27/98 by Bob MacDonald
Just in case a confused tourist strays into the wrong pub, some of the waiters at Samuel Adams Brewhouse wear sweatshirts reading:
NO NORM
NO CLIFF
NO CARLA
JUST SAM
Of course this is not entirely true, since the brewhouse serves non-Sam beers, ranging from Oregon IPA to Budweiser, but it's a bit like carrying ales to Newcastle. Stick with the home team and you can't go wrong.
Some players on the home team, however, also seem confused. What a waitress described as a mostly malty ale turned out to be exquisitely hoppy, and after we were told the hottest mustard in the house was Gulden's, a zippier one came with a meal. The brewhouse newsletter states that ``Mind your p's and q's'' refers to pints and quarts (it's more likely a printer's expression) and mentions ``refueling your system on fermented hops.'' Hops don't ferment; malt does.
We mention these things only in the interest of keeping the citizenry informed, just as Sam Adams and the other founding fathers advocated.
All can be forgiven because Samuel Adams Brewhouse does everything else so well, which is not surprising since the menu was created by chef Bob Calderone of Anago. The Sam Adams beers range from Boston Lightship, one of only two ``light'' beers we know of with any flavor (the other is Grant's Celtic Ale), to Double Bock, a gold medal winner at the Great American Beer Festival.
One beer here that you won't find in stores is the Cream Ale, which is served from a Guinness-style nitrogen draft system for extra creaminess. It's reminiscent of an English bitter, although not as complex. Some of the brews find their way into the food, such as Honey Porter chili ($6.50), which is billed as an appetizer but includes nachos and sour cream, making it more like a meal. Mildly spiced, it had chunks of shredded (not ground) beef. A single crab cake ($7) was light and moist and was accompanied by tossed greens with a vinaigrette dressing. That and a cup or bowl of SAB's rich clam chowder ($3.50, $5.50) would also eliminate the need for an entree.
The Seinfeldian-named oversized mixed green salad ($3.50) had abundant variety, and the Caesar was crisp, the cool romaine mixed with a hint of celery.
Fish and chips ($8.25), regular pub fare, is held to a higher standard here, holding true to its English origins with a light, puffy batter over big chunks of moist, flaky fish. The fries, conversely, were true to their French origin, deep brown and, we suspect, double-fried the traditional way. The Brewhouse serves fries you don't want to put ketchup on; they stand up to vinegar well.
A grilled chicken breast sandwich ($7.50) had just enough honey mustard to flavor, but not overwhelm, the meat. It was served with tomato, lettuce, and red onion, the last a perfect foil for the honey mustard. A half-sour pickle, a fragile commodity, was fresh and crisp, as were the half sours served with other dishes. Warning: This sandwich is a sticky affair, but you can get a wet towel if you ask.
There are no Cumberland sausages to go with the bitterlike Cream Ale, but there is bratwurst, two with spicy fries for $6.95, or a ``Brat 'n' Beer'' combo for $5.95. Hot mustard makes the spicy fries redundant; next time, we'd order regular fries.
The sausage is served on wonderfully crusty and chewy bread, but more of it than anyone needs. Hold off on some of the bread and get a side of cole slaw, maybe the best we've ever had - red and green cabbage (and maybe some lettuce, which it was served on) with a sweet and creamy dressing.
SAB serves full meals at slightly above Cheap Eats limits, and amid the pub grub are two lighter alternatives, a vegetable quesadilla ($8.95) (with boursin cheese, a change of pace from Monterey jack) and a portobello mushroom sandwich with roasted red peppers ($9.75). They're everything you ever wanted in a meal and less.
Tips & hits
