| Food | * * 1/2 |
| Speed | * * * |
| Ambience | * * 1/2 |
| Value | 6.5 |
| Cost | $ |
| Dish | Price |
Value | Rating | |
| Meatloaf Dinner | $4.49 |
* * * | * * 1/2 | |
| Chicken (White Meat) Dinner | 4.49 |
* * 1/2 | * * * | |
| Beans | * * * | |||
| Stuffing | * * 1/2 | |||
| Mocha Dessert | * * | |||
| Turkey Dinner | 4.99 |
* * * | * * * |
Boston Market (originally Boston Chicken) restaurants are very visible from the streets or freeway; the bright red and white awning is very eye-catching. The inside is intriguing as well. There are several frescos of farm fresh vegetables and crates, and adorning the shelves are jars of sauces, cans of ingredients, and even great bags of farm staples. Boston Market is deli-style; you can see the available side dishes, salads, and desserts; and they actually create and serve them on-site.
Boston Market is a good deal, because you do get a full meal, as opposed to the fragmented kind you might get from a faster food burger joint. They serve it to you on a plastic plate (with separators), with your choice of meat, 2 side dishes, cornbread, and sometimes a dessert for under $6 total. With the frequent Sunday ad coupons, the price can be sufficiently less.
On this particular occasion, we had 2 valid coupons and 1 person having to pay full price. J opted for the Chicken dinner, which included dessert. She had creamed spinach and stuffing for side dishes and chocolate trifle for dessert [review not available]. C, joining us today, had the Meatloaf dinner, with beans, stuffing, and the Mocha dessert. I had the turkey dinner, also with beans and stuffing. The turkey was a little on the dry side, but was helped with the addition of a little walnut-cranberry sauce. The meatloaf was on the "desert" side - and there really wasn't much that could be done to enhance it. It had a good flavor, but the dryness was inhibiting. The beans were excellent, almost halfway between baked beans and chili beans, with a little bacon and brown sugar. However, the stuffing was not nearly as good. A good stuffing should have the crispness of the bread used to make it, but also a wetness; this stuffing was gummy. The Mocha dessert was similar to the stuffing - it was sweet and hit the spot, but the consistency unnerved my tastebuds (too mushy and slimy). The practicality of Boston Market, though, is they're most often located in mini-malls, so you can always opt for dessert at a dessert specialty shop!
All in all, Boston Market is a good meal, at an affordable price. Meat tends to be a little overdone (which probably prevents e. coli), and some of the side dishes have that mass-produced taste, but overall ranks in the upper echelon of faster food establishments, and in the top layer of restaurants under quality and value.