Tuesday, August 10, 2010

Boston Restaurant: American Craft

posted by Katie

What: American Craft
Where: Washington Square in Brookline
Honeys Heart: Outdoor patio

I've been wanting to try American Craft since I first heard about its opening last fall. American Craft is owned by the same people who own the Publick House down the street, so I had high expectations for it as I know how much people seem to love the Publick House.

My family headed over to American Craft around 6pm on a Saturday and, to my surprise, most of the picnic tables on the large patio were not yet occupied. Excellent!

We started off our visit with a round of drinks. My mom went for the sangria (her new favorite, remember?), my dad tried one of their many craft beers, and I went for the Original Sin hard cider. All very refreshing.


We weren't quite ready to dive into dinner so we decided to order the Zucchini Fritters ($8) with buttermilk sauce.


I guess we aren't big fritter people because these didn't get rave reviews from anyone even though I thought they were good.

We also tried the Heirloom Tomato Salad ($11) with homemade garlic mozzarella and and aged balsamic and basil oil. 


Everyone really enjoyed this dish. Very fresh and flavorful.

When it came time for dinner, I decided to order a hamburger. I'm still looking for a reliably good hamburger over in my neck of the woods and I was hoping that burger would be found at American Craft. American Craft burgers start off at $10 and then additional toppings range from $1-$2.50 each. I'm on a caramelized onion kick, so I decided to go with those as my topping.


The burger itself tasted very good, but as you can tell, there was a lot of meat going on. The patty was so thick that I could barely fit my mouth around it to take a bite. That might be a plus for some people, but it was a minus for me. I don't like to feel as if I need to dislocate my jaw in order to eat my dinner. The fries were good though, thick and meaty on the inside. And you get a lot of them. You're definitely not leaving American Craft hungry if you get the burger...

My sister went a similar route and chose the Veggie Burger ($9) with avocado.


My sister said that it was "okay, but not the best I've ever had." So no glowing review there.

My dad is a big fan of fish so he ordered the Striped Bass special.


The bass was perfectly cooked and the accompaniments were fresh and tasty. Too bad the bass isn't a regular item on the menu.

Finally, my mom opted for the Crab Cake Sandwich ($12) with Maine lump crab and dijon aioli served on potato bread.


Just like my sister, my mom gave this dish an "okay, but not the best I've ever had."

So really, while none of us outright disliked our meal, the Heirloom Tomato Salad and the Striped Bass were the only dishes that were more than just "okay." I think this shows that you can't go to American Craft just for the food, you have to also be looking for an extensive beer selection and an enjoyable outdoor patio to be satisfied.