My Favorite South End Restaurant

I have never, ever had a bad meal at Union Bar and Grille on Washington St. in the South End. Last night was no exception. Our marketing director Bev and I went there (we were supposed to take out an old radio friend of ours, but he postponed until next week, but we still wanted to go).

Bev has lots of radio stories which are fun to hear, especially when sipping a martini or a bottle of wine. We might, um, consumed both last night.

Their menu has about 10 appetizers and 10 entrees. I wanted 7 of the appetizers - so hard to pick. I chose the Buttercup Squash Bisque with Toasted Pumpkinseed Oil, Brioche Croutons and Parmigiano Reggiano to start. My entree was a special Salmon dish they had, which was seared with a delicious crush, and came with celery root puree and baby brussels sprouts. For dessert, we split the Vermont Maple Bread Pudding with Walnut Praline and Vanilla Bean Ice Cream .

One of the things that makes Union memorable is that right after you sit down and they take your drink order, they bring a cast-iron table-sized pan of corn bread - a nice touch and quite a dichotomy from the rest of Union.

The place is always packed, and rightfully so - probably my favorite South End restaurant. Bev knows the owner Jeff, and he gave me his card after we chatted for a while about how much I enjoyed going there. Always nice to have a name to drop and to know the owner!

Readers of this blog are free to shower me with many gift certificates to Union.