Market Street Tavern

First off, let me just say that I love love love (and appreciate) it when places that serve interesting beer and cocktails are proactive in telling you what they have on offer.

local meat, local beer, fancy cocktails - Oh My!

This place was apparently once located across the street, near Miller Plaza, but has been open at 809 Market St (the map points to the old address.  Google hasn't updated yet!) for a couple of months.  The space was nothing fancy, but was comfortable in a neighborhood bar kind of way.  The MST is a "sister bar" to one on the north shore, Tremont Tavern.  I had been there before, and they may have mentioned the Market St option, but it slipped my mind and we lived our lives unaware of this cozy spot for dinner and drink for far too long.

Earlier today I was on the Google looking for information on local supplies of grass-fed beef, and I ran across a review of MST, where some lucky diner had enjoyed a burger of locally raised meat...I called to make sure they were open, that they didn't allow smoking, and that adventurous toddler reviewers were welcome.  Check, check, check, and we three were off for a 6 pm dinner date.

I tried one of their signature cocktails, named for the building the MST now inhabits.  It was a blend of two rye whiskeys and some bitters - it was ok, but I would probably try something else next time.  The Lady chose a New Belgium shift tall boy, and the short boy chose high quality H20 and some whole milk.

Dinner was a pretty straightforward affair, and mi hijo was as patient as we can expect out of a 20 month old.  He got some mac&cheese (one of the evening specials was "pimp your mac", where you get a base of noodles+cheese and can add toppings, pizza style, to customize your plate.  He got noodles and cheese.)  My wife of 6 years chose the fried chicken, but subbed in some roasted brussel sprouts in place of fries, and I took the pulled pork, under slaw, and over cornbread.

The food was nice.  There were no real off notes, and we will go back.  It's not a place that I would bring my foodie friends to show off, but for a basic, comfortable meal sourced from high quality, local ingredients, this spot could well become a regular for us.