Restaurants

That's just wrong!

Boston Market and I got off on the wrong foot years ago. That’s my husband’s fault, as he mistook what this new building was on the south side of Indianapolis and had me get dressed up for a special dinner out.

Believe me, rotisserie chicken you order at the counter does not require a skirt, high heels and make-up.

Since that fateful night, they had the bad luck to be the restaurant my family chose to stop at when we were  within a few minutes of Hollywood Beach, my special corner of the world. I’ve managed to knock my full drink into my lap in their booth. It’s where my friend’s son started complaining about an ear ache after a day of swimming, which led to my misdiagnosing the situation and dropping alcohol onto an infected eardrum, bursting it immediately.

Boston Market: Wrong place, wrong time.

So tonight I decided it was time to bury the hatchet, go in and have a nice, normal meal at this fast casual restaurant. They serve healthy food (at least by my “Poptart for lunch” standards). They just announced a “Two Kids Eat Free” that allows a family to get two kids’ meals  free with purchase of an adult entree. (That’s a heck of a deal at the cash register.) They have an awesome crust on their chicken pot pies. I really want to like them.

Sigh. But I don’t.

In previous visits, I’ve always gone for the chicken pot pie, loving the crust but not so big on the gristly meat inside. It’s where the leftover chicken parts go to die, frankly. I’ve ordered the cinnamon apples only to find them still crunchy, like someone didn’t core them well. The mac ‘n cheese uses so much Velveeta, it sticks to your teeth.

Healthy choice, at least

So in my spirit of starting over, I ordered the 1/4 chicken (dark) with corn and cornbread. Instead of reaching for a Coke on the dispenser, I went for the lemonade my husband has bragged about. It tasted like sour dishwater with a trace of soap. The corn was obviously from a can, which isn’t an automatic negative for me, but it was so tough I thought I was at the State Fair. And the chicken was a greasy, gristly mess that yielded two decent bites and a lot of napkins to get those off the bone.

Which explains the meat in the chicken pot pies.

Now I could dump the drink and start fresh with Coke, and the cornbread is always wonderful … all three bites it takes to finish it. My husband offered to stop by McAllister’s on the way home for one of their cookies so I wouldn’t drag around the house hungry for the rest of the night. Boston Market may tout new, lower pricing but as long as it’s for the same food I’ve been served, that’s not a deal.

But at least I was wearing proper attire for the experiment.

Boston Market

7910 South US 31
Indianapolis, IN 46227

317-882-9356

Photography: theotherway (Flickr) evilynishere (Flickr)