Abe & Louie’s
Abe & Louie’s
Boston, MA
In Colleen Hoovers, It Ends With Us (and no- this isn't a recommendation, save yourself), Atlas Corrigan opens a restaurant called BIB's for "Better in Boston." It represents the book's theme of life being better in Boston, offering award-winning food and embodying the feelings and flavors of the city. Parked right in the heart of Back Bay, on Boylston- Abe & Louie’s is that restaurant. Winning Diners Choice, Best in Boston, and countless others, Abe & Louie’s felt like all the best parts of the city in one very popular steakhouse. The inside was just as glamorous as I'd hoped, and felt classy and lively all at the same time. The service was outstanding, and there were nods to Boston in all the decor. Now, there is another location in Florida, so I'd love to have somebody tap in and see if it has the same effect there. But I’m here to say I've never had a better dinner. This does not come as a surprise due to its incredible reputation, but you can taste the difference in quite literally every dish, and the overall experience was top-tier. As someone who chose to have my birthdays at Outback Steakhouse- I will never be the same. It feels wrong to even have Outback and Abe and Louie’s in the same paragraph, but let me continue...
I started my night with the best dirty martini I've ever had, so it's safe to say we were off to a good start. It was crisp and smooth and went down a little too easily. Now, I was not a part of most of the ordering, and that's for the best because there was a menu filled with incredible options, and I'm not here to make the hard decisions. But every appetizer that came my way was better than the last. Two words: seafood tower. Lobster, shrimp, jumbo lump crabmeat, little neck clams, oysters two ways - on the half shell & Rockefeller. A New Englanders dream, if you will. We also ordered the crab cakes and the bacon. In the words of my boyfriend's mom, “The bacon was the dark horse.” Never would I ever think to order a bacon dish, but this was no ordinary breakfast bacon- and I’m not exaggerating-thick-cut Nueske's Bacon, blue cheese, and bell pepper relish. I'd also like to note- I'm a firm believer that bread can tell a lot about a restaurant. I had three rolls last night, so I'll leave it at that.
On to the entrees and sides…. Let me set the scene because, after all, it is a steakhouse. We had Australian wagyu on one side, blackened-spiced tuna in the middle, across from a rosemary-crusted Rack of Lamb. At the head of the table- a 40 oz. Tomahawk, and at the other head, a gold-plated A5 Striploin. I had the dry-aged NY Strip steak, my boyfriend the Westholme NY Strip, and the cousins reported the Boneless Ribeye was worth ordering again. Every steak was incredible yet tasted incredibly different, and there was no shortage of options. The sides included potatoes, asparagus, lobster mac and cheese, and mushrooms. The potatoes were my favorite by far, cooked au gratin style. Because all good reviews need at least one note, the lobster mac and cheese was not my favorite. There, I said it. It was lobster heavy, but the flavor was not it for me. However, as a newfound lobster eater- who am I to judge?
We were stationed at this restaurant for close to four hours, so there was no shortage of good drinks flowing. I sadly did not continue with my martinis but opted for arguably the tastiest glass of sauvignon blanc to date. My only regret is not catching the name. There was a designated sommelier who continued to impress us, and seeing as this restaurant was designed with wine cellars built into the wall- you know it's going to be good. Honorable mentions go to the espresso martinis, although I am not usually their biggest fan and compliments to the Cosmos and amaretto sours. Anyway, I'm going to move on to desserts before I start getting some strange looks.
This family has converted me into a sweet girl, and I am not mad about it. They ordered not one, not two, but four desserts. Vanilla Crème Brûlée, Mascarpone Cheesecake, Seven-Layer Chocolate Cake, and Warm Chocolate Chip Skillet Cookie. Are you drooling yet? I have never turned down a cookie skillet, but I have to give my gold star to the chocolate cake. It was so, so good. The crowd consensus was the creme brulee, but something about that homemade whipped cream paired with the seven layers of chocolate cake was divine.
While Abe & Louies is more of a special occasion restaurant, with prices that make a twenty-something-year-old cry- I'm already looking forward to my next visit. There's something special about this place that won't be easy to replicate anywhere else- and it makes it hard to put a price on. I'm not sure if it was the company, the service, the location, or hell- even my chocolate cake, but I'll be thinking about this dinner for a long time.