Alcove

Sometimes the best places are the hardest to find.

"We're kind of tucked away. We're sort of in this piece of the city that once you get here, you sort of, you're like, Oh, I knew this must have existed, but you didn't really know it before you arrived."

And once you've arrived, you'll find drop dead gorgeous views, decadent bites, and downright tasty drinks in the Alcove.

Situated in the shadows of the Zakim Bridge on Lovejoy Wharf in Boston, around the corner from TD Garden, Alcove is the brain child of longtime Boston restaurant industry veteran, Tom Schlesinger-Guidelli..

“Alcove is a neighborhood restaurant. We're located in the West End just between the Zaikim Bridge and the North Washington Street Bridge on the Waterfront side. And it's this really cool intersection between the historic Bunker Hill monument and the sort of new iconic Boston of the Zaikim Bridge."

And just as delicious as the view, is the food coming out of Alcove's kitchen, which Tom calls "farm coast cuisine", because it's inspired inspired by his childhood in Westport, Massachusetts.

"We're bringing it into sort of new type of cuisine that I grew up with. And it's sort of this intersection of the bounty of the sea and the bounty of the land that occurs in the south coast of Massachusetts and Rhode Island.

I think we have a little bit of everything for everybody. We make all of our pastas in house. You know, there's a steak and a chicken as well that are beautiful. And just clean flavors is the idea."

So Phantom grabbed a craft cocktail from the bar and a seat by the window to feast on THE PERFECT MEAL.

Customers can kick off their meal by ordering from Alcove's tremendous selection of fresh oysters and charcuterie.

Get their veggies on with the Brussel Sprouts tossed in a balsamic vinegar with fried shallots and Fresno peppers.

Or indulge on a good ol' New England staple and order the fried Ipswich clams, which not only taste good, they happen to be gluten free.

"They've got beautiful crispness to them and just a little bit of that briny ocean flavor that you get from awesome New England fried clams."

But the ultimate appetizer as to be Alcove's Charred Haas Avocado.

"So this is a cool dish. It actually looks like the skin is still on the avocado. What we do is we take the pit out of the center of it and fill it with harissa aioli. And then we char the outside of it once the skins been taken off. So you cut right through it. The aioli spreads out. We serve it with a little red van sorrel salad. Highly flavorful. "

Since it's all made in house, pasta should be an obvious choice, whether you opt for the Papardelle Bolognese made with Wagyu beef, cranberries and dark chocolate. Or the Pasta Fagioli- loaded up with Maine lobster and Braised Pork Belly which makes for a great combination.

"This is sort of a play on surf and turf is the idea. It's a little bit of pasta. It's a little bit of beans. It's the crispiness from the pork belly to offset the tenderness of the lobster. ? It's delicious."

But if you ask Tom, the Rigatoni is his go to.

"My favorite pasta is the rigatoni. It served with Gorgonzola Dolce, which is a spicy blue cheese. We make all of the pastas in house and then chef serves it with a radicchio over the top so you get a little bit of bitterness and a little bit of sweetness from the dressing on that a touch of crunch from the nuts. And that creamy blue cheese tang. This is really just a dressed up mac and cheese for adults."

The entree section includes all of the classics amped up. There's classic French mussels and fries swimming in a beautiful broth and topped with a creamy saffron aioli. And a simple but satisfying steak.

"It's a bit classic Bistro steak served over collard greens with some bacon in them. So it has some richness, and then smashed potatoes. It's a dressed up version of steak and potatoes."

There's an outstanding cheeseburger, topped with creamy cheddar, caramelized Vidalia onion, and housemade pickles. And one of the best grilled cheese sandwiches out there.

"Really decadent. We use a couple of different types of cheese and there. Fontina and cheddar. It served on Iggy's bread. And with a little bit of greens and some Dijon on the side. It's it's so comforting to people. I think that people love it.”

And when dessert time comes around, Tom always goes for the Olive Oil Semi Freddo.

“It's a semi frozen custard that we infuse with olive oil. And then chef Alex has put poached rhubarb rhubarb puree on the bottom of it. And some candied pistachios. It's really light really refreshing, perfect for this time of year."

The Charred Haas Avocado.

Rigatoni Gorgonzola Dolce.

A Grilled Cheese and the Olive Oil Semi Freddo make for the PERFECT MEAL at Alcove.